Brewers Minor League Roundup Week #22

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 22 roundup.

AAA Nashville

The Sounds went 5-1 against the Memphis Redbirds (64-64) to improve to 79-49 on the season, increasing their division lead to 4.5 games over Columbus (74-53).

First baseman Jon Singleton led the way on offense for Nashville, slashing .364/.481/.818 with three homers and 10 RBIs. The catching pair of Pedro Severino and Mario Feliciano also had strong weeks, as Severino slashed .444/.524/.722 with a homer and two RBIs and Feliciano slashed .316/.381/.789 with three homers and 10 RBIs. As a team, the Sounds slashed .291/.396/.457 with eight homers and 36 runs scored.

Tyler Herb had an especially strong start, going eight innings and allowing just one run on seven hits with three strikeouts. Several relievers went multiple scoreless innings across the week as well, including Matt Hardy (1 ⅓ IP), Hobie Harris (2 IP), Trevor Kelley (2 IP) and J.C. Mejia (3 IP). As a staff, the Sounds pitched to a 4.33 ERA with 43 strikeouts across 54 innings.

Nashville now travels to Charlotte to take on the Knights (50-79) with a chance to add to their division lead. The Sounds are 9-3 against the Knights this season, so they’ll look to stay hot in their final matchup of the year.

AA Biloxi

The Shuckers continue to struggle, losing five of six to the Rocket City Trash Pandas (34-23) and falling to 24-32 in the second half. Biloxi is now on the verge of being officially eliminated from playoff contention with just 12 games to go.

Infielder Cam Devanney had a solid week offensively for Biloxi, slashing .333/.429/.708 with two homers and four RBIs, leading to a promotion on Tuesday to AAA Nashville. First baseman Wes Clarke also did the most with his 14 at-bats, slashing .286/.375/.500 with a homer and two RBIs. The Shuckers slashed just .210/.299/.328 with six homers and 18 runs scored in their poor week.

To make matters worse, the pitching staff for Biloxi didn’t fare much better. The only strong start of the week went to Brandon Knarr, who earned the sole win in a seven-inning performance, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. The trio of relievers Luis Contreras, Arnaldo Hernandez and Zach Vennaro combined for 7 ⅔ innings over six appearances, giving up no runs and striking out 10. The Biloxi pitching staff finished with a 6.20 ERA and 58 strikeouts across 49 ⅓ innings.

Biloxi now welcomes the Mississippi Braves to town for their penultimate series of the season. In four series this year, Biloxi is 14-10 against Mississippi (28-27), who sits in second place in the division.

High-A Wisconsin

The Timber Rattlers went 4-2 against the Peoria Chiefs (25-35) to improve to 29-31 in the second half, but they’re officially eliminated from playoff contention with just one week remaining as the South Bend Cubs (37-23) are on the verge of clinching the division.

Catcher Jeferson Quero had a strong week, slashing .455/.478/.818 with 10 hits, including a homer and six RBIs. Shortstop Ethan Murray slashed .357/.438/.571 himself while top prospect Jackson Chourio keeps hitting bombs, as he hit three more homers this week. The Rattlers slashed .218/.312/.393 with eight homers and 27 runs scored.

Stiven Cruz had two more strong starts, combining for seven scoreless innings and striking out eight. Carlos Rodriguez and Brady Schanuel both had scoreless starts of their own, as Rodriguez went six perfect innings and struck out nine en route to earning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week honors and Schanuel went four innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out three. Wisconsin’s pitching staff combined for a 2.94 ERA, striking out 53 across 52 innings.

Wisconsin will close out the season at home against the Beloit Sky Carp (31-29). The Rattlers are 6-8 against Beloit this season.

A Carolina

The Mudcats went 3-3 against the Columbia Fireflies (33-26) to move to 33-27 in the second half, 5.5 games behind Fredericksburg (38-21) in the Carolina League North standings with just one week left.

Outfielder Eduarqui Fernandez led the way again for Carolina, slashing .417/.529/.667 with a homer and four RBIs. Outfielder Hedbert Perez also had a strong week, slashing .412/.444/.706 with five doubles and a team-high six RBIs. The Mudcats slashed .228/.332/.363 with five homers and 30 runs scored.

Cameron Wagoner had a strong debut start, going four scoreless innings and striking out three. Pablo Garabitos went five innings across two relief appearances, striking out three and giving up no runs on two walks and a hit. The Carolina pitching staff finished the week with a poor 7.20 ERA, striking out 48 over 55 innings.

The Mudcats now close their regular season out with a road matchup against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (28-32). In their lone series this season back in June, the Pelicans took four of six over Carolina.

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

1. (MLB No. 11) OF Jackson Chourio (High-A): .185/.241/.556 (27 at-bats), 3 HR, 7 RBI; .302/.356/.573 (361 at-bats), 20 HR, 69 RBI
2. (MLB No. 49) OF Sal Frelick (AAA): .333/.448/.417 (24 at-bats), 0 HR, 4 RBI; .328/.404/.464 (412 at-bats), 7 HR, 44 RBI
3. (MLB No. 89) OF Joey Wiemer (AAA): .167/.407/.167 (18 at-bats), 0 HR, 3 RBI; .247/.324/.455 (433 at-bats), 20 HR, 69 RBI
4. SS Brice Turang (AAA): .389/.500/.389 (18 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .292/.364/.417 (472 at-bats), 12 HR, 68 RBI
5. OF Garrett Mitchell (MLB): .000/.091/.000 (10 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .274/.365/.415 (270 at-bats), 6 HR, 39 RBI
6. 2B Tyler Black (High-A): On 7-day injured list (7/18); .281/.406/.424 (231 at-bats), 4 HR, 35 RBI
7. C Jeferson Quero (High-A): .455/.478/.818 (22 at-bats), 1 HR, 6 RBI; ..280/.339/.423 (350 at-bats), 8 HR, 52 RBI
8. OF Esteury Ruiz (MLB)*: .000/.077/.000 (12 at-bats), 0 HR, 0 RBI; .318/.432/.500(412 at-bats), 13 HR, 53 RBI
9. RHP Jacob Misiorowski (A): ⅓ IP, 0 H, 1 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 0 SO (27.00 ERA); ⅓ IP, 0 H, 1 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 0 SO (27.00 ERA)
10. SS Eric Brown Jr. (A): .278/.350/.333 (18 at-bats), 0 HR, 0 RBI; .247/.366/.468 (77 at-bats), 3 HR, 8 RBI

*Esteury Ruiz was promoted to the MLB on 9/1; his weekly stats are combined from AAA and MLB