Quad Cities - 2014

[Nate Colbert]

Per tweet from Steve Batterson

Pitchers (14)  Tyler Brunnemann, Patrick Christensen, Chris Cotton, Kent Emanuel, Michael Feliz, Evan Grills, Jandel Gustave, Adrian Houser, Chris Lee, Albert Minnis, Zach Morton, Gonzalo Sanudo, Andrew Thurman, Andrew Walter.
Catchers (3) Brett Booth, Brian Holberton, Jobduan Morales
Infielders (6) Austin Elkins, Conrad Gregor, Jack Mayfield, Chase McDonald, Chan Moon, Tyler White
Outfielders (4) Jon Kemmer, Tanner Mathis, Brett Phillips, James Ramsay


This is of course a preliminary roster and will be finalized over the next 2 days. A couple of more cuts will be necessary.

[Nate in IA]

Who?   

[Reuben]

Most of last year's NYPL-champion Valleycats. Somewhat surprised that Thurman, as a polished college arm with a successful TC stint last year, didn't get skipped to Lancaster. Great-looking pitching staff, but nowhere near the hitting talent the 2013 QC squad had.

[Nate Colbert]

Thurman gets the start in Thursday's opener.

[Duman]

Who?   

There are some sleepers in that group and a bunch of guys who are fun to watch play.  Here are some of the ones I saw in Gville last year.

Phillips can go get the ball in center - bat needs to mature but he has the glove.
Mathis and Mayfield are college Sr. signs who are "gritty" - fun to watch play.
Keep an eye on the radar gun when Gustave is on the bump.  He was hitting 98-100 in Greeneville last year.  
Sanudo is nasty.  
See Feliz pitch early because I don't think he will be there later in the year.
Brunemann has a funky delivery that they were working on last year.  High effort guy.  
McDonald is one very big dude.  

[Nate in IA]

There are some sleepers in that group and a bunch of guys who are fun to watch play.  Here are some of the ones I saw in Gville last year.

Phillips can go get the ball in center - bat needs to mature but he has the glove.
Mathis and Mayfield are college Sr. signs who are "gritty" - fun to watch play.
Keep an eye on the radar gun when Gustave is on the bump.  He was hitting 98-100 in Greeneville last year.  
Sanudo is nasty.  
See Feliz pitch early because I don't think he will be there later in the year.
Brunemann has a funky delivery that they were working on last year.  High effort guy.  
McDonald is one very big dude.  

Thanks for the tips.  I hope to get over to the Quad Cities a few times this year but it has been a challenge.  I'll definitely see them when they come here to Cedar Rapids.

[VirtualBob]

There are some sleepers in that group and a bunch of guys who are fun to watch play.  Here are some of the ones I saw in Gville last year.

Phillips can go get the ball in center - bat needs to mature but he has the glove.
Mathis and Mayfield are college Sr. signs who are "gritty" - fun to watch play.
Keep an eye on the radar gun when Gustave is on the bump.  He was hitting 98-100 in Greeneville last year.  
Sanudo is nasty.  
See Feliz pitch early because I don't think he will be there later in the year.
Brunemann has a funky delivery that they were working on last year.  High effort guy.  
McDonald is one very big dude.  

I expect big things from Tyler White too.

[drew corleone]

Hasn't Houser battled a lot of injuries? It looks like he hasn't pitched in more than 14 games yet in three full minor league seasons. He's just 21, but is this something of a make or break year?

[Duman]

The `14 (9 starts - but some he was second half of piggy back) games was from 2013 in Tri Cities.  In 2012, he appeared in 11 games (all starts) for Greeneville and in his draft year of 2011, he pitched in 12 games split between GCL and Gville. 

Yes he has not progress as fast as hoped for a kid who was drafted where he was (2nd round - 2011), but to put it in prospective; had he gone to college instead of signing, he would just now been eligible to be drafted this June.  How many college signings do you see making their debut at Low A?  Even Appel made an appearance at Tri Cities before moving up to Quad Cities. 

So he is behind where we had hoped but is ahead of where he would have been if he had gone to college. 

[drew corleone]

Appreciate the insight. I remember being excited at the pick in 2011. Hope he has a strong year.

[Nate Colbert]

Per tweet from Steve Batterson

Pitchers (14)  Tyler Brunnemann, Patrick Christensen, Chris Cotton, Kent Emanuel, Michael Feliz, Evan Grills, Jandel Gustave, Adrian Houser, Chris Lee, Albert Minnis, Zach Morton, Gonzalo Sanudo, Andrew Thurman, Andrew Walter.
Catchers (3) Brett Booth, Brian Holberton, Jobduan Morales
Infielders (6) Austin Elkins, Conrad Gregor, Jack Mayfield, Chase McDonald, Chan Moon, Tyler White
Outfielders (4) Jon Kemmer, Tanner Mathis, Brett Phillips, James Ramsay


This is of course a preliminary roster and will be finalized over the next 2 days. A couple of more cuts will be necessary.

Not seeing anything on the transactions page, but Minnis and Booth are not on the active roster for tonight's game.

Also, Gonzalo Sanudo will be in the 8-man starting rotation for the River Bandits and Andrew Walter will be the closer.

[geezerdonk]

Dickie Thon's son is playing in the Mid West League.

[Reuben]

Astroscounty pointed out that Gonzalo Sanudo has a 40-inning scoreless streak in regular-season games dating back to last season. So far for QC, he's pitched 13 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 10 K as he converts from relief to starting.

[Jacksonian]

Chris Lee sent to Extended Spring Training as well.  Chris Cotton called up to take his place.

[Reuben]

Chris Lee sent to Extended Spring Training as well.  Chris Cotton called up to take his place.

What's the story there? Lee's 1.59 WHIP didn't look so great, but a 2.65 ERA and 0 HR allowed in 17 IP isn't bad and his outing 2 days ago may have been his best yet.

[Nate Colbert]

Astroscounty pointed out that Gonzalo Sanudo has a 40-inning scoreless streak in regular-season games dating back to last season. So far for QC, he's pitched 13 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 10 K as he converts from relief to starting.

Snapped today in his first inning of work but still with a very good outing overall (5 3 1 1 0 4).

[Nate Colbert]

In addition to Emanuel moving up to Lancaster, Steve Batterson tweeted that P Edison Frias and OF Ronnie Mitchell have been activated out of EST. Heading to EST is OF Jon Kemmer. Must be something else going on with Kemmer as his performance didn't warrant such a move--had homered in each of his last 2 games and is batting .297/.366/.622 over the last 10 (.267/.343/.500 on the season).

[Navin R Johnson]

Pretty cool pic from the stadium last night courtesy of
RGuill ‏@QCBanditPhotog

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BmhHApJCYAAIVxT.jpg:large

[NeilT]

That's really nice.

[Reuben]

purty.

And again, for those who haven't seen the movie Sugar, the QC ballpark is featured in it, lots of great visuals plus a great story.

[Nate Colbert]

That EST revolving door continues getting plenty of use lately:

P Andrew Thurman, IF Alex Gonzalez to extended; P Kevin Comer to QC from extended, IF Jack Mayfield off DL

(Steve Batterson tweet)

[VirtualBob]

That EST revolving door continues getting plenty of use lately:

(Steve Batterson tweet)

Hope Jack gets back on track. He strikes me as an over-achiever with a good work ethic who could exceed expectations.

[VirtualBob]

River Bandits on wrong end of no-hitter tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Brian Holberton hits for the cycle and goes 5-5 as QC blasts out 10 runs on 17 hits in today's game after all the goose eggs yesterday.

[juliogotay]

I just saw that Brett Phillips middle name is Maverick. He's moving up my list of guys I keep an eye on.

[Nate Colbert]

River Bandits run wild on Beloit Snappers tonight. 8 steals and zero CS with Chan Moon leading the way with four. Moon also went 3-5 on the night and has now stolen 23 of 26 on the year.

[Nate Colbert]

Steve Batterson profile of work-in-progress catcher Brian Holberton.

[Nate in IA]

Steve Batterson profile of work-in-progress catcher Brian Holberton.

Thanks for that.   Sounds like a kid with his head on straight.  I hope things work out well for him.

[Nate Colbert]

Ronnie Mitchell has homered in three straight games, all coming in the 7th inning. He has five dingers in the last nine games.

River Bandits tweet

[qcbaseball]

I finally made it to a whole game tonight. Wow, did Michael Feliz pitch great. He threw 5 innings, 0 Hits, 8 K's, 1 BB. Most of his K's were looking, too. He was hitting the mid-90s frequently with his fastball. Pretty dang impressive. Jandel Gustave came in and got into trouble a few times but was able to get out of it.

Not a ton of offense in this game. Mitchell had the HR, which was a pretty good at bat. He had a foul homer earlier in the at bat, too.

Lindauer is the local favorite as he is from the Quad Cities (Moline, IL - across the river from Davenport). So a lot of people have been excited to see him play. He's done pretty well, too. He had 1 hit tonight and hit it hard a couple other times, but for flyouts. I don't know how much of a prospect he is, but I hope he does well.

[qcbaseball]

They installed a Ferris Wheel in left field here over the offseason. I guess they didn't think we had enough to look at with the river, the bridge and the downtown.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bo2h6E0IQAEO7gU.jpg:large

[Lefty]

They installed a Ferris Wheel in left field here over the offseason. I guess they didn't think we had enough to look at with the river, the bridge and the downtown.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bo2h6E0IQAEO7gU.jpg:large

It's just like London, but smaller. Or the Jersey Shore.

[qcbaseball]

Here is a shot during daylight:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bo2mxFhCEAAmwY1.jpg:large

I actually like the way it boxes in left field. It makes the ballpark feel bigger than it is, maybe gives it a little more sense of place. I was worried it was going to be a gaudy monstrosity, but it turned out pretty good.

[roadrunner]

I'd love to get to a game there, but can't ever imagine going through Davenport, IA for any reason.

[Nate Colbert]

Some serious cheese last night:

Feliz avg 95 high 98 yesterday... then Gustave took over, avg 97 high 99..

(Jeff Luhnow tweet)

[Nate Colbert]

5/30 Game Note:

 

Through Thursday, Quad Cities leads all Midwest League teams in batting average by 12 points (.281 to South Bend’s .269), on-base percentage by 19 points (.360 to South Bend’s .341), doubles by 14 (115 to Great Lakes’ 101) and bases on balls by three (213 to Great Lakes’ 210).

[Nate Colbert]

Not bad for a 38th-rounder!

Ronnie Mitchell grand slam in the first for Quad-Cities, fourth straight game he's homered.

(Steve Batterson tweet)

And speaking of guys with little prospect cachet but who you love to root for nevertheless, 40th-rounder Tyler Brunnemann tossed 1 2/3 scoreless/hitless frames while whiffing 3. Gives him 29 strikeouts in 26 IP this year with a WHIP of just 0.81.

Box

[Nate Colbert]

After garnering Midwest League POTW honors for hitting 4 homers last week, Ronnie Mitchell continues his power onslaught by hitting #8 today. That makes 7 longballs in his last 12 games.

Fellow late round draftee Tyler White with 1 deep fly in the suspended game completed today and 2 pokes in the regularly scheduled game.

After 3 straight bad outings, Andrew Thurman recovers (4 4 1 1 0 6).

Box (regular-scheduled game)

[Duman]

Not bad for a 38th-rounder!
 



And speaking of guys with little prospect cachet but who you love to root for nevertheless, 40th-rounder Tyler Brunnemann tossed 1 2/3 scoreless/hitless frames while whiffing 3. Gives him 29 strikeouts in 26 IP this year with a WHIP of just 0.81.

Box

This guy intrigued me last year.  The astros felt like this he was a diamond in the rough.  He was a D3 college kid who threw in the mid low to mid 90's.  His delivery was horrific to look at to start the year last season.  It was a high effort, violent motion that often ended up with his glove touching the ground.  As the season went on, he improved his mechanics - bringing his chest to his glove more than letting that arm drop. 

He also was overweight last year.  According to Jayne at WhatTheHeckBobby, he lost 45 lbs in the off season.  I love pulling for late round draft pick guys.  He is one on my underdog list. 

[Nate Colbert]

Steve Batterson ‏@sbatt79  14m
#qctimes @QCRiverBandits OF Brett Phillips named starter for MWL All-Star Game, IF Chan Moon, P Tyler Brunnemann named to West squad

Batterson's followup article

[VirtualBob]

I expect big things from Tyler White too.

Tyler is finally heating up in June ... batting .412 with an OBP over .500 and a SLG over 1.000 ... 7 H (2 2B & 3 HR), 3 BB & 1 HBP in 21 June PA.

He now leads the regulars with a .301/.397/.472 line on the year and leads the team in RBI with 31.

I like to see a late-rounder do well.

[Duman]

I like to see a late-rounder do well.

+1

[qcbaseball]

I was at the double header on Sunday where the Bandits played the Chiefs. It was a weird couple of games. Not much offense at all. Both teams each only had 3 hits in game 1.

Lindauer had the key hit in game 1. A 2 RBI double with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th (they only play 7 innings in double header games). Lindauer though also was robbed of extra bases by a great catch in CF. Lindauer IMO hits too many fly balls. He won MWL Player of the Week his first week with the team when he hit a couple HRs and several doubles, but he has cooled off. He flew out a lot in these games Sunday. Maybe high school players did not catch as many of those fly balls to the OF gaps, but this ain't high school any more. He would be way better served to become more of a line drive contact hitter. Everyone here is pulling for him of course since he went to high school locally (across the river in Moline).

Another highlight was a perfect relay by Moon to nail a guy trying to stretch a double to a triple at 3rd. Perfect throw, and also a good throw by Brett Phillips to set it up. Moon is the best fundamental player on the team, and has a flair for the occasional spectacular play, too. He's a good contact hitter. Those kind of guys can do well in this league. Not sure how he will do as he moves up, though. Maybe a useful utility guy.

Kevin Comer pitched game #1 and was pretty wild. He only went 3 1/3, 2H, 3K's and 4BB's. Andrew Walter came in and was able to escape the jam.

Andrew Thurman started game #2 and pitched pretty well. He did not overpower anyone, but threw a lot of strikes and got out of jams. He ended up going 6IP, 4H, 2ER, 2K, 1BB.

[juliogotay]

Did you note Thurman's velocity or does the park not have that feature?

[Nate Colbert]

No home run derby at the MWL All-Star game on Tuesday. Instead, a bunting contest.

[NeilT]

No home run derby at the MWL All-Star game on Tuesday. Instead, a bunting contest.

I would totally watch major league bunting.

[Lefty]

I would totally watch major league bunting.

I'm not sure you could find a qualified candidate from every team.

[Nate Colbert]

Steve Batterson profile of former New Braunfels Canyon Cougar Tyler Brunnemann.

[Nate Colbert]

Steve Batterson kicks off the 2nd half of the season with a look back at where QC stood offensively in the first half (including some quotes from Brett Phillips, who went 1-3 in Tuesday's MWL All-Star game).

[Nate Colbert]

Marc Wik will be playing for his 4th minor league team this season (CC then Lancaster then Tri-City and now QC).

[NeilT]

I'm not sure you could find a qualified candidate from every team.

That's what would make it so fun.

[Nate Colbert]

Steve Batterson profile of fireballer Michael Feliz.

(Manager Omar) Lopez has been impressed with the consistency of the fastball Feliz has thrown this season and his ability to work low in the zone. Like Feliz, Lopez sees room for growth in the breaking pitches Feliz throws. “The coaches I talked to in the spring who worked with him at Tri-City last year talked a lot about his breaking ball that he dominated with there. He has been good here, but he has not been as consistent with it yet,’’ Lopez said.

[VirtualBob]

Good to see Tyler White get the call to Lancaster.  And as noted in the Tri-City thread, JD Davis is joining the River Bandits.

[juliogotay]

Good to see Tyler White get the call to Lancaster.  And as noted in the Tri-City thread, JD Davis is joining the River Bandits.

Kevin Goldstein of the Astros front office was sitting in for Luhnow today on the radio game broadcast pregame interview show. Luhnow is usually on Sundays. Goldstein was asked about the recent draft and he mentioned Davis and said he was a good 3B and they thought he would stick there.

[Reuben]

Kevin Goldstein of the Astros front office was sitting in for Luhnow today on the radio game broadcast pregame interview show. Luhnow is usually on Sundays. Goldstein was asked about the recent draft and he mentioned Davis and said he was a good 3B and they thought he would stick there.

I wonder why he didn't go higher in the draft? He looks like a pretty good player to me, and fairly polished.

[jbm]

Kevin Goldstein of the Astros front office was sitting in for Luhnow today on the radio game broadcast pregame interview show. Luhnow is usually on Sundays. Goldstein was asked about the recent draft and he mentioned Davis and said he was a good 3B and they thought he would stick there.

I'm sure there were good reasons, but I find it funny that Goldstein got stuck with last week's show. 

[astrosfan76]

I wonder why he didn't go higher in the draft? He looks like a pretty good player to me, and fairly polished.

MLB.com had him as the 75th-best prospect, so he went exactly where they thought he should be.  They give him a 55 hit, 60 power, 65 arm, 50 field (as 1B, though), and a 30 run.  His grades actually come out a shade better than Reed (#30 on their list), who had a 60 arm, with the other grades being the same.  Reed does have the advantage of being a lefty hitter, but I think more than anything, it shows how closely-grouped many of those prospects were and how deep that tier was.

[Navin R Johnson]

I'm sure there were good reasons, but I find it funny that Goldstein got stuck with last week's show. 

Luhnow is on vacation in Mexico, that is why KG was on the show.

[juliogotay]

Luhnow is on vacation in Mexico, that is why KG was on the show.

He was on vacation. Do you know for certain he still is? There have been several shows  this year when he wasn't on and I believe all of those while the team was travelling.

[Reuben]

Luhnow is on vacation in Mexico, that is why KG was on the show.

The Chron story taking him to task for not canceling his family vacation so that he could have Aiken's agent hang up in him while in his office in Houston was a bit overwrought. I can see his point, of course, but it's not as though this is the President hanging out at Camp David while some national crisis is happening.

[NeilT]

The Chron story taking him to task for not canceling his family vacation so that he could have Aiken's agent hang up in him while in his office in Houston was a bit overwrought. I can see his point, of course, but it's not as though this is the President hanging out at Camp David while some national crisis is happening.

THERE ARE NO PHONES IN MEXICO!  DIDN'T YOU KNOW THAT!  THERE ARE NO PHONES IN MEXICO!

[Ebby Calvin]

THERE ARE NO PHONES IN MEXICO!  DIDN'T YOU KNOW THAT!  THERE ARE NO PHONES IN MEXICO!

Exactly.  I've been on family vacations where work intervened, and I don't imagine he spent much time relaxing on the beach.

[Nate Colbert]

1B A.J. Reed and OF Ryan Bottger promoted from the V-Cats.

[Reuben]

1B A.J. Reed and OF Ryan Bottger promoted from the V-Cats.

Ah, shit. I only got to see Reed once at TC.

[austro]

Ah, shit. I only got to see Reed once at TC.

I have high hopes for Reed.

[juliogotay]

I have high hopes for Reed.

So does Luhnow, Elias and company. Luhnow spoke of him on today's preshow.

[Nate Colbert]

Reed homers in 1st game for River Bandits.

Box from today's matinee.

[juliogotay]

Reed homers in 1st game for River Bandits.

Box from today's matinee.

Looking at that box, JD Davis had 3 hits today and has a .370 BA since his promotion.

[Nate Colbert]

1B/DH (more the latter than the former with A.J. Reed in town) Chase McDonald wants to check out The Hangar in August.

Last 34 games: .306/.382/.570.

[Nate Colbert]

Dinger duo:

Brett Phillips homers for the 4th straight game while Chase McDonald picks up his 6th longball of July.

Box

[Reuben]

Dinger duo:

Brett Phillips homers for the 4th straight game while Chase McDonald picks up his 6th longball of July.

Box

Phillips is having quite a breakout season. He's at .320/.371/.660 for the month of July.

On a troubling note, looks like JD Davis left the game after a HBP in his first at-bat.

[Duman]

Ronnie Mitchell reported moving up to Lancaster

[juliogotay]

Phillips is having quite a breakout season. He's at .320/.371/.660 for the month of July.

On a troubling note, looks like JD Davis left the game after a HBP in his first at-bat.

Since I learned his middle name is Maverick I have been pulling for him more. It will be interesting to follow him.

[Reuben]

Ronnie Mitchell reported moving up to Lancaster

His very nice season looks more intriguing when you consider how he's killed RHP: .308/.381/.538 with 12 of his 13 HR. But, he's 23, so I'm assuming he's mainly viewed as an organizational player.

[Jacksonian]

His very nice season looks more intriguing when you consider how he's killed RHP: .308/.381/.538 with 12 of his 13 HR. But, he's 23, so I'm assuming he's mainly viewed as an organizational player.

A late round draft pick out of college.  He'll be viewed as an org player until he proves them otherwise.

[juliogotay]

Brett Maverick Phillips with another HR tonight. That's five consecutive games, 12 on the season. Reed hit his 2nd since promoted to QC.
Game tied in the 9th at 5.

[roadrunner]

Phillips hit another last night.  6 in his last 8 games.

[juliogotay]

Outstanding performance from Feliz last night in a 4-0 win over Burlington.  8/0/3/0/9

[Nate in IA]

Took in a game last night at Modern Woodman Park.  The River Bandits made a game of it in the ninth but fell just short.

Overall impressions were that the hitters need some discipline.    The opposing team's (Burlington Bees) pitchers had a very good habit of throwing first pitch strikes.   I don't know why, but all of the River Bandits hitters watched that first pitch come in.  Most of them then fouled off the next pitch to get in a hole 0-2.  It was pretty frustrating watching that all night.   They had a habit of swinging at pitches in the dirt all night too.   Now hat tip to the Bees' pitchers who took advantage of all this and pitched a pretty good game, but I thought the home team should have done a better job of getting balls in play.

Overall the team looked a little out of sorts I guess.   Both the catcher (Holbertson) and the 2nd baseman (Jose Fernandez) had pretty bad games.   Holbertson let a few pitches get by him, overthrew 2nd on a steal attempt and failed to secure the ball on a play at the plate where the ball beat the runner by several steps.   Fernandez for his part had a couple of mental errors including one where he had a tailor-made double play ball hit to him, and he bobbled it.  By the time he looked up, the runner was to second although the guy chugging down the first base line was still only 3/4 of the way down the line.  Inexplicably, Fernandez just held on to the ball and everyone was safe, loading the bases.   Wouldn't you know it, the next guy hit a grand slam.

All in all, a fairly frustrating game to watch.   Fundamentals seemed lacking but I suppose that's why they're all in low-A.

I will say that Bobby Boyd is fun to watch.  He seems like he has good instincts on the basepaths and a good mentality at the top of the order.

Brett Phillips did not play last night.   Blaine Sims (starting pitcher) is the epitome of soft-tossing lefty.   Slow and slower were the pitch speeds.   He seems to be roster filler at this point.

The story from MiLB

[roadrunner]

Phillips is in Lancaster

[Nate in IA]

Phillips is in Lancaster

Which explains why he didn't play.    Missed that transaction.

[Nate Colbert]

Michael Feliz (#4) and Brett Phillips (#8) both made BA's MWL Top 20 Prospect List.

[Nate Colbert]

The chat for the above MWL Top 20 Prospects list contains comments on Phillips (future RFer or CFer?) as well as A.J. Reed (not altogether flattering). Also very brief mentions of pitchers Lee, Houser, Gustave and Thurman.