2024 Brewer Fanatic’s Brewers Minor League All Star Team (Part 2: The Pitchers)

[Jason Wang]

Anyone can throw a baseball, including your uncle at every 4th of July barbecue, but these Brewers prospects threw the baseball exceptionally well during this year's minor league season.

Brewer Fanatic ’s minor-league writers voted for the awards and for an all-star team of Milwaukee's prospects. This isn’t a list of "Top Prospect" list but instead, a showcase of which pitchers in the team's system had strong showings in 2024. Each writer chose five starting pitchers, a right-handed reliever, a left-handed reliever, and two more bullpen arms to round out the bunch. 

Before we get to the All Star pitchers, here are our 2024 Brewer Fanatic Award winners (and links to the articles to see who else received votes). 

Short-Season Hitter of the Year: Jesus Made 
Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Dariel Jacquez 
Minor League Hitter of the Year: Mike Boeve 
Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: KC Hunt  
Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Craig Yoho 
Brewers Minor League All-Star Hitters 

 

Disagree with the votes? Let us know in the comments below!

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Starting Pitchers

RHP K.C. Hunt (24) - Carolina Mudcats/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Biloxi Shuckers   
Acquired: Minor-league free agent signed in July 2023
2024 Stats: 25 G, 14 GS, 8-3, 102 IP, 2.03 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 12.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9,

K.C., short for Kyle Clemente, was named after Roberto Clemente but couldn’t be further from his namesake. He was drafted by the Pirates in 2022 but didn’t sign, went undrafted in 2023, then signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee and had his first full professional season in 2024. No one expected him to rocket his way through the first three levels of the minor leagues without much of a sweat, finishing the year in Double-A Biloxi with a 2.20 ERA over six starts. He was so good, he was named Milwaukee’s Minor League Co-Pitcher of the Year along with Craig Yoho. More importantly, he earned the even more esteemed title of Brewer Fanatic Starting Pitcher of the Year.

He had a 34.7% strikeout rate and a 37.5% whiff rate, video game numbers for any starter let alone a 24-year old professional rookie. He held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average and .520 OPS, neutralizing any offense that stood in front of him. 

Expect Hunt to continue his path of greatness in Triple-A Nashville next year and potentially see some action in the big leagues. At just 24, he’s still got plenty of time to make a big impact for the Brewers even if he doesn’t make his debut in 2025.

RHP Chad Patrick (26) - Nashville Sounds 
Acquired: Traded from Oakland in November 2023 in exchange for Abraham Toro
2024 Stats: 26 G, 24 GS, 14-1, 136 ⅓ IP, 2.90 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 2.6 BB/9
I miss Abraham Toro just as much as anyone else. The 21 plate appearances he had with the Brewers had me glued to my seat the entire time and as one of the Brewers of all time, it was sad to see him traded away. However, I knew that for a player of his caliber, the team would get back someone pretty nifty.

Chad Patrick has indeed been pretty nifty. After pitching to a 4.91 ERA in his first four starts of the season, he locked in and never looked back. He led the Sounds in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts (145) while leading all Triple-A starters in WHIP and OBP allowed (.279). Hitters struggled against his five-pitch arsenal consisting of a four-seam fastball, sinker cutter, slider, and changeup. He had a cumulative whiff rate of 29.2% and an incredible 41.8% whiff rate on his slider. 

RHP Logan Henderson (22) - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Biloxi Shuckers/Nashville Sounds   
Acquired: Brewers 4th round draft pick in 2021 out of McLennan CC (TX) 
2024 Stats: 19 G, 19 GS, 7-6, 81 ⅓ IP, 3.32 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 11.5 K/9, 1.7 BB/9
After spending the first two years of his professional career in Single-A Carolina, Henderson shot up through three levels of the minor leagues in 2024. After a very brief two-game stint in High-A Wisconsin, he made nine starts for Double-A Biloxi and then six starts for Triple-A Nashville. He struggled a little with the Sounds, managing just a 4.56 ERA but his 9.9 K/9 was in line with the exceptional strikeout rate he had maintained with the Shuckers.

He was the fourth-youngest member of the Sounds this year and has plenty of time to continue developing as a starting pitcher. He’s made big strides each year since being drafted and will likely continue the trend in 2025.

RHP Shane Smith (24) - Biloxi Shuckers/Nashville Sounds    
Acquired: Undrafted free agent signed in July 2021 out of Wake Forest University  
2024 Stats: 32 G, 16 GS, 6-3, 94 ⅓ IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 10.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9
Smith had a relatively brief career with Wake Forest before signing a minor-league contract with the Brewers in 2022. Because he made just two starts in college, he spent all of 2023 coming out of the bullpen for Single-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin. 2024 was his first full year as a starter and he rose to the occasion with Double-A Biloxi, even managing to make a handful of relief appearances in Triple-A Nashville. Overall, he held opposing batters to a .579 OPS while striking out 29.6% of opposing batters.

He has done a great job of handling the transition from bullpen arm to starting pitcher and could be an integral part of the Sounds’ rotation next year.

RHP Jacob Misiorowski (22) - Biloxi Shuckers/Nashville Sounds
Acquired: Brewers 2nd round draft pick in 2022 out of Crowder College (MO)
2024 Stats: 33 G, 21 GS, 3-5, 97 ⅓ IP, 3.33 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 5.5 BB/9
As the top-ranked pitching prospect and third-ranked prospect overall in the Brewers system, all eyes are on Misiorowski as he grows closer to approaching the big leagues with each passing day. He spent the majority of his season with the Shuckers but made two starts and 12 relief appearances with the Sounds, pitching to a 2.55 ERA over 17 2/3 innings. 

You’re likely already familiar with his player profile: 6’7” frame with gross stuff, a 70-grade fastball that tops out at 100 mph, and off-the-charts strikeout numbers. While his K/9 is yet to dip below 11 for any professional season, his walk rate continues to be a major issue. Despite his opposing batting average of just .167, his walk rate of 14.4% has kept his WHIP high. If he can improve his command, the sky’s the limit for the young but incredibly tall man.

Bullpen

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Craig Yoho (24) - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Biloxi Shuckers/Nashville Sounds 
Acquired: Brewers 8th round draft pick in 2023 out of Indiana University (Go Hoosiers!)
2024 Stats: 48 G, 4-2, 57 ⅔ IP, 0.94 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 15.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 10 S
Yoho’s rise to the top has been quite the spectacle. In his first full season of professional baseball, his numbers were simply unfathomable, especially when considering the equal time he spent across three levels of the minor leagues. He never saw significant regression, was consistently outstanding, and was a marvel to witness. He led all of the minor leagues with a 42% strikeout rate (is that even allowed?) and kept opposing batters to a .190 slugging percentage all year.

Is this guy the Brewers’ closer of the future? I’m not sure since we only have a sample size of a year but holy cow, was it a great year.

Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Brian Fitzpatrick (24) - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 
Acquired: Brewers 10th round pick in 2022 out of Rutgers University 
2024 Stats: 20 G, 7 GS, 5-2, 70 ⅓ IP, 2.69 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1 S
Like Yoho, Fitzpatrick was picked later in the draft than most superstar talent but still managed to stand out with a great 2024. He didn’t do quite as much moving as Yoho and probably got away with just leasing one apartment, but his tenure with the Timber Rattlers was productive. He started the season as a sort of long reliever before making a few lengthy starts of his own, finishing the year with a six-inning shutout performance against the Peoria Chiefs. He ended the year with a strikeout rate of 26.2% while walking just 7.9% of batters faced. 

Relief Pitcher: Kevin Herget (33) - Nashville Sounds 
Acquired: Minor-league free agent in February 2024
2024 Stats: 38 G, 5-1, 47 ⅔ IP, 2.27 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, 11.1 K/9, 4 S
Drafted by the Cardinals when I was finishing up eighth grade all the way back in 2013, Herget has had quite a long minor league career. After being designated for assignment by the Reds at the end of 2023, he signed up to play his 11th season in the minors in the Brewers system. He pitched admirably as a Sound and even saw some time with the major-league club, tossing 11 1/3 innings to a 1.59 ERA. 

He struck out 32.4% of his minor-league opposition while walking just 6.0% of them. While his 2.27 ERA was already impressive, his 2.07 FIP was somehow even more impressive.

Relief Pitcher: Sam Gardner (27) - Biloxi Shuckers 
Acquired: Undrafted free agent signed in May 2023 out of the Frontier League
2024 Stats: 22 G, 2-2, 34 ⅔ IP, 2.34 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 12.5 K/9
Yet another unlikely story, Gardner spent two somewhat lackluster seasons with the Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League before being signed to a minor league deal with the Brewers. He pitched well in 2023, posting a 2.22 ERA over 44 2/3 innings in High-A Wisconsin, earning a promotion to Double-A Biloxi in 2024 where he kept up the good work. 

While he was a starting pitcher in college and for the first portion of his independent league career, he was gradually moved to the bullpen and the lower workload has done wonders for him, notably causing a spike in his strikeout rate. Since moving to a full-time reliever, his K/9 is yet to fall below 11 and he punched out 37.2% of batters faced. Like Herget, his ERA was already great but his FIP of 1.82 was even better.

The path forward will be a tough one for Gardner as he’s already 27 years old but don’t rule out an eventual big league debut just yet.

 

 

Congratulations to our 2024 Brewer Fanatic Minor League All Stars! 

 

 

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[SF70]

For the first time in a long time the team will have real starting pitcher depth at AAA.

Misiorowski (assuming)-Patrick-CRod-Henderson-Hunt-Smith then possibly 1 or even both of Ashby-Hall at times.

Personally, I don’t see Smith as a starter long-term, same with Misiorowski, but certainly understand why the team wants to go the starter route with both given the team’s outrageous bullpen depth.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Dont forget about Coleman Crow at AAA as well.  It will be plenty deep.

[CheeseheadInQC]

This seems right. Maybe if Galindez had stayed healthy or Russell Smith had been more consistent they might have had a case, but as is, this is a solid grouping

[wiguy94]

I think I would have put both Tate Kuehner and Manuel Rodriguez over Misiorowski at SP. 

Misiorowski as a SP in AA had 79.2 IP, 3.50 ERA, 4.08 FIP.

Kuehner this year had 104.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 3.82 FIP.

Rodriguez this year had 94.2 IP, 3.23 ERA, 4.00 FIP.