Tonight's Lineup - July 20 vs. Clinton

Ender Inciarte - CF

Niko Gallego - 3B

Zach Walters - SS

Yazy Arbelo - 1B

Raywilly Gomez - C

Matt Helm - DH

Roberto Rodriguez - LF

Roberto Ortiz - RF

Gerson Montilla - 2B

Mike Bolsinger - SP

The pregame interview is with Matt Helm. Pregame show begins at 6:40 PM. First pitch at 7:00 PM.

All-Star Thoughts

I'm sure by now you've heard the announcement or seen it on www.silverhawks.com that the Silver Hawks will be sending six players to the Midwest League All-Star Game. 

The players that made the team are listed below with a few of my comments:

Yazy Arbelo - Not a surprise that Arbelo got the starting nod at first base.  He leads the league in homers, RBIs, extra base hits, slugging percentage, and total bases.  He has been an absolute beast at the plate and deserves the starting honors.

Matt Helm - Some might be a bit surprised by this, but he has just been the model of consistency at the plate.  The average has hovered in the .270 - .300 range all season long, and he has been a RBI machine, particularly with two outs 

Ender Inciarte - Again, perhaps a slight surprise given that he didn't start the year with South Bend, but with an average over .300, solid defense, and good speed, Inciarte was a logical candidate for a reserve outfielder.

Zach Walters - Speaking of consistent players, how about Walters?  Just plugging away with a .300+ average, six homers, and 36 RBIs to rank first or second on the team in most offensive categories.  Not only that, he can play second, third, short, and DH, shining at all positions.

David Holmberg - You might not have guessed it when Holmberg was 0-3, but he is certainly deserving of an all-star nomination now that he is 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA.  A bulldog on the mound, Holmberg gives the Silver Hawks a strong chance of winning every time to the hill.

Tyler Green - Another player who has had a great start to the season, despite missing some time on the DL.  Even more impressive is when you factor in that this is his first season in professional baseball.

And a few notes on some guys that could have made it, but didn't for various reasons:

Mike Freeman - Started his hot streak way too late to make the All-Star team, but if they were voting again now, he'd had a good chance of being elected.

Raywilly Gomez - Catchers don't get a lot of publicity, especially those without a lot of power.  However, Gomez has a great approach at the plate and routinely puts the bat on the ball.

Patrick Schuster - Same numbers of wins and the same ERA as David Holmberg, yet Schuster gets left behind.  Arguably one of the bigger snubs on the team.

Dan Taylor - If he didn't have the one start where he allowed four earned runs in 4.0 innings, Taylor would be 2-1 with a 0.71 ERA while holding opponents to a .106 batting average.  Translation:  ALL STAR.

Blake Cooper/Jeremy Erben/Mike Bolsinger/Eury De La Rosa - Four members of the bullpen from the start of the season with phenomenal numbers, but unfortunately just not enough room on the team to include them.

Tonight's Lineup - May 17th vs. Lansing

Ender Inciarte - CF
Mike Freeman - 2B
Zach Walters - 3B
Yazy Arbelo - 1B
Matt Helm - DH
Raywilly Gomez - C
Bobby Stone - LF
Roberto Rodriguez - RF
Raul Navarro - SS

David Holmberg - P

Tonight's pregame interview is with Matt Helm, who has been on a tear lately with five double in the last three days.  Pregame show begins at 6:10 PM with the first pitch at 6:30 PM Eastern Time.

Unofficial Report on Matt Helm

Matt Helm left yesterday's game in the first inning with a knee injury.  He was on crutches today as he entered the stadium and certainly is not in the lineup tonight. 

I have not heard any rumblings of a roster move, so I'm guessing he'll be out a few days and hopefully just has a bruise and nothing more serious.

Owen's Spring Training Report - Thursday Morning

Hello from the press box at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I am here with 3 other staff members from the Silver Hawks for a couple of days to check out the new Diamondbacks complex and report on what I seet.

This morning, we were fortunate enough to get a tour of the new facilities (photos below) from Susan Webner, who is Arizona's Minor League Administration Manager.  She basically handles all the details of player movement (travel, etc.) and keeps the affiliates and the various managers up to date on who is going where.

After that, we watched a couple of scrimmage games between the various Minor League teams.  It seemed as if Reno was playing Mobile and Visalia was playing South Bend (and rookie clubs). 

A few notes on former Silver Hawks:

-Ramon Castillo is catching now since there is a logjam at first base in the system.  He also has a full head of flowing hair.

-Bradin Hagens is being moved to a starting role, and we could possibly see him back in South Bend this season if he doesn't make Visalia.

-I had a chance to talk briefly with Charles Brewer, who is slated for double-A Mobile (along with Wade Miley, who I saw pitch an inning).  I also said hello to Tyler Skaggs, who is impressing a lot of people this spring.

-Matt Helm took a minute to make fun of how pasty white my legs are (I've been in South Bend for 2 years and I have red hair -- what does he expect?), but he also mentioned that he's likely going to be back with the Silver Hawks to play third base (his natural position).

-I also saw Rossmel Perez walking around with a big cast/wrap on his hand.  It appeared to be a thumb injury as best I can tell.

I'll have a lot more later, but for now, enjoy some photos of the facilities.

Ortega Promoted; Helm Reassigned to Missoula

In conjunction with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the South Bend Silver Hawks have announced that closer Yonata Ortega has been promoted to high-A Visalia. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Matt Helm has been reassigned to rookie level Missoula of the Pioneer League. More information can be read in the official press release.

Ortega is leading the Midwest League in saves and hasn't blown one since June 6. In Missoula, Helm will have the opportunity to play his natural infield position.

The South Bend roster currently stands at 23 active players plus two on the disabled list. The Midwest League allows for 25 active players.

From the Notes - July 23rd

HALEY’S CHASE FOR MILESTONE VICTORIES

• Mark Haley entered 2010 with 456 career victories (442 regular season, 14 postseason wins) and 375 wins for the Silver Hawks

• Mark recorded his 400th victory for South Bend on June 3rd vs. Peoria (10-4 W) and needs four wins to reach 500 in his career.

TEAM NOTES:

• With 44 games remaining in the second half, the Silver Hawks are currently three games out of a playoff spot.

• South Bend plays Western Division opponents for 12 straight games (2-6 so far with four games remaining in the stretch).

• South Bend starting pitchers are 21-42 this season, including just 7-22 since June 1st.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Matt Helm’s four RBI game last night was his third of the season. Only Matt Davidson has more with four.

• Matt Davidson is tied for the MWL lead with 62 RBIs (tied with Casey Haerther of Cedar Rapids).

• Yonata Ortega ranks tied for first in the Midwest League with 20 saves.

• Keon Broxton leads all of baseball with 15 triples this year. He is four shy of the MWL record of 19 triples in a season.

From the Notes - June 10th

Some tidbits from today's media notes:

-A win tonight would put the Silver Hawks at the .500 mark for the first time since May 10th (when they were 16-16).

-The Silver Hawks have clinched a fourth straight series win (2-1 vs. LAN, PEO, BUR, currently 2-0 @ QC).

-Alberto Diaz now has a six game hitting streak, a personal high for 2010 (career long is 12 games in May-June of 2009).

-Matt Helm had four RBIs yesterday for the second time in the last four games.

-Errol Hollinger has hit in all six of his games since returning from the disabled list (.474, 9-19, 6 RBIs, 4 BBs).

-Reliever Diogenes Rosario has allowed just one unearned run in his last 18.0 innings pitched.

Tonight's Lineup - May 22nd

Oops...almost forgot to post this today.

Keon Broxton - CF
Chris Owings - SS
Bobby Borchering - 3B
Matt Davidson - DH
David Nick - 2B
Matt Helm - 1B
Andrew Fie - LF
Tyson Van Winkle - C
Alberto Diaz - RF

Charles Brewer - SP

Pregame interview is going to be with last night's hero, Matt Helm. Pregame show starts at 6:10 PM. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.

Great Win Last Night

I don't want to get too wrapped up in one victory, because, well...it's just one victory. But considering all the factors, last night's win was definiately a big win for the Silver Hawks.

Consider...

-South Bend had lost 3 in a row and 9 of their last 10.

-South Bend trailed from the 1st inning to the 8th inning.

-South Bend's starter Mike Belfiore pitched a great game, but departed in line for another loss because of a lack of run support.

-The Hawks were held without a hit from the 2nd inning until the 8th inning.

-Matt Helm was hitting below .200 before going 3-for-4 last night.

-Lake County had not lost a game when leading that late all season long.

-The Silver Hawks bullpen pitched 4.0 scoreless innings.

-The game was on the road.

-The game was against the first place Captains.

Add all those together, and to me, that equals a great win.

Roster Move

Greeting from Lansing. We get you started today with a roster move.

INF Matt Helm joins the Silver Hawks from extended spring training.

INF Victor Estevez promoted to high-A Visalia.

C Ryan Babineau played on the 7-day DL retroactive to April 30th with a left hip strain.

Full story can be found at http://www.silverhawks.com/.

My brief analysis: Helm is a 7th rounder, so you like adding him to a roster full of prospects already. Estevez gets called up to fill the void left by the Navarro trade (Estevez is older, and probably a better fit in high-A right now). Babineau's injury has me concerned. He went back to Arizona for further evaluation.

Q and A with Nick Piecoro (Part Two)

Here's the second part of my interview with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. This section focuses on the Diamondbacks minor league system and how much buzz it creates in the desert.

5) The Diamondbacks have traded away a lot of prospects over the last few years, greatly weakening the farm system. Is that a trend that is likely to continue, or will we see Arizona make a renewed effort to develop their own talent?

Nick Piecoro: The biggest knock on the organization in the Josh Byrnes era, for me, has been their poor drafts. In 2006, they got Max Scherzer and Brett Anderson but little else, although those two alone make it a pretty decent draft. The 2007 draft outside of Jarrod Parker was pretty bad and their 2008 returns aren’t impressive, although it’s too soon to really render a strong opinion on that one.

They put a ton of resources into the 2009 draft, in which they had a slew of extra picks, and the early returns are very strong. Key word there is early. We won’t know for a while how that draft pans out, but they have a lot riding on those players and are going to need several of them to turn into prospects if they have any hope of revitalizing the system.

6) Do prospects in South Bend (and other minor league stops) get a lot of hype in Arizona? How much excitement does a name like Jarrod Parker or A.J. Pollock generate in the desert?

NP: Not a lot. There are some diehards who follow the minor leagues pretty closely, but I don’t get the sense that it’s huge news. My theory is, if something is important to Josh Byrnes and the rest of the front office, it should be important in my coverage. As such, I cover the minor leagues fairly heavily during the season. Certainly more fans know who Parker is because he has been talked about quite a bit, but I’d guess that most fans in Arizona have no idea who A.J. Pollock is.

7) As a follow up: What, if anything, have you heard about some '09 Silver Hawks stars? (A few to consider: Pollock, Krauss, Navarro, Marte, Wheeler, Hose, Miley, Cook)

Like I said, I follow it pretty closely and I know there is a lot more hope for that crop of players – and for the guys who are going to be in South Bend in 2010 – than there probably has been for the last couple of years. Wheeler had a tremendous debut and looks like a great pick, and Cook looks like a pretty good late-round pick from 2008. Krauss had a pretty nice debut cut short by an ankle injury, but he’s supposed to be ready to go for spring training. Pollock didn’t hit much, but I haven’t heard any concerns about his future.

8) Any names that I missed that are generating a lot of buzz? Are there players from Missoula or Yakima that we should be watching out for here in South Bend next season?

Because the Diamondbacks had eight of the top 95 picks in the country last year, there are a lot of names to watch for next season and it will be interesting to see how the club deploys them. For example, both Bobby Borchering (No. 16 overall) and Matt Davidson (No. 35) were third basemen as amateurs and played the position in their pro debuts in Missoula and Yakima, respectively. Will the Diamondbacks move Davidson to first permanently or have them split time at those positions in South Bend? And what will become of Matt Helm, a seventh-round pick who signed for $500,000 and also has been called a third baseman?

Aside from those three, outfielder Keon Broxton, second baseman David Nick, shortstop Chris Owings and right-hander Scottie Allen all look like candidates for South Bend and all should be fun to follow.

Again, I'd like to thank Nick Piecoro for taking the time to answer these questions. People who follow the major league clubs daily from an outside perspective often have the most honest and unbiased opinions. I encourage you to check out Nick's blog at http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/Page0.