Brewers Minor League Link Report (5/7): Mudcats Win Rare Low-Scoring Affair; RHP Miqueas Mercedes Shows Out in ACL Debut

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Final:  Norfolk (Orioles) 10, Nashville 6 (ten innings)

Via the Sounds' 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):

Sounds Battle Back to Tie Game Late, Fall in Extras to Tides - Five Sounds Have Multi-Hit Nights

Box Score

Every time I think RHP Deivi García is really starting to round into form as a starter for the Nashville Sounds, he has a strange inning. Despite this, I still see positive signs throughout his recent work. Even with the random tough frame, García is consistently offering meaningful outings for his teammates and Rick Sweet's pitching stables. Not a lot of balls were hit particularly hard but when they were hit hard it was the four-seamer (including a 115.9 mph single to RF). When all was said and done, García allowed 9 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 Balk, 5 ER over 4 1/3 innings:. The real issues popped up in the fifth frame when the game got away briefly in a classic seeing eye hits kind of way. Overall, in the 87 pitches thrown (55 strikes), García's four-seamer was sitting 93-94mph and touching 95 mph. His cutter was sitting 87-89 mph. He sprinkled in a change-up and sweeper. Was it a dazzling outing? No. But, had a couple things gone his way in his fifth and final frame we're not crying over a random two-spot earlier in the game. 

Three Quick Strikes:

1) 1B Wes Clarke got on base four times on the evening with two walks and two singles. However, he also went 0-for-3 on short hop throws - from Dunn at third base, from Zamora deep in the hole at short stop and, his most costly, dropping a one hop from 2B Raynel Delgado putting runners at the corners to lead off the tenth inning. The last one really sticks out because of the context and the situation but also because he got an awful lot of leather on the ball after Delgado made a heck of a sliding stop to prevent a run from crossing. Now, it had been raining for the majority of the game. There is a chance the ball was slick or had wet mud. BUT, when you have an opportunity to gain a game on all four teams ahead of you in the International League I would politely opine that's a play he has to make - not only for the standings but for his teammates. It's also a play Ernesto Martinez Jr. likely makes in his sleep given his immense talents at the first base bag. EMJ will be back in the line up either tomorrow or Friday. Watching Clarke struggle tonight reminded of the immense catching range Martinez offers his entire infield. All this being said, full disclosure matters. Clarke was also a part of one of the more exciting defensive plays in the entire game with this gem in the top of the ninth frame in collaboration with C Anthony Seigler:

2) The Sounds made a valiant comeback to get back in the game and push it to extras. They equalled Norfolk in hits at 13. But, as a whole, the Sounds didn't really play well enough to win the game. Facing a very dangerous Norfolk offense, the pitching staff uncharacteristically handed out nine free passes. The infield collectively had the three errors. Early in the game, Seigler had a passed ball on a routine inside heater. In other words, the team played a fairly sloppy game and it came back to haunt them in the end. The last freely given opportunity led to four unearned runs and, ultimately, the 10-6 loss. The ball just doesn't lie.

3) Two of the ongoing glaring holes in the Sounds line-up despite a positive overall record: a very thin bench and a lack of a tablesetter or true lead-off man. Tonight, we saw the strange move of putting LF Adam Hall in the lead-off spot. Hall has played better of late - particularly defensively as tonight's near throw out at home plate that would have ended the 10th inning can attest to. As I said in the game thread, I honestly didn't know Hall had that type of one-hop effort in his bag. Credit to him. However, Hall just hasn't shown enough at the dish by my eyes to warrant setting the tone atop the line up. His 0-for-5, 3 K performance backs me up. I know manager Rick Sweet has won a lot of games in the Minor Leagues and I'm sure he and the coaching staff and the Brewers at large have a plan but I'm not so sure I want a 0.200 hitter with a 31:4 K:BB ratio in roughly 80 PA's setting my table when I'm 3.0 GB the International League leaders. And, well, this has been my random early may Nashville Sounds mid-week Ted Talk. Thank you for listening ?. 

The Sounds fell to 20-15 overall but remained 3.0 GB of first place atop the International League standings.

Meanwhile, down yonder the weather did not cooperate:

Box Score / Game Log

Game Notes

RHP Chandler Welch is very clearly not the same pitcher we thought we saw in late 2024 early in 2025. In a season filled with challenge, today was his most ineffective outing to date: 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 7 BB, 1 HB, 1 K, 2 ER - I guess we'll throw in two pitch clock violations for good measure. Yikes. It's hard to find success throwing 91 pitches with only 43 strikes. In six games started for the High-A Rattlers into early May, Welch sports unsightly production across the board. 28 1/3 IP, 17 BB, 3 HB, 15 K, 0.324 BAA, 1.84 WHIP. He fell to 0-3. Honestly, it's a small miracle he only gave up the two earned runs though three runs in total did cross. We can only hope and pray he sees some type of 2023 RHP Cameron Wagoner-esque renaissance as his season progresses. 

Thankfully, the bullpen arms of RHP Bayden Root (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 R) and RHP Dikember Sanchez (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K) held it down in the late innings allowing their teammates a chance to steal game two. Unfortunately, the T-Rats offense stranded four base runners over the final two frames and ten overall throughout. With men on first and second base to lead off the ninth inning down two, struggling SS Daniel Guilarte struck out swinging; lead-off RF Hedbert Perez struck out swinging; and 2B Jadher Areinamo popped out to the catcher. There's a reason why the Timber Rattlers rank in the bottom half of nearly every offensive category in the Midwest League. 

Alas, there was a lone offensive highlight:

And, in an early season of many a results-oriented disappointment for the young Timber Rattlers, we can still celebrate the bigger successes within the roster at large:

With the game two loss, the Timber Rattlers fell to 12-17 overall. They sit 8 1/2 GB of first place Quad Cities - a tale of two trajectories for last year's Midwest League Round One playoff foes. 

Final: Carolina 1, Kannapolis (White Sox) 0

Pitching Lifts Mudcats Past Kannapolis - Meccage, Flores, and Sepping Combine for 1-0 Shutout

Box Score / Game Log 

It was a rare 1-0 shutout for the Mudcats offense - we're all fairly accustomed to double digit runs and late inning rallies for the 'Cardiac Cats'. However a game like today's shows they can win in more ways than one. And, despite the low scoring affair, it was actually a day of several newsworthy tidbits for this extremely talented young Mudcats squad:

• INF Luis Peña was named a Top 100 Prospect (and one of their 'Big Risers') by Baseball America and was celebrated and rightly touted for doing so:

• INF Jesus Made was pushed to the #6 overall prospect in all of baseball in the same Baseball America release
• C Marco Dinges returned to the lineup and was named the Brewers Minor League Player of the Month for April:

• And, if that wasn't enough, the Brewer Fanatic Minor League coverage team broke injury news on two fronts:
  • INF Josh Adamczewski has been dealing with back tightness since last Friday (he has experienced mild gains)
  • RHP Josh Meccage left today's outing early due to an inability to keep food and fluids down - symptoms that appeared before and during his efforts

As always, check in and look through our daily game threads and read our daily Minor League Link reports. We've got (likely) your favorite 2025 Brewers affiliate fully covered. It's important to note, despite leaving early with flu-like symptoms, Meccage did manage to touch 98.4 mph on the radar gun in his 2.0 IP of 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K work. He managed to throw 39 pitches throwing 21 strikes in the abbreviated stint. In his first season of professional baseball, this young man is absolutely showcasing he belongs and then some. It's pretty incredible to watch the recent run of Brewers high school arms find their footing in pro ball and Meccage is certainly one to continue monitoring in outings ahead. 

Peña, highlighted above, also stole two more bags and now has 18 on his young season - is there anything this young up and coming stud cannot do? He is now 18-of-20 in stolen base attempts overall.

And, with all the premium talent on this Mudcats roster, there are still feel good stories like RHP Jack Seppings earning his third save of 2025 while turning his young season around in his two May outings to date. I touched on the finer details HERE. Needless to say, the gist of it is: April was very unkind to Seppings despite picking up his first two saves. In two outings so far in early May, he has completely flipped the script. Let's hope he can keep the current trend going throughout the month.

The Mudcats improved to 20-8 overall. They lead second place Lynchburg (16-13) by 4.5 G. Let's enjoy this current run while it lasts - we all know impending player movements (promotions, re-assignments etc.) are coming down the pipeline. The Mudcats will likely be leaned on to spread their wealth beyond the Low-A level.

Final: ACL Brewers 5, ACL Mariners 4 

Box Score/Game Log

Every once in a blue moon a player squeaks past the untrained fan's eye across the Gulf and into the ACL Brewers club house from the Dominican Summer League rosters. To those trained in the finer arts of deep dive 165 man roster shuffles, we catch these nuanced moves. Such was the case this past spring when one mysterious name made it onto the ACL Brewers roster: RHP Miqueas Mercedes. Mercedes is an 18-year-old Dominican who signed late as an international free agent in March of 2024. He started one game. He made only three appearances overall. He pitched a mere 5 1/3 innings. SO, knowing this, we Brewers prospect followers were tracking his debut in the desert. He did not disappoint. Actually, it's hard to fathom a more impressive stateside debut:

4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 R, 1 WP

59 total pitches. 40 strikes. Yowza.

6 Strikes looking. 14 whiffs. 34 swings. 

That's absolutely dazzling. Thanks for the assist @wiguy94. We always appreciate those depths of offerings. I'm sure Mercedes arrived on many more a Brewers prospect follower's radar tonight. 

LF Engel Paulino continued his hot start to the early ACL season in his 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB night. Despite two fielding errors for young SS Jorge Quintana, he also hit his first long ball of his season in a 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K evening. 2B Juan Ortuno (many fans here on Brewer Fanatic, Mr. Ortuno!) went 2-for-4 with 1 R while also fielding the final out with two men on in the final frame. Everyone's favorite long ball specialist, CF Jose Anderson went 0-for-4 with 1 K.

Finally, 19-year-old Dominican RHP Wenderlyn King - a name often discussed during last summer's DSL season - also debuted for the first time in ACL play. His last inning got away from him some and King's final line will read 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 HB, 2 ER as a result. The ACL Crew moved to 3-1 tied atop the Central division with the ACL Dodgers.

As noted above, Biloxi will attempt to play a double-header tomorrow making up today's postponement. RHP Coleman Crow is still scheduled to start game one while RHP Abdiel Mendoza will continue looking to establish some semblance of consistency in game two. Taking the bump for the Mudcats in game three will be RHP Travis Smith. Phenom RHP Bishop Letson will look to help his Timber Rattlers 'jump' to a 2-1 series lead. Nashville, matching their brethren in the Arizona desert, has yet to announce a starter.

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

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