Brewers Minor League Link Report (6/8): Lots of Wins and Getting Closer to Postseason Clinchers

Let's check out how events trended positive!

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• Milwaukee Brewers optioned RHP James Meeker to Nashville Sounds.

Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Louisville (Reds) 4, Nashville 2, ten innings
Box Score and Game Log

Via the Sounds’ website, game details, and we encourage readers to review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine:

Sounds Fall to Bats in Extras - Chris Roller’s thrilling grab in center not enough as Louisville outlasts Nashville 4-2 in 10 innings

The Sounds made a late lineup change, replacing Joey Wiemer in the DH and #2 spot with red-hot Francisco Mejia, who singled, walked and scored a run. How do we know Mejia was red-hot? We referred to the always-helpful linked media notes:

Mejía Mashing: Francisco Mejía added his fourth multi-hit game in his last five games with a pair of knocks and an RBI last night. Since May 24, Mejía is batting .324 (11-for-34) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI and six runs scored over the span of eight games.

Kudos to those responsible for media notes across all levels (we miss yours, Carolina). Normally the domain of the play-by-play guys, I look at the multi-page reports and my eyes roll in appreciation and wonder at the efforts involved, even if perhaps a bit of it is automated somehow.

Tyler Black sat out a second game after exiting Thursday's contest at the start of the 8th inning. This is your daily "letting you know until we know more" line.

RHP Jakob Junis' 30-day rehab clock began on June 4th. So, there is time for this $7 million arm to build up his repertoire. In this second start, Junis threw 51 pitches in 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit, but he walked two and threw two wild pitches. Velocity reports were not encouraging - topped out at 91.4, sitting 89-90. More work to do, to be sure.

It was a shining four-inning game for RHP Evan McKendry, shuffled to Junis' piggyback partner here, as your box score review showed. It wasn't LH reliever Rob Zastryzny best moment, walking three and allowing a run over his two innings. Get to know Zastryzny more via this new interview we linked to on our Minor League Forum.

Chris Roller gives us Sal Frelick vibes from a couple of weeks ago:

Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Biloxi 5, Montgomery (Rays) 3
Box Score and Game Log

Five-Run Sixth, Four Shutout Innings from Bullpen Lead Shuckers to Comeback Win - Campbell tallies two-double night, Bowman records three shutout innings

As the game summary title indicates, you'll want to review in full the top of the 6th game log to go over in detail Biloxi's full-game run-scoring output. Here's an encouraging highlight, oppo-double from Brock:

Mike Boeve lifted his AA OBP to .368 (two singles and a walk). He once again was the designated hitter, likely in deference to his hamstring tweak Thursday.

Speaking of OBP, catcher Darrien Miller lifted his to an impressive .415. Miller's batting average is .188, so it should be no surprise he reached base twice in this game - once via a walk, and once via HBP, the tenth time in 2024 and 61st plunking of his career. Miller has 35 walks vs. 30 strikeouts in his 112 official at-bats this year. He batted cleanup here, and he's found a home at or near the top of the Shuckers' lineups.

Noah Campbell doubled twice and walked and deserves the same video love we showed Mr. Wilken:

I'm finding it tougher to get a read on RHP Bradley Blalock. Four of his past five starts dating back to May 8th have been rather middling (game log). Why aren't we getting pitch counts in the game logs? 

More goodness from 27-year-old RH reliever Kaleb Bowman, and my goodness, when LH reliever Justin King, 26, is on, he's filthy. Voice of the Shuckers Javik Blake has the 97 MPH call here.

On the topic of bullpen arms, did you catch our own Seth Stohs' conducting his interview with righty Craig Yoho?

Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes (download link)
Final: Wisconsin 9, Quad Cities (Royals) 3 
Box Score and Game Log

Rattlers Bounce Back With Big Offensive Night to Pick Up Ground in Playoff Chase - Wisconsin wins 9-3 over Quad Cities as everybody hits

"as everybody hits"

Yes, with a line like that, the "H" column will be the first thing your eyes bring you to in the box score. Thirteen knocks in all, mix in four walks and an HBP.

Let's see as many of those knocks as you can count, Chris Mehring's calls were in fine form, perhaps enthused by the "Wrestling Night" atmosphere at the ballpark:

Chris hinted at it in his calls, but Luis Lara's presence in the lineup and in the field is so impactful. The switch-hitting center fielder is still a teenager all season, folks.

Outside of two rough outings for RH swingman Patricio Aquino to end April and begin May, he's been very solid, and was sterling on Saturday. He and starting RHP Yujanyer Herrera gave the bullpen a nice day off heading into Sunday's finale. Aquino turned 21 last month, Herrera will be 21 in August. The Dominican Republic and Venezuelan natives, respectively, would be interesting to speak with. As RHP Alexander Cornielle recently told us here at BrewerFanatic, so many of the youthful international amateurs are identified for their hitting exploits initially.

Magic number at seven with ten games remaining in the first half. Let's not jinx things, but nice!

Final: Carolina 2, Charleston (Rays) 1
Box Score and Game Log

Mudcats Rally Past RiverDogs

The Mudcats are 34-20 and four games up (five games in the loss column) for their own first-half title. We have been treated wonderfully by both A-Ball squads in 2024. 

I was trying to think back at similarly low-scoring Carolina games, perhaps this was the lowest combined score this season? Thankfully the internet makes things easy for us - we're so spoiled - and the season-to-date results tell us that there have been 2-0 and 1-0 shutout losses and another 2-1 win.

Cooper Pratt acquiesced his shortstop fielding position to Filippo Di Turi for the evening, but serving as the designated hitter suited Pratt just fine - three singles and this RBI:

Speaking of Di Turi, and key ground ball RBI hits up the middle:

With Yophery Rodriguez getting the day off, Yhoswar Garcia covered center field, singled twice, and though his pace at the plate and on the basepaths has slowed some, Garcia stole his 25th bag in 29 tries.

What's that you say, Charleston only scored one run? 21-year-old starting RHP Yorman Galindez tossed four scoreless, limiting his walks (an occasional issue, 22 in 33.2 IP) to two here. Big-time MVP game for just-turned 24-year-old RHP Aidan Maldonado, netting his first pro save and lowering his 2024 WHIP to 1.08 with near-perfect work (one HBP) over the final three frames.

Final: ACL Brewers 5, ACL Guardians 2, seven innings as scheduled
Box Score and Game Log

Stud 18-year-old third baseman Eric Bitonti and his .953 OPS sat out this one. Bitonti was pulled from Friday's game after reaching first base on an error. Where is our Maryvale field reporter? Where is the MiLB TV feed? Alas, we wait...

Rehabbing Felix Valerio, playing left field, is toying with rookie-level arms, he singled twice and walked. Actually, all ten Maryvale hits were singles, they also walked seven times and there was an HBP. This will partially explain the "only" five runs scored given all the traffic squeezed into seven team trips to the dish:

Team RISP: 3-for-13.
Team LOB: 12.

The Brewers don't sign many youngsters out of Mexico. When they do, they are pitchers, and current 18-year-old Carolina Mudcats wunderkind RHP Manuel Rodriguez is a prime example.

Based on fantastic 2023 Dominican Summer League numbers (1.54 ERA and 0.93 WHIP), it looked like Milwaukee had another Mexican score in RHP Eric Prado, who was brought stateside this summer at age 18 (Rodriguez was just 17 years old in Maryvale in 2023). But Prado has found the sledding tough (sledding in Arizona?), so Saturday was a big day for him - four scoreless (2 H, 3 BB, 4 K). All five outs were via flyout, we probably don't study the GB/FB ratios as much as we ought to throughout the system, perhaps a project for another day.

Final: DSL Brewers #1 Squad 10, DSL Brewers #2 Squad 7, seven innings as scheduled
Box Score and Game Log

These rosters, as we thought, are pretty crowded, but perhaps not as bloated as we had surmised initially (lots of injured list placements). The island teams are not subject to that dreaded MLB-imposed 165 body stateside roster limit. In the special version of the box score linked above, you'll see by scrolling down for each squad that the position player benches had seven and six bodies available, respectively. A combined fourteen pitchers did not see action out of the bullpens, while eight arms did pitch. That all seems reasonable in terms of management and exposing these kids to at-bats and innings.

Check out the linescore. Team Uno up 6-0 after two innings, yet Team Dos closed the gap to just 8-7 after the top of the 6th had completed. The atmosphere must have been pretty juiced for this matchup - players, coaches, all involved, as everyone congregates in the amazing new complex postgame.

If you didn't spend eleven minutes with this video last February, do so at some point soon:

Our Joseph Zarr shared this nugget in our "live" daily thread on our forum regarding 17-year-old Team Dos center fielder Jose Anderson, who homered for the second time in these first few days of the DSL season.

On Team Uno, fellow 17-year-old middle infielder Luis Pena (both he and Anderson are Dominican natives) singled twice, walked twice, and stole three bases. In four games, Pena is 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts!

It'll be nice when we're a bit deeper into the DSL schedule, for now the box scores can really only provide single game achievements. In that regard, a shoutout to 2nd year Team Dos LF Pedro Tovar, who will turn 18 in a couple of weeks. Tovar doubled twice and singled, so it'll be fun to see if he makes a big jump from his .621 OPS in 36 2023 games.

After chronicling nine games for us from Thursday's slate, we lessen Daniel's load significantly for Sunday with a standard four-game menu, no doubleheaders, no rookie league action. You are welcome, Daniel! But he will get to discuss RHP Logan Henderson's AA debut with the Shuckers, which hopefully will prove very exciting! Have a great cap to your weekend, everyone.

Interested in learning more about the Milwaukee Brewers' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!