Joseph Zarr

The bats woke up - well, in a kind of sort of kind of way. They also tried desperately (it appeared) to get back to their early season coveted double digit strikeouts as an offense, but, alas, they held their whiffs to single digits (9) when they ultimately ran out of innings. Phew! Caleb Durbin and Raynel Delgado doubled, and Jorge Alfaro went yard. More importantly, the men improved to 2-4 on their young season and ended their four-game skid. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: LHP Santiago Martinez and RHP Luis Velasquez (2025 International FA Class) have been assigned to the DSL Brewers #2 Final: Nashville 5, Gwinnett (Braves) 1 Via the Sounds' website, please be sure to click and read each of the affiliate write-ups as part of your season-long Link Report routine (believe me, it's worth it): Henderson Fans Eight as Sounds Get Back in Win Column - Jorge Alfaro Homers as Part of Multi-Hit Night Box Score / Game Log After throwing the peripheral third and fourth offering slider and cutter 15% apiece in his previous outing (24 of 80 total pitches between the two in game one), RHP Logan Henderson dialed them down a bit in his second outing to the tune of 19% of his 85 pitches. Henderson led with his four-seamer at a clip of 58% of his 85 total pitches (49 total heaters). Let's take a look at some pitch report data: Further mapping showcases he has held a consistent release point amongst the four offerings, but his zone map does indeed tell the story of his 5 free passes: of his 34 balls many were of the variety well off the map. Actually, 47 total pitches were outside the strike zone. This can work when your arsenal is close enough to the zone to induce swings and misses or, in the least, swings in general. However, tonight's outing's pitch maps at large speak to an up and down affair: It's quite clear, in the early going of the 2025 season, Henderson is still finding his way. We'll obviously take the end result as the Sounds were in bad need of a victory but it's important to point out Henderson's development arc is under more scrutiny given his 40-man status and his overall standing within the organization. In total, Henderson flirted with 8 base runners over 5 IP - 3 H and 5 BB. He added a pitch clock violation to the charity of his choice but also broke Stripers hearts with eight punch outs. He moved to 1-1 on his young season. The Sounds improved to 2-4 overall. Three Quick Strikes: 1) INF/OF Adam Hall certainly didn't do himself any favors tonight in terms of staying power on the Sounds roster. I hate to lead with this type of sentiment, but not only did he look extremely uncomfortable at the dish (including a final AB three-pitch K looking), but he also looked extremely uncomfortable in left field. Even when Hall made the catch it didn't come across confident and clean. Of the two fielding errors, the last error led to the Stripers only run when he absolutely biffed a routine shallow pop fly to shallow left center field. He rightfully called off several other charging defenders - it was his ball, after all - but he simply was incapable of bringing the ball into the webbing. He'll have to shore up his overall play if he hopes to keep playing in the International League. 2) The Sounds bullpen keeps churning and has now only allowed a single run over their past 17 1/3 IP. That's just shut down solid stuff across the board. Tonight's bullpen heroes where RHP Sam McWilliams (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K), LHP Tyler Jay (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB), and RHP Vinny Nittoli (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K). Of the three hurlers, I'd have to say McWilliams continues to surprise in the most pleasant of ways. With his reputation as a hurler who can bring it but has historically lacked control given his long levers, in the early part of 2025 he has been extremely accurate and effective in his first two outings. Let's hope we keep seeing this type of production. As we all know, he could work himself into the greater depth of the MLB bullpen as the season progresses. At 34 years of age, RHP Vinny Nittoli absolutely still brings a highly competitive fire to the mound every time he steps on the bump. He's had very little problem pitching in the eighth and ninth frames in the early going. 3) It's obviously quite early, but through six games played I'd have to give nods to INF's Caleb Durbin and Raynel Delgado as the most poised and consistent players on the Sounds roster. Both young men have proven invaluable in terms of the professionalism and game savvy they bring on a night in and night out basis. Both have looked extremely comfortable within themselves - they know who they are, and they know what they bring, and they know how to play. Whereas INF Andruw Monasterio is in the midst of an ongoing uncomfortable early struggle (tossing his bat in frustration tonight after his last swinging K on a slider down and in), these two are as cool and steady as it gets on the current Sounds roster. I will be entirely unsurprised if both manage to work their way to Milwaukee at some point in the 2025 season. The two went a combined 3-for-8 with 2 R, 2 2B, and 2 K on the evening. Special shoutout to CF and newly minted lead-off Garrett Spain who put forth a 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB outing atop the batting order. All four full-season affiliates will take to the diamond tomorrow for the first time in 2025. I don't know about you, but I cannot wait to see some of these young studs playing on the regular. Sounds Game Four at Gwinnett will begin at 7:05 EST - Carlos F. Rodriguez is scheduled to start (though that is obviously under question given he was in Milwaukee tonight) and the Sounds bats get the unenviable task of facing a rehabbing RHP Spencer Strider. Ruh-Roh! The Mudcats and UDFA signee RHP Jack Hostetler will square off in Five County Stadium against their last post-season opponent of 2024 in the Fredericksburg Nats. The T-Rats will also experience some Home Cooking against their old nemesis in the Cedar Rapids Kernels - RHP Manuel Rodriguez gets the opening nod! And, lastly, Biloxi will open once again on the road at Pensacola where LHP Tate Kuehner will get the nod. Until Sunday, I'm signing off and handing the report duties back to Daniel. Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball! Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores MiLB Audio Links Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View full article

Looking at Henderson's pitch map tonight...he certainly was struggling with control. 47 of 85 pitches outside the zone and many of those were welllll outside the zone. It's a credit he was able to induce the 8 punch outs. Leaned heavy on the four-seamer (49 total heaters). Threw less cutters and sliders than he did in outing one. He's very clearly still trying to find his way early in the regular season. Miles to go.

Nittoli goes three up and three down to close the ninth. Two fly outs to Herron in RF. Weak ground out to Durbin at 2B. Sounds win 5-1. Yay. They pull one out! Sounds improve to 2-4 overall.

Hall follows the error with a K looking - three pitches. 0-for-4, 2 fielding errors, and 3 K. Yeah, ummmm.

Nittoli grabs a K looking on Cooper. He grabs another out on a sky high pop fly toward the middle foul line LF. He then gets the 2-0 pop fly to shallow LF. Hall makes the call and drops the ball of the end of his webbing. Ugly play. The error scores a run and gets a man to 2B. Can't have that Mr. Hall. That's as routine a play as there is. Hall is 0-for-3, 2 K, with 2 fielding errors. What did I say about the notoriously uber thin OF depth at the highest levels? Please start playing Tyler Black in the OF. PLEASE, Brewers. 😅 Ummmm. Yeah. Anywho, Nittoli strands the runner with another K. On to the top of the ninth.

1-1 dead center belt high sweeper hanger is launched just short of the LF wall for a welcome double off Nittoli. Nobody down. Man on 2nd. That's the Stripers first XBH and their fifth poke in total. 5-0 Sounds.

It will be RHP Vinny Nittoli atop the bump first here in the 8th.

Alfaro works an 0-2 count full but K's swinging on a nice sinker up and in. Top corner of the zone. On to the bottom of the 8th. I have to imagine RHP Ryan Middendorf is due for some work.

Looks like a combined 20% usage of the cutter/slider combo. 11 cutters. 5 Sliders.

I need to go back (I've been running farm dad errands all day) and peruse the Savant Pitch Breakdown and watch those innings. Need to see the Pitch Mix.

And, Jay strands the runner with a 3-1 inside 'heater' inducing a lazy chopper to Durbin who waits the short scoop and casually fires to 1B. We're on to the 8th frame.

2-2 Lazy fly to straightaway CF for out numero uno. Man on first. One down. Two more lefties coming up. Infield squibber flare to the SS/3B side. Delgado charges and catches the weird spinning hop and grabs the out at 1B. No chance for the inning ending DP. Two down.

Monasterio just K'd swinging on a slider down and in. Tossed his bat in total frustration. His early season has been a real grind. Monasterio then let's up on a seeing eye single seeing Durbin shadowing from second base up the middle. Would have been a very rough play had he dove full out. Avoids the hypothetical collision. AND, that's it for McWilliams as the man of many discussions on our board the past year, LHP Tyler Jay, comes aboard with a runner on first and nobody down here in the bottom of the seventh.

It is I, your Minor League Link Reporter aka 'NostraZarrmus' aka 'The Notorious Ball Knower': (From this morning's Link Report penned by yours truly)

- LHP Santiago Martinez and RHP Luis Velasquez (2025 International FA Class) have been assigned to the DSL Brewers #2

Watching 3B Brock Wilken K twice on video has me nostalgic for late 2024. The more things change...😅. I also had to laugh at the first video clip acting as though EBJ is still the everyday SS. They didn't even mention Mr. Pratt once in that segment. Fake News!😝

Happy Birthday to 'Les Miz'!

I just attempted to switch my flight to a one-way to Minneapolis/St. Paul on the 21st. I realized I can't do that from Spokane as only Delta allows direct to Mpls/St. Paul. My 24 hour trip down memory lane in the Twin Cities stays as planned - very very curious to see what has become of our old house past the bluffs of downtown St. Paul. I'll be driving to Green Bay Wednesday - oddly, nostalgically looking forward to that drive through Black River Falls and through the Pine Barrens. My current plan is to completely soak up Day 1 of the Draft - I pick up my good friend (and former boss from my days in the cellar at a well-known cidery in Oregon) that afternoon but we're going to soak up the full immersion draft experience me thinks. Days 2 and 3 are a bit free form. I'm sure we'll indulge in festivities in and around the draft - Titletown District and such. Our condo is about an hour away in Door County. Saturday night I am indulging at One Barrel Brewing with my Aunt and Uncle. Now that we're in April the trip is getting a bit more real. This will be my one and only NFL Draft experience. Looking forward to it.

Is Steve the guy who keeps punching your shoulder?

They massively updated their view on him and he is #2 on their Biggest Risers list:

From the expanded article: I'm going to keep dreaming. I want my own Brewers Clemmey who throws even harder dang it!😅

#LetGingerCook

Losers of four straight, the Sounds bats are deep asleep. It's always a tough watch when a collective team's best weapon in a given game (or series of games) is the free pass. A second consecutive night with double digit strikeouts as a group, a mere two pokes but no extra base hits, but there are those five zesty walks. Unfortunately, even with the free passes the Sounds were 0-for-4 with RISP. There's no putting lipstick on this baseball pig at present: Sounds baseball currently just isn't pretty. The 1-4 record is every bit the 1-4 record. Thankfully, the collective bullpen rescued RHP Deivi García from his wild outing and salvaged a more palatable score when all was said and done. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: No official transactions BUT there was important news on the prospect front pertaining to the Nashville Sounds: Let's simply hope this 'slight hamstring issue' doesn't linger. Final: Gwinnett (Braves) 4, Nashville 1 Via the Sounds' website, please be sure to click and read each of the affiliate write-ups as part of your season-long Link Report routine (believe me, it's worth it): Sounds Held to Two Hits in Wednesday Loss to Gwinnett - Sounds Bullpen Holds Stripers to One Hit Over Final 4 1/3 IP Box Score / Game Log Last year the Sounds had one of the best bullpens in the entire International League for large portions of the season. As bullpen arms were plucked by the Brewers to give them innings with the big club, the Sounds arms kept churning. This year, the bullpen continues to show flashes it has the horses to hold their own - they've now allowed a single earned run over their last 13 1/3 IP. Today's battery mates were RHP Blake Holub, LHP Grant Wolfram, RHP Jesús Liranzo, and RHP Craig Yoho. Once again, they gave their team every chance to make a game of it. The starting pitching remains a different story. Outside of a single Jacob Misiorowski outing, the starting arms have not looked the part. RHP Deivi García darn near replicated LHP Bruce Zimmerman's work from game one: 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 1 HB, 1 WP, 4 K, 4 R (3 ER). Nearly a 3.00 WHIP in game two. Garcia topped out at 93.3 mph on his four-seamer and averaged a mere 91.4 mph. He mixed in a cutter and a change-up but threw the heater nearly 70% of his outing. Needless to say, Garcia's overall output just isn't going to do any favors for a struggling offense. Addendum: we're five games in. The early season loss of C Jeferson Quero and INF/OF Tyler Black (as well as a rest day for one INF Caleb Durbin) has made its mark in the early going. Let's hope the veteran bats wake up and start delivering some more production. Three Quick Strikes: 1) There isn't all that much to discuss offensively, but a very early bright spot would have to be the improved early discipline from 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. He has only collected three pokes in 16 AB but he's sporting a 4:3 BB:K ratio. He grabbed two of the team's five free passes in the loss. He also collected a single. Despite the small sample induced 0.188 BA he has managed a respectable 0.663 OPS as a result. Unfortunately, his error in the fourth frame led to the Stripers final run. 2) INF Freddy Zamora saw his second action of the season in his seemingly entrenched nine-spot in the Sounds batting order. He managed an 0-for-3, 2 K outing. Zamora has yet to grab a hit or a free pass in his meager six AB. Like many others on the Sounds roster, he's looking to find a spark. It will be interesting to see if he is given another chance tomorrow when INF Caleb Durbin surely returns to third base duties. 3) As alluded to above, the offense has been struggling. How bad has the struggle been through five games? The bats as a whole have struck out a whopping 54 times in 161 official PA. That's good for a team K-rate of 33.5%. This is not a typo. DH Wes Clarke has certainly done his part in this department with 10 whiffs in just 16 AB. It isn't just Clarke, however - as a team the swing and miss has been a major problem. There are far too many veteran hitters in this line-up to see this level of futility last for much longer. I'm calling for a breakout tomorrow. My over/under is the Sounds scoring five runs. I'm taking the over. Game Three starts at a more reasonable 5:05 CST and RHP Logan Henderson will look to rebound from an erratic first outing. Let's hope the Sounds bats wake up as a group and the men can pull out an elusive victory. Until then, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Brewers Minor League baseball. Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores MiLB Audio Links Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View full article

This has been my overwhelming main gripe. And supported by the nascent refinement of raw tools beyond most in the system - Closer/ Middle Reliever/ Starter he had proven he could do a little bit of everything. He had developed the slider in the AFL and it was coming along and already had a plus curve amd change up (in my book). And now he is routinely showing up on Pitching Ninja's page. Anywho. At this point, it simply is what it is. And, the best path forward for me personally is to sincerely wish all players involved in the greater conversation to excel and turn into the best versions of themselves.