2026 Brewers Affiliate Season Recap: Low-A Wilson Warbirds

Image courtesy of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

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In its first season of existence, the Wilson Warbirds’ record reflected their final rankings in the Carolina League stat leaders.

The Warbirds, the Milwaukee Brewers’ affiliate who were previously the Carolina Mudcats, finished second in the North Division’s first half and fourth in the second half. They had one of the league’s best offenses, putting up the second-most runs and the fourth-most homers. But the pitching was another story. Despite some nice individual performances, the Warbirds were 10th in the 12-team league in ERA (5.39) and 11th in opponent batting average (.255).

With a lot of the key prospects in the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 at higher levels to begin the season, the Warbirds still had plenty of contributions throughout the season. That started with shortstop Brady Ebel, the Brewers’ first-round compensation pick (32nd overall) in 2025. The 19-year-old put together a .261/.417/.420 slash line with 10 homers, 68 RBIs and a team-high 39 stolen bases in 105 games before getting moved up to the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Trey Ebel, Brady’s younger brother, was the Brewers’ first-round draft choice this year (25th overall) and made his pro debut with the Warbirds, playing in 13 games with a slash line of .190/.424/.286 with a homer and five RBIs.

Jose Anderson, a 19-year-old center fielder who was signed as an international free agent in 2024, emerged as a power threat with a team-high 23 homers despite a .173/.272/.389 slash line in 103 games that included 70 RBIs. He had hit 19 homers in 140 games over the previous two seasons. Another outfielder, 18-year-old Brailyn Antunez, had a terrific season, including 34 games with the Warbirds, where he put up a .339/.450/.573 slash line, hitting seven homers, driving in 33 runs and stealing 10 bases.

On the pitching side, right-hander Jarrette Bonet, an undrafted free agent signed in 2025, led the team with 100 strikeouts and 109⅓ innings while posting a 4.86 ERA. None of the five pitchers who made double-digit starts for the Warbirds had a strikeout total that was greater than their innings pitched. One reliever who had a nice stint with the Warbirds was left-hander Jose Meneses, who had a 1.88 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 38⅓ innings over 23 games before earning a trip up to the Timber Rattlers.

One good story to note would be the appearance of left-handed starter Frank Cairone in a Warbirds uniform. Cairone, the 19-year-old who was the Brewers’ second-round draft pick in 2025, was involved in a serious car accident in mid-January and made a tremendous recovery to appear in an Arizona Complex League game July 2. After four games there, he made it into one game with the Warbirds. Stats don’t matter in this story. It was the comeback for someone who had thought his pro baseball career might be over before it began that was important.

Stat Leaders

League: Carolina League North Division

First half: 36-30, second place, 10 GB, plus-15 run differential

Second half: 28-36, fourth place, 11 GB, minus-71 run differential

Hitting leaders

(20 games minimum)

Average: Brailyn Antunez .339, Carsten Sabathia .288, Luis Lameda .270

Slugging percentage: Antunez .573, Rylan Mills .483, Sabathia .466

OPS: Antunez 1.023, Sabathia .847, Mills .839

Runs: Handelfry Encarnacion 75, Brady Ebel 74, Juan Ortuno 71

HRs: Jose Anderson 23, Mills 14, Encarnacion 12

RBIs: Encarnacion 71, Anderson 70, B.Ebel 68

Pitching leaders

(10 games minimum)

ERA: Jose Meneses 1.88, Anfernny Reyes 2.05, Peyton Niksch 2.70

Strikeouts: Jarrette Bonet 100, Carlos Carra 93, Tyler Renz 87

WHIP: Garrett Hodges 0.89, Reyes 0.91, Menses 0.99

Opponent average: Reyes .080, Hodges .117, Reyes .181

Wins: Bonet 8, Thomas Conrad 5, Meneses 5, Enderson Mercado 5, Joshua Quezada 5

Saves: Meneses 6, Quezada 5, Joey Broughton 2, Niksch 2, Eric Prado 2, Hayden Robinson 2

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Steve Drumwright grew up in Wisconsin and was forced out of youth baseball when he failed to make enough contact to play the sport he loves. He did make one memorable pitching appearance, summoned from right field in a blowout. Steve went on to a successful journalism career, beginning as a part-time high school sportswriter in small-town Wisconsin to becoming the No. 2 person in the newsroom in San Francisco. Steve enjoys telling the stories of other people and how sports is a terrific vehicle for telling those stories. He now lives in Southern California. Follow him on Bluesky.