Article: Brewers Minor League Link Report (6/21): Carlos F. Rodriguez Earns a Win and a Quality Start; Joe Gray Jr. Hit Streak Reaches Nine Games

[Joseph Zarr]

It was a classic four-game affair. Two mid-day slates. Two evening tilts. Thankfully, the Shuckers were there to squeak one out. The affiliates mustered a 1-3 day overall and were outscored 21-8 in the process. We'll look to greener pastures tomorrow but, for now, let's get into today's Minor League report!

Image courtesy of Biloxi Shuckers - Carlos F Rodriguez

Game Balls:

• RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez earns a nod here with his escape work in the first inning and the dominant quality start from there.
• INF Tyler Black gets another nod here for his continued ability to get on base, swipe bases, and generally wreak havoc in the batters box. 
• RHP Tyson Miller gets a nod here for building on his recent successful call-up with more scoreless impactful bullpen work.
• OF Luis Lara gets recognition for a 2-for-4 day, another stolen base, and just generally being an advanced player beyond his years.
• INF Jon Singleton gets one last memorial run around the game ball base paths as he heads to the waters of Minor League Free Agency. One last Singleton 'Tag'. One last mention. It's been a true pleasure watching Big Jon in a Sounds uniform. All the best to an extremely likable athlete and one of my favorite baseball stories in recent memory.

Transactions:

• INF Jon Singleton cleared waivers (DFA'd by the Brewers) and elected Minor League Free Agency en lieu of an assignment with the Nashville Sounds.
• LHP Eric Lauer was placed on the Nashville Sounds 'Temporarily Inactive List'
• INF Keston Hiura was activated by the Nashville Sounds off the 7-Day IL - he had been rehabbing with the ACL Brewers

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Final: Norfolk (Orioles) 8, Nashville 3 
Box Score / Game Log 

Game Notes 

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

Sounds Offense Sputters in Loss to Tides

Well, if that headline doesn't sound familiar to Brewers fans. This was a 4-3 ball game heading into the ninth frame despite the final score. The Sounds, perhaps, were done in by an untimely out at third base in the bottom of the 6th frame. Trailing 4-2 at the time, C Alex Jackson ripped a deep ball high off the right center field wall and wanted to stretch it to a three-bagger. Naquin had scored from second base on the deep ball. It was suddenly 4-3. A fresh man on the bags could have meant a rally. Instead, the inning ended shortly thereafter with a thud: 

RHP Caleb Boushely gave his club 6 IP but was ultimately done in by a solo shot, a triple, and a sac fly. His line reads 6 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 4 ER. He fell to 3-4 on his season. 

1) The wheels have started to wobble on the tracks for RHP Thyago Vieira. What was a storybook beginning to his Sounds career - nine consecutive scoreless dominant outings - has been almost diametrically opposite over his last six appearances. We might politely call this a 'rough patch'. After tonight's, 1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 HR, 2 K, we are looking at the following unsightly line in June: 7 1/3 IP, 13 H, 12 K, 5 BB, 9 ER, 11.05 ERA, 2.45 WHIP, and 0.394 BAA. It sure would be nice if Vieira and Biloxi's RHP Cam Robinson had a get-together to heal their woes and get back to dominating hitters. We can put any thoughts of a call-up well on the back burner until if and when this is cleaned up.

2) A 2-for-16 mark with RISP and 8 men LOB is not typically a winning combo on most nights. Norfolk, on the other hand, despite their two fielding errors, capitalized with a 2-for-5 mark with RISP while only stranding three men on base. This was all they needed as their pitching staff was adeptly able to work around seven Sounds knocks and five free passes. This was just one of those baseball nights. On to the next.

3)  Rehabbing RHP Matt Bush now has 4 BB in 5 IP for the Sounds - he has to clean that up or, as we know, it will come back to haunt him should he get the call back up to the Big Club anytime soon. To continue this relief pitching theme as I close my thoughts on the Sounds, RHP Tyson Miller has likely pitched the best he has all season since his outing June 4th - this includes his impactful two outings with the Brewers before he was optioned. He is hitting his stride at the perfect time and likely starting to show his best stuff. Let's hope he can keep this up.

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Final:  Biloxi  2, Chattanooga (Reds) 1
Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes  

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

Six Shutout Innings from Rodriguez Leads Shuckers to Second Straight Win

Beginning the series versus the previously red hot Chattanooga Lookouts 2-0 is no small feat. Consider me very impressed with our young upstart Shuckers. RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez managed to work around a troublesome first inning where he walked a batter, hit a batter, and then walked the bases full. Once he induced the inning ending double play, however, he scattered a mere three hits over his final five innings. 

Rodriguez handed the ball to RHP Ryan Middendorf after completing 6 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 K, 0 ER. This was his fourth quality start of 2023 and he now has 83 K in 62 2/3 IP. It will be very interesting to see what happens once these tacked balls are replaced in the Southern League.

Three Quick Strikes:

1) You'd definitely be hard-pressed to find a Shuckers player impacting ball games more than OF Carlos D. Rodriguez has in the month of June. Last night he had a key rbi-double and a key hit in the ninth inning walk-off rally. Tonight, he just continued to make winning plays. He started the scoring with a hard hit infield single in the bottom of the second inning. He also laid out to prevent a lead-off base runner in the top of the eighth inning helping RHP Ryan Middendorf's bottom line in the process: 

2) RHP Cam Robinson ultimately picked up the save limiting the Lookouts to one run in the bottom of the ninth. As a stand alone line - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 ER, 1 HR - this is a fine performance. However, if we take this in the totality of outings since mid May, Robinson has now conceded one or more runs in eight of his past eleven outings. It's a rough stretch any way you look at it. We will continue to hope he rediscovers the dominant form of 2022. 

3) INF Tyler Black may not have a definitive defensive position, but I shudder to even think the Brewers would consider trading such an immensely talented offensive player. He just does it time and time again. Today, he stole his 39th base, earned two free passes, and hit a single. Regardless of what comes of this season, and Black's career at large, let's all just agree to enjoy every minute of what he is putting on tape in 2023. I said it last night and I'll say it again: we are watching Biloxi Shuckers record-breaking history.

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Final: Lansing (Athletics) 7, Wisconsin 1
Box Score / Game Log

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

Lansing Cycles Past Wisconsin 7-1

Another much improved RHP Cameron Wagoner start. And, yet, another Timber Rattlers loss. He falls to 1-9 on his season filled with ups and downs. Wagoner has definitely been better lately, to be clear. Even in the better bottom-line outings, Wagoner is conceding contact and he's been walking more batters of late - 6 BB in has past two starts. If May is the anomaly, Wagoner is still allowing a 0.269 BAA in April and June. All this being said, he definitely did enough today to give his team the chance to compete and take a victory: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 ER. He left the ballgame with his team only trailing 2-0. That will play on most nights. Hopefully, he keeps trending up and can keep fine-tuning his offerings and approach.

Your Post-Game Podcast is Available:

** Post-Game Pod includes a very cool story and words re: RHP Taylor Floyd's time as a T-Rat and his day of departure **

Your Full Game Highlights Package:

 

Three Quick Strikes:

1) RHP Michele Vassalotti continues to struggle in June. If we are to look at anything, for me it is the walks and lack of control that began in May - to the tune of nearly a walk an inning (7 BB in 7 1/3 IP). He has now walked four more batters in 5 2/3 IP in June. If you couple this with a 0.292 BAA and a 1.94 WHIP in the same month of June, you can see why that ERA has sky-rocketed to a season worst 11.12 over the month's four outings. This seems like a classic case of a talented pitcher trying to over-correct things in search of his former best stuff. We can only hope he finds that old groove and gets through this rough patch.

2) I've been alluding to this in recent write-ups, but I want to show you what I'm talking about. INF Robert Moore has gotten back to that tight and compact swing plane that gives him his highest success. Take a look at this sac fly. No wasted movement. This was a purpose-driven swing: 

He continues to trend up as I see it. If there is an ongoing area of improvement Moore 'should' address it would have to be his ongoing issues caught stealing - his 9th CS and a PO today mar his overall output.

3) OF Joe Gray Jr. extended his hitting streak to nine games - his longest of his 2023 season. His trip to Double-A Biloxi certainly didn't go as planned, however, he has returned to Wisconsin with a workmanlike approach and continues to build on a much better season in 2023. I don't know where he goes from here in a stacked organizational outfield picture. But, if he continues to build on these early months, his baseball future will remain bright. Hopefully, he earns another opportunity for a return trip to the Southern League.

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Final: Lynchburg (Guardians) 5, Carolina 2
Box Score / Game Log 

Game Notes 
  
Via the Mudcats' site, game details, please visit and review both game summaries:

Avina Hits 2-Run Blast in 5-2 Carolina Loss

RHP Patricio Aquino had an uncharacteristic rough start. He has been mostly fantastic this season so we'll toss it up as a mulligan. 3 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 1 HB, 2 K, and 3 ER is not what the doctor ordered. The three earned runs coming in the top of the first really took the wind out of the sails as the Mudcats ship ultimately barely left the harbor. 

Three Quick Strikes:

1) Let's just start with the good. He's been on some kind of run of late. He's been the most consistently clutch bat in a line-up desperately in need of clutch. OF Hedbert Perez deserves the extended recognition:

2) INF Luke Adams is making better line drive contact - he seems to be getting past his early-season penchant for pop-ups. This is a great sign. But, as a budding young talent there will always be things to work on. Fine-tuning his approach on the base paths and continuing to avoid sloppy mechanics when over relying on his innate athleticism while throwing the ball will go a long way to accelerating his advancements. He went 2-for-3 today but he also committed his second throwing error in two days (his 7th on the season). It's such a tricky thing to pull the whole package together. We've seen several hints of what might be in store throughout this first half of Low-A ball. Miles to go.

3) RHP Yujanyer Herrera is simply a different pitcher since he injured himself in the very early going of his May 3rd start at Delmarva. I just don't see the same young man on the mound. I don't know if it's a confidence issue, a rough patch, or a lingering issue but after reaching 4 2/3 IP, 5 IP, and 5 IP consecutively before the injury departure Herrera hasn't reached 5 IP since. Perhaps, the early case of 'the walks' simply caught up to him and it was already in the tea leaves? It's hard to say. But, the current trajectory is not a sustainable pitching path.

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We are back to a full slate of 8 games tomorrow - phew! The Sounds and Tides will make-up Monday's rain out with a double header. We'll have DSL games all morning long. We'll have the ACL Crew in the wee hours of the desert evening. RHP Justin Jarvis will try to bounce back from his worst outing of 2023 his last time out as the Shuckers will look to build a 3-0 series lead. In Carolina, RHP Alexander Vallecillo will look to get the Mudcats back on the winning track.

As always, thanks for reading. And, thanks for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball.

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[Jim Goulart]

This was a birthday start for Cameron Wagoner in Appleton, now 22 years old.