Joseph Zarr

Miller HBP RBI (what else!?). Wilken K's on high inside heat in a 2-2 count. Scott missed a bases clearing RBI double-triple down the deep RF line but it went foul by maybe 6" off the chalk. He strikes out on high outside heat. 2-1 Biscuits. The Shuckers have already K'd 8 times through 3 IP. Ummmm. Yeah. That Shuckers offense.

Big one out bases juiced opportunity for C Darrien Miller here in the bottom of the 3rd. 2-0 deficit. Let's hope the Shuckers bats can come through.

Roller just gave Sounds Ace RHP Mitch White the 2-1 lead in the 5th on a long ball to left CF. Living and dying by the home run stick.

Wehrle gave up a grand salami in the 2nd inning. 4-0 Quad Cities. Merkel has given up a run in each of the 1st and the 2nd. Biscuits lead 2-0.

And, just like that, my guy Miguel Briceno sends him home with a Sac Fly. His 3rd RBI of his evening.

OF Yoshwar Garcia just stole his 59th and 60th bases of the 2024 season. Sheeesh. He is neck-and-neck with Montgomery's Chandler Simpson (Southern League) as the leader across all levels of affiliated ball.

All legends have side quests, my friend.

Man, I do love me some Miguel Briceno. Just a really underrated solid role player. He just hit a deep fly to the right CF warning track - would have easily been a sac fly - and there was a miscue between the CF and RF and the ball drops at the last minute as the CF'er was racing into the RF'er territory and they both pulled up. Ruled a 2B - likely an error they couldn't charge to anyone. He drives in two in the process, regardless. He's now 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 1 2B. His 14th two-bagger of his season. Mudcats lead 4-0 in the bottom of the 4th.

Isaac Collins lead-off Johnson. The Legend builds and grows.

RHP Mitch White will look to continue turning his season around as a Nashville starter. This is his fourth consecutive start in August and 2-of-3 have been fantastic (we'll forget the other 2/3 IP GS ever happend). 3B Isaac Collins is back at the hot corner as the uber-utility Ace continues flashing the leather throughout the diamond. C Francisco Mejía swaps back in behind the dish an bats second. DH Christian Arroyo will bat third with the adventure that is 1B Tyler Black back in clean-up. He will be protected by RF Brewer Hicklen who smacked his 21st HR last night. 2B Owen Miller will bat sixth with LF Carlos D. Rodriguez back in the line-up after a night's rest. CF Chris Roller and SS Freddy Zamora will look to get their offense going after a combined 1-for-9, 6 K start to their series. The series is knotted up 1-1 after consecutive lopsided results.

Let's keep the bullpen fill-in theme rolling along. RHP Nick Merkel will bring his vastly underrated wares to the starting role for the Shuckers as they look to jump ahead 2-1 over the crusty Montgomery Biscuits. More importantly the Shuckers will look to maintain or add to the 2.5 G lead over the Mississippi Braves. LF Lamar Sparks has been asked to bring his hot bat to the lead-off spot as the Shuckers desperately try to fill 2B/CF Dylan O'Rae in his post-2B slide (Sat. 8/29) malady of unknown severity. C Darrien Miller will look to get plunked or take a free base while DH Brock Wilken gets a rest from the hot corner as Zavi Warren takes that role this evening. RF Connor Scott continues getting clean-up work while mightily struggling SS Eric Brown Jr. continues getting run-producing reps. 1B Ernesto Martinez Jr. will cover 1B while CF Adam Hall and 2B Casey Martin round out the edges at the bottom of the order.

As mentioned above, RHP Tyler Wehrle will take the bump for his first start of the 2024 season. He will look to build off his stellar 4.0 IP bullpen stint his last time out. He is mildly extended so if things go well he could certainly reach that four or five inning mark. CF Luis Lara is in his prototypical lead-off spot followed by SS Eduardo Garcia. DH Matt Wood will bat third and 1B Jesus Chirinos will look to continue taking advantage of the Burke and Adams absences as he brings his hot bat to the clean-up spot. 2B Felix Valerio is batting 6th with LF Hedbert Perez coming in just behind him in the seventh spot. 3B Jheremy Vargas and struggling RF (but still dangerous) Eduarqui Fernandez rounds it out. The T-Rats will look to get ahead in this series as the River Bandits and Wisconsin are knotted at 1-1.

He's here. He's there. He's everywhere. Your line-up cards for this fine Thursday evening. We begin with Carolina at Lynchburg for Game 3 (up 2-0). We will get our first glimpse of newly drafted LHP Mason Molina. He'll likely be on a very similar 25 pitch count. SS Daniel Guilarte leads off as we see 2B Juan Baez for only the 17th time in the 2024 season to date. 1B Eric Bitonti will look to get hot with that deep ball again after last nights rip over the Right CF fence. DH Marco Dinges continues manning clean-up protected by the always dangerous RF Luis Castillo. CF Yoshwar Garcia replaces Yophery Rodriguez after his 0-for-4, 3 K evening last night. It's good to see C David Garcia back behind the dish flashing the leather as well as 3B Miguel Briceno and LF Reidy Mercado rounding out the bottom of the order.

RHP Janson Junk has been DFA'd by the Astros to make room on their 40-Man for OF Jason Heyward (who was recently DFA'd by the Dodgers on 8/22) ** Junk will be out of Options in 2025 but can be optioned the remainder of the 2024 season.

AND, there we have it. RHP Brett Wichrowski is 'officially' placed on the 7-Day IL by Biloxi (retroactive to 8/28). SO, he has a designation. And, this could absolutely still be an inning cap move by my book. Until we learn more in pre-game interviews or the like it is just a standard 7-Day IL designation.

Longtime Coach: Narveson Wants Pressure Kicks - He's Got a Big Leg and Relishes the Big Kicks I mean, come onnnnnn now. This young man was meant to don the Packers green and gold:

I think you're spot on here. Both Hardin and Seppings (who looked sneakily very good last night - they might have something here as he develops. Knows how to pitch) were clearly pulled at the 25 pitch mark. Hardin was pulled at 24 and given the nature of how his outing was going this was a good thing. I anticipate the exact same approach with Molina.

That's a fair 'gripe'. As fans, that is a fair gripe. (I know you know the following but I'm sharing for the greater fanbase and this thread) Fascinatingly, all three of Wehrle; Merkel; and White were fantastic in their most recent outings. Wehrle: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 R. His longest and best outing of his season. This will be his first GS in 2024 and only his 3rd as a Brewer. He certainly hasn't been a model of consistency in any fashion so this is a big ask. White: I think it's blatantly obvious his transition back to a starter has done some early repair on what was, up until these past three starts, a completely lost season. Now, consistency (like Wehrle) has certainly not been his strength in 2024 as we saw in his start two games ago when he lasted 2/3 IP of 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 5 R (3 ER). We absolutely know this story. However, sandwiching this rough 2/3 IP, we see 2 GS, 11 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 HB, 11 K, 1 ER. White's ERA was 8.20 as a Sound entering August. His ERA sits 5.61 entering game three in Charlotte tonight. Merkel: Y'all know how I feel about Merkel. I love this young man's make-up. He just competes and has extremely underrated stuff within the broader fanbase and prospect ranking cults. This will be Merkel's first GS since he started 3 contests in his first work with the Brewers in the ACL after he signed as an UDFA back in the summer of 2022. He averages over 1 K/ IP in Double-A. He has built an even better resume in August than his solid July resume: 7 G, 15 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 2 HB, 19 K, 1 ER - 0.157 BAA with a 0.93 WHIP. I will say it yet again: people need to stop sleeping in this young man. He is coming into his own before our eyes. This is a big test as he is thrust into a starting role but I just don't see the issues I see in Seminaris and Peterson in Merkel's game. He is just flat out a gamer and his tall build (6'7") and his pitching motion creates many a problem for opponents. One of my favorite pitchers in the system absolutely nobody talks about.

Given injury designations to 8 T-Rats pitchers, they currently sit at 14 active players and a rehabbing RHP Enoli Paredes. Biloxi isn't dealing with anything all that new however given RHP Brett Wichrowski was shown in Arizona in a recent Instagram story ( @wiguy94 the 'source' on this) we might guesstimate he has possibly reached an inning limit and they are dialing back - he bypassed his typical game 1 start this week, for instance (no injury designation at this time and no word in the pre-game interviews). As such, the Shuckers pitching staff is currently overwhelmingly filled with bullpen arms. No more RHP's Logan Henderson and/or Carlos F. Rodriguez (obviously) to help eat precious starter innings. We will likely see a bevy of LHP Adam Seminaris, RHP Nick Merkel, LHP Nate Peterson leads in the final weeks.

Thread will be utilized for any minor league news Thursday. Organizational Scoreboard MiLB Audio Links

Welch returned to the Ravens. Pretty cool story for him, honestly. Back where he began.

Very well could be. I'll see if we can glean anything in the pre-game interviews this week. I certainly noticed Seminaris got the game 1 nod and not our usual Wichrowski on the bump. O'Rae has also been out of the line-up since being pulled as the DH in the 9th inning Saturday. It was apparent, in the replay I went back to, he was pulling up with some nagging type of something after stealing his second base in the top of the 7th. He seemed to be favoring his right hip. (3:03:38 on the replay - you can see him grimace and bend over numerous times from the time he lands on the face first slide and the moments after before EBJ strikes out).

The T-Rats opened the day's games with a matinee 3-1 loss. Carolina and Nashville once again played the early evening tilts and both grabbed 'W's - Nashville returned a trouncing to the Knights and the Mudcats pulled away late. Biloxi manage to ride a series of long balls for a hard-earned 4-2 win of their own behind LHP Tate Kuehner and late shutdown bullpen work. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: RHP Rafael Garcia was released by the ACL Brewers RHP Josh Timmerman was placed on the 7-Day IL by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Final: Nashville 12, Charlotte (White Sox) 2 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 Overcome Early Deficit and Pound Knights - Seven Sounds Tally RBI in 12-2 Win Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes RHP Carlos Rodriguez certainly didn't give the look of a 7.0 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 6 K, 2 ER outing early. However, the walks speak to consistent 'issues' locating precisely early and often. Despite the free passes, it's a credit to the young man's continued improvements at the Triple-A level that he was able to work past a two-run first frame. He held serve from there and the offense poured fourth a four-run fourth inning and a six-run sixth. That was all she wrote. All in all, Rodriguez hit 101 pitches with 64 strikes. I look to the 19 whiffs on 50 swings as a mark of a pitcher who also didn't give in despite nibbling. He leaned heavily on his change-up, four-seamer, and curve ball and sprinkled in his sinker, slider, and cutter. More importantly, if we step back and look at the bird's eye view of Rodriguez's August we should all be extremely pleased: 5 GS, 30 1/3 IP, 13 H, 15 BB, 1 HB, 30 K, 1 HR, 8 ER, 0.129 BAA, 0.92 WHIP. That is what we've been hoping for. Let's hope this is the new floor! Two Throws to First: 1) Speaking of heating up, I bring you 1B/DH Wes Clarke's August: 0.283 BA / 0.891 OPS. One night after smashing his 13th homer, Clarke managed a 3-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K evening. He is now up to a 0.247 BA / 0.787 mark in Triple-A. We haven't necessarily seen the power surge we've all been dreaming of but we are seeing an improved approach over the past month with results that have followed (and still plenty of power in the bat). In the very least, I can certainly see a floor of a future MLB platoon-worthy 1B who can mash lefties. Given his positive attitude and cheerful clubhouse demeanor, I am pulling for this baseline and more in the years ahead. 2) There is quite a bit to glean from a 16-hit offensive outburst (go ahead and take a look at the Sounds ledger) and I'll let you do so on your own accord, Rather, I'll laud the late-inning clean-up work from LHP Tyler Jay and RHP Elvis Peguero. Leading 12-2 when Jay entered in the eighth inning, the two hurlers buckled down and never dealt with any real threats in a combined 2.0 IP of 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 R work. As we all know, it is a boon to the outlook of a series when you can preserve arms. Tonight's collective pitching effort laid the groundwork for better odds moving into games three-through-six. With Columbus having won their first two this week versus Gwinnett, the Sounds have fallen one more game in the standings and are now 6.0 GB. Final: Biloxi 4, Montgomery (Rays) 2 Shuckers Drop Opener to Biscuits - Martinez Extends Hit Streak to Five Games Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes LHP Tate Kuehner worked through 5 IP of 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 ER ball despite a 29 pitch first inning in which he escaped a bases loaded jam. Tip of the cap to him for digging deep and giving his team much needed innings. Tip of the proverbial cap again for picking up the victory by getting through five complete. Kuehner hasn't looked as sharp as I've seen him with his best stuff, but you have to love the fact he still isn't giving into hitters. We can work with a harmless solo jack with a 3-0 lead. When the young lefty is cooking he is really able to lead with the slider and get the chase with the high heat. I only saw that a handful of times tonight. But, again, it's a credit to him he could still put forth a meaningful start and I'm here nitpicking over 1 ER through 5.0 IP. Three Quick Strikes: 1) We got a taste last night from 3B Brock Wilken. Tonight, we got the full package of upper-echelon baseball from the talented third baseman. Patient AB's and solid pitch selectivity on his swing choices. He not only crushed one out of the ball park on a dipping inside slider: BUT, more importantly for me, it was the process and then the fantastic defense at the hot corner. Snaring liners. Snaring deep hard hit grounders. Throwing darts. This was the Wilken I remembered from his early High-A appearances. We can only hope this is the young man we see throughout the Shuckers late playoff push. 2) Not only has RHP Blake Holub not allowed a single run as a Shucker bullpen Ace, but he's also only allowed one-of-nine inherited runners to cross home plate. He was masterful in his second inning of work striking out three and really working the slider and change-up with skill while threatening with that 95-97 mph heat. He also stranded three of RHP Shane Smith's base runners after he saw three men get aboard with two outs in the seventh inning. Holub certainly hasn't seen this work translate to Triple-A but it is very fair to say he's dominating the Southern League. 3) Pulling one out when outhit 7-to-4 with a measly 0-for-1 mark with RISP is a testament to the Shuckers long ball - three homers in the four hits. It's also a testament to the limits of this Shuckers offense. With INF/OF Dylan O'Rae currently on the shelf (unknown reasons), 2B Ethan Murray clearly wasn't up to the task as the fill-in lead-off (0-for-4, 3 K). Which brings me to batting RF Lamar Sparks ninth. What are we doing here? Sparks hit 0.373 in July in 75 AB. He's hitting 0.301 in August in 73 AB. This is definitively stacked success. Why are we not taking advantage of this bat in run-producing spots in the line-up? And, yet, we are still consistently seeing the season-long struggling bat of SS Eric Brown Jr. in the top of the batting order. I find myself often having more questions than answers when I consider the Shuckers batting line-up configurations. And, at the same time, if I'm being honest: given what I've seen from the offense as a whole in 2024 it may simply be a bit too much like throwing darts. Final: Quad Cities (Royals) 3, Wisconsin 1 Quad Cities Takes Game Two - Bandits Hold Rattlers to One Run Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes RHP Stiven Cruz is giving his team his all as the Timber Rattlers deal with injuries and illnesses amongst their team and pitching staff. Having started a mere four games in all of 2024, Cruz has now filled in and started three straight. He wasn't stellar today but he actually pitched better than the final line would indicate - 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 ER. 84 pitches and 50 strikes. His two run third was largely the product of a bloop Caglianone double that plopped into the left field corner given the outfield was shifted far to the right given the tendencies they'd seen. It was an unfortunate result. But, all things considered, Cruz certainly gave his team more than enough to make a game of it. Unfortunately, one run was all they'd muster despite knocking seven hits throughout the yard. Full-Game Highlights: Post-Game Pod: Three Quick Strikes: 1) Just one game after I lauded 1B Jesus Chirinos for his improved play across the board, he steps up yet again. 2-for-4, 1 2B (the lone T-Rat XBH), 1 R, 1 K. He's just a solid under-the-radar player. I continue to be a fan given the transformation I've witnessed over the past year plus. I sincerely hope he continues getting opportunities. 2) This was about as vintage an 'Everything Yerlin Rodriguez' outing as we could get. It has the good and the bad. Rodriguez inherited RHP Stiven Cruz's two base runners with nobody out in the fifth frame. Not a spot he is accustomed to, he struck out the very dangerous Caglianone for the first out. He then threw a wild pitch advancing both runners but escaped via a strikeout swinging and a fly out to center field. A truly incredibly Houdini Act. However, he then opened his second inning of work with a HBP and a wild pitch. He escaped this frame with only one run of damage - single, ground out, K swinging, walk, K swinging - but, as a whole, it had the whole RHP Yerlin Rodriguez package. I will continue to ponder if he'll ever put it all together as he advances in age. So many tools. So little consistency. 3) With extremely little coming in the way of opportunistic or productive offense, I point you to the bullpen efforts of RHP's Bayden Root and Chase Costello. A combine 3.0 IP of 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, and 0 R work was what the doctor ordered as I sat down for the finish of this matinee tilt. I've shared on many occasions how bullish I am on Costello's overall skills and make-up. Root badly needed a bounc eback outing after his recent 1 2/3 IP of 6 ER ball at Great Lakes. The transition to High-A has been anything but smooth for Root but he certainly has shown he can buckle down. The T-Rats bullpen badly needs his best version on a consistent basis given the bevy of injuries up and down the pitching staff. Today was a step in the right direction. Final: Carolina 7, Lynchburg (Guardians) 3 Box Score / Game Log Mudcats Start Fast in Win at Lynchburg - Carolina Pulls Away Late Behind Four Late Runs It was our first look at RHP's Tyson Hardin and Jack Seppings in the Brewers organization and it was a mixed bag. It seems quite clear both young men were being restricted to pitch counts in the mid 20's. Hardin struggled with control early and often and ultimately only lasted 1 1/3 IP of 2 H, 1 BB, ) K, 1 Balk, 2 ER ball. It was clear Hardin was amped up and over-throwing his pitches - 24 total pitches throw with 11 strikes. Seppings, on the other hand, very much came as advertised out of Brown University: controlled, poised, and accurate in and around the zone. He managed 25 pitches with 14 strikes over 1 2/3 IP of 1 BB, 1 K, 0 H, 0 R work. He also picked up his first professional win in the process! Congratulations, young man! Three Quick Strikes: 1) Yes, 1B Eric Bitonti can still hit the long ball. 1-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR, 0 K. Love those nights when this powerhouse of a young man manages a clean slate in the strikeout department while grabbing a free pass and smashing a bomb over the fence. The batting average is quite a bit lower than one might expect but it's extremely important to remember this is a transition into the toughest pitching this young man has ever seen. He'll get there. I have zero doubts. 2) Locked in a tight 3-2 battle in the top of the third, RF Luis Castillo rocked another two-run homer just inside the right field foul pole. The announcers knew it. The Mudcats knew it. Yet, the home plate umpire certainly didn't. He inexplicably ruled the ball hooked past the foul pole. It was quite a moment. Castillo ultimately grounded out to end the threat. However, he did not waste another opportunity as he smashed his 18th homer of his season in the eighth inning when he ripped a solo jack over the right center field fence. The announcers reference the earlier blown call here ("Castillo gets his home run..."): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI (his 73rd and 74th of his season), 1 BB, 1 HR. This has been a massive power surge for Castillo in 2024. It leaves one wondering, despite the limited defense, what more is in store for this young man who is in his 20-year-old season? Are we just getting started here with a true corner outfield power bat? Or, is this an anomaly? We'll simply have to stay tuned. We have to be very excited to have Castillo and Bitonti and their power bats in the Mudcats line-up, however, as they head to the playoffs. 3) The Lynchburg announcers spoke to this in the broadcast (a very informed and enjoyable listen, btw), but what a luxury the Mudcats have in LF Yoshwar Garcia (2-for-5, 2 K, 2 SB) as a mainstay in the 7-through-9 spots in the Mudcats batting order. He covers quite a bit of range in left field and he uses that top end speed as a real weapon on the base paths. He swiped two more bags tonight and now has 58 steals on his season. CF Yophery Rodriguez continues to get lead-off opportunities (0-for-5, 3 K, 109 K on his season) but there is little doubt in my mind Garcia could fill that role and fill it quite well if he had the right mindset. That's a wrap for my report writing duties this week. One more week of the four full-season squads remains and we start those Low-A and High-A playoffs. My, what a long road we've traveled in 2024. LHP Mason Molina will take the hill for his first start as a Brewer when the Mudcats face Lynchburg tomorrow - I imagine he'll also be on a limited pitch count. RHP Mitch White looks to continue his surge as an impact starter for the Sounds as Nashville looks to jump ahead in the third game of their series. RHP Nick Merkel will play the part of a starter for the ongoing shuffling going on for the Shuckers in what is surely a bullpen game. And, lastly, RHP Tyler Wehrle will do the same for the T-Rats and their pitching staff as he grabs the ball for his first start of his 2024 season. I hand the coverage throughout the rest of this last week of August to Daniel and Jim. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Milwaukee Brewers Minor League baseball and the many players deserving of our time and recognition. 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