Brewers Minor League Link Report (7/5): Except for the Shuckers, Fireworks Have Fizzled Out

Let's kick off the game review for the 5th, but first, our look at the day's roster moves --

Transactions:

• 3B Owen Miller cleared waivers and outrighted to remain at AAA Nashville
• RHP Janson Junk optioned to AAA Nashville from MLB Brewers

NOTE: I've since been told that only options after Opening Day (March 28th) count towards the limit, so Junk's total stands at four (so far).

• Signed OF Connor Scott and assigned to ACL Brewers

The former 13th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Scott spent about six years in the Marlins and Pirates' systems, stagnating at the AA level for the past 2.5 seasons.

• RHP Rafael Garcia activated from 7-day injured list and assigned to ACL Brewers

Garcia threw 49.2 innings in the ACL in 2021 but has only pitched 1.1 innings over the last 2.5 seasons due to injuries. Congrats to Garcia for making it back to the mound!

Thanks to my fellow Link Reporter @damuelle for some of the transaction commentary above. Meanwhile, a former alumnus wasn't on the open market long -

Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes 
Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 7, Nashville 4
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:

Mejia's Grand Slam Not Enough, Sounds Drop Second Straight to Redbirds - Nashville hosts sellout crowd for second consecutive night in Hit City

While the Redbirds' parent club is making things a bit more uncomfortable in the MLB standings for the Brewers. this was pretty much the extent of the positivity in Nashville, and as you just read, it came early:

Joey Wiemer, playing right field, was slotted in the leadoff spot as Tyler Black was idle for the first time in July. Wiemer walked and scored on Mejia's granny.

Counting his three MLB starts, you have to go back nine starts by Carlos Rodriguez to find a strong performance (AAA game log) 

It's a bit of a placeholder roster at AAA as of this moment, fairly uninspiring, but certainly that's not unusual across most MLB organizations. While individual games will provide us with occasional exciting moments, the Sounds are just kind of "there" - enjoy RH starter Chad Patrick in his upcoming outings and OF Isaac Collins for now.

Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Biloxi 8, Mississippi (Braves) 3
Box Score and Game Log

Shuckers Score Late, Earn Series Win with 8-3 Win over M-Braves - Brown Jr. tallies three-hit day, Shuckers score seven-plus for fourth time in last five games

The lone full-season Brewers' affiliate to be on the road during the latter half of this 4th of July week, Biloxi continued its recent fine play. The Shuckers are 7-4 in the second half, 1.5 game lead.

The Shuckers placed 18 baserunners on, Eric Brown Jr.'s two doubles the sole XBH's, but hard to quibble with that level of traffic.

23-year-old cleanup catcher Darrien Miller reached base four times, because of course he did. And when he didn't it was because he knocked a sacrifice fly. Miller's OBP is an incredible .432, and that leads not just the Southern League, but all of AA. Miller also threw out two of the three attempted base stealers on the evening (25.7% success rate on the season, that's fine).

All that Biloxi offense and Dylan O'Rae (single, walk), Carlos Rodriguez (walk) and Brock Wilken combined for a 1-for-15 night in their official AB's. Nice work, lower portions of the lineup!

Enjoy three other highlights from the Biloxi "X" feed that occurred prior to this:

I need to ask Javik Blake how the Biloxi production team (Javik himself?) is pulling it off. Not only do they quickly post highlights from road games, but it's with Javik's call. Awesome. Young Javik deserves so many kudos since his 2023 arrival. Fantastic hire, and incredible how he's done after initially planning to be Garrett Greene's backup voice (Garrett doing well at AAA Sugar Land - Astros).

Mike Boeve missed a week's worth of games starting on June 21st. Boeve played in two games (the 29th and 30th) but hasn't seen any July action. Bummer.

Wisconsin Pre-Game Media Notes
Final: Beloit (Marlins) 5, Wisconsin 1
Box Score and Game Log

Sky Carp Homer Scraps Rattlers - Wisconsin falls 5-1 to Beloit

At the tail end of these highlights, look for the "Yerlin Rodriguez" show (good and bad, but always interesting), and then Chris Mehring and Kyle Lobner discuss the fireballer near the top of their latest postgame podcast episode.

Also to be viewed and then a discussion topic to be listened to (via Manager Victor Estevez within the podcast), Luis Lara is just amazing with the glove. The catch coming in was impressive, but the catch going back you're about to see was incredible.

Chris and Kyle (one final reminder - invest 14 minutes with the podcast this AM!) tell us to look beyond RH starter Will Rudy's final line. He was solid and pitched into the 7th. 

If this had been a road game, there would not be much here to grasp. Thanks to the video and audio efforts out of Appleton, it's anything but a black hole of a game. We are spoiled as fans, folks.

Beloit's LH starter, 19-year-old Thomas White, is going to be a beast, drafted 35th overall as the Marlins ponied up last summer. Massachusetts kid, but I'd say the same even without my own regional bias.

Final: Down East (Rangers) 7, Carolina 1
Box Score and Game Log

Wood Ducks Best Mudcats

Josh Knoth has been locked into the "Friday Night Lights" spot all season long, but this wasn't his best evening by a longshot. The strike-to-pitches count wasn't awful (45 strikes, 69 pitches), but Knoth, 18, squeezed all those pitches into just three innings.

Cooper Pratt's nearly six-week long stretch of reaching base in a game ended Thursday, and he doubled up on that emptiness Friday. Baseball, go figure.

The different-look lineup (days off for Daniel Guilarte and Yophery Rodriguez) produced an RBI triple via Satchell Norman and not much else.

Detroit missed out on not drafting Down East's starting pitcher.

Final: ACL Mariners 6, ACL Brewers 4
Box Score and Game Log

Shortstop Tyler Rodriguez' second error of the night, the first play in the top of the 9th, led to two unearned runs, as three runs scored overall, costing the A-Crew the narrowest of leads heading into the frame.

All seven Maryvale hits were singles.

Third baseman Eric Bitonti had two of those singles, added a walk, and we await the post-Futures Game shuffle when hopefully we see Cooper Pratt move to Appleton and the 18-year-old Bitonti escape the desert for Zebulon.

We referred to RHP Rafael Garcia in our transaction section above. Garcia, 23, last pitched July 30th of 2022, one of only three Maryvale appearances that season. Kudos to the Brewers for their faith in the young man from Panama, and the organization's training and strength staffs. Don't believe it was ever revealed what the nature of Garcia's injury was. The 6th inning game log will show that Garcia allowed three baserunners and a run, but that's not the story for Rafael this morning.

Final: DSL Brewers #1 Squad 10, DSL Dodgers Bautista 3
Box Score and Game Log

Four Team Uno pitchers combined on a five-hitter, though it wasn't pretty, Cerveceros hurlers walked nine, plunked three, threw four wild pitches, and committed a balk. All three Dodgers runs scored against starter Joshua Quezada, the 20-year-old Nicaragua native acquired from the Yankees for LH reliever Clayton Andrews (who is now a minor league free agent). Quezada did scuffle his way through four innings, and the three relievers that followed managed to throw shutout ball despite all the traffic.

For LA:

Team RISP: 1-for-10.
Team LOB: 13.

Yes, that explains that.

Your eyes are not fooling you, that is an 0-for-5 next to Luis Pena's name, dropping his OPS to "only" 1.140. Pena did not K, and his best chance for a knock was in his final at-bat when he lined out to third base. First hitless contest of Pena's career, snapping a 20-game hit streak.

It was a bit more balanced here, but on a game-for-game basis, the demarcation of production between the upper and lower halves of the Squad #1 lineup is very pronounced. Jesus Made, playing second base with Pena at short, INF/OF Juan Martinez (LF here) and corner INF/OF Juan Ortuno (1B here) each had big games. Each, like Pena, is 17 years old.

Made's OPS is oh-so-close with Pena's now at 1.135 after this game which included Made's 4th home run. Ortuno tripled and doubled. Martinez singled twice and stole his 6th base, caught just once thus far.

On a daily basis, Team Uno is essentially throwing out the equivalent of the Betts-Ohtani-Freeman-Smith level of production atop the lineup. No better team to show that off to than Friday's LA affiliate.

All those gaudy numbers, and we're just 23 games into the DSL season.

Final: DSL Red Sox Red 9, DSL Brewers #2 Squad 6
Box Score and Game Log

Do the Red Sox Red boys play Go-Duck-Go during warmups? Whatever they are doing, it's working, as the Boston team is now 17-5. Checks standings - Red Sox Blue is only 8-14.

Team Dos was outhit 16-6. Brewers bats did reach base via BB or HBP four times, but Milwaukee pitchers doled out seven walks on top of the 16 knocks allowed. Thirteen of the hits allowed were singles, but still not a stellar mound day for the Crew Dos.

18-year-old RHP Oliver Camilo, a 2nd-year Dominican native, allowed his first earned run in this, his 9th appearance of the season, totaling only 9.1 innings. That's a far cry from the 11.51 ERA Camilo posted in 12 games (three starts) in 2023.

Batting:
3B: Anderson (1, Rojas); Quintana (2, Rojas).

The exciting thing about the most exciting play in baseball (well, save for inside-the-park HR's) is that these two triples came in back-to-back at-bats from two prized prospects. Quintana has the huge bonus pedigree, but Anderson also clubbed long ball # 6, the 17-year-old sending it out to center field and beyond. Goodness, Anderson has 23 RBI in 21 games, but management has him hitting leadoff occasionally. including here.

Weather: 1 degrees, Sunny.

Funny, it was 80 degrees warmer for the Team Uno road game. 🙂

Full schedule including Jacob Misiorowski and Bishop Letson scheduled for starts. Enjoy, because it's the rare Sunday off coming up for all the affiliates, which will give the full-season teams consecutive days off through Monday. It's all a result of sharing the fireworks gate receipts among all MiLB teams this week. Have a nice summer Saturday, 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!