Ro Mueller

The AAA Sounds looks to take a 3-1 series lead over Jacksonville at home, with starting LHP Eric Lauer playing his 10th Nashville game since return from injury (3.94 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 13.5 K/9 in 32 IP during this period). RF Jackson Chourio has a 12-game hitting streak, including 3 games in AAA ball.

This thread will be utilized for any minor league news Friday, lineup updates, etc.Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores

C Jhonnys Cabrera released by Low-A Carolina LHP Adam Seminaris assigned to AAA Nashville from AA Biloxi

Should we cap Burnes’ pitch count - e.g. 70 today, 70 on Sep 27th, then raring to go on Oct 3rd?

Aaron Ashby’s rehab start went poorly, with the Sounds trailing 5-0 before the offense had a chance to bat. Three games remain on the season, as Nashville tries to hold onto the second half International League West title. Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: C Jose Sibrian released by Low-A Carolina OF Arbert Cipion released by High-A Wisconsin Sibrian’s been a loyal soldier for eight seasons in the Brewers’ organization, re-upping in 2023 even after hitting free agency. Releasing him likely enables him to commence this year’s free agency a bit earlier, so he can see what’s available in the market. I have to believe that the Brewers will keep the door wide open for Sibrian's return in 2024, where he could pair up with Matt Wood at Wisconsin. Cipion missed the 2023 season with an injury, during which he was expecting to be an integral part of the Wisconsin outfield. A 2018 draft pick (9th round - $138,200 signing bonus), the parallel with Micah Bello is difficult to ignore. Drafted the same year, each had one exceptional month with Low-A Carolina in 2022 (Bello – .994 April OPS, Cipion – 1.051 May OPS), struggled a bit with injuries after promotion to High-A Wisconsin and never quite got to make their mark at that level. We wish best of luck to both young men in their future endeavors. Game Action: Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Jacksonville 7, Nashville 0 Box Score / Game Log Via the Sounds’ website, game details, and we encourage readers to review the affiliate write-up as part of their Link Report routine: Sounds Shut Down by Jumbo Shrimp For the second time in a week, LHP Aaron Ashby’s (2/3 IP, 4 R, 0 H, 4 BB, 0 Ks) rough rehab outing seemed to take the wind out of his team’s sails – last week it was mid-game with Biloxi and tonight it involved walking the first three batters of the game for Nashville. RHP Caleb Boushley (6 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks) performed admirably, but unfortunately was also a key part of the first inning debacle, giving up the grand slam on an eye-level 90mph fastball after inheriting three baserunners from Ashby. Boushley threw 97 pitches on the evening, 63 for strikes, in what is likely his last contest before once again reaching minor league free agency. On the bright side, 19-year old right fielder Jackson Chourio had two singles and a stolen base. He is now hitting .417 in AAA with a shiny 1.000 OPS (small sample alert). One of his singles was off last year’s Cy Young Winner, rehabbing Sandy Alcantara. Of the men on the 40-man MLB roster, 2B Owen Miller (2 singles) and center fielder Garrett Mitchell (triple – Brewers’ playoff pinch running specialist?) were the only ones to distinguish themselves, as 1B Jesse Winker, DH/OF Joey Wiemer and 3B Abraham Toro went a combined 0-for-11 with a walk for Toro. 27-year old INF Patrick Dorrian (.786 OPS this year) is determined to show me and the Brewers that he can effectively play shortstop. Nashville can’t make the playoffs, but winning the second half title in the 10-team International League West would likely mean something to the coaches and players. They presently lead St. Paul (3-game winning streak) by 0.5 games and Iowa (8-game winning streak) by 1.0 games with just three contests left on the season. Friday’s outlook: Scheduled starter LHP Eric Lauer gets a final chance to prove to the Brewers that he can be a valuable addition to their postseason roster (e.g. a second lefty in the ‘pen?), as the Sounds look to grab a 3-1 series lead over Jacksonville. We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. Friday will see the Brewers at the Marlins (5:40pm CST) and Sounds playing Game 4 of their series at home at 6:35pm CST. 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 View full article

C Jose Sibrian released by Low-A Carolina OF Arbert Cipion released by High-A Wisconsin

Awesome awesome awesome work all year Joseph. 👏👏👏 Woo hoo! You rock!!!

My guess may seem like something of a downer: Friday, September 6, 2024 at home against the Rockies

Yes(!), 21-year old RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (2.77 ERA in 123.2 AA IP) makes his AAA debut as Nashville aims to take a 2-0 home series lead over Jacksonville. 23-year old 3B Tyler Black has a 10-game hitting streak. Oh, and there’s a 19-year old in RF again.

They've updated the lineup. Chourio's starting at DH and batting 2nd today!

The Payton Henry situation is interesting. As an optionable player, and with Caratini becoming a free agent, the Brewers could easily play some games with his status - adding him to the 40-man MLB roster as a placeholder - like tendering Erik Kratz in late 2018 and selecting Jon Singleton last year. If you're Mr. Henry, you'll be hoping to snag a guaranteed MLB contract, a signing bonus or at a minimum a split contract which includes decent pay when optioned to AAA. Last offseason, guys like Mike Zunino ($6m, coming off a 43 OPS+ season), Austin Hedges ($5m, 42 OPS+), Tucker Barnhart ($6.5m total over 2 seasons, 61 OPS+), Curt Casali ($3.25m, 87 OPS+) and Luke Maile ($1.175m, 82 OPS+) each signed solid MLB deals, so have to be a sort of inspiration. Of the five, the highest OPS+ in 2023 has been Casali at 87+. Then you've also got guys like Christian Bethancourt ($1.35m, 73 OPS+ in 2023), Nick Fortes ($750k, 55 OPS+) and Jacob Stallings ($3.35m, 61 OPS+) amongst the top 30 in MLB innings played at catcher in 2023. So Henry may very much prefer to hit minor league free agency, especially if he believes (like me) that Caratini is most valuable to the Milwaukee Brewers so is likely to be re-signed.

AAA Nashville hosts Marlins’ affiliate Jacksonville for their final series of the season, with a lineup of interesting names: Winker-Wiemer-Black-Toro-Ruf-Roller-Junk. This is RF Joey Wiemer’s first minor league game of 2023 and likely RHP Janson Junk’s (4.26 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6.0 K/9 in 131 IP) final appearance of the season.

This thread will be utilized for any minor league news Tuesday, lineup updates, etc.Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores

No Jackson Chourio at Low-A Carolina in 2023? No problem for Manager Victor Estevez:

- 1B Keston Hiura placed on AAA Nashville’s 7-day injured list - OF Greg Allen released by AAA Nashville - LHP Luis Amaya released by AA Biloxi - C Jason Lopez released by AA Biloxi - RHP Robbie Baker released by AA Biloxi

- RHP Zach Vennaro released by AA Biloxi

Cool. Brown, Mendez and Seminaris were expected. I didn’t think Joseph Hernandez would be sent, since he’ll reach free agency in Oct 2024 and had a low K% this year, but I guess they’re determined to see what he can actually do after just 47 High-A innings this year. Great to see Yeager is healthy enough to give it a go - he never re-joined Biloxi, so I wasn’t sure. I was hoping that Quinton Low might be healthy enough to make a return, but I guess not. I wonder if Clarke will be trying out some OF or 3B (or just play 1B). I’m not sure we see him as a Major League catcher. King was dominant early in the year until an injury, while Shane Smith was probably our top minor league reliever - picking him up as an injured, undrafted player is looking quite savvy.

Adam Seminaris threw three shutout innings, but it wasn’t enough for the Shuckers to prevail. Tyler Black continued his hot September with a homer, but Nashville also dropped their game. Image courtesy of BrewerFanatic For the week, the Sounds were a 4-2 series winner, while the Shuckers lost their final series of the year four games to two. Transactions: C Jeferson Quero placed on AA Biloxi’s 7-day injured list (per @AdamMcCalvy: "Very minor for Quero - some groin tightness after legging out a ground ball”) INF Ethan Murray placed on AA Biloxi’s 7-day injured list C Jason Lopez activated by AA Biloxi from Development List INF Felix Valerio activated by AA Biloxi from Development List RHP Jason Alexander placed on AAA Nashville’s 7-day injured list OF Joey Wiemer optioned to AAA Nashville from MLB Brewers Game Action: Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Charlotte 8, Nashville 2 Box Score / Game Log Via the Sounds’ website, game details, and we encourage readers to review the affiliate write-up as part of their Link Report routine: Sounds Drop Finale in Charlotte With so many players vying for possible inclusion on the Brewers’ prospective playoff roster, I really expected more competitive Saturday and Sunday games. Instead, Nashville’s recent weekend malaise continued, as they’ve now dropped 16 of their last 20 weekend games despite playing winning baseball overall. Starting RHP Evan McKendry (4 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks, 1 WP) was coming off of consecutive solid starts, but he never found his footing in this game, giving up three home runs in the first four innings and exiting down 6-1. Is 3B Tyler Black (1-for-4, HR, RBI) the system’s minor league hitter of the year? The 23-year old has a blended AA/AAA OPS of .906, with 18 homers, 53 stolen bases and a solid 87 BB / 99 K ratio. Sounds’ Extras: Hitters on the MLB 40-man roster hoping for a call-up (Garrett Mitchell, Jesse Winker, Abraham Toro, Owen Miller, Jahmai Jones) went a combined 2-for-18, with only center fielder Mitchell making something of an impression: single, walk, HBP, SB. LHP Clayton Andrews and RHP JB Bukauskas had the best staff outings, with only one of seven batters reaching base (on an INF Patrick Dorrian error – his 14th of the year, as we stubbornly try to make him into a shortstop) – combined 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks. The 25-year old McKendry (recently acquired for C Alex Jackson) will likely get one more chance next week to secure an offseason 40-man MLB roster spot or risk being exposed to the Rule 5 draft. Next week’s outlook: Nashville returns home for its final games of the season, taking on Marlins’ affiliate Jacksonville, with RHP Janson Junk (4.26 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6.0 K/9 in 131 IP) listed as the scheduled starter for Tuesday’s opening game. Biloxi Pre-Game Media Notes Final: Montgomery 7, Biloxi 2 Box Score / Game Log Via the Shuckers’ website, game details: Shuckers Fall in Season-Finale to Biscuits Having been eliminated from the playoff chase in a heartbreaker the night before, with two players going out injured (see transactions above), you had to wonder how much energy and focus could be summoned for the season finale. But the Shuckers started great, getting three scoreless innings from starting LHP Adam Seminaris (3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks) and a two-out, two-run double from 3B Brock Wilken to grab a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning. Then rehabbing LHP Aaron Ashby (2/3 IP, 5 R) entered in the top of the 4th inning and unfortunately everything fizzled in 31 pitches thrown: K, BB, 1B, ground out, BB, HBP, 1B – three runs had scored before he exited, then the two remaining baserunners also scored on a double off RHP Ryan Brady. After that deflating half-inning, the Shuckers only managed three singles and two walks the rest of the way, scoring none. Wilken had the only extra-base hit for the team and no batter reached base more than once. Other than that, it was a lovely Sunday afternoon game – 85 degrees, sunny, 6mph wind. Shuckers’ Extras: The season finale didn’t go as hoped, but let’s applaud players, coaches and staff for their terrific 2023 season, going 40-28 in the second half and 74-63 overall. What a year for OF Jackson Chourio (20-40 club), RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (2.77 ERA), C Wes Clarke (26 homers), INF/OF Isaac Collins (.424 OBP), RHP Tobias Myers (168 Ks), OF Carlos D. Rodriguez (.291 AVG), RHP James Meeker (1.83 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in relief), C Jeferson Quero (16 homers, 35% caught stealing rate) and other exceptional players. The organizational plan has been to get Ashby some work in Nashville next week, but we’ll have to watch to see whether that plan holds. Then again, maybe he’ll pitch an inning just to end his 2023 campaign on a better note. Minor league free agency awaits several Biloxi players. Was this the last time we’ll see them in the Brewers’ organization?: 1B Ernesto Martinez (1-for-4), RHP Max Lazar (1 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks), LHP Luis Amaya (1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K), C Jason Lopez (0-for-1). We wish them all tremendous success going forward, whether in the Milwaukee system or elsewhere. Next week’s outlook: The season may be over for the Shuckers, but stay on the lookout for possible promotions to AAA Nashville for this final week of the minor league season – e.g. Chourio, C.F. Rodriguez, etc. We hope that you enjoy the Minor League Link Report. Enjoy the Brewers’ Monday contest (in St. Louis at 6:45pm CST), then follow the Sounds for their final games of the year beginning on Tuesday night. 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 View full article

Well that was entirely misplaced optimism on my part. McKendry conceded two more homers, exiting down 6-1 after 4 innings. It's now 8-1 in the 6th inning. Not a great baseball day. Or football day. The Cubs had better lose to at least attempt to balance the day.

Sounds loaded the bases on 3 walks in the 1st inning, but didn't score. Then McKendry gave up a solo homer on his 2nd pitch of the game. Nashville trails 1-0 through one inning, but they will win this thing.

Nashville finishes off its last road trip of the year with chance to seal a 5-1 series win in Charlotte. RHP Evan McKendry looks for his third straight win (13.1 IP, 3 ER, 10 Ks in last 2 starts). INF/OF Owen Miller is 5-for-12 with a homer and double in 3 games since being optioned to AAA, as he tries to make his way back to the MLB roster.