2026 Brewers Affiliate Season Recap: Low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

[Steve Drumwright]

Image courtesy of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

It was a conundrum of a 2026 season for the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

The Timber Rattlers finished second in the first half of the Midwest League’s West Division at 34-48, but had a minus-31 run differential. In the second half, the T-Rats had a better record at 38-31 and a much better run differential at plus-74, but finished fourth in the division. Overall, they had the third-best record in the West and fifth-best in the Midwest League, but that didn’t yield a playoff spot.

Wisconsin had the third-highest batting average, second-best OPS, scored the third-most runs, tied for third in stolen bases. Pitching was another story. The Timber Rattlers were 10th in the 12-team league in ERA, struck out the second-fewest and had the ninth-worst opponent batting average.

There was plenty of talent at Wisconsin. Shortstop Luis Pena (Brewer Fanatic’s No. 2 prospect), left fielder Josh Adamczewski (No. 3 prospect), outfielder Braylon Payne (No. 4), corner infielder Andrew Fischer (No. 5 prospect), catcher Marco Dinges (No. 11 prospect) all started the season with the Rattlers, while shortstop and 2025 second-round pick Brady Ebel (No. 7 prospect), 2026 second-round outfielder Sawyer Strosnider (No. 15 prospect) joined the roster late in the season, well after the others were promoted to Double-A Biloxi.

That core made for some excitement. Most notably, of course, was Fischer, who smashed the first 20 of his 48 regular-season homers, which led all of the minors, in 54 games with the Timber Rattlers. He is the first Brewers prospect to lead the minors in homers since Bill Foley had 34 in 1978 with Class A Burlington. Fischer had a 1.118 OPS with the T-Rats.

Left-handed starter Wande Torres also made a nice step this season. The 21-year-old, signed back in 2022 as an international free agent and sidelined all of 2023 with a back injury, finished with 131 strikeouts (after two relief appearances at Biloxi), which ranks third in the Brewers’ system, and logged 122⅓ innings, also third. Right-handed starter Ethan Dorchies, a 10th-round pick in 2024, also made his mark with 101 strikeouts in 113 innings.

Pena had a couple of scary incidents. The 19-year-old, who played in the Futures Game, was sidelined a month after becoming dehydrated and passing out in the dugout of a game in late April. He then missed two weeks in June due to a hamstring injury. He had a slash line of .298/.384/.420 with two homers, 23 RBIs and 27 steals in 51 games before being promoted to Biloxi in mid-August.

Stat Leaders

League: Midwest League West Division

First half: 34-28, second place, 5 GB, minus-31 run differential

Second half: 38-31, fourth place, 6½ GB, plus-74 run differential

Hitting leaders

(20 games minimum)

Average: Josh Adamczewski .331, Josiah Ragsdale .327, Andrew Fischer .298

Slugging percentage: Fischer .675, Adamczewski .572, Braylon Payne .561

OPS: Fischer 1.118, Adamczewski 1.036, Ragsdale .975

Runs: Eric Bitonti 93, Daniel Dickinson 83, Payne 71

HRs: Bitonti 25, Payne 23, Luis Castillo 20, Fischer 20

RBIs: Castillo 90, Bitonti 88, Dickinson 66

Pitching leaders

(10 games minimum)

ERA: Michael Fowler 2.41, Jose Meneses 2.89, Garrett Hodges 3.38

Strikeouts: Wande Torres 126, Ethan Dorchies 101, Braylon Owen 79

WHIP: Meneses 1.13, Fowler 1.21, Owens 1.27

Opponent average: Meneses .129, Fowler .184, Hodges .189

Wins: Torres 9, Chandler Welch 7, Travis Smith 6

Saves: Fowler 6, Yerlin Rodriguez 4, Daniel Corniel 3, Bjorn Johnson 3

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[Secret Stadium Sauce]

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