Milwaukee Brewers release minor league rosters for 2018

The 2018 Minor League Baseball season gets underway Thursday. Yesterday the Milwaukee Brewers affiliates announced their rosters for the upcoming seasons. All of these teams have some must-watch prospects heading into the season.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Pitchers: Rodrigo Benoit, Alec Bettinger, Joaquin De La Cruz, Dylan File, Bowden Francis, Gabe Friese, Matthew Hardy, Nelson Hernandez, Carlos Herrera, Robbie Hitt, Jenri Monthas, Braulio Ortiz, Michael Petersen, Christian Taugner

Catchers: Brent Diaz, Payton Henry

Infielders: Gabriel Garcia, Gilbert Lara, Franly Mallen, Pat McInerney, Trever Morrison, Yerison Pena, Jorqe Quiterio, Nick Roscetti

Outfielders: Zach Clark, Jay Feliciano, Tristen Lutz (9), Demi Orimoloye, Joantgel Segovia

DH: KJ Harrison (21)

The most interesting part of this release to me was KJ Harrison being listed as a “DH” on the roster. I have confirmed that Harrison will work on catching during his first full-season pro ball stop.

Otherwise, the roster is as expected, not a lot of top prospects. Tristen Lutz should add a lot of excitement to the offense and defense. It will be interesting to watch fro growth from Gilbert Lara during another stop at Wisconsin.

Carolina Mudcats

Pitchers: Luke Barker, Daniel Brown, Victor Diaz, Marcos Diplan (12), Nattino Diplan, Conor Harber, Alec Kenilvort, Nathan Kirby, Jon Olczak, Cameron Roegner, Miguel Sanchez, Trey Supak (23), Braden Webb, Chase Williams

Catchers: Max McDowell, Robie Rojas

Infielders: Luis Aviles, Dallas Carroll, Ronnie Gideon, Keston Hiura (1), Tucker Neuhaus, Weston Wilson

Outfielders: Ryan Aguilar, Carlos Belonis, Clint Coulter, Robert Henry, Cooper Hummel

Carolina isn’t nearly as stacked with prospect as last year, but this should still be a great team. Of course, the most exciting player on the roster is Keston Hiura. Nathan Kirby hopes to have a healthy season, something that hasn’t happened since he was drafted. Marcos Diplan repeats with the rotation. He’ll hope to show great growth early on, joining his peers in Biloxi.

The strangest roster decision is Clint Coulter’s placement with the A-ball club. Last year, Coulter peaked with the Sky Sox (albeit, for a short period). Now he finds himself at A-Advanced, looking like he is on the outs with the organization.

Biloxi Shuckers

Pitchers: Tristan Archer, Zack Brown (25), Nate Griep, Adrian Houser (13), Thomas Jankins, Brad Kuntz, Kodi Medeiros (20), Luis Ortiz (5), Cody Ponce (14), Nick Ramirez, Wuilder Rodriguez, Quintin Torres-Costa, Josh Uhen, Angel Ventura

Catchers: Nick Franklin, Tyler Heineman, Dustin Houle, Leudi Otano

Infielders: Blake Allemand, Lucas Erceg (4), Jake Gatewood (19), Jake Hager, Wendell Rijo

Outfielders: Trent Grisham (8), Corey Ray (7), Troy Stokes Jr. (22)

Biloxi is STACKED with prospects. The roster comes with 10 of MLB Pipeline’s top 30 prospects. The outfield is stuck with three players, so expect some of the infielders, like Gatewood and Allemand, to get some work in left field.

Colorado Springs Sky Sox

Pitchers: Michael Brady, Aaron Brooks, Corbin Burnes (2), Erik Davis, Bubba Derby, Tim Dillard, Ernesto Frieri, Junior Guerra, J.J. Hoover, Radhames Liz, Jorge Lopez (24), Freddy Peralta (10), Tyler Webb, Aaron Wilkerson, Taylor Williams (18), Mike Zagurski

Catchers: Christian Bethancourt, Jacob Nottingham (27)

Infielders: Andres Blanco, Ji-Man Choi, Mauricio Dubon (11), Shane Opitz, Nate Orf

Outfielders: Quintin Berry, Keon Broxton, Johnny Davis, Brett Phillips (6), Tyrone Taylor, Kyle Wren

Biloxi might have the most top 30 prospects from MLB Pipeline, but the Sky Sox aren’t far behind with seven of their own. Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta are the headliners as they look to continue building an excellent success in 2017.

This team also show a stack of depth for the major league club. Brett Phillips and Keon Broxton are of course available should the wealth of players in the outfield in Milwaukee. Dubon, Orf and Choi are great replacements in the infield. Taylor Williams showed value in the pen last year and JJ Hoover had a great spring.

Top Prospects Not on MiLB Rosters: Brandon Woodruff (3), Mario Feliciano (15), Jean Carmona (16), Caden Lemons (17), Carlos Rodriguez (26), Je’Von Ward (28), Larry Ernesto (29), Brendan Murphy (30)

Most of these prospects will be on short-season teams like Helena, Arizona or the Dominican Summer League. Feliciano is with extended Spring Training. Woodruff, of course, is with the big league team.