Article: Brewers Minor League Link Report (5/3): Carlos Rodriguez K's 10; LHP Darrell Thompson Continues Dominance; LHP Ethan Small Keeps Dealing

[Joseph Zarr]

The Shuckers lost a game in extras where they set a franchise record striking out 19 Biscuits! Yowza. They were 0-for-13 with RISP - sometimes the less impressive stats don't lie. The T-Rats saw RHP Cameron Wagoner struggle in another start leaving some of us pondering what has gone wrong since a successful 2022 organizational debut. And, in the evening we had the young upstart Mudcats and veteran Nashville Sounds to hopefully bring us some joy (they did and they did not - the organization finished their evening 0-for-4 after the Sounds lost their lead late). Let's get into the report! 

Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic

Game Balls: We're heading to Montgomery where two Biloxi Aces - RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez and LHP Darrell Thompson - continued to strut their stuff. Rodriguez began the game for the Shuckers in dominant fashion: 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 10 K. Yowza. And, Thompson once again was electric and remains scoreless through 13 IP in 2023: 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K. This included an absolutely key string of three K's to end his eighth and final inning with runners on the corners with nobody down:

We're heading to the Carolina and Nashville bullpens. RHP Shane Smith gave three valiant innings of work keeping his Mudcats teammates within striking distance and blowing by batters with some highly effective off-speed deliveries (see some highlights below): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 7K, 1 ER, 1 HR. And, LHP Ethan Small continues his resurgence. Another extremely effective outing in a 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K outing. And, it's worth point out the balls were simply not hit well and the change-up was back to straight butter. And, we'll end with C Matt Wood who continues to show he is most likely a more advanced player than his Low-A placement. Not only did he catch and call the 14 K effort, he drew three walks and threw out Delmarva's two attempts at stolen bases.   

Transactions:

• RHP Jhoan Cruz was transferred from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL by the Carolina Mudcats

 

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Final: St. Paul (Twins) 5, Nashville 3
Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes 

Via the Sounds' site, game details, please visit and review:

Sounds Eighth Inning Collapse Negates Small's Impressive Outing

LHP Thomas Pannone took the hill for manager Rick Sweet and the Nashville Sounds. This was just our third look at Pannone in 2023. All told, the lefty was effective early but it should be noted: he was giving up very good contact with four balls leaving the infield at 95 mph plus through 2 IP. Two more hard hit balls found their way to consecutive deeply hit one-out doubles and the Saints led 1-0 in the bottom of the third. The Saints grabbed another run, shortly thereafter, on a hard hit ball through the middle infield and the Saints were of to an early 2-0 lead. With LHP Ethan Small warming up in the bullpen, that was all for Pannone on a beautiful night in St. Paul. I wouldn't call the outing particularly sharp for the lefty hurler (who is actually one of only three players in Blue Jays history who has pitched an immaculate inning). When all was said and done, Pannone threw 3 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 2 ER and the Sounds were trailing 2-0 after his work.

Three Quick Strikes:

1) Early in the season, as LHP Ethan Small was scuffling a bit, @wiguy94and I repeatedly discussed the anomalies in Small's outings. We couldn't understand why in one outing he threw strictly fastballs for the most part and then, randomly, in the next outing he would lean change-up heavy. Perhaps this was all by design. With those mysterious outings long gone, we are seeing a fully developed approach from a young man who is quickly stating his case as one of the Sounds best relievers in 2023. The walks are down. The strikeouts are up. The change-up is dialed. The exit velocity is down. Small is creeping back toward his next call-up and this is something we should all root for.

2) This was OF Monte Harrison's best offensive performance as a Sound. Yes, even though he struck out in a pivotal ninth inning AB, we'll take tonight's output and hope it is something to build upon. Harrison ripped a 116 mph line drive (!!) to left field.

 

He also ripped an opposite field double to the right field wall to lead off the seventh inning. If he can provide any semblance of solid contact on a consistent basis, the loss of OF Sal Frelick and OF Skye Bolt becomes more palatable in the short-term. 116.2 mph? That is absurd.

3) RHP Lucas Erceg continues to battle the relief demons of inconsistent strike zone control. When he's on, and he has been on in 2023, he's an extremely formidable relief arm. However, when he's off, and he's scuffle a bit of late, he's impacting the games in a negative way. After a very productive and effective outing by LHP Clayton Andrews, Erceg was brought to the mound in the eighth inning with a runner on 1B and the Sounds clinging to their 3-2 lead. When the inning was complete, the Sounds trailed 5-3. In such a tight situation, a pitcher can't afford to walk a first batter four pitch walk. A pitcher also can't afford a 2-0 count to the next batter. Erceg did both and it left him in a precarious situation forced to throw strictly heat over the plate. His 2-0 count pitch caught too much of the dish and, from there, the Sounds defense fell into an unfortunate relapse. Just like that, the lead was lost and the ball game was essentially over.

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Final:  Montgomery (Devil Rays) 4, Biloxi 3
Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes 

Via the Shuckers' site, game details, please visit and review:

Shuckers Pitching Sets Single-Game Franchise Record with 19 Strikeouts in Extra-Innings Loss

The headline says it all - the pitching was sublime. RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez got that K-Train chugging with 10 punch outs through 5 2/3 IP. It's outings like these that remind us: Rodriguez has been doing this, consistently, for well over a year. What a rise for a young man who started last season in Zebulon in the Low-A Carolina League. It's important to remind everyone: Rodriguez doesn't turn 22 years old until November. He shows so much to like on the mound - a true competitor who simply knows who he is and what he is doing and he executes more often than not. If he continues these types of outings, in any fashion, he is most likely heading North to Nashville. Just check out the movement on  this strikeout pitch. This is what we call 'nasty':

Three Quick Strikes:

1) I mentioned the futility above with RISP (0-for-13). However, let's not overlook what makes INF Tyler Black so special - ridiculously advanced bat-to-ball skills. It's pieces of hitting like this that demonstrate how special Black is with a piece of lumber in his hand: 

Weak contact? Maybe - though, making contact at all on that pitch is hard to believe. Either way, and make no mistake, that was a really nice piece of hitting on a very well-placed pitch. Black put pressure on the infield and that contact found a dangerous part of the dirt. It also forced the throw into the right field grass and it scored the tying run. 0-for-13 with RISP? I say "No Sir, good Scorekeeper!". Regardless, there has been ample talk of Black's improved early power stroke but, let's not forget he is simply a pure hitter with or without the long balls.

2) Let's get back to the continued unbelievable output we're seeing from recent Indy pick-up LHP Darrell Thompson. This is his age 29 season. And, this is his first season of affiliated ball he's ever pitched. So, let's look at his production: 8 G, 13 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 20 K, 0 ER, 0.077 BAA, 0.38 WHIP. I mean, this is ridiculous. I am at a loss for words with what we're seeing here over a month plus. This is a young man ready for his moment. I can't help but imagine he's ready to test the waters of even higher levels. I certainly hope he gets the opportunity. 

3) Staying with the bullpen, this was RHP Zach Vennaro's first full inning stint since returning from his 16-day injury absence throughout the majority of April. Hopefully, this outing is a sign of more good things to come. Vennarro ended his day with 1 IP, 0 BB, 1 H, 3 K, 0 ER. We heard of the uptick in velo he was seeing as a result of the off-season work he put in. I can confirm: this uptick appears to be true. His heater was lively and hitters were consistently well behind the pitch. He ended his day working off that heat by getting a lunging foul tip (nice grab by C Jason Lopez) on a slider on the outer stripe.  

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Final: Peoria (Cardinals) 6, Wisconsin 2
Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes 

Via the Timber Rattlers' site, game details, please visit and review:

Early Deficit Too Much for Wisconsin

These days most deficits appear too much for the sleepy Timber Rattlers bats to overcome. Unfortunately, a deficit is becoming routine with struggling RHP Cameron Wagoner on the hill. There's no easy way to get around it -  Wagoner has been in a prolonged struggle in 2023. He ended his outing today after 2 1/3 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 ER. The line reads like it looked - ugly. Let's hope Wagoner can turn things around and get back to what was working throughout 2022 and throughout the Aussie Winter League. 

Three Quick Strikes:

1) Don't look, but RHP Max Lazar has quietly put in some solid work in his most recent outings! I'm extremely happy for the young Lazar - finally healthy and finally able to stack successes. Other than allowing four runs in a three inning stint at Quad Cities, Lazar has only allowed a single run in his four other outings - 10 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 5 BB, 10 K. Today's outing, in particular, was perhaps his most impressive to date - 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K - and  it helped turn the tide allowing his teammates the space to try and claw back into the game. 

2) Let's keep looking for those elusive silver linings in what is, so far, a disappointing young T-Rats season: INF Eric Brown Jr. was healthy and back atop the line-up. If these young Rattlers are going to turn things around offensively, they are absolutely going to need the disruptive force of Brown Jr. firing on all cylinders. Perhaps, he can pick up where he left off just before his injury when he had put forth his best all around game of his young season versus Beloit. I'll take it a step further. Let's get even more hopeful: perhaps, with Brown Jr. rediscovering impactful output we'll see INF Robert Moore re-discover what has made his game so intriguing before his recent and ongoing slump. Moore's innate ability to make solid contact to all fields is sorely missed in his current rut. Where oh where for art tho, Mr. Moore?

3) Not considered a power threat by any means, OF Terence Doston can still leave the yard. With his two-run long ball over the wall in right field (his first HR of 2023), Doston reminded us he can still surprise and impact the game in a positive way. Perhaps his unexpected output can serve as a reminder and a small source of inspiration for his teammates. The Timber Rattlers are going to continue to need surprising impacts from unexpected places in the line-up if they are going to flirt with notions of turning the losing tides.

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Final: Delmarva (Orioles) 6, Carolina 2
Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes  

Via the Mudcats' site, game details, please visit and review:

 

Carolina Suffers Series Tying Loss in Delmarva

 

RHP Yujanyer Herrera worked around some odd outfield play from Hedbert Perez in the left field grass early in the first frame - in addition to a right hamstring cramp (?) where he was visited by the entire staff - and he suddenly found runners at 2B and 3B. He escaped that first inning trouble, however, via a swinging strikeout on an off-speed deliver over the outer half. Things did not go so well in the second frame for Herrera, to put it mildly. Six wild pitches to the back-stop (a single inning organizational record), three walks, an rbi single, a sac fly and he left after 1 2/3 IP with the bases loaded. I think it's fair to say his leg issue likely continued to bother him but he tried to tough it out. We'll take it as a mulligan and simply hope there are no lingering issues. We will, however, honor the fine relief efforts of the greater Mudcats staff after Herrera's early exit:

A special shout out goes to LHP Jakob Brustoski as well. With a clean 3 K IP (0 H, 1 BB) in his first outing off the aptly named 'Development List', the fans are making noise: has the 'Year of Command' officially commenced? Stay tuned!

 

Three Quick Strikes:

 

1) INF Daniel Guillarte (1:03:25 mark of the broadcast) appeared to injure his right shoulder jamming his right arm into the dirt awkwardly in a face-first slide to 2B in a stolen base attempt in the first inning. He immediately rolled over writhing in pain while clutching said shoulder. This is about the worst thing we could imagine seeing on a baseball diamond - the dominant throwing arm and shoulder is a treasured place on a baseball player's body. It really took the wind out of my sails, I tell you. However, hope springs eternal: he returned to the 2B dirt in the bottom of the first and, ultimately, completed the game. Oh sweet youth!

 

2) Even though Herrera clearly lost his stuff in his second inning, if RHP Nick Merkel had avoided a first pitch line drive single to right field the Mudcats could have escaped with a mere 2-0 deficit. This hypothetical aside, the Mudcats also had their opportunities to knock some runs across and make it a more intriguing ballgame early (despite the turn of events) stranding six runners through five complete innings. The key poke was elusive. This repeated itself in the seventh frame when OF Luis Lara led with a deep double to the wall in right center and C Matt Wood followed with a walk. INF/OF Luke Adams K'd on a pitch up and in. INF Gregory Barrios popped out to shallow right center field. And, OF Kaylan Nicasia struck out to end the threat. 

 

3) For as fantastic as INF/OF Luke Adams has been early in 2023, and he has played consistently well and productively beyond his years, he also struggled tonight with runners on the bags and it proved costly to any possible comeback effort. He struck out on a high inside heater in the top of the seventh after Lara (2B) and Wood (BB) had reached base. He popped out to the pitcher's mound with runners on first and second in the top of the ninth inning with one down. And he pooped out to first base with runners on first and second base and two down in the fifth inning. All told, he finished his unproductive evening 0-for-5, 2 K, 9 LOB. He'll look to bounce back as the series progresses.

 

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That's a wrap for my Minor League report duties in this beautiful first week of May. My greatest hope for the remainder of the ongoing road series is the Timber Rattlers turn it around. All those young Timber Rattlers need is one key hit. Who will make it happen? Keep those chins up, men. Stay in the grind. There are ample opportunities to turn back toward winning ways tomorrow: RHP Stiven Cruz takes the hill in Peoria, RHP Justin Jarvis attacks hitters tomorrow in Montgomery, and RHP Janson Junk looks to give his team more shutdown innings. Stay tuned as we look to bounce back from an unsavory 0-5 evening across the entire organization. As always, thank you for reading and thank you for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball!

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