Joseph Zarr

It is nice news. What's most important here is he carried last year's late-season momentum and it is now his base layer. SO, where does the talented mammoth of a hurler go from here? He is still very much a work in progress but there is upward growth there for the taking with raw tools you can't teach. His slider has come light years and is now an elite pitch. I'd personally like to see continued refinement of his heater and change-up tho to bring them to the slider's level. He still has a propensity to fall back into those early-career release-point issues and the ball runs away from him arm-side. Anywho, to your point: it is a nice tidbit 😅

** Agree with @BlazingGunz here: Ashby needs time and patience. That's a serious possibly career-altering injury. It is going to take TIME. And, as I say above, I implore the Brewers to allow it. I personally wasn't even considering him as an MLB option until possibly 2025. And, I should also add: I have generally disagreed with how the Brewers have approached his usage since coming back. Last summer's usage, in particular, where they were injecting Ashby into meaningful Minor League playoff-pursuit games was just silly by my eyes - I said it then and I still believe it: he should have been in the Complex...they promoted him from Wisconsin twice and he was getting shellacked by High-A hitters. And, none of that was on Ashby - he was a soldier and showed up. He wasn't ready then. He's in a battle now to find how he can pitch now and where he is headed, hopefully, in the next two years. I don't wish a shoulder injury on any pitcher. It's just unfair. ** Gasser looked lights out yesterday. I've watched nearly every start since he's been a Brewer. He is different in 2024. I am officially excited. He is stronger. He definitely appears to have added say 5-10 lbs of chiseled mass. His first outing proved it: hitting 95 mph on the gun multiple times was just not a thing before 2024. Lots to look forward to here.

@Brock Beauchamp: We have a video clip, now, the Sounds posted of Gasser's last K. This is some of the filthy I was seeing. He is bigger, stronger, and throwing harder in 2024. IF this is the Gasser we are suddenly working with (he looks like a man), I think our vistas of possibility suddenly open wider: (sorry no embed option - top video) Gasser Collects Fifth and Final Strikeout

- I got to the T-Rats game in about the 3rd frame. I can say O'Rae hit a well hit line drive to the LF fringe warning track that looked quite good off the bat. And I also saw him K on a wicked off-speed pitch down and in. But, to your question: he has never had a 3 K game in the Brewers system. This was a first. - I can't tell you whether Blalock has been working on anything specifically but I can tell you the entire Shuckers team has been struggling with the wind coming off that Pensacola coast. - Yoho, I said it above, I'll say it again here: he's an MLB pitcher today. Just ridiculous set of tools. The closest thing we have to an Airbender Air Appairent. (I'm sorry, I'm a dad). - LHP Russ Smith has come a long long way and finally entered the conversation. Now, it's about maintaining this current effectiveness and fine-tuning and taking his 'stuff' and elevating it another notch. It's all right there for him. I'm bullish.

It seems to me the writing is on the wall for one more outing with Nashville and then the serious conversations start taking place (at least with Murphy's post-game comments last night). He looked fantastic last night.

It was a rare mid-day slate of matinee affairs across the system (typically, we see two mid-day games mid-week and two evening tilts). The Mudcats moved to 5-0 on their season series versus Salem with a tight 4-3 victory. The Sounds lost their second in a row to Louisville in painful 2-1 fashion. The Shuckers corner outfield continues to be a hot mess in their 5-0 loss. And, the T-Rats were done in by some shoddy defense of their own costing an eighth inning one-run lead but they managed to ride the magic carpet of one masterful RHP Craig Yoho to a victory. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: LHP Robert Gasser was officially activated from the 7-Day IL by the Nashville Sounds (more below) INF Cooper Pratt was activated off the 7-Day IL by the Carolina Mudcats Finally, some fantastic IL news for the much-beleaguered Brewers organization! Final: Louisville (Reds) 2, Sounds 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): Nashville Bats Go Quiet in Loss to Louisville - Robert Gasser Strikes Out Five in Four One-Run Innings Box Score / Game Log After last night's high-scoring affair, we witnessed a nail biter in Louisville for game 2 as the Sounds fell just short. But, make no mistake, this game was entirely about the return and immediate positive impact of talented LHP Robert Gasser. What a sight for sore eyes! 49 total pitches with 32 strikes while striking out the side in the second inning was just what the doctor ordered here. Last year's International League Pitcher of the Year was absolutely in call-up form and Brewers fans worldwide should feel quite good about this. Two Quick Throws to First Base: (hey, it's a two hit affair - oh, and Isaac Collins with yet another XBH for one of them) 1) More good news: during the MiLB.TV telecast the Bats announcers shared it is largely believed OF Brewer Hicklen will not need an IL stint after the beanball to his left kneecap last night. In a season filled with injuries throughout the Brewers organization, this is a huge sigh of relief. It's an even bigger sigh of relief given the two hit snooze fest the Sounds offense put forth. 2) Welcome back to Nashville, Mr. Noah Campbell! Not only was he on base three times on the day (single, reached by error, HBP), but he was also credited with two outfield assists - one to home plate and one at third base. It is quite clear the Shuckers offense and outfield already desperately misses him. Let's hope he can keep putting forth good results and he finds a home in Nashville before making his way to the Major Leagues. Final: Pensacola (Marlins) 5, Biloxi 0 Bullpen Strikes Out Seven, Shuckers Fall to Blue Wahoos - Shuckers Limited to Five Hits in 5-0 Loss Against Pensacola Pre-Game Media Notes Box Score / Game Log Well, we knew RHP Bradley Blalock's scoring streak would end at some point. It ended quickly today - before he had recorded a single out. It was certainly his roughest outing to date as the talented young hurler also experienced his shortest outing of 2024 - 3 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 ER, 1 HR. 73 pitches in total over the three innings pitched. Given the fabulous start to his season, we'll chalk this up as a mulligan. Three Quick Strikes 1) I am about at my limit with the ongoing Biloxi outfield mishaps. LF Lamar Sparks had two misplays at the warning track that cost LHP Russ Smith and his teammates - one ruled an error the other graciously gifted as a hit. RF Carlos D. Rodriguez then chose to try out his sub-par arm to home plate while simply allowing the hitter to advance into scoring position in the process - this after last night's walk-off misread and game-losing misplay in right field. When your bats are sleeping on a consistent basis as they have been throughout the early part of the season, you absolutely have to batten down the hatches defensively. In games one and two it just isn't happening in the outfield grass and it is costing the team dearly. 2) INF Mike Boeve certainly benefited from a scoring decision when he was awarded a triple on what was likely a fielding error, but what continues to be true regardless of the scoring anomaly is he is making contact and putting balls in play. I can only hope (or pray) his struggling and scuffling teammates take notice and pick up a thing or two (or three) and the offense finds a pulse. After said triple in the first frame, his teammates followed suit with three consecutive strike outs. 3) Speaking of pulses, and Sparks' misplays, it is important to point out as this game progressed the coastal winds were really blasting in from right-to-left field. OF Justin Dirden suffered the winds' fates when his extremely well hit deep ball with a runner aboard and the game still 3-0 just died at the right field warning track. A surefire two-run homer on most afternoons fizzled into a long out. It was just that kind of game for the Shuckers. And, well, it has been that type of series through two losses in this so far. ** Special Shout Out to RHP Nick Merkel. He continues to impact the Southern League and is showcasing his fantastic knuckle curve in the process. His crucial scoreless middle innings of work gave his team an opportunity today even tho they were not up to the challenge. 3 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K? Yes, please. Season ERA down to 1.80. Hitters hitting a 0.212 BAA with a fantastic 0.80 WHIP (10:1 K:BB). Hey, it's yet another relief arm crushing in April. Have you heard of this PITCHING theme? Final: Wisconsin 3, Peoria (Cardinals) 2 Wisconsin Takes Down Chiefs in Extra Innings - Areinamo's Two-Out Single in Tenth Puts Rattlers Ahead to Stay Box Score / Game Log Pre-Game Media Notes LHP Mark Manfredi continues to make a name for himself. LHP Tate Kuehner had a fantastic bounce back outing validating my previous remarks - ie his stuff is better than the early results - and deserved much better than a Blown Save mark (it certainly wasn't his doing). And, well, RHP Craig Yoho continues to blow my socks off in every inning he pitches. Seriously, Yoho on the 2024 ticket and we're going to set some things right! All in all, the three talented hurlers combined to strike out 16 Chiefs. In a year of PITCHING (you may have heard me mention this before?), the combined efforts of the T-Rats staff drove that point home in spades. Three Quick Strikes: 1) INF Luke Adams made it back to the Timber Rattlers lineup after a brief absence and he impacted the game in nearly every way. A 2-for-3 line, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 2 RBI and a crucial game-tying throwing error to boot. Since seeing Adams play 3B in Carolina throughout 2023, I continue to share: I don't know if he has a natural position but, regardless, 3B does not come natural to him. His throwing error (1B Ben Metzinger, brought in as a defensive substitution, certainly didn't help his cause) was just a classic short-arm toss that fell a good 6-9 feet before the bag. Thankfully, it didn't cost the team the game. I'll be curious to see if he can't slot over to 1B more now that he's healthy and playing again. 2) After three knocks on his afternoon, including the game winning poke bloop to right field (a thing of beauty), one might be wondering why talented INF Jadher Areinamo is only sporting a 0.642 OPS. He's batting 0.271 on the season, after all. Look no further than his mere two walks. Every young player has work to do to take their game to new heights. Given his immense talent defensively, Areinamo's largest body of work continues to be in the area of learning plate discipline and selectivity. If we can continue to get more line drive loft that will be an added bonus. He still has a tendency to be over-aggressive in the batters box. 3) I spoke to it above. I spoke to it at length in the game thread. I'm going to state it again here should anyone need to hear it: RHP Craig Yoho is an inevitable promotion in the days and weeks ahead. He is absolutely over-matching High-A bats. Everything he delivers moves. He changes speeds routinely in AB's. The ball drops precipitously out of the zone. He can tail it. He can raise it. He can level it out and surprise you. You simply do not know what is coming and even if you do it likely won't matter. This is what we like to call a 'fast riser'. I can't imagine he will be a Timber Rattler much longer. Shortly thereafter, as discussed last night, I see RHP Yerlin Rodriguez following in his footsteps. Final: Carolina 4, Salem (Red Sox) 3 Mudcats Come Back Again Late to Stun Red Sox Box Score / Game Log RHP Daniel Corniel absolutely bounced back on the comforts of his home mound. What a difference a new game and a new setting can make for a young man. 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 6 K is just what the doctor ordered. It's important to remember, like Rodriguez yesterday, Corniel is much younger than the average age of the Low-A Carolina League at 19 years of age until early July. In many regards, these young men are still just getting comfortable. RHP Yujanyer Herrera moved to 3-0 on his season pitcher 4 1/3 IP of 1 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 6 K ball. He continues to execute much greater control to his mix in 2024 moving his K:BB ratio to a very pleasing 27:6 over 17 IP already. If we see a Yoho or Rodriguez promotion at High-A, one has to imagine Herrera will be one of the promotions heading north. Three Quick Strikes: 1) Let's keep the feel good injury news rolling. An INF Cooper Pratt highlight: The hand certainly looked healthy on that muscled liner to right field on the inner portion of his bat! Please stay healthy young man. Every rep is so valuable. I say this because we see Pratt did leave for a defensive substitution in the late innings. We'll take this as early precautionary. Plenty more highlights on the Carolina Mudcats X Page - including a C Blayberg Diaz home run blast. 2) Sitting 14-3 and the class of the Carolina League early in 2024, it is quite easy to see why: the Mudcats get contributions from nearly everyone on their team. A game like this is a prime example: look at that box score and you'll see a lot of ones in a lot of different places. 'Scrappy' is a clichéd term used in sports but when it is used there is often legitimate evidence to back it up. It's extremely encouraging that the youngest group of full-season players in the Brewers system quite often play the cleanest most fundamentally sound version of baseball as well. They may lack the size, strength, and experience but they certainly don't lack in fight, smarts, and resilience. They've also already demonstrated they can trail throughout contests and can regain leads at any point. This is quite simply an extremely entertaining team to watch. 3) Much like his prospect hype counterpart in OF Jackson Chourio, CF Yophery Rodriguez is prone to big moments in key spots just as he is prone to striking out and mini stretches of '0-for' at the plate (currently in a mini 0-for-10, 4 K, 1 BB slump dating back to the last Augusta game). The two young men are very different players and very different human beings. in the best of ways, and I continue to feel quite fortunate we can watch the development paths of such talented baseball players. Yes, the ups and most definitely the downs. These are not linear progressions. I hand it off to Jim and Daniel for the remainder of these ongoing series. Let us hope we see continued health and good baseball weather through the weekend. Letson, Ashby, Woessner, and Rudy will be back on the bump tomorrow evening. As always, thanks for reading and thanks for supporting Milwaukee Brewers Minor League baseball and the many players deserving of our time and recognition. I now pass the baton to Daniel and Jim for the remainder of these ongoing series. 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

#TeamTrenches

Prepare for a long complicated answer 😅 The obvious low-hanging fruit is LHP Robert Gasser. He will be called up as he establishes himself. First rehab outing today was highly successful. He looked like he didn't miss a beat. Beyond that, the best pure talent has big question marks and would be major gambles given lack of experience and polish. The real unfortunate part of early 2024 is alluded to above: the lack of a step from RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez. He is getting hit nearly every outing for an inning or two because he is inconsistent. It is just an unfortunate fact. In terms of starting depth beyond Myers (who, as you know, is already up and who I've been saying is MLB-caliber since last September) it just really is not there. SO, we desperately need Junis back and we need Myers to stick and we need Gasser to stay healthy and pray Miley isn't seriously injured. You can try to force some innings out of Ashby or Junk but neither guy is appropriate for that role and it would be a big risk. We can fool ourselves into thinking they are but that isn't using good judgment. Ashby is likely a year out and I implore the Brewers to let him figure his mix out and work his way back into health and effectiveness instead of insisting he get thrown to the wolves at the MLB level. He needs time. I just haven't seen enough from Junk to merit consideration beyond eating innings in lopsided affairs. He can give you meaningful innings but, again, he's inconsistent. NOW, if that health ship rights itself, there are certainly a number of Sounds relievers who likely deserve opportunities to eat some innings up North (outside, of course, of my guy J.B Bukauskas coming back healthy and Koenig continuing to stick): Paredes, Blackwood, Middendorf, Herget, Zastryzny likely all deserve a shot and come to mind. Possibly even Chirino if he's right. Beyond that, there's a big bunch of talent that needs more experience and more innings. I'd opine to you, today, RHP Craig Yoho could pitch MLB innings. BUT, he's in High-A Wisconsin making hitters look ridiculous. He's not getting that call. I'd also opine to you: RHP Yerlin Rodriguez is in the Uribe pantheon of impact and 'stuff' but he's in High-A, also making hitters look overmatched, and also prone to Uribe control issues. Not ready. AND, obviously RHP Jacob Misiorowski is the elite arm higher up in the pecking order but he desperately needs innings; exposure; and polish. SO, either they get healthy by my estimates. Myers and Gasser stick and impart impact. They call up a mix of Sounds relievers. They stay afloat and relevant gluing the greater staff together. AND then acquire arms at the Deadline. OR they start experimenting with high end inexperienced talent. That's how I see it. I personally don't see the current fringe 40-Man arms in Junk, Blalock, Ashby or Martin as the best options. I am disagreement with the Brewers there. And, that's just the way it is.

If you haven't seen a backside view of Merkel's gorgeous knuckle curve, here's a look for you: Just another unique relief arm in the Brewers system. They have a treasure chest in 2024.

The 2024 Brewers Minor League Theme just absolutely undeniably continues to be: PITCHING While the bats, unfortunately, outside a few name remain relatively unimpressive throughout, the pitching just continues to stand out widely. Very widely.

Did you see that first AB? The ump missed two strikeout calls. No matter...he just fights through it and rips a dart upper middle for the K looking. Man child.

Honestly, he needs to be in Triple-A. I don't think many Minor League hitters have anything for his arsenal. He is just flat out filthy. I'm dead serious when I say he and Yerlin Rodriguez are flat out MLB pitchers. I could make a case today they could play mop-up innings to eat innings for the Brewers today.

Yoho - infield ground out, pop out, K. STUD. T-Rats WIN !!! 3-2. Goodness me oh my I needed that 'W'. What a gift it is to have a 'Yoho' in the system. Y'all, this young man is an absolute STUD. (Have I mentioned RHP Craig Yoho? Check him out)

HUGE reach poke for INF Jadher Areinamo who reaches for a poke bloop RBI single into RF after Adams just suffered at the hands and glove of an absolutely splendid diving stop and throw at 3B on a rocket grounder. Two down and the T-Rats are back in front in the 10th frame 3-2. Arienamo, one of our favorites here, has three pokes on the day. You love it!

Yoho is just absolutely filthy. Between Yoho, Rodriguez, Shears, Smith and a cornucopia of others the Brewers are absolutely set in the years ahead. He just absolutely dominated that inning getting two more K's to end it on just gorgeous change-up/screw balls that absolutely plummeted over the plate. I am absolutely in love with his pitching tool kit.

The throw was very ugly. AND, Metzinger (totally my opinion) has to do anything but fall over backward there. Get down on your knees or get down forward. That also allowed the run to score. It also put him in harm's way as he was run over.

GOOD GRIEF the ump squeezes him again on a flamethrown heater on the outer stripe. He is absolutely squeezing Yoho here. Those pitches were absolute K's. No matter, he gets the K anyway.

Goodness me oh my I HEART RHP Craig Yoho. Such a phenomenal arm to watch in key spots. Robbed of a first batter K on a gorgeous front door slider. Home plate ump absolutely blew that call. It was an absolute beauty.

Good grief I am about sick and tired of the poor poor defense today. Adams absolutely throws a warm burner wounded duck to 1B on an absolutely routine grounder and Metzinger (suddenly in as a defensive sub?) makes it look like it was a rocket launch. He falls backward and onto the bag attempting to scoop the throw? Just absolutely ugly ugly ugly any way you look at it. Adams is prone to these gaffes because he's not a natural 3B but Metzinger also absolutely has to do better there. Keep the ball in front of you how about as the primary need there instead of falling over like a wounded duck backward so the ball can carom off you and into foul territory and a tie 2-2 ball game. This has just been ugly ugly mid day baseball. The pitchers to a man deserve 10X better.

AND, just like that the Sparks error finally costs the Shuckers as a seeing eye 1-2 liner through the gap between 1B and 2B gave Carlos Rodriguez an opportunity to showcase his weak arm in RF. He bypasses the relay man in the process and allows the runner to advance to 2B. THIS is just the ugly type of OF play we are seeing early in this series. Given your weakness, know yourself and throw that ball into 2B. It wasn't even remotely close at the plate and the throw was poor regardless. Shuckers now trail 5-0. These are all on Sparks as far as I'm concerned.

Men on the corners now for Smith - two down. A full count wild pitch after a weak pop out to Murray in the shallow LF grass (thankfully, Sparks didn't have to try and grab that ball). He'll try and work his way out of this one as his LF'er has put two runners on 2B in two innings pitched.

T-Rats strand the bases juiced with two down in the 8th when their SS fires a rocket to 1B on a deep grounder into the shallow LF grass. IF that throw beat him, it was by an eyelash. Tough break for Fernandez!

Sparks is just having a horrific time in LF at present. He just biffed another. This one just a classic case of taking his eye of the ball as the winds brought it into the warning track. Ugly stuff. He had ample room. The ball was definitely in the webbing. He just casually dropped it. The Shuckers are just a tough watch so far in Pensacola. Man on 2nd base now. Two down.

Honestly, kind of sounds like a Boeve special. LOL. He is truly an expert at just making contact. Any kind. We'll take it!