Brewers Minor League Roundup Week #9

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 nine roundup.

AAA Nashville

Taking on the Durham Bulls (29-25) of the International League East, the Sounds dropped four of six on the road to fall to 34-19 on the year, shrinking their division lead to 1.5 games over Columbus (33-21).

Shortstop Willy Adames finished up his rehab assignment with Nashville, playing in two games and accumulating a .333/.500/.833 slash line with one home run. He did have a minor setback, injuring his quad, but he’s expected to return to the Brewers big league club as soon as Tuesday. Other key performers on the week included third baseman Andruw Monasterio (.500/.571/.667 in six ABs) and catcher Mario Feliciano (.364/.417/.545 in 11 ABs). As a team, the Sounds scored 27 runs on 46 hits with six homers.

On the mound, Caleb Boushley had a solid start, going seven innings and giving up two runs with two strikeouts. He improved his season ERA to 3.53 with six wins in 11 starts. As a team, the Sounds struggled on the mound, with a 7.92 ERA and 48 strikeouts across 50 innings.

Nashville will look to bounce back as they return home this week to take on the Norfolk Tides (26-28), who sit in the middle of the pack in the International League East standings, nine games out of first. In six games against the Tides this year, the Sounds are 4-2.

AA Biloxi

Biloxi struggled against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos this week, going 1-5, with all five losses coming by one run. Falling into a tie for second place with the Mississippi Braves 3.5 games behind Pensacola, the Shuckers completely fell apart Sunday afternoon, blowing a 6-1 lead, including a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the ninth as the Wahoos won on three consecutive run-scoring hit by pitches.

Given that all five losses were by one run, the Shuckers were only outscored by two runs over the course of the week. They were led offensively by catcher Jakson Reetz, who slashed .364/.517/.818 with two homers and four doubles on the week. Third baseman Yeison Coca slashed .304/.407/.609 with one homer and five RBIs, while outfielder Tristen Lutz stayed hot with a .292/.414/.583 line to go with two homers and seven RBIs. As a team, Biloxi slashed .243/.366/.481 for the second-best team OPS on the week (behind only Pensacola) with 11 homers and 37 runs scored.

In two relief appearances, Carlos Luna totaled 6.2 innings with three runs allowed (two earned) to go with six strikeouts. Victor Castaneda and Noah Zavolas each went five innings and allowed two earned runs in their starts, combining for 12 strikeouts. As a team, the Shuckers pitching staff finished with a league-worst 5.92 ERA for the week, totaling 49 strikeouts over 51.2 innings and going 0-for-5 in save opportunities.

The Shuckers now host the Tennessee Smokies (29-22) who sit one game out of first place in the Southern League North standings.

High-A Wisconsin

The Timber Rattlers had another split series this week, going 3-3 against the Peoria Chiefs (21-30), falling to two games back in the Midwest League West standings behind Cedar Rapids.

After getting called up as an emergency catcher for the Brewers following Omar Narvaez’s move to the COVID-19 IL, Alex Hall led the way with a 1.286 OPS in the two games he played for Wisconsin this week, going 3-for-7 with one homer and a team-high four RBIs. Third baseman Ashton McGee slashed .400/.455/.650 with one homer and eight hits across 20 at-bats. As a team, the Rattlers slashed .228/.273/.360 with six homers and just 19 runs scored.

On the mound, Brandon Knarr had another solid start, going six innings and giving up one run, striking out five despite getting credited with the loss. No other pitchers had outstanding performances, but the Rattlers did total a 3.83 ERA as a team, striking out 43 over 54 innings.

Wisconsin now travels to Beloit to take on the Sky Carp (22-29), who sit in fourth place in the Midwest League West standings. Despite their poor record, the Sky Carp have won five of six in each of their last two series, making them one of the hottest teams in the league entering their series against Wisconsin.

A Carolina

In a battle for first place in the Carolina League North standings, the Mudcats (28-23) went 2-4 against the Lynchburg Hillcats (28-22), boosting the Hillcats back into first, 0.5 games ahead of Carolina.

Outfielder Jackson Chourio remains one of the best hitters in the league, slashing .440/.462/.920 with three homers, 11 hits and eight RBIs in 25 at-bats en route to being named Carolina League Player of the Week. Outfielder Arbert Cipion also had a good week in limited playing time, slashing .556/.556/.556 with five hits in nine at-bats. As a team, the Mudcats slashed .265/.329/.407 with six homers and 21 runs on 54 hits.

In two appearances (one start), pitcher Carlos Rodriguez totaled eight innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk to go with 11 strikeouts. No other pitchers had outstanding performances, as the team totaled a 5.22 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 50 innings.

Carolina returns home to battle the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (36-15) who have dominated competition as they sit in first place in the Carolina League South standings.

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

1. OF Sal Frelick (AA): .167/.333/.333 (24 at-bats), 1 HR, 2 RBI; .263/.353/.389 (167 at-bats), 3 HR, 14 RBI
2. OF Joey Wiemer (AA): .000/.000/.000 (4 at-bats), 0 HR, 0 RBI; .284/.357/.574 (176 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): .190/.261/.238 (21 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .271/.324/.369 (203 at-bats), 3 HR, 27 RBI
5. C Jeferson Quero (A): .313/.313/.563 (16 at-bats), 1 HR, 2 RBI; .243/.304/.362 (152 at-bats), 2 HR, 19 RBI
6. 2B Tyler Black (High-A): .158/.238/.316 (19 at-bats), 0 HR, 0 RBI; .275/.389/.443 (131 at-bats), 4 HR, 23 RBI
7. P Ethan Small (AAA): No minor league appearances; 38.1 IP, 22 H, 8 ER, 21 BB, 49 SO (1.88 ERA); made MLB debut vs Cubs May 30, 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO (6.75 ERA)
8. OF Hedbert Perez (A): .167/.200/.333 (18 at-bats), 1 HR, 2 RBI; .210/.263/.370 (162 at-bats), 5 HR, 22 RBI
9. OF Jackson Chourio (A): .440/.462/.920 (25 at-bats), 3 HR, 8 RBIs; .371/.417/.595 (116 at-bats), 4 HR, 25 RBI (named Carolina League Player of the Week)
10. SS Freddy Zamora (AA): On 7-day injured list (5/13); .209/.270/.286 (91 at-bats), 1 HR, 5 RBI