Brewers Minor League Link Report (8/11): 2026 Draft Class Makes First Pro Impressions

Tuesday gave us new places and new faces across the system. Blake Burke scored the game winner in his debut in Nashville. In Wilson, we got two impressive debuts alongside Brady Ebel's monster night. 

Transactions: 

• LHP J.D. Thompson assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
• RHP Chandler Welch assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Biloxi Shuckers.
• LHP Andrew Healy assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Wilson Warbirds.
• OF Sawyer Strosnider assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from ACL Brewers.
• OF Kyle Jones assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers.
• 1B Carsten Sabathia III assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers.
• LHP Joan Pena assigned to Wilson Warbirds from ACL Brewers.

Game Action:

Nashville pre-game media notes
Nashville 6, Indianapolis (Pirates) 5
Box Score

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

Baddoo Walks off Indianapolis Tuesday Night 

Nashville showed their grit in their back-and forth victory over Indianapolis on Tuesday. Every time Indianapolis scored, Nashville had an immediate response, eventually walking off with a 6-5 victory.

After the Indians got on the board versus starter Tyson Hardin in the opening frame, Luis Matos came through with a two-out bases loaded single to give the Sounds an early 2-1 lead.  

Hardin fared a bit better in this game than he had recently. Since the calendar flipped to July, Hardin had more runs allowed (23) than innings pitched (22.1) entering Tuesday’s contest.  Hardin labored his way through 4.1 IP, allowing eight hits but just two runs, due in part to a 5:0 K:BB ratio on the night.

After the Indians tied the game off Hardin in the 4th, the Sounds immediately answered back in their half on Eduardo Garcia’s two-run single which made it 4-2 Nashville. Highlight courtesy of the Nashville X account:

The Indians briefly took the lead in the 7^th, but this time Akil Baddoo had the answer, with an RBI single to tie the game at 5-5.

In the 8^th, Joel Kuhnel loaded the bases with nobody out but managed to wriggle of the hook with a 5-2-3 double play and then a ground out. Blake Holub then tossed a clean 9^th to set the stage for the Sounds offense to walk it off.

Blake Burke, who made his AAA debut on Tuesday, led off with an HBP. Brock Wilken followed with a single. Then Baddoo delivered the clutch single to score Burke to win the game:

Nashville moves to 63-52 (20-20 in the second half) with the win. They gain a game on first place Indianapolis but remain five games back with a month to play. LHP Colton Gordon (0-2, 4.91) will look to build momentum from his quality start last time out as he leads the Sounds to the mound on Wednesday.

Biloxi pre-game media notes
Pensacola (Marlins) 12, Biloxi 0
Box Score

Shuckers Drop Series-Opener to Blue Wahoos on Tuesday Night - Vargas extends hit streak to four, Broca ties season-high with three innings

Pensacola jumped on Biloxi early and never looked back in their 12-0 victory on Tuesday.

There were not a lot of highlights for the Shuckers in this one. Jaron DeBerry started and was pounded with a ton of hard contact. DeBerry allowed nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits (three homers) and walked three. Anthony Flores and Jesus Broca took over for DeBerry and worked around a ton of traffic and only allowed a run each in their respective appearances.

The Biloxi offense was held to one hit, a Mike Boeve triple, through the first seven innings. Jesus Made added a double in the 8^th and Mark Coley II had a single in the 9^th.  As a team, the Shuckers were 0-for-7 with RISP and left 10 men on base. With Burke promoted to AAA, Andrew Fischer made his first professional start at first base. 

The loss drops Biloxi to 55-50 on the season and 20-20 in the second half.  

LHP JD Thompson (3.90 ERA in nine starts at Wisconsin) will make is AA debut on Wednesday for the Shuckers.

Wisconsin pre-game media notes
Cedar Rapids (Twins) 6, Wisconsin 3
Box Score

Kernels Sprint to Early Lead and Beat Rattlers 6-3 - Cedar Rapids up 5-0 after two innings on a pair of home runs

Wisconsin dropped a 6-3 contest on the road against the Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Wisconsin's pitching staff dug an early hole, surrendering five runs over the first two frames. Starting pitcher Jayden Dubanewicz struggled to find rhythm, allowing seven hits and five earned runs across three innings.

Despite the early setback, the Timber Rattlers showed resilience in the middle innings to cut into the deficit. In the 4th inning, Luis Castillo launched a two-run home run, courtesy of the Rattlers’ X account:

For a player approaching 20 home runs on the season, Castillo sure is flying under the radar.

Wisconsin kept the momentum going in the 5th when Daniel Dickinson drilled a solo homer with two outs to bring the Rattlers within two at 5-3:

After posting a 1.095 OPS in July, Dickinson has followed that up with a 1.122 OPS so far in August.

The trio of Yerlin Rodriguez, Bjorn Johnson and Jose Meneses kept the game close after Dubanewicz left the game. Johnson was particularly sharp with four strikeouts in two scoreless frames.  However, The Timber Rattlers struggled with runners in scoring position (0-for-6) and left eight runners stranded on base. Cedar Rapids held Wisconsin to just one hit in the final three innings, a triple from Sawyer Strosnider in his professional debut. Check out Strosnider’s triple here:

Wisconsin falls to 57-47 (23-19 in the second half) with the loss. LHP Andrew Healy (4.15 ERA in 60.2IP at Wilson this season) makes his Midwest League debut on Wednesday. 

Wilson pre-game media notes
Wilson 10, Columbia (Royals) 3
Box Score

Ebel Shines in Series-Opening Win - Ebel's Three Hits Lead to Six RBIs

Tuesday night was the Brady Ebel Show in Wilson, as the 19-year-old shortstop powered Wilson to a resounding 10-3 win over Columbia.  Ebel had three hits, finishing a single shy of the cycle, and drove in a career-high six runs.

Ebel opened the scoring with a two run double in the third, courtesy of Spencer Michaelis’ X account:

In the seventh, Ebel’s opposite field blast broke a 3-3 tie:

Then in the eighth, Ebel close the scoring with a two-run triple to dead center:

In non-Ebel related news, two Brewers’ 2026 draft picks made their professional debuts with Wilson. Third-round pick Kyle Jones slotted into the leadoff spot, while Carsten Sabathia III hit eighth, and both players collected two hits, scored twice and had their first professional RBI. Spencer clipped both of their RBI hits for us:

On the mound, Carlos Carra worked six strong innings, allowing two hits, two runs, with two walks and striking out four. It was Carra’s longest outing since pitching 6.1 innings on June 6. Newly promoted Luke Roupe made his full-season ball debut and earned in the win in relief, notching three innings of one-run ball to lock down the win. It was the first professional win for the 2025 17^th-round draft pick.

Wilson is now 56-50 on the season and evens their second half record at 20-20. They also pick up a game in the Carolina League standings, just one game back of Fayetteville and Salem.

LHP Enderson Mercado (4-7, 7.96 ERA) will start on Wednesday.

DSL Brewers Gold 3, DSL Orioles Orange 2, F/8 (Game called due to rain)
Box Score

The newly loaded DSL Brewers Gold super team was in action on Tuesday and eked out a 3-2 rain-shortened victory over the DSL Orioles Orange.

As Jim covered in yesterday’s link report transactions, the Brewers swapped a bunch of the best players from the DSL Brewers Blue squad over to the Gold, potentially for their DSL title push.

The Gold squad got on the board early thanks to Angeni Fernandez’s work on the base paths. Fernandez opened the first inning with a single, stole second, and then eventually scored on Moises Salazar’s sac fly.

In the third, the Gold added a run when Leanders Matos singled home Salazar to make it 2-0 Brewers. Matos, in his Gold debut, paced the team with two of their four hits on the day, to raise his average to .355 on the season.

The Orioles finally broke through against Brewers’ starter Daniel Garcia in the fourth. Garcia walked a man and then allowed a home run to tie the game at 2-2. Garcia finished the frame and then exited with a line of 4 IP 1H 2R 2ER 2BB and 3K.

The Brewers bullpen took over from there Joan Gonzalez (3 IP 1H 3BB 1K) and Ruben Saldana (1 IP 1H 1K) kept the Orioles scoreless the rest of the game.

In the 6^th, Fernandez once again wreaked havoc on the base paths to set the table for the winning run. Fernandez was HBP, took second on an errant pickoff attempt and then stole third. Ricki Moneys then plated Fernandez with a ground out, providing the winning margin.

The Orioles actually did rally in the top of the 9^th to take the lead, which isn’t shown in the box score. The Brewers were at-bat in the bottom of the 9^th when the rain came.  Apparently, they reverted the score to that last completed full inning, which gave the Brewers Gold the win, improving to 31-18 on the season.

The DSL Brewers Blue are in their regular 11 AM CT time slot Wednesday.  Wisconsin has a matinee at 1 PM CT. The rest of the full season squads will get rolling in their normal evening time slots. 

Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores
Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth
Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth

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