Joseph Zarr

Corniel got ahead 0-2 on the next batter. Then missed to 2-2. Then gave up a very well hit deep double. 3-1 game. Still nobody out. Runners on 2nd and 3rd. Troubling inning.

Muddies scored their third run, btw, on a Yophery broken bat 100 mph double to RF. Pratt followed with a single to CF.

So, Corniel had two BB's coming into the 3rd up 3-0. He now has plunked the first two batters of his inning. Men on 1st and 2nd. Nobody down. That second one was with a 1-2 count. Yikes. He just equaled his season total.

Corniel with his second walk of his outing. He was at 2-2 in the count. Nice chase pitch low and out of the zone. Then he just missed low on a heater. He has one down via a weak pop fly to Castillo in RF. With the runner leaving before contact, the next batter flies out to deep right CF. It was a 93 mph fly out to deep center. AND, just like that C Blayberg Diaz guns down the runner trying to take 2nd base. He threw an absolute dart. Had the runner by 4-5'. Wow.

I continue to really like Yhoswar Garcia (despite what happens in this AB). He has some of the most professional AB's on the squad. He just stays within himself. Fights off pitches. Finds hits.

I absolutely knew Castillo was about to K. And, well, he did. Like Yophery, very susceptible to anything off-speed low and below the zone. Like clockwork. Two down.

Walling ropes a sharp single at about 104 mph (whew) through the gap and into LF. Bases juiced now for David Garcia (2-out-of-5 on the season with the bases dripping). He lines one to the wall in RF. Two runs score. Yeah baby. A standing dub! First pitch. He smacked that ball.

Mudcats are facing a Delmarva starter with a 0.75 Road ERA on his season. 12 IP the addendum here. Baez hits about the slowest roller hit up the 3B line imaginable. After Pratt's walk, we have two on. Noice.

Yophery in the lead-off spot we see a familiar K. Swinging and missing by quite a bit on an off-speed pitch (pulling him out of the batters box) followed by a K looking at a heater. I'ver seen versions of this strikeout on a regular basis as he searches for the finer details of professional AB's.

He gets a lazy pop fly to mid LF for out one. Walks the next batter on five pitches. Bounces back with two off-speed pitches for an 0-2 count - barely misses strike 3 looking on a high just outside heater. He gets the K anyway on another heater right on the outer stripe. Beautiful pitch. Two down. Up 0-2 again against the red hot Acevedo and he gets the K swinging on a gorgeous off-speed pitch. Heck of a recovery. Mudcats to bat shortly.

Corniel gives up a first pitch double. We start with a man in scoring position after one pitch.

I believe the Tin Caps may lament their 2-for-18 with RISP and 15 LOB. Yikes. You get walked 9 times? You have to have a break out inning in there.

I'm telling you and I'm going to keep telling you: Manager Victor Estevez managed teams fight and claw their ways to victories. They have grit. They win in different ways. He hasn't had power in his line-up, realllllly, in either season. Yet, he keeps his players aggressive. He manages aggressively. He is the crowned managerial jewel in the system. He has that 'It' you just don't find all that often. He knows how to press just the right buttons. We live and die with the outs on the base paths - that's the T-Rats identity.

Sheesh, he smashed that ball. That very well may have gone over the scoreboard? If so, that's a mammoth shot.

He absolutely has to improve his free passes (including WP's) over the course of the second half. If he can't? He'll likely go unprotected. As I've said on several occasions: Absolutely has MLB 'stuff'. Undeniable. BUT, each and every season, at various junctures he loses his ability to harness any aspect of his top-shelf tools. It's a problem. 21 K: 20 BB on the season. 2.22 WHIP in May. He needs to find that form of April where he was still walking too many guys but his elite tools were shutting threats down with force and dominance. We can work with a 1.38 WHIP at this stage if the other team can't hit you. It's tough to work with 11 BB in only 9 IP when the other teams are hitting 0.257 BAA. Either way, what he has innately is special. AND, he just turned 22 years old in late March so the addendum here is: time is on his side. But, an honest assessment (as you've shown here), would still classify him in the same tier of 'Unknown' with talented RHP's Jesus Rivero and Quinton Low. All three have shown stretches of brilliance. All three have shown stretches of confounding ineffectiveness. Of the three, Rodriguez IMHO shows the most MLB-caliber of stuff.

Holy cow. They came back in the 9th?!? My baseball gods, this team continues to defy the odds night in and night out. Unreal.

I mentioned him several times in the late ACL summer of 2023. Tonight, OF/1B Reece Walling gave us his first big moment with a mammoth two-run jack over the right field wall in Zebulon to give the Mudcats a 6-4 lead in the eighth frame. They would barely hold on, 6-5 (thank the baseball gods for that!). Elsewhere, we got more ugly in Biloxi. The Sounds were near no-hit in Memphis in a 2-0 loss. And, uh oh 'Better Call Yoho!', the T-Rats escaped a mid-game bases loaded jam when they had to call on bullpen Ace RHP Craig Yoho. THIS is what winning manager, Victor Estevez does. He knows how to win. The T-Rats then stole a victory late! Meanwhile, in the desert, the ACL Crew's pitching staff continued giving up lots of runs. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: The DSL Brewers #2 released OF Christopher Vasquez - more details from Daniel HERE The Brewers signed INF/OF Adam Hall from the Winnipeg Goldeyes (American Association) - more details from Jim HERE OF Brewer Hicklen was placed on the 7-Day IL (retroactive to 5/27) by the Nashville Sounds OF Luis Lara was placed on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' 7-Day IL (retroactive to 5/25) OF Angel Pereira was placed on the 7-Day IL by the ACL Brewers (retroactive to 5/25) Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 2, Nashville 0 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 Shut Out by Redbirds in Series Opener - Taylor Clarke and Evan McKendry Combine for Six Scoreless Innings Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes Game 1 in Memphis was a planned bullpen game from the start. RHP Taylor Clarke took the hill to open the game and pitched an effective three innings - 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 ER. He handed the ball to RHP Evan McKendry who continues his short-inning stints with three scoreless innings himself: 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K. Ultimately, it was RHP Janson Junk who took the loss - the victim of a 1B Tyler Black throwing error 🫢 - Junk proceeded to give up consecutive very hard hit balls to the outfield grass to plate the Redbirds only runs. He finished with 2 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 R (unearned). As for the Sounds bats? Yeah. If OF Joey Wiemer hadn't poked a single in the top of the 8th, the Sounds would have been no hit. Despite their five walks, it was a tough day at the dish. All six men were LOB victims. They'll look to get back at it tomorrow. 'Three Quick Strikes'? How about three quick sentences. That'll do. Final: Pensacola (Marlins) 4, Biloxi 0 Shuckers Fall to Blue Wahoos in Series Opener - Taylor Clarke and Evan McKendry Combine for Six Scoreless Innings Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes I can't put lipstick on this current proverbial baseball pig, folks. Every time I tune into the Shuckers in their most recent stretch of challenge (and there have been more than one in 2024), I feel like Bill Murray in 'Groundhog Day'. It truly feels eerily familiar nearly every single outing I tune in. Kudos to Javik Blake for his resilience in both calling these games and maintaining a positive attitude in the booth! A true professional. The Shuckers moved to ten games under 0.500 losing their seventh straight at home and eighth overall. The ugly got uglier. They are 8.0 GB first place Montgomery. LHP Nate Peterson certainly did more than enough to keep his team in the game with a chance to make something (anything) happen: 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 2 ER. Then again, this is the Shuckers offense I'm writing about here: 0-for-7 with RISP. 11 men LOB. Not fun stuff. Just about the only thing I've gleaned during this woeful losing streak: INF Ethan Murray is sort of starting to hit. That's really all I have for you, folks. 3B Brock Wilken's tough luck return from the facial fracture continued in this one - 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K. There's just not all that much to write about here. Oh wait, with the assistance of that highly coveted home plate 50-foot-high camera, we can confirm yet again: C Darrien Miller has vastly improved throwing out runners on the base paths. There is also that. Final: Wisconsin 4, Fort Wayne (Padres) 3 Barrios Completes Wisconsin Comeback with Game-Winning Hit in Ninth - T-Rats Return to First Place Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes RHP Patricio Aquino was cruising through four innings but the wheels started falling off when he opened the fifth frame by conceding two singles lined to Dylan O'Rae in center field. He then saw a perfectly executed bunt single load the bases. He hit the next batter scoring the Tin Caps first run. And, he then gave up a two-run double. Manager Victor Estevez had seen enough. With nobody down, and the T-Rats locked in a tight divisional race with Cedar Rapids, Estevez did what really good managers do: he called upon his Ace. You can't get to the ninth inning with a meaningful chance if you see the game get away from you in the fifth frame. It ultimately proved to be a winning decision. Yoho escaped the jam - because, of course he did. He's RHP Craig Yoho! LHP Rob Manfredi shut the door from there - 4 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 6 K, 0 R. Full Game Highlights: Three Quick Strikes: 1) C Matt Wood has definitely had a tough luck May at the dish. There's no getting around that. But, he's still finding ways to help his team win games. An inning after this game-tying double, Wood caught the tying runner attempting to steal second base. When a player is struggling but still having impactful moments like these, he deserves every opportunity he gets. 2) Speaking of winning plays, INF Gregory Barrios came into his ninth inning AB 0-for-4 with 1 K on his tab. He exited a clutch game-winning performer. It was a heck of an AB in an 0-2 count. He absolutely earned this game-winning RBI. He willed this ball into the shallow right center field grass. What a season for this young man! 3) In addition to his 1-for-3 (1BB) evening at the dish, 1B Tayden Hall also lined out quite sharply to center field in the eighth frame. The transition to High-A has been a slow grind for Hall but I firmly believe the tools will ultimately translate as he gets more accustomed to the level up. There's simply too much innate athleticism and smooth fluid agility to keep him down for long. We're only 50 High-A AB's into this current leg of the journey. Miles to go. Final: Carolina 6, Delmarva (Orioles) 5 Walling Home Run Propels Mudcats Past Shorebirds - Mudcats Remain Atop Carolina League North Division in Tight Race Box Score / Game Log RHP Manuel Rodriguez pitched five innings for the sixth time in his eight 2024 starts. The young hurler just continues to give his team and manager dependability and reliability beyond his years. He wasn't as sharp as I've seen him, but he was certainly solid. A solo home run shot in the first was a sign of a rough inning - 27 pitches total to exit; including a HBP and walk for the second run scored. However, he regrouped quite nicely from there needing only 11 and 13 pitches to complete the second and third frames, respectively. All told, Rodriguez did more than enough to help his squad get to the place they needed to get to: the Shorebirds bullpen. Delmarva's 21-year-old Cuban RHP Eccel Correa was extremely impressive. This was my first look. This is a young player I would covet as a 'throw in' in any deadline deals with the Orioles - off the radar, but absolutely has tools a pitching staff would love to develop further. Three Quick Strikes: 1) INF Juan Baez makes mistakes on the base paths. He has the occasional brain fart in the field (though, I should add, his defense as a whole is far better than advertised). But, my oh my, he just plays such an enjoyable brand of baseball. He's overly aggressive at the dish, for one, because he has such advanced bat-to-ball skills. His hand-eye coordination is truly ridiculous and, at just a quick glance, you would not suspect it. Before Reece Walling's blast, Baez was absolutely clutch plating three runs late to essentially tie the game himself. This is what I mean when I speak to 'advanced bat-to-ball skills'. Take a quick look at this ripped double down the left field line to plate the Muddies very first runs: That is a very difficult place to hit that pitch to. Baez has a little bit of Jadher Areinamo over-aggression but with even better plate savvy and a bit more pop. Easily one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the system. 2) Let's all just enjoy OF Reece Walling's first platinum moment. This was a huge AB. And, my what a simple easy swing producing that hefty result! Walling has quite a bit of refinement ahead of him but you can literally see all the tools when he takes the field. He's a very smooth athlete given his size. He has above-average coordination and agility. He has a very good arm. Developing power. And improving patience at the dish. Four of his nine hits since his Low-A promotion are for extra bases. He's still very much a ball of clay but you can definitely see the possible end results even at his young age of twenty. 3) RHP Bayden Root certainly made it interesting. Three hits. One walk. And the bases were juiced with only one down. Yet, he buckled down and induced the game-ending double play to seal the Mudcats victory. Whewwww. The bullpen effort as a whole wasn't all that impressive but it ultimately proved enough as the offense did the rest. (5/27) ACL Brewers 5, ACL Mariners 2 Box Score / Game Log We more than aptly covered the gist of Monday's game in our game thread. I'm going to copy and paste from well-known forum members @sveumrules and @damuelle: The ACL Crew picked up a pair of runs in the first via Antony Gomez double, Eric Bitonti walk, Gery Holguin walk, Luiyin Alastre RBI fielder’s choice, and a Johan Barrios bases loaded walk. Eric Prado allowed a pair of runs over four frames with 3 H | 2 BB | 2 K before Osbriel Mogollon put up a scoreless fifth (1 K) working around 2 H and 1 BB. The Crew is rallying top of six with Johan Barrios ROE, Luis Lameda single, Ramon Moreno walk, Antony Gomez walk and Eric Bitonti walk netting them another pair of runs. Fillipo Di Turi offered a brief respite with a rare strikeout before a Gery Holguin fielder’s choice netted one more run. Now 5-2 heading to bottom of six with Mogollon still on the mound. Never a dull moment in the ACL, unless you think wild twenty year olds walking the bases juiced is dull. Osbriel came back out to try and finish the game but went K, BB before getting pulled. So now it was up to Anfernny Reyes who walked the first two batters he faced before getting a pop out and K to secure his second save of the season in a 5-2 Crew victory. The teams were a combined 0-for-18 with RISP, with 21 left on base and all 7 runs scoring without the benefit of an RBI hit. This year’s ACL box scores are looking a bit more like the DSL. Eric Martinez was likely our sole healthy bench bat. I’m impressed we’ve gotten back to a record of 7-10. It looked bleaker than that. Players are stepping up. (5/28) ACL Rangers 8, ACL Brewers 1 Box Score / Game Log Before we get into the nitty gritty of this particular game, let me share a post I made earlier today in our Game Thread: The ACL Crew certainly matched the eye test again in these pitching statistical categories. LHP Anthony Flores continues struggling to adjust to the challenges of the Complex League - 3 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 6 ER. He now holds a 9.26 ERA in just 11 2/3 IP. He does still demonstrate the ability to strike batters out (17 K in these same innings). Let's hope he adjusts as he grows more accustomed to everything in the states. A much needed solid outing from RHP Bryan Rivera - 4 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 ER. RHP Isaiah Jackson is still struggling to fine-tune his control - two walks, 1 WP, and a HB are part and parcel adding shine to his season WHIP of 2.05. My sense here is Jackson has quite a bit of athleticism and raw tools but his injury absences in years past have hindered his overall development. Time will tell. Not a whole lot to speak of offensively in this one. Unfortunately, Eric Bitonti K'd three times though we should acknowledge this has actually been the exception to the rule of late. Let's hope it's a mere blip. The Timber Rattlers and LHP Tate Kuehner will be featured as the MiLB.TV free 'Game of the Day' in their mid-day matinee tomorrow. Tune in and enjoy some first place T-Rats baseball! Elsewhere, in the evening, we will see RHP Chad Patrick look to continue building on his fantastic season. In Biloxi, RHP Shane Smith will continue testing his wares as a starter as he looks to help the Shuckers end their skid. And, in Carolina another youngster in RHP Daniel Corniel will take the hill as the Mudcats look to take a 2-0 series lead versus Delmarva. 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

I know I laud manager Victor Estevez any chance I get. BUT, let me just share with you how different he is than most the Minor League managers I've watched in my many years watching the system. He just makes winning decisions in real time on such a consistent basis. Nobody will likely talk about it, but, bringing in his Ace in RHP Craig Yoho to put out Aquino's bases loaded firestorm after the Tin Caps had already plated three in the 5th inning absolutely won that ball game. I firmly believe this. THAT is what I'm talking about when i say Estevez plays to develop and win. He knows his team just had a rough series at South Bend. He knows it's a two-horse race between Cedar Rapids and his young team. AND, let me tell you: not a lot of Minor League managers play that game all that well. He's different. He's a star in the making. I'm going to follow his career wherever it leads.

T-Rats WALK OFF!!! Barrios flares an 0-2 single to shallow right CF. Heck of a hit in the situation. They are now 1/2 G in 1st place over the Kernels. C Matt Wood played a huge part in the win - he hit the game-tying double scoring Adams (with two down) in the 8th and threw a runner out at 2B in the top of the 9th. HUGE W. Thank the heavens for the the T-Rats and the Mudcats in 2024!

Wiemer breaks the no-no. Well, there's that! Did they think they were facing Cubs starters?

The same day Hicklen goes on the IL, the Sounds are on the verge of being no-hit. They have zeroes on the scoreboard in the top of the 8th at Memphis. Yuck. And, color me absolutely shocked: The Shuckers have not plated a run either headed to the bottom of the 8th. They trail 3-0. On the verge of losing their seventh straight at Home. This team. There is a certain lack of words.

Reece Walling truthers unite @wiguy94 (I guess that's, well, you and I 😅)

Baez does it again! After a 2-RBI triple the in ing before, he just smacked a two out RBI ground rule double scoring Guilarte. We are knotted at 4-4!