Brewers Minor League Link Report (5/13): Pratt, Wilken and Adams Go Long as Shuckers Stay Red Hot; ACL Brewers Keep Us Dreaming

Transactions:

• LHP Brandon Knarr was placed on the full-season IL by the Biloxi Shuckers
• RHP Raymond Sarmiento (2025 International FA Class) was assigned to to the DSL Brewers Gold
• INF Roderick Flores was assigned to the Nashville Sounds from the DSL Brewers Gold

** it certainly appears as though this was a strange transactional typo as Flores was very much playing on the ACL Brewers tonight. We'll have to stay tuned but I imagine that was supposed to read '...assigned to the ACL Brewers...' **

• C Edgardo Ordonez was activated from the 7-Day IL by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Nashville will attempt their make-up doubleheader tomorrow:

Carolina will look to make up their postponed game one Thursday:

Final: Biloxi 10, Montgomery (Rays) 4

Via the Shuckerss' website, please be sure to click and read each of the affiliate write-ups as part of your season-long Link Report routine (believe me, it's worth it):

Pratt's First Inning Home Run Sets Stage for Dominant 10-4 Shuckers Win - 

Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes

The Shuckers just keep winning. Does anyone else remember when the Brewers quietly signed their new hitting coach out from under the Yankees' noses? Kevin Martir (formerly of the Somerset Patriots - atop several Eastern League offensive leader boards last season)? I certainly do (and, I know @wiguy94 does). What a difference a year makes as these Shuckers are currently tearing through the Southern League at a fierce pace. If you weren't paying attention, since their woeful early April the Shuckers have climbed atop the Southern League Team batting leaderboard in: HR, OPS, SLG, OBP, RBI, R, 2B, BB, and they have the lowest K total. I mean, can we keep the Yankees hitting instructors coming? My goodness. 11 BB:10 K BB:K ratio on the evening. 3 HR. Double digit runs. I'm getting spoiled.

RHP KC Hunt still isn't right but it's also quite apparent he's working through some type of right ankle issue. This is the second consecutive outing I've watched him pitch and earn a mound visit in the first frame to look at said ankle. He stayed in the game and gritted it out for his teammates and the pitching stables. He also tweaked that same ankle later in his outing when covering first base. I'm unsure what exactly is going on there - we haven't heard anything specific as of yet - but it's clearly not 100%. Does this explicate his ongoing inconsistencies? I'm unsure. But, it certainly isn't helping matters. Hunt completed 4.0 IP allowing 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 ER, 1 WP. He threw 79 pitches with 47 strikes. I'm going to give Hunt the benefit of the doubt here. He isn't sharp but he also isn't playing with a full deck physically.

Three Quick Strikes:

1) In a game where the ongoing Shuckers power surge stole the show early and often, you know how I roll. I'm going to tell you about the reliever who came in 'protecting' a 9-2 lead. LHP Mark Manfredi threw the best relief inning I've seen from him since late last spring with High-A Wisconsin. I haven't seen him throw this purposefully since he first took late inning roles with the 2024 playoff Timber Rattlers squad. Tonight, he touched 96 mph on a few occasions. But, more than that, he was in and around the zone with purpose. No sliders were feet off the plate. Everything was flirting. 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K is exactly how that frame went. More of this please, young man. If we could reclaim Manfredi's tools, that's a massive get for the Shuckers pitching staff.

2) 3B Brock Wilken's tear continues and, my oh my, it is beautiful:

Now, context matters here: he likely was gifted a ball on a strike 3 on the outer black the pitch before. BUT, context also matters here: he did that on the next pitch. He has six long balls in just eleven games in May. He has a 0.921 SLG % over this same span. Man alive. This is what we call a 'heater', folks. 

3) This being said about Wilken's heater, I personally found SS Cooper Pratt's evening as a whole even more impressive. 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HR. Any time I see the immensely talented Pratt go opposite field with power I'm a kid in a candy store. I continue to insist he has this version of power innately in his bag:

He simply needs more professional innings to access it more consistently. 19 K-to-15 BB on his season just sits so right. I love everything about this player. The opposite field power and gap ability is an inevitable growth in his game. It's a matter of time and repetitions for this heady and uber-talented player before it becomes a game-by-game regular thing. 

* Special Shout-Out: 1B Luke Adam's ascent to the lead-off role in the Shuckers line-up has revolutionized the entire offense. As he gets more comfortable in that spot, he's showcasing his entire package. He possesses that uber-rare threat of patience (BB and HBP) with innate athleticism and power. It's not every night you see a 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR line from atop the batting order. He has a 0.479 OBP in May.

The Shuckers improved to 21-13 on their young season. They remain 1.0 G ahead of Pensacola (20-14) who won in walk-off fashion tonight.

Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes

The Timber Rattlers actually led this game 3-0 early. That's all there is to say about that. 

I know the Brewers are pushing RHP Chandler Welch into a starters role early in 2025. I'm here to tell you fine readers: I personally see a bullpen arm when it's all said and done here. Welch sits 90-91 mph and touches 92 mph. He has a change-up and a slider in his bag. He leans on the slider and sprinkles in the change-up. But, Welch doesn't really possess a lot of deception or extension in his smaller build. I see a pitcher forced to live on precision and getting ahead of hitters. I consistently am seeing a pitcher who is falling behind, not getting the benefit of the edges of the zone, and is struggling in early 2025. Tonights 4.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 3 ER outing speaks to this. I've rarely felt he's been in command of innings so far in 2025. It seems as though it could fall apart at any time. Thankfully, he handed things over with the game tied 3-3. He did enough in his 85 pitches (50 strikes) to give a tie game to his bullpen.

Three Quick Strikes:

1) The version of RHP Dikember Sanchez I see in early 2025 is nowhere near the version I saw in late 2024. The velocity is way down. The control is completely off the map. This is one of the more unfortunate (and, frankly, sad) developments of my early viewing season. 1 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 8 ER speaks to the heart of his struggles. He's all over the place. He's getting absolutely zero benefit of the doubt from the home plate umpires as a result. It's quite simply a very hard watch. The deafeningly silent home crowd can attest to this.

2) RHP Yerlin Rodriguez's final line was the pinnacle everything Yerlin Rodriguez experience: 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 5 K, 1 WP, 1 pitch clock violation. That wild pitch came on his first offering: a slider about three feet up and out of the zone off the glove of the desperately sliding C Blayberg Diaz and to the backstop. I'm at a loss with Rodriguez. I'm out of words. Raw tools for eons. I absolutely have zero idea where that ball is going to go when it leaves his hand. Pitch-to-pitch. Outing-to-outing. 

3) Let's not go completely sour within this Timber Rattlers section. I honestly did not know CF Yoshwar Garcia had this type of line drive in his bag:

Back when the feels were good. Back when the Rattlers were clinging to a shutout. Times were better then.

With the lopsided loss, Wisconsin fell to 14-20 on their season. They are 7.5 GB first place Quad Cities (21-12).

Final: ACL Brewers 15, ACL Dodgers 2

Box Score / Game Log

It's hard not to get even more ridiculously excited about the wealth of young talent permeating the lowest of levels within the Brewers organization. We've all witnessed the scorching hot Mudcats offense in the Low-A Carolina League throughout the first month and a half. We are now witnessing the other wealth of talent constituting the first International Class (2024) lucky enough to work and play at last season's newly opened Dominican Academy.

From our own @CheeseheadInQC:

Quote

It is amazing that the youngest lineup is also the best so far. Even before tonight’s double-digit output, the offense led the ACL in batting average, OBP, slugging and, by more than .100, OPS.

When one inning was over, the ACL Crew were already leading 7-0. Early, it was LF Handelfry Encarnacion's turn to go yard: he poked his first long ball of the season to put three on the board and add to that first inning rally. It obviously wasn't just Encarnacion's turn to party at the plate. There was ample food to share:

• Rehabbing C (mostly a DH for now) Jeferson Quero walked three times and hit a bomb in a 1-fro-1, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1 HR evening. What a sight for sore eyes.  
• C Kevin Garcia launched two dingers in a 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR night at the dish 
• CF José Anderson went 2-for-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 2B in another impressive evening
• SS Juan Ortuno, batting behind Garcia, managed a 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K night 

The young Brewers just keep mashing and putting up runs at a pace well beyond their years. And, if this wasn't enough, I can honestly attest: the pitching output was likely more impressive to an aficionado such as myself. Just take a quick glance at these combined efforts:

• RHP Miqueas Mercedes - 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 2 ER, 1 HR, 2 WP, 1 HB. Mercedes now has 14 K in 7 2/3 IP in two outings.
• RHP Joshua Quezada - 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Ethan Dorchies - last year's 10th round draft pick out of Cary-Grove HS may have put forth the most impressive outing of all throwing 4.0 IP of 1 H, 0 BB, 9 K work. What's more, he looks to have filled out quite a bit since being drafted:

If you did the math there, that's a three pitcher combined 20 K night. Whewwww. Let me catch my breath. If I crunch numbers even further, what appears oddly clear in early 2025 is the further South your Brewers baseball affiliate is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin the better the Brewers brand of baseball. Folks, I think we just might be in for an absolute banger of a DSL season. Fasten your seat belts. 

The ACL Brewers moved to 7-2. They are 1/2 G ahead the ACL Angels in the ACL Central division. They have 73 runs scored - more than 20 runs more than the next closest team. They have a run differential of + 32 runs. The next closest offense is sitting at +17. Let's enjoy this while it lasts.

RHP Patricio Aquino will be thrust back into a starting role as the utility knife in the T-Rats pitching ranks will try to stop the bleeding from tonight's debacle. RHP Travis Smith will look to bounce back from his last outing as the Mudcats will look to overcome the elements and play their newly minted game one. Nashville has yet to announce a starter for either scheduled double-header tilt. And, Biloxi will send talented RHP Coleman Crow back to the bump to try and keep that well oiled Shuckers machine humming.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball.

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