Your 2026 Wilson Warbirds

[Jim Goulart]

WARBIRDS NOTEBOOK: Players come and go — and come back — as season heats up
Amid constant call-ups and returns in their inaugural season, the Wilson Warbirds juggle a shifting Brewers prospect roster, uneven offense, solid pitching and steady crowds
By Paul Durham, Wilson Times

As fans of the Wilson Warbirds become acclimated to the young talent in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, they might want to pay attention because the players might not be here long.

The Wilson roster was set at the outset of Single-A Carolina League play April 3 and didn’t change until April 18 when right-handed pitcher Enniel Cortez went on the Injured List. Since then, the Brewers have made 15 roster changes affecting the Warbirds as players come, go and come again.

Two of the newest Warbirds — outfielder/first baseman Tyler Rodriguez and catcher Rylan Mills — enjoyed a memorable first week in Wilson with homers that led to victories at Wilson Ballpark over the weekend.

Two players on the first Warbirds roster — RHP Garrett Hodges and utilityman Luiyin Alastre — earned promotions to the next rung in the Brewers organizational ladder to High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers over the last few weeks. Two more, catcher Eric Martinez and pitcher Joshua Quezada, were sent to Triple-A Nashville Sounds last weekend. However, Martinez, who just had 19 at-bats in Wilson, has been transferred to the Development List while Quezada returned to Wilson on Monday after throwing 1 1/3 hitless innings Saturday for the Sounds.

Warbirds manager Eddy Morgan is the person who gets to tell the players that they are getting called up and that’s definitely a perk of his job.

“That’s the coolest thing, right?” said Morgan, in his first season of pro ball after two decades as a college head coach in Wisconsin. “You see their face, and they’re like, oh, yeah, this is awesome! Yeah, to me, that’s pretty cool. A lot of people have a lot of influence. It’s just not the manager — coaches, our entire staff.

“I think our staff here is as good as I’ve been around. I know I’ve been in college for a long time, but just talking to people, this staff communicates well. I think we connect with the players really well. And to me, it has everything to do with the staff and (the player) versus the manager. But I get to tell him!”

Hodges, who played at Gardner-Webb University, went 2-1 in Wilson and notched his first victory at Wisconsin on May 13 while Alastre is hitting .310 for the Timber Rattlers after hitting just .160 in 15 games with the Warbirds.

“That’s what they’re all playing for, right?” Morgan said. “And no offense to Wilson — we love it here — but the goal is not to stay in Wilson. The goal is to advance and get to Wisconsin and then to (Double-A) Biloxi and Nashville and the big leagues. So, Hodges was the latest in the way he was throwing the ball. He deserved the call-up now. Ran his fastball to 98 the other day. Very confident. Looks in control. And so, he’s ready for that next stage. And I think we’ll see some more of these guys grow up.”

ATTENDANCE SO FAR

So far, the Warbirds have averaged 2,336 spectators per game with two sellouts (3,700) and Saturday’s game, May 16, with 3,475 in attendance. The smallest crowd so far was 1,003, the opening game of the second homestand.

The average per homestand has decreased from 2,333 in the first six games to 2,202 in the second to 2,164 for this past week.

This week’s games are the first of two back-to-back homestands for the Warbirds in their inaugural season. The next one will run June 30 through July 12 and will be followed by a two-week stretch without games at Wilson Ballpark. The MLB All-Star Game break is July 13-16, then the Warbirds head to Hickory for three games against the Crawdads before going to Charleston for a six-game series starting July 21.

NUMBERS GAME

The Warbirds offense has struggled much of the season with the team ranked last in the Carolina League in hits (248), runs (179), batting average (.202) and slugging percentage (.322) while No. 2 in strikeouts with 429.

However, there are some bright spots in the lineup. Center fielder Jose Anderson has hammered eight home runs, tying him for the Carolina League lead while right fielder Handelfry Encarnacion has slugged six homers. Both are in the top 10 in RBIs with 26 and 25, respectively.

While neither has enough at-bats to qualify for the league leaders, Wilson outfielder/DH Pedro Ibarguen is hitting .315 (23 for 73) and infielder Luis Lameda is batting at a .293 clip (24 for 82).

Wilson’s pitching across the board has been better as the Warbirds rank fifth in both team ERA (4.35) and strikeouts (398) but they have given up a league-high 39 homers, with 24 hit in the cozy confines of Wilson Ballpark.

[Jim Goulart]

Brewers prospect Bonet eager to fulfill family MLB tradition
RHP Jarrette Bonet, from a family of MLB veterans, is turning a strong first pro season in Wilson into a bid to reach the majors on his own terms
By Paul Durham, Wilson Times

While playing professional baseball might be a family tradition for Jarrette Bonet, the Wilson Warbirds pitcher hopes to add to that heritage all the way to the big leagues.

Bonet, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-hander, is off to a pretty good start in his first season of pro ball after signing a free-agent minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers last summer. Bonet skipped Rookie ball altogether and came straight to Wilson at the conclusion of spring training.

So far, he’s been very impressive at times, if not consistent in his eight appearances, all starts, for the Single-A Carolina League Warbirds. Bonet is 1-2 with a 5.20 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings. Opponents are batting .246 against him and his WHIP is 1.35.

Bonet has cooled off a bit after a hot start that saw the Brewers name him their Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April after he went 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.

Bonet said that his success has come directly from hard work.

“I’m working really, really, really hard for this, waiting four years for the opportunities,” he said during a recent interview at Wilson Ballpark. “I’ll be here and there’s hard work every day — like every single day — but I’ll never quit. I think this is the reason I’m doing well right now. I think it’s like, my hard work and I never quit.”

Bonet, who hails from Manati, Puerto Rico, has played baseball in the United States before at San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College as well as with the Trenton Thunder summer collegiate team in the MLB Draft League. He said that experience helped him get to where he is, but the pro game is much different.

“My preparation right now is so much better,” Bonet said. “What I did in college, my first year in college, I was a little lazy, but I feel like here, you can’t do this. You need to work a lot. This is one of the adjustments I do, and I work on my mechanics a lot in the offseason, like in the spring training, too. So, I think it’s everything like this that has helped me a lot right now.”

Bonet was a key member of Puerto Rico’s team in the World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup in 2023. He threw 4 1/3 innings of hitless relief to get the win in Puerto Rico’s upset of No. 2-seeded United States. Bonet said that playing for P.R. pitching coach Dicky Gonzalez Baez was a great experience as well.

“He played in Japan, and I talked to him (very much), and he’s helped me a lot, like little things I need to learn,” Bonet said. “I think it’s helped me a lot.”

Bonet comes from a big-league family with uncles Jose Valentin and Javier Valentin playing a combined 26 years of MLB baseball while cousin Jesmuel Valentin played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018. All three, like Bonet, are from Manati, a town of less than 40,000 known for its lush tropical beaches. While Bonet hopes to follow in their footsteps, he’s not comparing himself to his relatives — or anyone else.

“No, for me, I don’t feel that pressure,” he said. “But probably, like the people say that you need to be good, like, same or better with your family. But I don’t feel that pressure. I play for me, for my future and for doing better, whether with my family or not.”

While Bonet is eager to climb the ladder in the Brewers organization, he likes the vibe in Wilson so far, especially Wilson Ballpark.

“The park, I think it’s that part of the city is, like, chill,” he said. “I think the teammates here, there’s a lot of good teammates, a lot of good people. I think it feels special here, like, it’s good.”

[Jim Goulart]

 

[MudcatsfaninBrunsCO]

In Brunswick County NC, About an hour from the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Going on Wednesday to pull on the Warbirds!

[Jim Goulart]

WARBIRDS NOTEBOOK: Wilson’s play peaks in 12-game homestand
During a 12-game homestand, the Wilson Warbirds have surged to 23-22 and a tie for second in the Carolina League North behind improved offense, solid pitching and strong clubhouse chemistry
By Paul Durham, Wilson Times

As May heads into June, the Wilson Warbirds are playing their best baseball of the Single-A Carolina League season thus far. Despite coming up short in a 4-3 loss to the Delmarva Shorebirds in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday, May 24, at Wilson Ballpark, the Warbirds went into Monday’s off day with wins in eight of their last 10 games and stand 23-22 (.521) and tied for second place with the Hill City Howlers in the North Division.

“It seems like it’s a different guy, like every game, or a couple different guys,” said manager Eddy Morgan. “It’s not one or two guys carrying us, particularly on the offensive side, even on the pitching side.”

Wilson’s pitching has been solid all season as the Warbirds rank fourth in the Carolina League with 450 strikeouts although their team ERA has slipped to ninth at 4.66.

Jarrette Bonet, who earned the Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, has been stellar, if not consistent, while another right-hander, Carlos Carra, has been resilient despite losing his first five decisions. Nearly everyone on the staff has had a lights-out performance along with a not-so-memorable one.

“It’s like different pieces when you have them, when you can get production from your bullpen, from the starters, from up and down the lineup on different days,” Morgan continued, “then I think everybody’s like, hey, if I’m not going well, they don’t necessarily feel the pressure that they have to carry us.”

Offensively, however, is where the Warbirds have improved the most. From ranking at or near the bottom of most significant offensive categories, Wilson sits sixth in runs with 229 and RBIs with 196. The Warbirds are still at the bottom of the league in team batting at .211 and slugging percentage at .335 but the latter number should grow as they settle into hitter-friendly Wilson Ballpark.

Individually, outfielder Pedro Ibarguen and shortstop Brady Ebel have led the May turnaround. Ibarguen now is hitting .314 with a .429 on-base percentage and .442 slugging percentage overall after posting .373/.492/.569 in May so far.

Ebel is hitting .324/.443/.521 with 14 RBIs, two homers and 13 stolen bases so far this month. That boosts the No. 32 overall pick of the Milwaukee Brewers last summer to .242/.388/.362.

Center fielder Jose Anderson leads the Carolina League with 10 homers while ranking fifth with 30 RBIs. He also leads the league with 76 strikeouts.

The Warbirds have shown a penchant for striking out with 477 but that number ranks fourth after Wilson led the Carolina League in that category for much of the early going. Still, the players seem to shrug off the strikeouts.

“For as young as they are, it’s a very mature group,” Morgan said. “They don’t let frustration boil over too much. They don’t have bad body language, for the most part. Where you can see maybe some other teams, when they get down a little bit, it’s like a lot of that.”

DONE WITH DELMARVA

After a home series and an away series against Delmarva, the Warbirds won’t play their North Division foes again in the regular season as a quirk of the Carolina League scheduling.

Wilson will play North foes Hill City and Salem twice more, including the next homestand against the RidgeYaks, after already playing each of them twice. The Warbirds have not met North and Carolina League leader Fredericksburg Nationals but will see them three times starting in late June.

Wilson is playing its first games against a South Division foe as it visits the Myrtle Beach Pelicans this week. The Warbirds will host series against South foes Charleston, Kannapolis, Columbia and Hickory this summer.

‘BIRDS VIBIN’

One aspect of these first Warbirds is their love for the game and affection for one another. Given that they are group of 18-to-22-year-olds thrown together, the camaraderie in the dugout and throughout the clubhouse is evident.

“The clubhouse vibe is really good,” Morgan said. “Seems like they all get along, they’re all pulling for each other, but I got to give kudos to our coaching staff.”

Morgan, in his first season of professional baseball after two decades as a college head coach in Wisconsin, lauded his staff of hitting coach Jose Garcia, pitching coaches Paul Moeller and Jesus Hernandez and bench coach Ricky Carvajal along with trainers Matt Pawlik and Tyler Shumake and strength and conditioning coaches Emily Young and Matt Gallo.

“Jose is doing a tremendous job with the hitters, keeping them nice and calm,” Morgan said. “Ricky, our bench coach, is doing a great job with our infielders and I believe we have the best infield defense in the Carolina League.”

Morgan paused and grinned before bringing up Moeller.

“And then obviously Paul,” he said. “Paul’s a little fighter, so I love it, so he balances us guys up that are pretty stable. He’s doing an accurate job getting those pitchers ready, so, and our trainers, our strength people — I think it just has to be everybody, so not just the clubhouse, but the coaching staff as well. I think we’re all on the same page, and playing on the road is going to be tough, but we’ll see if we get some momentum off this homestand and keep it rolling.”