Brewers Minor League Link Report (6/16): The ACL Brewers are Wandering the Desert in Search of a Hit with RISP

[Ben Lepak]

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RHP Yerlin Rodriguez roster status changed to Suspended by Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

RHP Ethan Dorchies assigned to Carolina from ACL Brewers

No word as of this writing on the length of Rodriguez’s suspension, but Spencer Michaelis had the pitch and subsequent kerfuffle clipped here:

Seemed like tensions were running high throughout the organization last week. First Rodriguez got tossed on Friday the 13^th, then we had the Willson Contreras/Rhys Hoskins feud Saturday, and finally on Sunday the Shuckers game featured a half dozen ejections late in the game.

Game Action:

Both DSL Brewers games were halted due to rain on Monday. The DSL Brewers Blue batted around in the first inning, scoring five runs on just three hits. Before the box score got washed away, @Ro Mueller captured a few of the inning’s stats here. The Brewers Gold squad was trailing 1-0 when their game with the DSL Cleveland squad was suspended.

 

Final: ACL Dodgers 11, ACL Brewers 5

Box Score and Wrap

Luckily it never rains in the desert and the Arizona Complex League game was played in 111 degrees, because otherwise this minor league report would have been like Homer Simpson talking to Johnny Cash's Space Coyote and I would have no new information to report to you.

With the promotion of Dorchies to Carolina, Joshua Quezada made his first start of the ACL season. Quezada was stretched out a bit as he worked his longest outing on the year: 4.2IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, and 4K. It was Quezada's best start since late May, as he had been tagged for 11 runs in his previous eight innings, after starting the season with seven shutout innings.

On offense, the Brewers mustered only five solo tallies despite collecting ten hits, nine walks and four HBP. The team was a staggering 2 for 18 with RISP.

The Brewers' first run of the game came on a vintage rookie ball rally. In the second inning, the Crew got a walk, steal, ground out, HBP, steal, and wild pitch to plate one run. Despite another wild pitch, walk, and stolen base, the Brewers could not plate another, as Kevin Ereu and the rehabbing Blake Perkins struck out to end the threat with RISP.

Ereu and Perkins would atone somewhat in the fourth after Jadyn Fielder was plunked for the second time in the game. Ereu followed that HBP with a single, and eventually Perkins knocked in Fielder with an RBI ground out to tie the game at 2-2. The Brewers would briefly take the lead in the fifth inning on a solo homer from catcher Kevin Garcia, his fourth HR on the season. The lead was short lived as the Dodgers would touch up reliever Jose Meneses for six runs on five hits in the top of the sixth. Argenis Aparicio followed Meneses and allowed single tallies in the seventh and eighth innings.

The star of the game for the Brewers was Fielder, who was HBP twice, socked two doubles, including one for an RBI, and also stole two bags. Garcia added an RBI single late to give him two RBI on the night. Besides Fielder's doubles and Garcia's homer, no other Brewer hitter had an extra base hit. Shortstop Jorge Quintana drew two walks and stole his 10th base of the season. Handelfry Encarnacion was on twice with a single and walk.

A quick preview of the week ahead:

On June 3^rd, the Carolina Mudcats had a three game lead over Lynchburg in the standings. How quickly things can change. Since then, Carolina has lost 10 of their last 11, including 6 straight losses to Lynchburg last week to surrender the first half title to the Guardians’ affiliate. It’s been a brutal stretch for a team that started off the year with so much hype and positive vibes. In these dire times, it’s important to remember that the team is still nine games over .500 and Jesus Made and Luis Pena have both looked pretty comfortable (if not excelling) in their stateside debuts. 

The Mudcats will look to right the ship this week when they host Columbia (Royals affiliate) to end the first half of the season. For a team that once boasted what felt like a whole lineup of guys with a .900+ OPS, the offense has really cooled off. Over the last 15 days only prized prospect Made (.865 OPS) has an OPS over .700 among the regular starters in Carolina. We’re still waiting on word of when Josh Adamczewski might return from injury for the Mudcats lineup who could desperately use his bat.

Perhaps the call up of Dorchies will provide a small spark and help stabilize the Mudcats rotation in the second half.

At High A, The Timber Rattlers will once again be on the road as they face the Tigers’ West Michigan side that has already clinched the first half title with a 43-20 record. Jaron DeBerry will be on the bump on Tuesday night to take on the formidable Whitecaps lineup that features three top 100 prospects in Max Clark (#7 according to MLB Pipeline), Kevin McGonigle (#23), and Josue Briceño (#76).

Blake Burke, who turned 22 last week, is third in the Midwest League with a .317 average. ICYMI, Spencer went deeper on Burke last week in his observations article.

Eduardo Garcia blasted a homer on Saturday and now has four homers in June, contributing to a .732 slugging percentage this month, while riding a 26 game on-base streak. On the flip side, Garcia has struck out a whopping 16 times in 50 plate appearances this month.

The Timber Rattlers weekly pod can be found here, which includes some explanation on the Rodriguez dust up:

Some of the early season hype and vibes we felt at Carolina have been transferred to Biloxi, where the Shuckers’ magic number to clinch the first half season title is down to two games. The Shuckers had a 3-3 week in Chattanooga, but the offense continued to mash, as the team put up 43 runs in the six game series (with two of those games being seven inning doubleheaders).

After the Shuckers swept the player/pitcher of the week awards last week in the Southern League, Brock Wilken took home player of the week honors this week, adding two more Brockets to his league-leading homerun total.

Wilken has already matched his 2024 output with 17 homers in about half (405 to 214) the at-bats this season. It’s safe to say that Wilken, who turns 23 years old on Tuesday, is pounding on the door of a promotion to AAA Nashville should a spot (Anthony Steigler promotion??) open up on the infield. Luke Adams has a 1.269 OPS in the month of June and is nearly lock step at the plate with his Biloxi Bash Brother Brock. Both players sport a season-long .924 OPS and both are top three in the Southern League in homers, walks, RBI, on-base, and slugging. Adams just turned 21 and he’s going to be blocked at AAA by Nashville's crowded infield scene with Ernesto Martinez Jr. healthy, the recently acquired Andrew Vaughn now in the fold, and even Tyler Black getting the occasional start at first for the Sounds.

Recently promoted catcher Matthew Wood is 9 for 15 this month in Biloxi with a homer and three walks. 

As always, we conclude the trip around the organizational horn in Nashville, where the Sounds will mirror the Brewers in taking on the Cubs organization this week when they host Iowa. Nashville gained ground on first place Lehigh Valley last week, but they’ll need a small miracle to overcome their six game deficit now with nine games left in the first half.

The aforementioned Seigler continues to rake, with a .995 OPS over the last 15 days, while continuing to take reps at the hot corner in three of four games he played in last week. Seigler may have been a Contreras’ hip check away from getting the call, had Caleb Durbin been injured in that collision. Jeferson Quero played in four games last week, three behind the dish (which is the limit for now) and one as designated hitter. The guys on the Brewers Fanatic podcast mentioned last week Sounds’ manager Rick Sweet’s comments about Quero’s arm which are worth repeating here. Sweet said Quero has “twelve bolts” in his shoulder and that he may never throw like the 80 grade arm Quero possessed pre-injury. Not great…  Harkens back to Jimmy Nelson.  Hear Sweet for yourself here, with the thoughts on Quero about two minutes in.

With the well-deserved promotion of Jacob Misiorowski to The Show last week, Logan Henderson now becomes the Sounds’ ace. Henderson will look to bounce back from Friday’s performance when he allowed a season-high nine hits in just over five innings.  Henderson managed to somehow only allow one run, lowering his ERA to 1.87 in AAA this season. Former Brewers’ bullpen mainstays Joel Payamps and Elvis Peguero combined for five innings pitched and zero earned runs last week, as they look to work their way back to the majors.

As Brewers Fanatics play arm-chair GM leading up to the trade deadline, the potential haul is continuously bandied about, but rarely is it discussed what it would require to bring in help. Could any of the above players be on the move to bring back some immediate help for the parent club? The system looks loaded with infield talent, with Burke, Adams, and Wilken all producing at the corners and Cooper Pratt, Pena, and Made (to name a few) drawing praise up the middle. Even with the departure of Aaron Civale last week, the Brewers still possess starting pitching depth that they could look to deal. What players would you be willing to give up to improve the Brewers’ chances this year? Or should Matt Arnold just hold the top prospects and look to open a championship window when these players get closer to Milwaukee? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

 

 

 

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Hold onto the minor league talent for the next run!