2024 Brewers Arizona Fall League Report: Week One

[Jason Wang]

Eight Milwaukee prospects will get a chance to play some extra-credit baseball with the Peoria Javelinas this year: three position players and five pitchers.

Image courtesy of © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Game Results
Monday, 10/7 | None
Tuesday, 10/8 | Peoria 13, Glendale 15
Wednesday, 10/9 | Peoria 5, Surprise 3
Thursday, 10/10 | Peoria 6, Glendale 13
Friday, 10/11 | Mesa 6, Peoria 9
Saturday, 10/12 | Peoria 1, Mesa 4

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3B Brock Wilken
Week: 4 G, 18 PA, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 5 K
The top-ranked Brewers prospect in Arizona this year, Wilken had a bit of a slow start to the season. He managed to hit an opposite-field home run in the first game against Andrew Dalquist and had a single in the sixth inning of a chaotic 28-run game. 

Unfortunately, he quickly hit a snag and struggled to get going offensively for the rest of the week, notably striking out three times in Thursday’s loss to the Glendale Desert Dogs.

OF Luis Lara
Week: 3 G, 12 PA, 3 H, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB
Lara held his own, starting his season off with two hits in Peoria’s first victory against the Surprise Saguaros on Wednesday, also stealing his first base in the same game. Similar to Wilken, though, he wasn’t able to maintain the momentum throughout the week and went 0-4 in Thursday’s game against the Desert Dogs.

INF Juan Baez
Week: 3 G, 12 PA, 7 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, 3 RBI, 1 K
Baez was a superstar at the plate this week, notching a 1.500 OPS, the fifth-highest mark of any player in the AFL and second-highest on the Peoria Javelinas. The 19-year-old was a home run away from hitting for the cycle in the victory over the Mesa Solar Sox on Friday.

RHP Coleman Crow
Week: 1 G, 1 ⅔ IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Crow pitched in just one game this week, facing the Desert Dogs on Thursday. His outing started off great, retiring the first three batters with consecutive groundouts. He ran into some trouble against Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, two major leaguers on rehab assignments, before another groundout allowed runners to advance, leading to his departure from the mound.

RHP Ryan Birchard
Week: 1 G, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Birchard appeared in the final game of the week, making a three-inning start and keeping the Solar Sox scoreless despite quite a few free passes. The closest he got to trouble was allowing a single and a walk in the third inning before retiring the next three batters in a row.

RHP Will Childers
Week: 2 G, 1 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 SV
Childers was thrown into the fire as soon as he came out of the bullpen for the first time. After Gabe Mosser conceded a whopping seven earned runs in the first inning, Childers was left to clean up the mess. He earned the final out of the first, but gave up three straight doubles in the second inning before ending his AFL debut.

His second outing was far more mellow, getting called upon to earn just the final out of the game. He struck out Benjamin Cowles on three pitches to earn his first save as a Javelina.

LHP Mark Manfredi
Week: 1 G, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SV
Manfredi threw 23 pitches against the Saguaros on Wednesday to earn his first save of the season. It wasn’t the smoothest ninth-inning performance, as he would walk a batter and hit another, but he finished strong by striking out Brett Squires on four pitches.

RHP Nick Merkel
Week: 1 G, 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Merkel relieved Birchard following his three innings of work and pitched efficiently, using just 30 pitches to deal with the eight batters he faced. After allowing two baserunners in the fourth inning, he needed only seven pitches to get through the fifth inning and finish his week.

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