Article: Looking Over Rosters on the Farm: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

[Harold Hutchison]

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers bring some surprising returnees and exciting prospects for 2023. These are players facing some real tests–some of whom may not make it past this level. But at the same time, there are legitimate prospects for Brewers fans to be excited about, and they play right in many fans’ neck of the woods.

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So, who might Brewers fans get a glimpse of this year? Let’s take a look.

Pitching

While the Shuckers bullpen is extremely exciting, the Timber Rattlers have a rotation headlined by Stiven Cruz and Alexander Cornielle, followed by comeback candidate Max Lazar. Russell Smith, Cameron Wagoner, and Joseph Hernandez also look to take time in the rotation. The bullpen looks to be led by Michele Vassalotti, Karlos Morales, and Joey Matulovich, with Taylor Floyd and Ryan Brady among others in the mix. Ryne Moore, a potential rotation candidate, is starting the season on the 60-day injured list.

Catchers

This position has a couple of surprises. Darrien Miller, who had an excellent offensive season in 2022, returns to Wisconsin. He will be joined by organizational soldier Alex Hall, who performed well in the Australian League in the 2022-2023 winter season, and Jesus Chirinos, who primarily played first base but has experience at catcher. This could be a very potent offensive group, but the defense may be an issue.

Infielders

First baseman Ernesto Martinez also returns to Wisconsin after spending a lot of time on the shelf in 2022. He is joined by second baseman Robert Moore, who dominated at Brisbane over the 2022-2023 winter season in Australia. Eric Brown and Eduardo Garcia will be competing at shortstop, with Brown having an edge there. Ben Metzinger will end up the primary third baseman. Jose Acosta will be the primary backup for second and third base, while Chirinos may see a lot of time at first, especially if Martinez can’t avoid the IL.

Outfield

Some legit prospects are in the Wisconsin outfield, even if they aren’t as hyped as Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, and Joey Wiemer. We start with Joe Gray Jr., who has flashed a three-true outcome bat with some solid defense. He’s joined by Hendry Mendez, who brings superb OBP skills, but a suboptimal swing, and Je’Von Ward, who missed playing last season barring a short AFL stint. Ernesto Martinez could see time here, too, along with backups Terence Doston and Micah Bello.

Overview

A lot of the players in Wisconsin have potential, particularly in the rotation and in the middle infield. For others, this is a make-or-break season. Miller and Martinez are potentially significant contributors, but one has to find a defensive home, and the other needs to stay healthy. Ward is in a similar situation. Gray needs to hit higher than the Uecker line, Mendez needs to fix his swing, Garcia has to show he can hit reliably, and Lazar must show he is back.

We will probably know more in a couple months about how these questions will shake out – the Brewers tend to aggressively promote prospects at times, and should some of those in the make-or-break get moved to Biloxi, it will be a good sign for them and the Brewers. If not, we could see some very heartbreaking cuts take place.

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