Horns in the Pros

[Nope 3114]

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

that backwards K to the lefty hitter was disgusting. that's my favorite pitch in baseball: a front door 2-seam/sinker to a LHB from a RHP. getting backwards k's with that pitch is so satisfying.

[Mo Horn 8824]

 

[torre 1285]

Kody had a grand slam last night.

 

On Tuesday night, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge smashed a home run into deep left field against the Texas Rangers to break Roger Maris’ American League single-season home run record. It was undoubtedly the biggest home run, and the sports story of the evening – but don’t tell that to the Detroit Tigers.

During the top of the fifth inning, the Tigers found themselves trailing the Seattle Mariners by a score of 4-1. But Detriot third baseman Kody Clemens changed that with one swing of a bat. With the bases loaded and one out, Clemens sent a 1-2 pitch deep into right field to put the Tigers on top by a score of 5-4.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-world-reacts-as-detroit-tigers-hilariously-troll-aaron-judge/ar-AA12DNzU?ocid=winp2sv1plustaskbarhover&cvid=e153fbd9a7db4e848f2

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

Ain’t done yet, another minor league deal. 

Quote

The White Sox brought back 30-year-old outfielder Mark Payton. He appeared in just eight games in the big leagues this year, tallying three hits in 25 plate appearances. He had a strong season at Triple-A, hitting .293/.369/.539 with 25 home runs. He’s yet to translate that to the majors though, and has a lifetime .164/.261/.180 line in 40 games for the Reds and White Sox since his 2020 debut. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

CJ Hinojosa minors deal with Marlins, spring invite. 

[torre 1285]

Brandon will be 35 in April.    Perhaps the last ride.   A great Longhorn.

 

TORONTO -- First baseman Brandon Belt and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized a $9.3 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

Belt, 34, had spent his previous 12 big league seasons with the San Francisco Giants. He was limited to 78 games last year because of a right knee injury that required season-ending surgery. 

"As we continue to improve upon a strong Blue Jays roster, the elite offensive skills and veteran presence of Brandon is an addition that will greatly complement this team," general manager Ross Atkins said in a statement. "His consistency and experience on the game's biggest stages make him a great addition culturally and within our clubhouse."

Belt gives the Blue Jays a left-handed bat who likely will serve primarily as a designated hitter and a backup to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35421429/toronto-blue-jays-get-brandon-belt-1-year-93-million-deal

 

 

 

[LTtxfan 49142]

 

[Fletch 5800]

On 1/10/2023 at 7:36 PM, torre said:

Brandon will be 35 in April.    Perhaps the last ride.   A great Longhorn.

 

TORONTO -- First baseman Brandon Belt and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized a $9.3 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

Belt, 34, had spent his previous 12 big league seasons with the San Francisco Giants. He was limited to 78 games last year because of a right knee injury that required season-ending surgery. 

"As we continue to improve upon a strong Blue Jays roster, the elite offensive skills and veteran presence of Brandon is an addition that will greatly complement this team," general manager Ross Atkins said in a statement. "His consistency and experience on the game's biggest stages make him a great addition culturally and within our clubhouse."

Belt gives the Blue Jays a left-handed bat who likely will serve primarily as a designated hitter and a backup to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35421429/toronto-blue-jays-get-brandon-belt-1-year-93-million-deal

 

 

 

Damn, figured he would’ve ended his career in San Francisco 

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

Quote

The Cardinals and catcher Tres Barrera are in agreement on a minor league contract. The Ballengee Group client will receive an invitation to big league camp in Spring Training, where he’ll vie for a backup job to offseason signee Willson Contreras. The Cards announced the signing not long after Murray’s initial report.

Formerly a sixth-round pick by the Nationals, Barrera is a 28-year-old right-handed hitter who’s spent his entire career to date with the same organization. He’s appeared in parts of three big league seasons with Washington, batting a combined .231/.317/.315 in 162 trips to the plate. He spent the bulk of the 2022 season in Triple-A Rochester, where he batted .254/.338/.424 in 206 plate appearances.

Barrera sports a solid 25% caught-stealing rate in his minor league career, though he’s somewhat surprisingly thrown out just nine percent of attempted thieves in the big leagues. That’s come in a small sample, of course, and Baseball Prospectus has generally rated Barrera as solid or better in terms of both pitch framing and blocking balls in the dirt throughout his time in the minors and the big leagues.

The starting gig behind the plate is obviously spoken for in St. Louis after Contreras inked a five-year contract, and as things stand, Andrew Knizner is the presumptive backup. Barrera can team with top catching prospect Ivan Herrera to form a Triple-A catching duo and give the Cards some experienced depth in the upper minors. 

[tx 3 putt 76868]

On 1/10/2023 at 7:36 PM, torre said:

Brandon will be 35 in April.    Perhaps the last ride.   A great Longhorn.

 

TORONTO -- First baseman Brandon Belt and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized a $9.3 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

Belt, 34, had spent his previous 12 big league seasons with the San Francisco Giants. He was limited to 78 games last year because of a right knee injury that required season-ending surgery. 

"As we continue to improve upon a strong Blue Jays roster, the elite offensive skills and veteran presence of Brandon is an addition that will greatly complement this team," general manager Ross Atkins said in a statement. "His consistency and experience on the game's biggest stages make him a great addition culturally and within our clubhouse."

Belt gives the Blue Jays a left-handed bat who likely will serve primarily as a designated hitter and a backup to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35421429/toronto-blue-jays-get-brandon-belt-1-year-93-million-deal

 

 

 

 

good for him, the Blue Jays are going to make a run this year 

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

Quote

While Andrew Knizner was Molina’s backup in recent seasons, MLB.com’s John Denton tweets that manager Oli Marmol “made it clear” that the backup job behind Contreras is a competition. Specifically, non-roster invitee Tres Barrera has made strong impressions early in camp. 

----

As for the 28-year-old Barrera, he’s spent his entire career to date in the Nationals organization, receiving very limited looks in the Majors. He’s tallied just 51 games and 162 plate appearances, batting .231/.317/.315 with a pair of homers. In parts of six minor league seasons, Barrera has put together a .251/.332/.388 batting line, including a .228/.320/.356 slash in 402 Triple-A plate appearances.

Barrera has drawn average or better framing marks in his small MLB sample, but he’s had the opposite problem of Knizner, throwing out a woeful three of 34 attempted thieves on the basepaths (8.8%). However, he’s been far better in the minors over a much larger sample — 106-for-421, for a 25.2% rate — so there’s reason to expect him to improve on that currently unsightly number.

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

Quote

The Braves announced today that right-hander Bryce Elder has been recalled while left-hander Max Fried has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Fried’s move is backdated to April 1. 

----

It had been reported recently that Elder and Anderson were in contention to rejoin the rotation in Fried’s absence and Elder will get at least the first nod. Though he had a rough spring, he had an encouraging debut last year, posting a 3.17 ERA over 54 innings. His strikeout and walk rates were each a bit below average but he got ground balls at a healthy 49.3% clip. 

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1566]

Bryce had a day

6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 6Ks, 0 R on 79 pitches 

[torre 1285]

This is from KXAN.    Statesman and TexasSports rarely have info.  @YGIFS,  if you have any contacts at TexasSports,  please mention.

 

 

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Minor League Baseball squads gear up for another season, eight Texas Longhorns from last year’s College World Series team are set to take the field across the country.

The 2022 Longhorns MLB Draft class was the second-largest in the past 10 years — 2017’s class was 11 players — and most of them have landed spots on Single-A rosters for the upcoming season.

 

 

 

Ivan Melendez, the 2022 Golden Spikes Award winner and No. 10-ranked prospect for the Arizona Diamondbacks by MLB Pipeline, hasn’t been assigned to a team yet. According to MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra, Melendez is dealing with a sore left hand but, “should be back soon.” He didn’t break camp with a club this spring due to the injury but played for the Single-A Visalia Rawhide for part of last season right after he was drafted. He played 25 games, hitting .207 with three home runs and eight RBIs. He struck out 20 times and walked 10 times.

 

Once he’s ready to go, it’s likely that he heads to the Pacific Northwest to play for Arizona’s Advanced Single-A affiliate, the Hillsboro Hops. Melendez has been working out at third base as well as first base this spring.

 

Shortstop Trey Faltine is currently the only member of the draft class to be on an Advanced Single-A roster. He’s slotted to play for the Dayton Dragons in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Outfielder Douglas Hodo III and catcher Silas Ardoin are teammates for the Delmarva Shorebirds, the Single-A team for the Baltimore Orioles.

Lefthanded pitcher Pete Hansen gets to pitch for the Palm Beach Cardinals, the Single-A team for the St. Louis Cardinals, and infielder Murphy Stehly will suit up for the Fredericksburg Nationals in the Washington Nationals farm system.

Jared Southard and Skyler Messinger are playing in the California League to start the season, Southard, part of the Los Angeles Angels organization, will pitch for the Inland Empire 66ers, and Messinger is on the roster for the Fresno Grizzlies, part of the Colorado Rockies system.

https://www.kxan.com/sports/where-the-2022-texas-longhorns-mlb-draft-class-is-playing-to-start-the-2023-season/

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by torre

[Fletch 5800]

On 4/5/2023 at 2:43 PM, BurntOrangeBlooded15 said:

Bryce had a day

6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 6Ks, 0 R on 79 pitches 

Still pissed Covid fucked us out of a rotation of Elder-Madden-Hansen/Stevens. Thats the real tragedy of the pandemic 

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

Kody is now Philly's starting 1B against righties. 

https://www.inquirer.com/phillies/phillies-darick-hall-injured-list-thumb-kody-clemens-transactions-20230407.html

[torre 1285]

Ty Madden mowed down some RubberDucks in the first start of the season for the Erie Seawolves.

The former Texas Longhorns ace, who the Detroit Tigers drafted in the first round of the 2021 MLB First-Player Draft, looked the part against Akron on Saturday with 10 strikeouts in four innings. The Seawolves are the Double-A affiliate of the Tigers and went on to beat the RubberDucks 5-0.

 

The Tigers gave Madden a $2.5 million signing bonus after the club drafted him with the No. 32 overall pick, and protecting his arm while he develops is of utmost importance. Madden hit his innings limit before his pitch limit, so he left the game without allowing a hit and just one walk in 60 pitches.

 

Teams in Minor League Baseball are charged to value development before on-field success, and it’s common that pitchers have work limits, especially early in the season. Madden’s strikeout total tied his career-high with the Seawolves.

Madden was 8-6 with a 3.01 ERA and 133 strikeouts for Advanced Single-A West Michigan and Erie last season. After his promotion, Madden started seven games for the Seawolves last year and was 2-2 with a 3.10 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 12 walks.

https://www.kxan.com/sports/former-longhorns-ace-ty-madden-tremendous-in-1st-2023-start-for-double-a-erie/

 

 

 

 

 

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

6.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, BB, 7 K for Elder tonight. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

elder faces KC on the road this sunday.

[Mo Horn 8824]

Watching the Brewers and Padres and Hoby Milner just came in to pitch. Didn't even know he was up with them. 

[Fletch 5800]

13 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

Watching the Brewers and Padres and Hoby Milner just came in to pitch. Didn't even know he was up with them. 

Man how time flies. He was a badass in his time here. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Fletch

[BurntOrangeBlooded15 1566]

Bryce has been on a heater since being brought back up 

 

4 starts - 23.2 innings pitched

2-0 record

1.14 ERA

23 Ks to 7 BBs

 

Left the game tonight up 4-1 on the Astros and Atlanta’s pen blew his W.  

[shadow_operative 15932]

[shadow_operative 15932]

this time i waited until after the game to post:

bryce elder now with a 1.75 era on the season.

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Fletch 5800]

Remember when he was a freshman and he was like a semi project? Then in 2019 and the like two times we saw him in 2020 and he looked like Chance Ruffin? Fuck you covid

[petscii 1189]

three pitches, three strikes mother fucker

 

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

[Ten Bears 2480]

https://www.kxan.com/sports/ivan-melendez-crushes-first-high-a-home-run-475-feet-tuesday-for-hillsboro-hops/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR39ojAsLJoSbQ1wwcr72lAG5x7uF04ZAXvfilaPd2jnZ3zKY7AbguFH8Vo

 

Ivan the Great crushes a 475 ft bomb.  111 mph exit velocity.

[tx 3 putt 76868]

 

[tx 3 putt 76868]

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

 

[tx 3 putt 76868]

 

[shadow_operative2.0 15947]

Mets 

Quote

The team also optioned left-hander Zach Muckenhirn to Triple-A Syracuse and recalled right-hander John Curtiss and left-hander Josh Walker from Syracuse. Muckenhirn, 28, also appeared in Friday's loss in Pittsburgh, giving up three runs on six hits over 2⅓ innings. He has a 6.00 ERA through six appearances this season.

Curtiss, 30, missed the entire 2022 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He pitched in 11 games for the Mets in April and May, posting a 4.85 ERA in 13 innings. 

[tx 3 putt 76868]

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

hess till striking out too much but he's basically hitting a HR every three games. if he keeps hitting bombs at this pace he could be called up as early as this september, as unlikely as that would be. if he reduces his k rate and even stays close to his HR rate then he'll be taking AB's in The Bigs by september of next year for sure. 

[Mittens 8256]

 

[LTtxfan 49142]

Thx for the Hamilton update @Mittens

[Nope 3114]

Hamilton swiped 70 bags last year in Double-A! Wow

[Mittens 8256]

Got one tonight!  Came in as a pinch runner, stole a base, scored a run.  

Not sure why this one won't embed...

https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1671698972551913474

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Mittens

[LTtxfan 49142]

I got yah @Mittens

 

[WBT 20561]

The Red Sox mlb.com writeup says he's going to get the start at SS today

Quote

While it’s unclear how long Hamilton will be on the roster in his first Major League stint, he will make his first career start at shortstop for Thursday’s finale of this four-game series at Target Field.

 

[Mittens 8256]

Confirmed.

 

[Mo Horn 8824]

He picked up his first hit in his 3rd at bat. 

[WBT 20561]

Joe Ryan with the CGSO, Hamilton had 1 of only 3 hits for the Sox.

[HenryJames 66035]

 

[Mittens 8256]

 

[ztejas 43411]

Melendez is obliterating high A he should be in double soon. 

[HenryJames 66035]

 

[HenryJames 66035]