Brewers Minor League Link Report (5/26): OF Hedbert Perez Hits Two-Run Walk-Off in Zebulon; OF Jackson Chourio Blasts Three-Run Walk-Off in Biloxi

Game Balls:
We're recognizing:

• RHP Tyler Wehrle's fantastic 4 IP in late relief - keeping his team in the game; striking out seven Wood Ducks; and just generally looking like a total stud.
• We'll stay in Zebulon and recognize RHP Logan Henderson's high impact 56 pitch outing - 3 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K - inducing a lot of weak contact and ripping K's with that heater and change-up combo.
• OF Lamar Sparks eclipses his teammate C Jeferson Quero and gets the nod here for his unreal game-saving throw to home plate in the top of the 10th frame (see highlight below) getting the OF assist and the DP tally.
• Teammate, OF Jackson Chourio, also gets the nod here with more late-inning walk-off heroics while breaking his 0-for-21 slump in epic fashion.
• And, we end with 1B/DH Luke Voit who had a fantastic night in Nashville - 2-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R. He beats out his teammate, C Payton Henry who had a fine 4-for-4 evening at the dish.

Transactions:

• LHP Ethan Small was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Nashville Sounds
• RHP Tyson Miller was optioned to the Nashville Sounds from the Milwaukee Brewers
• 2B/OF Isaac Collins was assigned to the Biloxi Shuckers from the Nashville Sounds

LHP Thomas Pannone was very solid through 3 IP. However, the wheels started to lose their balance in the fourth inning when he gave back a three run lead. It's a testament to his savvy he made it 5 IP but it was a struggle: 8 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 4 ER. That's limiting the damage considering the number of runners he had on the bags. 

Three Quick Strikes:
1) RHP JC Mejía has been a different pitcher since his Development List stint. Tonight exemplified this with his slider suddenly the dangerous weapon it was touted to be when he first was traded to the Brewers. He is sharper. He is more accurate. He is simply pitching at a much better capacity. You love to see it (well, I certainly do). 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 ER. His scoreless innings were pivotal.

2) I continue to be impressed with RHP Thyiago Vieira. He is an imposing mound presence and he is delivering in every outing so far in his brief stint as a member of the Sounds bullpen. Tonight he grabbed his first save and looked the part. After tonight's closing performance, he has pitched in 8 games and completed 10 2/3 IP. He has yet to concede a run. He has a 14:5 K:BB ratio. Batters are hitting a measly 0.111 against him while he sports an extremely impressive 0.56 WHIP. As @damuellehas alluded to in recent threads: this is an arm we might just see in Milwaukee. I personally hope we see it.

3) It was as clutch as they come and it was even enhanced by the rare fake bunt into level swing. OF Blake Perkins did not disappoint in this AB resulting in the go-ahead run in the eighth frame. This is definitively not as easy as Perkins makes it look:

Kudos to Cam Devanney here for really turning on those jets despite the bounce over the wall. You love the hustle. Several Sounds are worth mention in this one, overall, so please scan the box score.

RHP Christian Mejias has shown throughout the early going: he can pitch quite effectively in the Southern League as a starter. He was on point tonight, as he has been several times this year. At this point, we're just looking for that all elusive consistency. 6 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, and 9 K is going to play nearly every night of baseball. Can we get some stacked success? That is always the challenge. Here's hoping.

Three Quick Strikes:
1) You'll be hard pressed to find a better throw in a more crucial spot than what OF Lamar Sparks put on tape in the top of the 10th inning. With RHP Cam Robinson finding more bad luck in his 2023 season and RHP Zach Vennarro on the try and put the fire out, a fairly deep fly ball was hit to the right field grass. Sparks corralled the ball with very little charging momentum and fired an absolute dart on the button to C Jeferson Quero who calmly laid down the tag. It was just an incredible throw:

2) Coming to the plate in the 10th inning (after INF Tyler Black worked a fantastic patient walk), OF Jackson Chourio was mired in an 0-for-21 slump. All he had to show for his evening of work at the plate was a beanball to the glute. However, there just isn't another player in the system you'd rather have at the dish in such a high leverage situation - slump and all. He just has a knack for the dramatic - a skill you really can't teach - and has a penchant for doing superstar things in big moments. Tonight, he ripped a high and inside heater over the wall in left field and that was ball game. Three runs plated. The Shuckers stole a victory:

3) RHP Cam Robinson continues to search for his form of 2022. He was definitely the victim of some poke bloop hits, so let's not make too big a deal of tonight's outing. But, what I continue to see in his recent outings is a sudden lack of confidence and a lack of effective execution in favorable counts. He's simply put: in a funk. When Robinson is at his best, his violent delivery is a single ingredient ameliorating his mix of offerings as they flirt in and out of the zone while effectively attacking hitters. What I see now is a pitcher who has lost a bit of that violence - he's dumbed down his delivery (for lack of a better phrasing) and he's throwing a bit timidly. If he wants to get back to dictating the AB's, he's going to need to find that fire and that attack mode. This is a crucial stretch for the young man and I'm certainly  pulling for him. 

Three Quick Strikes:
1) SS Eric Brown Jr. continues to show the entire package of late. He is a gold glove caliber infielder - in every sense of what that means. He is just as smooth as they come covering the infield dirt. He has a very good plus arm and he covers so much ground with great athleticism and lateral movement. Now, we're starting to see the bat catch up with the stance and pre-swing adjustments he made this off-season. There is so much to like here. It's a pleasure seeing him start to find success.

2) Let's honor the fine recovery bullpen work we saw from LHP Luis Amaya (3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER (HR), 0 BB, 5 K) and RHP Michele Vassalotti (1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K). After Wagoner nearly caused the wagon wheels to fall off, these two gave their teammates a serious opportunity to make a ball game of the affair. Unfortunately, though their efforts certainly go noticed, those T-Rats bats were relatively silent and ineffective throughout.  

3) I haven't seen the same version of early-season INF Ben Metzinger since he's returned from a brief stint out of the line-up in late April into early May. I personally wonder if he's dealing with a nagging something. If he isn't, he's in a month-long slump at present. There are many months ahead, but the concerns about his arm from 2022 still linger. I'm going to rest my hope on the possibility this is merely a mini-slump in a long season from a very fundamentally sound baseball player and nothing more. ?

Final:  Carolina 4, Down East (Rangers) 2 
Box Score / Game Log
Game Notes  
Via the Mudcats' site, game details, please visit and review:
Perez Hits Walk-Off For First Place Mudcats
RHP Logan Henderson struck out four through 2 IP but it was a hanging curveball that caused a wee bit of damage as it was ripped 105 mph over the left field wall. The Mudcats trailed 1-0. With Henderson, it's all about developing and fine-tuning those off-speed offerings - primarily the curveball as the change-up is already a plus pitch. The fastball is a very advanced pitch - it has fantastic rise out of the hand, sneaks up on many a hitter, and gets many a swing and miss. If he can continue to mix in, locate, and fine tune those off-speed offerings he is likely going to rise through the system quite quickly. Obviously, the addendum here is: health is the key. Henderson's counterpart, the Rangers' RHP Brock Porter, was perfect through 3 IP and was quite impressive for a 19-year-old 4th round pick in 2022 fresh out of high school. Unfortunately, he left early with an apparent left leg injury. He remains a young arm in the Rangers arm I'd peripherally follow.

We have four extremely closely contested series on our hands. As a Brewers Minor League aficionado, I revel in these moments. The uber-talented RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez takes the hill for the Shucker tomorrow and looks to build off tonight's dramatic victory. RHP Caleb Boushley looks to keep the good times strumming in Nashville. RHP Stiven Cruz will look to re-discover the fine form of 2022 in what has been a mysterious struggle so far in 2023. And, in Zebulon RHP Yujanyer Herrera will look to find the pre-injury form in what has been an up-and-down 2023. Thank you for reading and, as always, thank you for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball.

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