Brewers Minor League Roundup Week #14

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 14 roundup.

AAA Nashville

The Sounds took five of six against the Columbus Clippers (47-37) to improve to 52-31 on the season, increasing their division lead to 5.5 games over the Clippers in the International League West standings.

Outfielder Abraham Almonte led the way for the Sounds this week, slashing .357/.400/.786 with two homers and nine RBIs. First baseman Jon Singleton also had a solid week, slashing .286/.423/.619 with two homers and two RBIs. As a team, the Sounds slashed .260/.342/.476 with 11 homers and 34 runs scored in their series win.

Tyler Herb had another strong start this week, going six innings and allowing one run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts. Caleb Boushley also looked strong across his two starts, totaling 11 innings and giving up two runs on 10 hits and five walks with seven strikeouts. As a team, Nashville looked strong on the mound, finishing with a 2.89 ERA and 63 strikeouts across 53 innings.

The Sounds now welcome the Memphis Redbirds to town for six games beginning Tuesday. Memphis (46-38) sits 6.5 games behind Nashville in the standings. In their lone matchup this season back in June, the teams split the six-game set.

AA Biloxi

The Shuckers had their second straight 2-4 week, losing four of six to the Montgomery Biscuits (8-4) to fall to 4-8 two weeks into the second half of the season. Biloxi is now 6-10 against the Biscuits this season.

Catcher Thomas Dillard led the way for the Shuckers this week, slashing .318/.385/.682 with two homers and six RBIs, while infielder Cam Devanney slashed .278/.350/.611 with two homers of his own. Catcher Jakson Reetz continued his stellar season, slashing .208/.296/.625 with a team-high three homers and six RBIs, earning himself a promotion to AAA Nashville. As a team, Biloxi slashed .251/.313/.393 with seven homers and 28 runs scored. In positive news, Brewers No. 4 prospect Garrett Mitchell was sent on a rehab assignment with the ACL Brewers Blue Rookie squad while Sal Frelick made his return after an injury in late June.

While the Shuckers only won two games on the week, they were anchored by strong starts from Nick Bennett and Brandon Knarr. Bennett went six innings and gave up no runs on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts, while Knarr went five innings and gave up no runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Despite the strong individual performances, the Shuckers pitched to a 4.53 team ERA with 59 strikeouts over 51.2 innings.

Biloxi now travels to Tennessee to take on the Smokies (5-7), who sit in third place in the Southern League North standings. In their lone series back in June, the Shuckers and Smokies split six games.

High-A Wisconsin

The Rattlers split six games with the South Bend Cubs (11-4) to stay in a tie for first place at 11-4 in the Midwest League West standings. They’re now each 6-6 against one another this season.

Outfielder Joe Gray Jr. had a strong week for the Rattlers, slashing .296/.345/.667 with three homers and six RBIs on a team-high eight hits. Outfielder Tristan Peters also played well, slashing .292/.321/.583 with one homer and seven RBIs while catcher Darrien Miller slashed .375/.538/.375 in limited playing time. As a team, the Rattlers slashed .223/.318/.356 with six homers and 36 runs scored.

Zach Mort had the strongest pitching performance of the week, going five innings in relief and allowing no runs on five hits and no walks with three strikeouts in a victory. Despite earning the loss, Israel Puello pitched well in his start this week, lasting seven innings and giving up one run on just three hits and a walk with four strikeouts. As a team, the Rattlers pitched to a 3.83 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 51 ⅔ innings.

The Rattlers now travel to take on the West Michigan Whitecaps for the first time this season. The Whitecaps are 11-4 on the season, sitting in first place in the Midwest League East standings.

A Carolina

The Mudcats struggled to a 1-5 week against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (11-4), falling to 6-9 in the second half and seven games back of Fredericksburg (13-2) in the Carolina League North standings.

Coming off a week where he was named as one of the Brewers’ two representatives in the MLB Futures Game and reranked as the top prospect in the Brewers farm system and No. 38 in all of baseball, outfielder Jackson Chourio slashed .333/.417/.810 with six RBIs and three of the team’s four homers on the week. Catcher Jose Sibrian was the only other player to have some offensive success, as he slashed .250/.357/.500 with the other home run and three RBIs. As a team, the Mudcats struggled to a .206/.268/.296 slash line with four homers and just 16 runs.

Alexander Cornielle earned the lone win on the week, as he lasted 11 innings over two starts and allowed just two runs on seven hits and five walks with 12 strikeouts. The Mudcats finished with a 5.88 team ERA on the week, but they did strike out 66 Kannapolis batters over 49 innings.

The Mudcats will try to bounce back against the Delmarva Shorebirds this week in their first matchup this season. Delmarva (5-10) sits one game behind Carolina in the standings.

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

1. (MLB No. 38) OF Jackson Chourio (A)*: .333/.417/.810 (21 at-bats), 3 HR, 6 RBI; .320/.371/.601 (228 at-bats), 12 HR, 44 RBI
2. (MLB No. 49) OF Sal Frelick (AA): .368/.409/.368 (19 at-bats), 0 HR, 3 RBI; .297/.370/.431 (239 at-bats), 4 HR, 25 RBI
3. (MLB No. 63) OF Joey Wiemer (AA): 143/.143/.179 (28 at-bats), 0 HR, 0 RBI; .247/.322/.459 (296 at-bats), 15 HR, 45 RBI
4. OF Garrett Mitchell (AA)^: On 7-day injured list (5/14); .216/.336/.336 (116 at-bats), 2 HR, 11 RBI
5. SS Brice Turang (AAA): .292/.346/.583 (24 at-bats), 1 HR, 4 RBI; .278/.338/.366 (317 at-bats), 4 HR, 37 RBI
6. C Jeferson Quero (A): .150/.150/.150 (20 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .257/.330/.390 (241 at-bats), 6 HR, 33 RBI
7. 2B Tyler Black (High-A): .111/.385/.111 (18 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .281/.406/.424 (231 at-bats), 4 HR, 35 RBI
8. P Ethan Small (AAA): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 8 SO (1.80 ERA); 67 ⅔ IP, 46 H, 30 R (24 ER), 36 BB, 77 SO (3.19 ERA)
9. OF Hedbert Perez (A): .222/.300/.278 (18 at-bats), 0 HR, 2 RBI; .212/.267/.385 (260 at-bats), 10 HR, 35 RBI
10. SS Freddy Zamora (AA): On 7-day injured list (5/13); .209/.270/.286 (91 at-bats), 1 HR, 5 RBI

*Note: Jackson Chourio leapt from No. 9 to No. 1 in the Brewers Prospect Rankings on MLB.com

^Note: Garrett Mitchell is rehabbing with the ACL Brewers Blue Rookie team; his season stats are updated to include his rehab assignment