Brewers Minor League Roundup Week #8

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 eight roundup.

AAA Nashville

The Sounds regressed a bit this week, splitting their six games with the Toledo Mud Hens to move to 32-15 on the season. Luckily for the Sounds, second-place Columbus went 1-5 on the week, extending the Sounds’ division lead to 4.5 games.

Outfielders Abraham Almonte and Jonathan Davis led the way offensively for the Sounds. Almonte slashed .286/.400/.810 with three homers and seven RBIs, while Davis slashed .381/.462/.667 with one homer and four RBIs. Third baseman Pablo Reyes also hit two homers while slashing .300/.391/.600. As a team, the Sounds slashed .253/.333/.407 with six homers and 30 runs scored.

On the mound, Caleb Boushley, Ethan Small and Jason Alexander all had strong starts. Boushley went seven innings, giving up no runs and striking out four; Small went six innings, giving up one run and striking out three; Alexander went seven innings, giving up two runs and striking out five. Small, who was called up Sunday afternoon to make his MLB debut against the Cubs on Monday, continues to dominate this year, with a 1.88 ERA over 38.1 innings with 49 strikeouts. Nashville finished with a 3.69 ERA over the six-game series, striking out 48 across 53.2 innings.

The Sounds continue their road trip this week, as they begin a six-game set against the Durham Bulls (25-23) tonight. The Sounds opened their season against Durham in April, going 4-2 in Nashville. Shortstop Willy Adames will also join the team beginning Monday as he finishes off his rehab assignment in his return from a sprained ankle. It’s unclear how long he’ll remain with the team — he only played one game with the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday before being moved up to Nashville.

AA Biloxi

The Shuckers went 4-0 against the Montgomery Biscuits (15-23) after the first two games of the series were postponed due to COVID-19 and inclement weather. Outscoring the Biscuits 35-26, the Shuckers moved to 22-21 on the year, putting them in a tie with the Mississippi Braves for first place in the Southern League South standings.

Catcher Brent Diaz collected five hits in just seven at-bats on the week for a slash line of .714/.800/1.571, including two homers, six RBIs and six runs. Outfielder Tristen Lutz also had a decent week, slashing .250/.333/.500 with one homer and six RBIs. As a team, Biloxi slashed .267/.374/.411 with four homers and seven stolen bases.

With the limited number of games, the only qualified pitcher on the week was Victor Castaneda, who went six innings and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks to go with seven strikeouts. In what was a high-scoring week across the league, Biloxi had the second-best ERA in the league at 4.85, striking out 53 across 39 innings.

The Shuckers now travel to Pensacola to take on the Blue Wahoos (20-20). After sitting in first place last week, the Wahoos went 1-5 against the Braves to fall 0.5 games back in the standings. In nine games against Pensacola, the Shuckers are 6-3 so far this season, including a 3-3 split at the end of April.

High-A Wisconsin

The Timber Rattlers split their six-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (29-16) to stay one game back in the Midwest League West standings at 28-17. Despite the split, all but one game on the week was decided by four or more runs.

Outfielder Carlos Rodriguez led the way for the second straight week, slashing .435/.435/.913 with two homers and four RBIs in 23 at-bats. Outfielder Tristan Peters and second baseman Tyler Black also had solid weeks, slashing .273/.385/.682 and .273/.407/.545, respectively. Wisconsin slashed just .185/.284/.374 on the week, but they did collect eight homers and scored 23 runs.

Justin Jarvis had the best start on the mound, going 6.2 innings and giving up no runs with nine strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, Kent Hasler and Cam Robinson combined for 6.1 innings and no runs allowed over four appearances, totaling 10 strikeouts. The Rattlers had a rough week overall, however, with a 5.65 ERA over 51 innings with 59 strikeouts.

Wisconsin now welcomes the Peoria Chiefs (18-27) to Appleton for six games. The Chiefs, who sit 11 games back in the standings, are 6-3 against the Rattlers this season, including 5-1 when they played each other at the end of April.

A Carolina

The Mudcats had another solid week, going 5-1 against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (18-27) to move into first place in the Carolina League North standings, 1.5 games ahead of second-place Lynchburg (24-20).

Outfield prospect Hedbert Perez finally found some consistency this week, slashing .474/.500/.947 with one homer, four doubles, one triple and five RBIs in 19 at-bats. Outfielder Arbert Cipion (.600/.647/.800), catcher Jose Sibrian (.364/.462/.636), catcher Jesus Chirinos (.316/.417/.526) and outfielder Jackson Chourio (.407/.429/.481) also had solid weeks, while Willy Adames went 1-for-2 with a homer and two RBIs in his lone rehab appearance on Sunday. As a team, the Mudcats slashed .322/.397/.468 with four homers, 48 runs scored, and a perfect 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts.

Pitcher Alexander Cornielle went five innings and gave up no runs with strikeouts while Edwin Jimenez went five innings and gave up two runs (one earned) with two strikeouts in their starts on the week. As a team, Carolina had a 3.12 ERA, striking out 65 over 52 innings.

Carolina now travels to Lynchburg to take on the second-place Hillcats in a series that could decide the final standings. In their only series this season, the Mudcats went 2-4 against the Hillcats, giving up 42 runs in their four losses.

Performances by Top 10 Brewers Prospects (Weekly Performance; Season Totals)

1. OF Sal Frelick (AA): .250/.318/.300 (20 at-bats), 0 HR, 2 RBI; .280/.356/.399 (143 at-bats), 2 HR, 12 RBI
2. OF Joey Wiemer (AA): .176/.300/.412 (17 at-bats), 1 HR, 4 RBI; .291/.365/.587 (172 at-bats), 12 HR, 34 RBI
3. OF Garrett Mitchell (AA): On 7-day injured list (5/14); .224/.331/.346 (107 at-bats), 2 HR, 11 RBI
4. SS Brice Turang (AAA): .286/.300/.286 (28 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .280/.332/.385 (182 at-bats), 3 HR, 26 RBI
5. C Jeferson Quero (A): .250/.400/.333 (12 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .235/.303/.338 (136 at-bats), 1 HR, 17 RBI
6. 2B Tyler Black (High-A): .273/.407/.545 (22 at-bats), 2 HR, 2 RBI; .295/.412/.464 (112 at-bats), 4 HR, 23 RBI
7. P Ethan Small (AAA): 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO (1.50 ERA); 38.1 IP, 22 H, 8 ER, 21 BB, 49 SO (1.88 ERA) - Called up to make MLB debut vs Cubs on Monday, May 30
8. OF Hedbert Perez (A): .474/.500/.947 (19 at-bats), 1 HR, 5 RBI; .215/.271/.375 (144 at-bats), 4 HR, 20 RBI
9. OF Jackson Chourio (A): .407/.429/.481 (27 at-bats), 0 HR, 7 RBI; .352/.406/.505 (91 at-bats), 1 HR, 17 RBI
10. SS Freddy Zamora (AA): On 7-day injured list (5/13); .209/.270/.286 (91 at-bats), 1 HR, 5 RBI