Brewers Minor League Roundup Week #2

Each week, I’ll be bringing you a roundup of the Brewers minor league affiliates, including score updates, key players and more. Here is the week two roundup.

AAA Nashville

The Sounds went 5-2 in a solid week for the team, winning four of six against the Gwinnett Stripers after beating the Durham Bulls in the final game of their opening series. With an 8–4 record on the season, the Sounds sit in third place in the International League West, just a half game behind St. Paul and one game behind Columbus.

Tyler White has been solid over the last week, slashing .333/.529/.917 with two home runs. David Dahl slashed .412/.444/.824 with two homers and a team-high seven RBIs over the team’s last seven games. The team as a whole has been impressive on the pitching side as well. Starters Ethan Small (one hit, three walks, no runs and seven strikeouts over six innings), Josh Lindblom (five hits, two walks, one run and four strikeouts over 5.1 innings) and Caleb Boushley (nine hits, two walks, three runs and 10 strikeouts over 9.2 innings in two starts) all had solid performances over the course of the week.

The Sounds will take on the Charlotte Knights (6-6) for six games this week. Don’t be surprised if some of the key hitters are promoted in the next week or so, as the Brewers need all the help they can get offensively at this point with a -13 run differential through 10 games. Small and veteran Lindblom could also get the call soon enough if the Brewers need help out of the bullpen in the coming weeks.

AA Biloxi

The Shuckers stayed hot with a 6-1 week, including wins in five of six games against the Mississippi Braves. The Shuckers outscored the Braves 29 to 18 over the week behind a solid team effort. With an 8-1 record on the season, the Shuckers sit 3.5 games ahead of second-place Montgomery in the Southern League South.

Second baseman Felix Valerio has stayed hot, batting .333/.440/.571 with one home run and two RBIs on the week. Outfielder Joey Wiemer didn’t bat quite as well, but still contributed with a .227/.292/.409 slash line to go with one home run and a team-high five RBIs on the week. Over the course of the six-game set with the Braves, the Shuckers’ starters combined for 27.2 innings with 24 hits, 10 walks, eight earned runs (2.65 ERA) and 20 strikeouts.

The Shuckers will look to stay hot this week with six games against the Birmingham Barons, who sit in last place in the Southern League North standings at 2-7.

High-A Wisconsin

The Timber Rattlers went 5-3 on the week, moving to 6-3 on the season and just a game behind Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League West standings. After winning two out of three against Peoria to open the season, the Rattlers won four straight against the Beloit Sky Carp before losing the last two games over the weekend.

Catcher Darrien Miller was a standout for the Rattlers over the week, slashing .353/.421/.824 with two homers and four RBIs on the week. On the mound, TJ Shook continued his outstanding season, moving his season total to 10 innings while allowing just three hits, three walks and one unearned run. He’s also compiled 16 strikeouts for the team and opponents are batting just .091 against him this season. The team as a whole has pitched well so far this season, with a league-leading 2.61 ERA, 85 strikeouts and 1.06 WHIP across 72.1 innings.

The Rattlers will host the Quad Cities River Bandits for six games this week. The Bandits are 4-5 on the season and have allowed a division-worst 45 runs this season.

A Carolina

The Carolina Mudcats went 3-4 on the week to move to 5-4 for the season, sitting in third place in the Carolina League North division, two games behind first-place Salem. After sweeping the Down East Wood Ducks over three games to open the season, the team went just 2-4 against the Fredericksburg Nationals. While the team did manage to put up 29 runs over the six game series, the pitching staff allowed an astronomical 43 runs, creating a clear area for improvement as the season moves on.

Outfielder Micah Bello (.471/.526/.706 with one homer and five RBIs) and shortstop Eduardo Garcia (.391/.417/.609 with one homer and four RBIs) led the team offensively this week. One name to keep an eye on is 19-year-old start outfielder Hedbert Perez, who has struggled to a .103/.188/.276 line with 11 strikeouts in 29 at bats. He did get his first home run of the season Sunday, so we’ll see if that wakes his bat up this week.

The Mudcats will host the Lynchburg Hillcats (3-6) for six games this week as they look to bounce back from a mediocre week.