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.

[Jim Goulart]

Pregame Audio Friday 7/3 - Special Advisor, Player Development Al LeBeouf

Pregame Audio Tuesday 7/7 - Manager Eddy Morgan

[Jim Goulart]

Posted Tuesday on Facebook:

Wilson Dugout interview with RHP Jacob Morrison 

[Jim Goulart]

MEET THE WARBIRDS: Schaum takes the road less traveled to Single-A Wilson
Undrafted after a record-setting Division III career, pitcher Bryce Schaum went from independent ball to a surprise Brewers deal and a rapid rise to Single-A Wilson
By Paul Durham, Wilson Times

Photos at link

Bryce Schaum’s journey to Wilson was a bit different from his Warbirds teammates on the first-year Single-A Carolina League franchise roster.

After a record-setting career at tiny Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the right-handed pitcher was neither drafted nor signed as a free agent by an MLB team. Instead, Schaum signed with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent league encompassing the Upper Midwest since 2005, after college.

But Schaum didn’t stay in Chicago long as the 23-year-old learned one morning after a long bus ride from Kansas City to South Dakota when he awakened to learn the Milwaukee Brewers wanted to sign him.

“Saw a text from one of the guys, got on a call, and then basically from there it was history. Kind of figured it out from there,” Schaum said in Wilson Warbirds manager Eddy Morgan’s office Sunday, July 12, following the final game of the last homestand before the MLB All-Star Game break this week.

Getting signed again was not something Schaum expected to happen quite so quickly in the American Association, in which former Hunt High, Barton College and Wilson Tobs catcher Chase Waddell plays for the Milwaukee Milkmen.

“Still wanted to keep playing and trying to get towards it,” Schaum said. “So, when it did come up, it was kind of out of the blue a little bit. It’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone looking.

Schaum, who is from Munster, Indiana, had played in 13 games for the Dogs and was planning on pitching there as long as it took.

“I didn’t really have any idea with that,” he said of the chance of being picked up by an MLB organization. “I think we know, like playing in indy ball, there are some eyes on us, but I was not sure about anything.”

Schaum was signed by the Brewers on May 28, the same day they sent him to their Rookie level Arizona Complex Team. Schaum pitched one inning in one game in the ACL on June 5 and four days later, he was promoted to Single-A Wilson.

Since then, Schaum has gone 1-1 in eight appearances, all in relief, with a 7.88 ERA and three strikeouts in eight innings. To say the least, he’s delighted to be playing Single-A and off the long bus rides through several states.

“It’s awesome,” he said with a grin when asked about how he likes it here. “I mean, it’s all the same game and it’s fun! I’m glad I got experience before coming here. But yeah, the difference, the amenities here being like the tools and resources. It’s just unbelievable the difference in how like my processing and learning, trying to understand how to be a real professional here.”

He left Carthage, an NCAA Division III school of less than 3,000 enrollment on the shore of Lake Michigan, as its all-time career strikeout leader with 399. Schaum thought he might get some attention from pro scouts after a solid junior season, but the buzz wasn’t quite the same after his senior year.

“But after the season, I didn’t necessarily perform to where I thought I needed to hear a scout or someone reach out, and by the time the draft came around, we knew that wasn’t really a possibility,” he said. “And it was a hope for maybe a free agent (offer) after, but after not hearing anything, figured I’d try to make the best opportunity.”

When Schaum got to Wilson, there was at least one guy who knew him — sort of. For the last 12 years, Morgan was the head coach at another NCAA Division III program, Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, about an hour south of Carthage in Kenosha. The schools played one another in a nonconference, but competitive setting.

“He was a good Division III baseball player, and you know, I think Division III sometimes gets a bad rap, but up and down, there’s players in professional baseball that play Division III,” Morgan said. “It’s just not as deep as the other divisions, that’s all. But there’s players as talented as Bryce, you know, all over, particularly the Midwest, because there’s so many Division IIIs in the Midwest.”

Morgan grinned when Schaum tried to remember who won when Carthage and Concordia met as nonconference rivals.

“Yeah, I think I had like a spot start where I threw like two innings only, and I think that was the only time I threw against them in college,” said Schaum. “But no, we always played them. It was always fun. My head coaches and other coaches, they were always in high praise of Concordia.”

He said that his Carthage coaches would always insist that beating Concordia was a must, given their proximity.

Morgan, who has coached in the summer collegiate Northwoods League, said that it’s hard to predict how Div. III players will perform at higher levels, but that Schaum has seemed to adjust.

“You never know with Division III kids how they’re going to handle moving up, whether it’s playing in the Northwoods League, the Coastal Plains League, or Cape Cod League, or professional baseball,” Morgan said. “You never know, but one of the things that I think when you have success — whether it’s junior college baseball, whether it’s NAIA baseball — it’s going to relay to the point where you’re going to have success.”

Schaum, like all of his Wilson teammates, doesn’t want to stay here any longer than necessary, but for now, he’s still learning on the job, like all of his teammates, even if the lessons are internal.

“Not getting in my head,” he said of his biggest challenge. “I feel very emotional when I get out there, and I think I like to wear my emotion on the sleeve sometimes. But I think that’s the adjustment is not letting that be the controlling factor, like not letting that depend how every outing goes from time to time.

“But just adjusting to the hitters. Like back in college, I wasn’t necessarily facing the greatest hitters in the world playing in Division III, and that’s not a knock on any of them, but getting up here, it was definitely an eye-opening experience. OK, I’m not the top dog anymore, and obviously that’s a goal, and I want to grind for that. But it definitely was a wake-up experience to seeing some of those bats!”

Schaum and the North Division-leading Warbirds are back in action Friday, July 17, at the Hickory Crawdads for a short weekend series before heading to Charleston, South Carolina, to take on the RiverDogs, South Division first-half winners, for a six-game series, starting Tuesday.

[Jim Goulart]

Wide A-Walk-off: Wilson Warbirds lead world of pro baseball
Wilson Warbirds' inaugural season as a Single-A Brewers affiliate has turned downtown Wilson into walk-off central, leading pro baseball with 11 last-at-bat wins and a 30-17 home record
By Paul Durham, Wilson Times

When it comes to exciting finishes, Wrigley Field doesn’t have anything on Wilson Ballpark this baseball season.

The Wilson Warbirds’ inaugural campaign as a Single-A Carolina League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers has brought a lot of excitement to downtown Wilson — and in ways no one could have imagined.

The Warbirds have a 30-17 home record that is just a half-game behind overall Carolina League leader Fredericksburg Nationals for home excellence. Eleven of Wilson’s 30 wins have come in its final at-bat, which everyone these days calls a walk-off win. Six of those 11 walk-off wins for the Warbirds have come on home runs, including a memorable, bat-flipping grand slam by outfielder Jose Anderson to beat Delmarva Shorebirds 11-7 on June 5. Three of those six walk-off homers by the Warbirds have been hit by Anderson.

Warbirds media director Chris Edwards reported in his comprehensive game notes package prior to Friday night’s, July 24, game at Charleston RiverDogs that 11 walk-off wins leads all of professional baseball right now. There are two other teams with 10 walk-off wins — the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A Eastern League affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs of legendary Wrigley Field.

The Warbirds, who are playing at Charleston RiverDogs through Sunday, and Cubs (at Pittsburgh Pirates) are on the road this weekend, but Richmond has home games Saturday and Sunday at Carmax Park.

Wilson has just 19 home games remaining, starting with a six-game series against Fredericksburg on Tuesday. That total includes the conclusion of a suspended game against Hickory Crawdads from July 19 in Hickory with the Warbirds leading 6-0 in the top of the first inning.

Below is a list of all 11 walk-off wins for the Wilson Warbirds this season:

April 17 Wilson 7, Hill City 6 Luis Lameda solo HR

April 19 Wilson 5, Hill City 3 Jose Anderson 2-run HR

May 3 Wilson 4, Salem 3 Handelfry Encarnacion 2-run HR

May 24 Wilson 7, Delmarva 6 (8 inn.) Frederi Montero RBI single

June 5 Wilson 11, Salem 7 (11 inn.) Anderson grand slam

June 6 Wilson 4, Salem 3 (10 inn.) Filippo Di Turi RBI single

June 18 Wilson 6, Charleston 5 Tyler Rodriguez solo HR

June 20 Wilson 5, Charleston 5 Throwing error by pitcher

June 30 Wilson 3, Kannapolis 2 (11 inn.) Jadyn Fielder RBI single

July 7 Wilson 10, Fayetteville 9 (11 inn.) Di Turi RBI single

July 10 Wilson 11, Fayetteville 10 Anderson solo HR

[Jim Goulart]

On Alexander Frias