Your 2026 Wilson Warbirds

[Jim Goulart]

Wilson Ballpark has been a boon for the home team in first season
In their inaugural Carolina League season, the Wilson Warbirds are much better at Wilson Ballpark, leading MiLB in walks, earning promotions and drawing strong crowds despite road struggles
By Paul Durham, Wilson Times

As the Wilson Warbirds prepare for their next six-game stretch at Wilson Ballpark, it’s one of just four remaining homestands in the inaugural season for the Single-A Carolina League franchise.

Following the six-game set against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, which begins Tuesday, July 7, the Carolina League takes a four-day break aligned with the MLB All-Star Game break. Wilson then plays three games at the Hickory Crawdads over the weekend and then heads to South Carolina for six games against the Charleston RiverDogs.

The Warbirds are back at Wilson Ballpark from July 28 to Aug. 2 against the Fredericksburg Nationals. The last two homestands are from Aug. 11-16 against the Columbia Fireflies and Aug. 25-30 against Hickory.

Wilson Ballpark has been big for the Warbirds, who are 26-16 at home but only 17-22 on the road. That’s the worst road mark for any Carolina League team currently above .500.

Per Warbirds broadcast and media relation director Chris Edwards’ game notes from Sunday, the Warbirds have hit 41 of their 64 home runs at Wilson Ballpark, which ranks fourth in the Carolina League and 10th among all Single-A teams. Additionally, the team has scored 249 of its 446 runs at home, which ranks second in the league.

WALKING WARBIRDS

Edwards also reports that Wilson ranks first in all of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) with 521 bases on balls after drawing five free passes Sunday. Shortstop Brady Ebel ranks second in the Carolina League while outfielder Handelfry Encarnacion and infielder Filippo Di Turi are also in the top 10 in walks drawn.

WILSON A HUB

Since the season began April 3, there have been 37 roster moves by the Milwaukee Brewers that have affected the Warbirds. Eight of those were players going on or coming off the Injured List while three went onto the Development List.

Two players — catcher Luis Corobo and right-handed pitcher Ayendy Bravo — were sent to the Arizona Complex League in late April but all the other players to have left Wilson have moved up. Two of those, catcher Eric Martinez and RHP Joshua Quezada, got a taste of Triple-A baseball with the Brewers’ affiliate Nashville Sounds in mid-May. Quezada pitched in one game and promptly came back to Wilson while Martinez was immediately put on Nashville’s Development List. Martinez spent more than a month in Nashville before going to the ACL and then back to Wilson on June 30. Both are currently on the Warbirds roster.

Eight players have been promoted to the Brewers’ High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Wilson — pitchers Garrett Hodges, Tanner Perry, Jayden Dubanewicz, Peyton Niksch and Jose Meneses and position players Luywin Alastre, Yannic Walther and Tyler Rodriguez.

Twelve players have come to Wilson from Arizona in all but Rodriguez, Dubanewicz and Martinez are still here.

JULY BIRTHDAYS

There will be lots of birthday cake in the Warbirds clubhouse this month with six players celebrating their birthdays in July.

In addition to outfielder Pedro Ibarguen, who turned 20 on July 2, pitcher Miqueas Mercedes will celebrate his 20th Tuesday, July 7, on the mound as the starting pitcher for the series opener against Fayetteville.

The rest of the birthday boys for the Warbirds this month are pitcher Andrew Healy (23 on July 11), pitcher Hayden Robinson (21 on July 12), catcher Kevin Garcia (19 on July 20) and shortstop Brady Ebel (19 on July 25). Additionally, pitcher Melvin Hernandez on the Development List will turn 20 on July 30.

Just missing the cut for July is pitcher Jarrette Bonet, who will be 21 on Aug. 1.

WILSON BALLPARK FIGURES

The Warbirds set a club attendance mark Saturday night with the Fourth of July standing room-only crowd of 3,840 but saw another record — the smallest crowd in 42 games at Wilson Ballpark — the following afternoon. Only 923 spectators braved brutal heat for Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. first pitch and most of them hung out in the shady areas of the concourse.

Through 42 home dates, the Warbirds have drawn — according to their official attendance figures on each game’s box score — 87,284 spectators for an average of more than 2,078 per game. That’s slightly under the 2,123 the Carolina Mudcats drew last summer, their final one at Five County (now Nomaco) Stadium in Zebulon, per thebaseballcube.com.