Article: Brewers Minor League Week in Review (4/18-23): Jarvis, Woessner Continue to Roll

[Seth Stohs]

The Brewers continue to play quite well, and there are several prospects throughout the minor-league system that are playing well early in the season. There are certainly a few injuries that Brewers prospect followers will want to keep an eye on, but there are some intriguing hitter and pitcher prospects off to a strong start too. Here is a look at the week that was in the Brewers organization. 

Image courtesy of Nate Peterson (photo by Neal Hock - Carolina Mudcats), Justin Jarvis (photo by Joshua Sumrall), Caleb Boushley (photo courtesy of Nashville Sounds)

Before we look back at the past week in the Brewers organization, the team did make a couple of transactions on Monday. Matt Bush was placed on the Injured List. Javy Guerra was Designated for Assignment. Jake Cousins and Alex Claudio have been recalled from Nashville. 

Triple-A Nashville Sounds
Last Week: 2-3 at Jacksonville
Overall: 10-10
Standings: 9th place in the International League
What’s Next: Hosting Omaha (8-11) for six games

Top Hitter: IF Eddy Alvarez  
Three Americans have won a medal in both the summer and the Winter Olympics. Nashville infielder Eddy Alvarez is one of them. And now he’s a Brewer Fanatic Hitter of the Week winner too. I’m sure both are similar in his mind. In the 2014 Sochi games, Alvarez was part of the USA’s 5,000-meter speed skating relay team. Baseball went a long time without being an Olympic sport, but in 2021, Alvarez was a leader on Team USA’s silver medal-winning team.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Alvarez grew up in Miami but then went to Utah for college. After the 2014 Winter Olympics, he hung up his skates and started a career with spikes. He signed with the White Sox and spent five seasons in that organization, reaching Triple-A. The Marlins acquired him before the 2019 season. In 2020, he made his MLB debut for his hometown team and played a dozen games with the Marlins. He played in 24 more games for Miami in 2021. The Dodgers signed him for the 2022 season and he played 14 games with them last year. This offseason, the Brewers signed him quickly. The 33-year-old infielder is off to a fast start with the Sounds. In 17 games, he is hitting .353/.485/.647 (1.132) with five doubles, two triples and two home runs. He already has five stolen bases.

For the week, Alvarez played in five games. He went 8-for-15 and hit .533/.579/.867 (1.446) with three doubles and a triple.

Honorable Mentions
C Payton Henry (26): 3 G, 5-for-11, .455/.538/.545 (1.083), 1-2B, 2 BB

Top 20 Prospects
OF Sal Frelick (23)(#2 prospect): 1 G, 3-for-5, .600/.600/1.000 (1.600), 2-2B, RBI. Injured thumb. Getting a second opinion.

Top Pitcher: RHP Caleb Boushley   
Starts like this may help the 29-year-old from Hortonville the next Wisconsinite to play for the Brewers. In his start last week, he gave up one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five batters. It was easily his best start of the 2023 season. Overall, in five starts, he is 0-1 with a 7.75 ERA.

Hortonville is a small town with fewer than 3,000 as its population, just northwest of Appleton. At Hortonville High, he earned three letters in baseball. He went to UW-Fox Valley, a junior college in Menasha. In 2015, he went to UW-LaCrosse and helped the team to the Division III College World Series. The San Diego Padres drafted him in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft. In December 2021, he was selected by the Brewers in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 draft. As a 28-year-old last year, he went 12-2 with a 3.25 ERA over 26 starts for Nashville. In 127 1/3 innings, he walked 43 and struck out 91 batters.

Honorable Mention
RHP Janson Junk (27): 1 GS, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 5.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 BB, 5 K.
RHP Jake Cousins (28): 2 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K.
RHP Luis Contreras (27) struck out three batters in his lone inning this week.
RHP Pedro Fernandez struck out three of the four batters he faced this week.  

Other Top 20 Prospects
LHP Robert Gasser (24)(#7 prospect): 1 G, 0-0, 4.91 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 3.2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K.
LHP Ethan Small (26)(#18 prospect): 1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K.  

Double-A Biloxi Shuckers
Last Week: 4-2 at Rocket City
Overall: 9-6
Standings: 2nd place in the Southern League (1 GB)
What’s Next: Hosting Mississippi (5-10) for six games

Top Hitter: OF Carlos Rodriguez
In five games with the Shuckers last week, Carlos Rodriguez went 8-for-19 and hit .421/.450/.421 (.871). In 12 games this season with Biloxi, he is hitting .302/.348/.326 (.673) with a double and three RBI.

The Brewers signed Rodriguez in 2017 from Venezuela. He remained in rookie ball through the 2019 season. He hit .318 or higher at every single stop. After the missed 2020 season, the Brewers aggressively pushed him to High-A Wisconsin where, in 94 games, he hit .267/.336/.348 (.684) with 17 doubles, four triples and a home run. He also stole 15 bases. He returned to the Timber Rattlers to start the 2022 season. However, by the end of May (42 games), his season was over.

And yes, there are two Carlos Rodriguez’s on the Biloxi roster.

Honorable Mention
Noah Campbell (24): 3 G, 2-for-7, .286/.615/.857 (1.472) with a double and a home run. He also walked four times and was hit by pitch twice.  
Freddy Zamora (24): 5 G, 4-for-14, .286/.444/.500 (.944) with a homer and seven RBI. He walked four times.

Top 20 Prospects
Jackson Chourio (19)(#1 prospect): 6 G, 9-for-27, .333/.379/.407 (.786) with two doubles and five RBI. He also stole two bases.  
C Jeferson Quero (20)(#5 prospect): 1 G, 1-for-4, .250/.250/.250 (.500).
IF Tyler Black (22)(#8 prospect): 6 G, 4-for-19, .211/.429/.526 (.955) with two home runs. He also walked six times.

Top Pitcher: RHP Justin Jarvis   
Justin Jarvis wasn’t added to the 40-man roster last offseason, but fortunately, he went unselected in the Rule 5 draft. Based on how he’s started the 2023 season, they may not be able to risk it again at the end of this season. Or… it’s possible he will already be on the 40-man roster.

In his start last week, Jarvis tossed six shutout innings for the Shuckers. He gave up just four hits, walked one, and struck out 10 batters. In his first three starts of the season, he is 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA. In 17 innings, he has six walks and 23 strikeouts.

Jarvis was the Brewers fifth round draft pick in 2018 out of Lake Norman High School in Mooresville, North Carolina. The Brewers have been quite patient with him throughout his career, and it is starting to pay off. The 23-year-old struck out 150 batters last year in 141 innings between Wisconsin and Biloxi. He ended the 2022 season with four starts for the Shuckers and went 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings.

Honorable Mention
RHP Harold Chirino (25): 2 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K.
RHP Ryan Middendorf (25): 2 G,  0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.30 WHIP, 3.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 6 K.
RHP Robbie Baker (28): 1 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K.
LHP Darrell Thompson (29): 2 G, 0-0, 1 S, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K.
RHP Tobias Myers (24): 1 G, 1-0, 1.59 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 5.2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K.  

Top 20 Prospects
RHP Carlos Rodriguez (21)(#11 prospect): 1 G, 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 2.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB,  5 K.
RHP Abner Uribe (23)(#13 prospect): 2 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Uribe has faced 18 batters this season and struck out nine of them.

High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Last Week: at Quad Cities, 2-4
Overall: 7-8
Standings: Tied for 7th place in the Midwest League
What’s Next: Hosting Beloit (10-5) for six games.

Top Hitter: C/OF Alex Hall
In December of 2017, the Brewers signed Alex Hall from Perth, Australia. He has been playing for the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League since 2017 as well. He remained in the Brewers various rookie leagues through the 2019 season. In 2021, he moved up to Carolina before ending the season with eight games in Wisconsin. He played 45 games combined between those same two teams in 2022. However, when the Brewers had a short-term need for a backup catcher on short notice, the added Hall to their roster since Appleton is just 100 miles from American Family Field.

The Timber Rattler bats were as cold as the weather last week except for Hall. He played in five games and went 7-for-21. He hit .333/.333/.810 (1.143) with a double, three homers, and seven RBI.

Honorable Mentions
No other Wisconsin batter posted an OPS over .715.

Top 20 Prospects
SS Eric Brown Jr (22)(#9 prospect): 6 G, 2-for-23, .087/.192/.087 (.279) with three walks and five stolen bases.
OF Hendry Mendez (19)(#12 prospect):  Did Not Play. He was injured on April 13th on an awkward slide on a steal attempt.
OF Robert Moore (21)(#14 prospect): 5 G, 2-for-18, .111/.200/.167 (.367) with a double, two walks and a stolen base.   

Top Pitcher: RHP Tyler Woessner   
Our first two-time Pitcher of the Week performer is Timber Rattlers’ righty Tyler Woessner. So we probably don’t need to remind you that he is from Phoenix and played college ball at Central Arizona where he helped his team to a national title. He was the Brewers’ sixth round pick last year.

He was good in his previous start, but in his start last week, he was even better. In six innings, the 23-year-old have up just one run. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out five batters on his way to his third Win of the season. Over his three starts, he’s 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA. In 16 innings, he has given up eight hits, walked five, and struck out 18 batters.

Honorable Mention
RHP Joseph Hernandez (23): 1 GS, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K.
RHP Michel Vassalotti (22): 1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K.
RHP Brannon Jordan (24): 1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP. 2.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K.  

Top 20 Prospects
RHP Stiven Cruz (21)(#15 prospect): 1 GS, 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 K.
RHP Alexander Cornielle (21)(#20 prospect): 1 G, 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K. (Activated from IL on Sunday)

Low-A Carolina Mudcats 
Last Week: 5-1 at Down East
Overall: 8-6
Standings: Tied for 2nd place in the Carolina League (2 GB)
What’s Next: Hosting Kannapolis (10-4) for six games

Top Hitter: C Matt Wood   
In four games this past week, Matt Wood went 7-for-13 and hit .538/.625/1.000 (1.625) with three doubles, a homer and five RBI. He also walked three times to go with just three strikeouts. On the season, he has played in 10 games and is hitting .324/.465/.500 (.965). He has caught nine of those 10 games.

Wood was a four-year letter winner at Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, the same high school that Pirates legend Neil Walker and Brewers legend Blake Lalli attended. He went to Penn State and was in the starting lineup from Day 1. He was all Big-Ten in 2022, as well as an All American. When the Twins selected him in the fourth round, he became the highest-drafted position from in Nittany Lion history.

Honorable Mentio
Eduarqui Fernandez (21): 6 G, 6-for-19, .316/.409/.579 (.988) with two doubles, and a home run. He also walked three times.  
Luke Adams (19): 5 G, 2-for-15, .133/.381/.533 (.914) with two homers and four RBI. He also walked four times.

Top 20 Prospects
OF Jace Avina (20)(#17 prospect): 5 G, 3-for-18, .167/.250/.389 (.639). He had a double, a homer, and three RBI. He walked twice, but he struck out 11 times.    

Top Pitcher: LHP Nate Peterson
For the second straight week, the Carolina pitcher of the week comes from the great state of Minnesota. Last week, it was Aidan Maldonado from Rosemount. This week, Nate Peterson from Lakeville, Minnesota, is our choice for the pitcher of the week. Peterson went to Oklahoma State after high school, but in 2022, he pitched at Illinois-Chicago. The southpaw was the Brewers eighth-round pick last summer and did not make his pro debut until this season.

In his start this past week, the 23-year-old went four shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none, and struck out seven batters. It was easily the best (of three) game of his career. It was also his first start. On the season, he is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. In 10 innings, he has walked four and struck out 16 batters.

Honorable Mention
RHP Quinton Low (20): 1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K. (He is currently 0-for-9 with the bat so far this season. It is fair to wonder how long he’ll remain a two-way player.)
RHP Alexander Vallecillo (20): 1 G, 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K.
RHP Edwin Jimenez (21): 1 G, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K.  

Top 20 Prospects
RHP Jacob Misiorowski (21)(#10 prospect): 1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K.  

YOUR TURN…
Now is your opportunity to vote on the weekly Brewers minor league awards:

Hitter of the Week
IF Eddy Alvarez: 5 G, 8-for-15, .533/.579/.867 (1.466) with three doubles and a triple
OF Carlos Rodriguez: 5 G, 8-for-19, .421/.450/.421 (.871).
C/OF Alex Hall: 5 G, 7-for-21, .333/.333/.810 (1.143) with a double and three homers.
C Matt Wood: 4 G, 7-for-13, .538/.625/1.000 (1.625) with three doubles and a homer.

Pitcher of the Week
RHP Caleb Boushley: 1 GS, 5 1/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K.
RHP Justin Jarvis: 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 10 K.
RHP Tyler Woessner: 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 HH, 5 K.
LHP Nate Peterson: 1 GS, 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 K.

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