Brewers Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - April 2023

We close out our MiLB Player of the Month series with our top six Relief Pitchers for the month of April. To reiterate the disclaimer, from the starting pitcher article, the Mudcats complicated the choices by having a lot of “tandem” starts, which led to a number of pitchers with starter innings, but only one or two starts. Because of this we made the cutoff 15 innings pitched, and at least one game started, in order to be eligible for the starter list. This list was the most difficult of the group. The relievers showed out in April at every level of the system.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
  RHP - James Meeker - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 8.1 IP, 0-1, 1.08 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 10 H , 1 BB, 14 K, 1 HLD.
  RHP - Aidan Maldonado - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 0-0, 1.50 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 1.08 WHIP, 8 H , 5 BB, 14 K.
  RHP - Luis Contreras - Biloxi Shuckers - 6 G, 10.0 IP, 0-1, 0.90 ERA, 2.54 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 4 H , 6 BB, 15 K, 1 HLD.

TOP SIX RELIEF PITCHERS FOR APRIL

#6 RHP - Ryan Brady - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 5 G, 12.2 IP, 1-1, 1.42 ERA, 1.80 FIP, 0.71 WHIP, 7 H , 2 BB, 15 K, 1 HLD.
Brady was an undrafted free agent pickup by the Brewers, following the 2022 draft. Though he’s already 24 years old, and thus a bit of an older High-A player, the early results have been great and his repertoire has the looks of a legitimate reliever. A fastball that sits in the 93-96 range, with great life at the top of the zone, pairs extremely well with his sharp slider and his slower, yet powerful curve. Brady has lightning fast arm speed, but a very relaxed delivery where he is not leaking any of his power. It should allow him to maintain very good command, which showed up in April with him only walking two batters (both of which came in his first appearance of the season), though he did have a HBP as well. 

Brady’s month was highlighted by two different outings where he went three innings and struck out five batters. It does not appear that the Brewers are trying to stretch him out for starter innings, but it does seem that the organization is interested in him being a multi-inning relief pitcher. That’s something the team values very highly, and should bode well for Brady’s future.

#5 RHP - Alexander Vallecillo - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 0-0, 1.29 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 0.64 WHIP, 6 H , 3 BB, 19 K, 1 HLD.
Vallecillo falls into the group of Mudcats that were most likely being stretched out as starters. However, he narrowly missed the (very scientific, I promise) cutoff of 15 innings for the starter list. His month deserved recognition, and thus here he is on the relief pitcher list. Vallecillo has been a fast mover in the Brewers system, having signed in 2021 out of Nicaragua, he will not turn 21 until July. He made his full season debut last August with Carolina. While he struggled in his first stint, he seems to have made an adjustment to begin the 2023 season, as he was dominant in April.

Vallecillo struggled to miss bats and he struggled with free passes in August of last season. This time around, he struck out 19 batters to only three walks. After some small tweaks from 2022 to this season, he is now sporting a delivery that looks quite a bit like Freddy Peralta’s. In fact, Vallecillo looks a lot like the younger version of Freddy in terms of his pitch mix as well. A fastball in the low 90’s that he can get past hitters up in the zone, with a slider that shows some nice flashes and a curve that does the same. 

A fly ball pitcher due to his fastball movement, Vallecillo will need to continue to keep hitters off balance in order to keep the ball in the ballpark as often as possible. He did a great job of that in April, only allowing one home run. If he can continue that moving forward, he will be a name that Brewers fans will be hearing a lot more of.

#4 RHP - Abner (Brismauris) Uribe - Biloxi Shuckers - 8 G, 8.0 IP, 1-0, 1.13 ERA, 1.51 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 3 H , 5 BB, 16 K, 2 SV.
Uribe is another former international signee, though he was signed out of the Dominican Republic. Featuring a fastball that has reached 103 MPH, it would seem safe to assume that the fastball is his best pitch. In reality, his slider is the pitch that has helped him have the most success before this season. So far in 2023, Uribe has gotten good results out of both his pitches, which is most likely attributed to him leaning more into a sinker as his primary fastball. His normal four-seam fastball does not have the best characteristics and is best described as “flat”. At the upper levels, he was always going to need more than just pure velocity to get outs, and the sinker appears to be the solution to that issue.

Uribe has everything you are looking for in a high leverage reliever. Namely, he has two pitches that grade out as plus, or even elite. He has made big strides with his command, where it now grades out closer to below average, rather than being poor. To go along with the great stuff, and the improved command, Uribe also has an intimidating presence on the mound. He pitches with fire and emotion, and he is unafraid of challenging hitters. 

Striking out two batters per inning is always going to get attention, but doing it when you have barely pitched in the last calendar year due to an ACL injury is even more impressive. Already holding a 40-Man spot, Uribe seems like a pitcher that could potentially skip AAA and head straight to the Milwaukee bullpen at some point this season.

#3 LHP - Clayton Andrews - Nashville Sounds - 8 G, 8.1 IP, 1-0, 1.08 ERA, 1.16 FIP, 0.84 WHIP, 4 H, 3 BB, 14 K, 1 SV.
Andrews is one of the more fascinating stories in baseball right now. Drafted in the 17th round in 2018, Andrews stands in at only 5’6, and if we’re being honest, that might be a bit generous. Despite his stature, his ride through the minor leagues has been an exhilarating one. In 2019, he was not only pitching, but also playing center field and racking up a batting average hovering around .300. After COVID he did get a few more plate appearances in 2021, but would undergo Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter. He returned from TJS last season to mixed results. He was striking out nearly two batters per inning. Unfortunately he was also walking close to a batter an inning and had an ERA over nine. 

He came into a spring training game this year and immediately caught a lot of people’s attention when he touched 96 MPH and sat in the 94-95 range. For a left handed pitcher, that type of velocity will always create some intrigue. When that left handed pitcher is 5’6? It creates a lot of intrigue. His April in AAA did nothing to slow down the excitement. Again striking out close to two batters an inning, Andrews did a much better job of limiting his walks, and baserunners in general, this time around. 

Using his new fastball around 50% of the time, Andrews mixed in a lot of changeups and sliders as well. Both of those pitches were already borderline plus pitches going back to pre-Tommy John, but with added velocity they played up even more. Andrews’ slider had a whiff rate of 66.7% in April. While it’s a much smaller sample for Andrews, just for reference, Devin Williams’ “airbender” had a whiff rate of 61% during his insane 2020 season and has hovered more in the mid-40’s the last two seasons. 

Andrews may continue to mix in his offspeed pitches even more as the season continues. His fastball velocity has helped a lot, but it’s still the pitch hitters have been able to make the most consistent contact against. With results like the ones he got in April, Andrews will likely be a very real candidate to join the MLB bullpen at some point this season, but a little tweaking of the pitch mix may accelerate that process even more.

#2 LHP - Darrell Thompson - Biloxi Shuckers - 7 G, 11.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.41 FIP, 0.26 WHIP, 1 H , 2 BB, 16 K, 1 SV.
Signed this past offseason, it’s hard to imagine a pitcher getting off to a better start to his Brewers tenure than the start Thompson got off to. Having been signed away from the Schaumburg Boomers, out of Independent ball, Thompson’s Twitter account was filled with analytical data on his pitches. He clearly had a grasp on what he was doing, and how he was doing it. This probably helped him a lot when he showed up to Arizona, as he has already adjusted his repertoire since joining the organization. Thompson came to the Brewers throwing a four-seam fastball at 92-94, a changeup and a slurve. He is now mixing in a cut fastball in the upper 80’s and a “sweeper” and the slurve is a bit more of a true curve.

Thompson gave up one hit in April over his 11 2/3 IP. That, along with only two walks, gave him a WHIP of 0.26 for the month. Among pitchers with at least five innings pitched, that ranks third in all of minor league baseball. If you increase that innings minimum to 9 innings, his WHIP would rank number one. 

Thompson not only limited baserunners, he did it with really good looking strikeout numbers as well, using his entire 4-5 pitch repertoire to have hitters looking dazed and confused the entire month. Thompson is another guy that pitches with passion on the mound and isn’t afraid to show emotion after a big strikeout. 

It does need to be acknowledged that Thompson turned 29 this past week, so he’s definitely not a spring chicken. However, the Brewers have shown time and time again that they do not discriminate when it comes to pitching. If you can get outs, they will give you a fair shot, and Thompson has done a fantastic job taking advantage of his chances so far. At his age, an MLB opportunity may not be too far off into the future.

#1 RHP - Harold Chirino - Biloxi Shuckers - 8 G, 10.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.53 FIP, 0.60 WHIP, 5 H , 1 BB, 17 K,
Chirino beat out a number of very qualified candidates for the number one spot this month. Originally signed way back in 2015, Chirino has been steadily rising through the Brewers organization. He reached his current level of AA last season where he put up solid numbers, but was striking out fewer than nine batters per nine innings and walked over four per nine. The first month of this season went a very different direction.

Originally sitting in the 91-93 MPH range, Chirino is now sitting more in the 94-97 range with his sharp sinker. He also mixes in a curveball that he can tinker with the shape of. He throws it with two different shapes depending on the handedness of the batter and what the situation calls for. He also throws a changeup which lags a bit behind the other pitches, but can be used to surprise a hitter from time to time.

In April, Chirino combined with Uribe and Thompson to form a combination at the back end of the bullpen that was unrivaled at the AA level and likely at any level of baseball. Even within that group, Chirino stood out on his own, mainly due to his K/BB ratio which came in at 17, tied for ninth in all of minor league baseball (minimum of 5 IP). He only allowed six baserunners in total and only once did he allow more than one in a single appearance. 

Chirino is going to be eligible for MiLB free agency this offseason, so the remainder of this season is going to be very important for him. If he is able to hold his velocity gains and continue to put up good results, the Brewers may have to consider adding him to the 40-Man this winter, in order to keep him in the organization.

Thanks for following along with this three part series on the Brewers minor league system. The plan is to run these every month. Repeat winners may not have as much detail each month, but we hope you learn something new each time around!

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!