Joseph Zarr

Not just 'hit him'. That was a heater off the helmet. Unreal inning for the Mudcats pitching staff. This is something we almost never see from this staff. Whewwww.

Yeah an unbelievably ugly fill-in start. 33 pitches. Not a single out. 3 Hit Batters. Double. Single. Walk? And it wasn't even remotely competitive. Just ugly ugly outing.

2-2 count. Rivero hits his 2nd batter of the inning. This is an early disaster. My goodness. 3-1. That can't happen. Ruh roh. Pitch count about to be in the 20's. Bases still juiced. We haven't seen this version of Rivero in about a year.

And, Rivero hit the next batter. Yikes. Bases juiced. Nobody down. His command is just not there. The Rain Delay is hurting both clubs early.

ON a 1-2 count Rivero gives up an oppo liner under the glove of the diving Guilarte at 2B. Looked like he could have caught that ball - not an easy play. Men on the corners. Nobody out. Rivero not finding success early.

AND, as I suspected Reece Walling is on the RF grass. Rivero works the count 1-2. Then sees it go full. Then gives up a double off the RF wall. Walling: Has an arm. Absolutely has an arm. He didn't even unleash and threw that ball from the deep right corner to 2B on the fly with good pace.

A WP scores the third Mudcats run. Nicasia then goes down looking in a 1-2 count on a dead center cut heater. 3-0 Mudcats to the bottom of the 1st. Letson will take the hill afterall! Check that, the announcers got it wrong: RHP Jesus Rivero takes the hill.

AND, after K'ng 2 straight Manfredi leaves a mistake 94 mph heater dead center to a lefty bat in a 1-2 count. That ball was crushed into the water and the T-Rats suddenly trail 3-2. Can't pitch that ball in that count. Rough.

Really nice to see Luis Castillo with an intelligent AB. Works it 3-0. Takes down the middle. Smacks a 2-run liner to CF. 2-0 in the top of the 1st. 2 down. Men on 2nd and 3rd.

Manfredi came on to relieve Aquino (much improved outing and results) and proceeds to walk his first batter on 5 pitches after an 0-1 start. He then pitches ball 1 to his second batter and we have a Matt Wood visit to the mound. 2-1 T-Rats.

ERA down to sub 20, however...

King is mercifully pulled after a truly rough 0 IP, 1 H (GS), 3 BB meltdown. This 4-4 game turned in a hurry. Seven run 8th so far. One down. Man on first after King's 3rd walk. You have to wonder, after a performance like this, if he isn't forcing himself to play with an injury? DL or Development stints often follow.

The Biscuits have scored 7 unanswered and lead the Shuckers 7-4. A RHP Sam Carlson throwing error put two men on in the top of the 8th. He then gave up a run scoring double was pulled for LHP Justin King who inconveniently proceeded to walk his first two batters scoring another. Oh, and hey those King struggles absolutely continue: he just gave up a grand salami. Man his regression is very real in early 2024.Yuck. 11-4 as the Biscuits pull away in this disastrous eighth inning. Shades of the meltdown Shuckers bullpens of the past couple years.

100% The real question for the talented Tyler Black as we watch his early MLB AB's: Will his innate offensive talents and gifts translate enough at the MLB level to overcompensate for his inexplicably inept defense at seemingly every position. It's an enigma to me, really. For a man as coordinated and agile as Black is, he has looked uncomfortable and clumsy at literally every position he has played for the Brewers. He just has absolutely no feel wherever you put him and it has actually gotten worse since his rookie season. When he played with Wisconsin, I used to think his 2B work was tolerable. It wasn't dazzling whatsoever but it didn't seem to hurt the team - even though his hands were clearly not soft. You can't have a 50/50 proposition defensively when your offense is as limited as the Brewers. He is fast working his way into back-up 1B, primary DH territory. This is a real conundrum moving forward and given the way the Brewers have historically devalued the 1B and DH positions, even with as much as I like Tyler Black the young man and offensive talent, I have to think he's available for the right package on the trading block. Especially, if we consider what Wes Clarke brings. And, if we deeper consider Tayden Hall's whole package. Which brings me to Martinez Jr... I personally don't know where the Brewers place Ernesto Martinez Jr. in their pecking order. He's made massive strides over the past year plus. He absolutely remains a very intriguing player. He hits the ball very hard. He's quite athletic - way more athletic and agile than one would think. He's a massive target at 1B and makes life easier for all his infielders with his numerous full stretches for errant throws and the like. Despite his growth, however, I still consider him quite raw and unseasoned. The foundation is there, however, to build from now. Whereas, previous to last season's second half tear and this year's general consistency stemming from said tear, I saw him as a very very unpolished and free-playing player (a player I likely saw getting lost in the Minor League shuffle), I now see him as a very legitimate prospect. Surely, the Brewers are excited about his growth and development given they've been with him professionally since he was 17 years of age (!!). In many ways, however, I think his career trajectory is just beginning. My main questions here are: Can he keep growing? As is, he is not an MLB player. And that's absolutely fine. But, also, as is, he has definitely tapped into growth in his game declaring he definitely could be an impactful MLB player. I consider him a high stakes lottery ticket. But, far from a sure thing.

The Sounds managed to win it in the 10th inning after some ninth inning Hicklen heroics. The Shuckers welcomed back Brock Wilken and Wes Clarke and saw a gem from RHP TJ Shook in their 5-0 shutout. The T-Rats moved into sole possession of first place in the Midwest League's West Division with their game 1 victory at Quad Cities (now in second place). The Mudcats, riding the steady and ascending arm of RHP Manuel Rodriguez, took game 1 at Fayetteville pushing their first place lead over Fredericksburg to 1.0 G. And, unfortunately, the ACL Crew continued their scuffling start in the desert. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: C Eric Haase was activated by the Nashville Sounds (from the Taxi Squad) 1B Tayden Hall was assigned to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from the Carolina Mudcats OF Reece Walling was assigned to the Carolina Mudcats from the ACL Brewers C/1B Wes Clarke was activated by the Biloxi Shuckers from their 7-Day IL 3B Brock Wilken was activated by the Biloxi Shuckers from their 7-Day IL OF Carlos D. Rodriguez was placed on the 7-Day IL by the Biloxi Shuckers (retroactive to 5/6) (5/6) RHP Kevin Herget's contract was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Nashville Sounds (5/6) RHP Janson Junk was optioned by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Nashville Sounds (5/6) OF Chris Roller was sent on a Rehab Assignment to the ACL Brewers Final: Sounds 9, Durham (Rays) 8 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): Late Rally, Clutch Hits in 10th Inning Propels Sounds to Victory at Durham - Brewer Hicklen Hits Go-Ahead Homer in 9th Box Score / Game Log We definitely witnessed that long recovery-road version of LHP Aaron Ashby today. It hurts to see these lines and the inconsistencies outing-to-outing but it is what it is: returning to competitive baseball off of serious shoulder injuries is anything but a known commodity. After looking much improved his last time on the bump, Ashby was back to all sorts of control issues: 3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 7 BB, 2 WP, 1 K, 2 HR, 4 ER. 86 laboring pitches with 46 strikes. This was definitely a rough outing and there's no other way to look at it. The road ahead is likely long and outings like this, unfortunately, are just part of the process. Let's just hope they become fewer and farther between. Three Quick Strikes: 1) With 28 combined hits between the two squads, the Sounds were bound to have some impressive showings at the dish. Hicklen was the obvious headliner here with his first 5 RBI outing since 2021 (Double-A Northwest Arkansas), but there were several notable days at the plate. Five players, including Hicklen, had two knocks or more. 2B Vinny Capra tallied three knocks of his own. SS Yonny Hernández, 1B Noah Campbell, and 3B Owen Miller each tallied two hits apiece. 2) Given Ashby's abbreviated outing, hats off to the combined scoreless bullpen innings from LHP Darryl Thompson, RHP Ryan Middendorf, RHP Harold Chirino and RHP Enoli Paredes. Paredes picked up his team-leading fourth Save by closing the door in the tenth and final inning. And, yes, I know the ghost-runner scored but I'm considering it a scoreless unearned outing for Paredes. Do I mention 40-Man rostered RHP Corbin Martin conceded more runs? Do I mention Martin has conceded runs in 6-of-8 relief outings in 2024? Oh wait, I guess I just did. 3) I remain extremely bullish on the prospects of RHP Harold Chirino. He is far from a finished product on the mound, as one might surmise with his K:BB numbers, but he has innate qualities to his pitches that you just don't see all that often. His pitches move. His pitches ride. He has velocity. For me, personally, 2024 is about staying healthy and continue to fine tune his mechanics. At 26 years old, I contend the future is very bright for this talented bullpen arm. Final: Biloxi 5, Montgomery (Rays) 0 Clarke, Shook Combine for Dominant Night in 5-0 Shuckers Win - Former College Teammates Lift Shuckers to Shutout Win Pre-Game Media Notes Box Score / Game Log It's no secret around here: I love RHP TJ Shook. In a vast pool of overlooked Brewers prospects, Shook is definitely one of my shiny gems. Why do I feel this way? I've watched him pitch and develop from day 1 as a Brewers prospect. I've seen the growth. I know the tools. And, he's improving. Outside of a weakly hit flare single, with his infield shadowed 3B side, Shook was spotless into the sixth frame. 69 pitches. 56 strikes on his evening. One hit. Zero walks. Eight punch outs. Dominant stuff. This is a very good young pitcher, folks. Keep him on your radar. Three Quick Strikes: 1) I had to double take when I saw Ernesto Martinez Jr. adorning the center field grass. What a sight to behold. 6'6" and 250 pounds of agile man gazelle covering stretches of Earth a cheetah could only dream of. This was his first time covering deep center since 2021 (and for good reason - he's a classic first baseman). But, consider this: he also swiped his team leading sixth base of the season. What more does this worldly man have to offer? Stay tuned! 2-for-3 on the evening as he attempts to claw his way back toward the 0.300 mark. 2) The Shuckers have somehow been incapable of fixing their camera issues and we are still left with painstaking views from behind home plate throughout these games. BUT, that doesn't mean it wasn't absolutely awesome to see 3B Brock Wilken back on the dirt next to third base. What a sight for sore eyes: 3) As the headline above indicates, this game was all about Shook and Clarke. And, given that, enjoy this 106 mph dart Clarke rocketed into the trees in left field to give his squad three extra inches of cushion to pad their lead. So great to have the big fella back and swinging the lumber: * Game 2 begins Mid-Day tomorrow for a matinee (morning my time) as RHP Bradley Blalock looks to keep things churning* Final: Wisconsin 4, Quad Cities (Royals) 1 Wisconsin Opens Series at Quad Cities with a Win - Timber Rattlers Pitchers Record 14 Ks to Beat the River Bandits Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes As LHP Tate Kuehner gets more comfortable, his numbers start falling more in line with his overall arsenal. I told you in the past two reports of his past two outings: don't worry about the peripherals his stuff will definitely play. And here we are. 4 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, 6 K. It was a solid outing overall. In the outings ahead, I would personally like to see him throw more strikes but I'm not going to complain about these results. I'm simply curious to see if he can't work himself into the fifth and sixth frames. Is that even the intention? I'm unsure as of yet. There is definitely more work to be done but this was a solid next step. Three Quick Strikes: 1) Just promote RHP Craig Yoho to Double-A already. My goodness. He is completely overmatching these High-A hitters. He and the Brewers simply need to see what that coveted Double-A jump will reveal. I simply want to see it!🤭 His 3 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 7 K evening was every bit as dominant as that would seem. It. Is. Time. You know it. I know it. We all know it: this is very clearly an MLB-caliber arm. The road to get there is the unknown. 2) OF Luis Lara likely hit the hardest ball of his season when he smacked a high heater midway up the right center field wall in the top of the fifth frame. It was a sight for sore eyes. When Lara is at his best, he is swinging freely, aggressively, but with purpose and precision. Needless to say, it was a Lara smack of the ball that I hadn't seen in some time. Let's hope it leads to a fantastic series. 3) I've definitely noticed a bump in arm action, velocity, and precision from C Matt Wood so far in 2024. Will this last? It's hard to tell so early. But, tonight specifically, when he threw out the runner to end the bottom of the fourth inning, it was notable for two reasons: he saw the runner late so he had a delayed pop and didn't matter because he threw an absolutely perfectly placed throw for the bang-bang out. It was a standout play. Final: Carolina 4, Fayetteville (Astros) 1 Mudcats Take Series Opener in Fayetteville Box Score / Game Log I've discussed talented 18-year-0ld RHP Manuel Rodriguez for several weeks now. Tonight, however, was truly his early season opus. What a performance. We witnessed the first seven-inning starting pitching performance in the Carolina League since late July of 2023. He's 18 years old, folks. Everything I've said previously was in stellar form tonight. He's controlled. He's confident. He knows how to locate. He knows how to mix. He has higher RPM on his lower velocity heater - this projects very well down the road for obvious reasons. Like Shook above, just an absurdly good amount of strikes for such a dominant outing. His lone blemish was an oppo solo jack in the seventh frame. I continue to absolutely love watching this young man pitch. I look forward to watching him evolve as he ages. Three Quick Strikes: 1) OF Yophery Rodriguez is no stranger to meeting the moment in key spots. He's done it on several occasions already - both offensively and defensively - in his young professional career. You can't teach the 'It' factor. You really just can not. While his overall batting average and peripherals may not be wowing you overall as you scan box scores, make no mistake about it: Rodriguez has a special 'big moment' skill you can not teach. For example: ** Also 18 years old ** 2) What RHP Craig Yoho is to High-A Wisconsin, RHP K.C. Hunt is to Low-A Carolina. Let's just get the paperwork signed and delivered: it is time to send this talented pitcher to High-A. 27 K: 4 BB on 16 1/3 scoreless innings of work. Let's make it a Hunt-for-Yoho promotional swap while we're at it. It's all there in the baseball ethers waiting to happen. I'm simply future casting and casting baseball spells, perhaps, but after another scoreless two innings tonight (while also picking up his first Save) I've more than seen enough. 3) With 1B Tayden Hall off to Northern pastures, we saw C Blayberg Diaz manning 1B for manager Nick Stanley and the Mudcats tonight. He performed admirably - even making a challenging chase and grab run down at the opponent's dugout in the middle innings. Jim posted some nice details in the Minor League Transactions page and I responded HERE, but from afar it certainly appears as though the organization might be giving intriguing young prospect Reece Walling some sudden action at 1B after his promotion. He's listed as an outfielder on the Mudcats roster page. He's listed as an OF (officially) on his MiLB player page. BUT, he was noted as a 1B on the Transaction Wire. Like the mysterious case of Tyler Black's official 2023 height listing, we now have the curious positional questions surrounding one Reece Walling. And this is your Minor League Deep Cut for the evening. (5/7) ACL Athletics 10, ACL Brewers 4 Box Score / Game Log (5/6) ACL Reds 7, ACL Brewers 3 Box Score / Game Log As per usual with these Complex games, I'm going to offer some key insights in a short paragraph - I can not watch these games so have little to give you via my eyes. Though the young Crew are certainly scuffling in their extremely young season (0-3 after tonight's loss), there are always performances of note. Most notably on Monday, LHP Anferrny Reyes hit the ground running to start his second ACL campaign 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 3 K. I certainly look at his greater body of ACL work and consider him a lead future promotional candidate. In that same Monday game, though hits were certainly hard to come by, the offense managed to walk their way seven times to cross the plate. If we shift our attention to tonight's contest, three players stood out for me on offense: C Yannic Walther whose bat carried forth 2023 DSL momentum, INF Filippo Di Turri whose 2 BB 1 2B outing showcased the variety of ways he can get on base, and INF Tyler Rodriguez's surprising two hit night. I was peripherally intrigued with Rodriguez given his advanced BB:K ratio he showcased in last year's DSL season. It was nice to see him pop in the box score. RHP Isaiah Jackson K'd the side swinging in his lone inning of relief work. Jackson was essentially an UDFA lottery ticket the Brewers managed to scoop up late last July when they doubled their offer after the draft. Something tells me they may have something here in this athletic 22-year-old. Lastly, and not to be lost in this mini pitching recap, is the 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 4 K effort from RHP Felipe de Los Santos who is in his second ACL season with the Brewers at 21 years of age. Remember, the Shuckers are back at it mid day with RHP Bradley Blalock. All remaining games will be in the evening. Can RHP Patricio Aquino rediscover his form? Can RHP Tyler Woessner bring his Triple-A ERA below 40? Stay tuned! 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

(From Nashville's post-game article) AND, the Brewers have RHP Corbin Martin on the 40-Man. Someone make it make sense?

RHP Isaiah Jackson (Late July 2023 Free Agent pick-up - really intriguing at the time) just struck out the Athletics side in the 8th inning. All three went down swinging. (Full Article HERE)

Walling is listed as an INF (1B, technically) by MiLB but he hasn't played an infield inning for the Brewers since being drafted out of high school. Every one has been spent on the OF grass. The vast majority in RF. Obviously, we know that can change as he gets into affiliated ball (especially with Hall's promotion), but for the sake of what has transpired...that positional designation is quite odd/interesting/portentious by MiLB. I mean, we know they do that all over the map with the DSL. Anywho, I guess we'll see what happens in Zebulon - will he start seeing action in new places?

It's been a rough first 3 games for the ACL Crew. They trail 10-3 in the 7th after six runs over the past two frames. This will push the youngsters to 0-3 on their extremely young season.

Have you heard me talk about pitching? LOL. Absurd early season performances.

Hunt is really intriguing. Control isn't an issue, really. He is ready for High-A. Dominanced yet again tonight for a 3 inning Save. I mean come on, now. 27 K: 4 BB in 16 IP? Control? Really? Not hearing it. He's been shutdown electric. Yet to concede a run. 0.61 WHIP. 0.107 BAA. Just send him to High-A for crying out loud.

Yoho: 7 K in 3 IP tonight. Bahahahahah. My goodness he's just such a STUD. T-Rats win it 4-1. They move to 18-10 and move ahead of Quad Cities into 1st place.

Oh make no mistake about it: Yoho is going to Double-A. He is ridiculous. Manfredi 'should' follow for sure. BUT, to my point, Yoho is just electric. The movement on his pitches is not normal. It's a very rare set of tools.