Joseph Zarr

Heck, they can get freaky now and seriously consider starting AJJr. as a cause massive Ron Artest havoc like at the 2. With epic rebounding and passing vision. He literally can be a slasher, put-back, lay-up/dunk getter. And defensive savant. They also have a FA open slot with two going out and can grab a PG FA like Cameron Payne.

OH my Basketball Gods! This has literally been my one wish as a lifelong Bucks fan. And today, it is reality. I lived in PDX for 5 years. Saw Dame multiple times. This is my basketball Valhalla.

The All-Stars have already been announced: (Full article HERE) All-Star Team 1B: Troy Johnston, Pensacola (MIA No. 23) 2B: Luke Waddell, Mississippi (ATL) SS: Kyren Paris, Rocket City (LAA No. 5) 3B: Junior Caminero, Montgomery (TB No. 1, MLB No. 6) C: Jeferson Quero, Biloxi (MIL No. 2, MLB No. 32) OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Tennessee (CHC No. 1, MLB No. 12) OF: Owen Caissie, Tennessee (CHC No. 3, MLB No. 64) OF: Jackson Chourio, Biloxi (MIL No. 1, MLB No. 2) DH: Blake Dunn, Chattanooga (CIN No. 22) UTIL: Tyler Black, Biloxi (MIL No. 4, MLB No. 51) SP: Patrick Monteverde, Pensacola (MIA No. 16) SP: Luis De Avila, Mississippi (ATL No. 14) SP: Carlos F. Rodriguez, Biloxi (MIL No. 6) SP: Connor Phillips, Chattanooga (CIN No. 4) RP: Jefry Yan, Pensacola (MIA) RP: Luke Little, Tennessee (CHC No. 25) Manager: Kevin Randle, Pensacola (MIA) *** AND, LHP Antoine Kelly was named a RP All-Star for the Rangers in the Texas League (Double-A). Struggling to understand that RHP Matt Bush trade more and more each day.

And, RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez was also named the Southern League Pitcher of the Year. Heck of an honor!

Da Brisbane Bandits and it was 7 players there. Alex Hall playing for Perth made it 8 total in the Aussie League, however - good on ya' for that recall! Of those sent, Hall and RHP Brennan Jordan are no longer with the organization (as we know). You know who else played for Perth? 3B Junior Caminero. Yep. That Caminero.

Episode 425 of "MLB: The Show Before the Show" featured an interview with the Shuckers' manager, Mike Guerrero. Check it out HERE. Timestamps within. Needless to say, if you simply want to listen to Sam Dykstra one-on-one with Guerrero: 31:05 interview begins.

In what appears to be a series of paperwork moves (at least for now): The ACL Brewers activated the following players from the 'Temporarily Inactive List': RHP Darling Solano RHP Samuel Dario INF Alberis Ferrer RHP Henrison Mota RHP Ryan Birchard INF Josh Adamczewski

Fear not, we will be covering the AFL; the Aussie Winter League; any any other Brewers prospects we learn of playing in the various other Winter Leagues happening to the South of the US. These will all be updated in their respective threads in the Minor League Forum - ie we will most definitely not be writing daily reports. 😂

2023's Final Jeff Hem Audio Rewind

Since September 1st the Brewers have released six catchers. Six. Wild.

from Imgflip Meme Generator

Dorrian has never had any issues snagging liners - he's a very athletic and versatile player. Where he's really struggled at shortstop (in 2023, at least) is the errors with routine lateral plays and ball transfers (oddly). I take this as he may be rushing the moment deeper in the hole, so to speak? Regardless, because of how much I like him at 2B and 3B and because of how much better Monasterio has played defensively at the MLB level I kind of defer to the Brewers knowing more than I do here. A utility player has to practice their utility in all the places. Dorrian's OPS suffered during a recent slump. But, he's also been red hot in spurts as well. One of my favorite unheralded acquisitions of the past two years who I have zero doubts could excel if given an MLB opportunity.

Well, this was not the news I needed at the end of my day. Darn it. My sweet catching Prince. May you thrive wherever you land.

Considering Noah Campbell was sent to Nashville in mid to late July, I personally don't consider him all that integral to the Shuckers near miss of the Playoffs (which was a strictly second half attempt). We could probably swap him out for numerous players there (I know, you love yourself some Noah Campbell - he's a fun player but he also missed the majority of his second half to injury). I think of several unheralded Shuckers who had brilliant moments or min-runs in 2024: Ernesto Martinez provided real meaningful 1B and dish work immediately after his call-up to Biloxi. He lost momentum at the dish but I can definitively say his size and range and sure catching glove at 1B were a boon to a sometimes erratic tossing infield. RHP TJ Shook really discovered his best Double-A self in the latter part of the 2023 season after glimpses but inconsistency in the first and second halves. He found great impact with his change-up and curveball. He re-discovered his impact as a starter in the most important portion of the playoff push INF's Freddy Zamora and Ethan Murray were bedrocks on the left side of the infield. Seamlessly bouncing between 2B and SS - and 3B for Murray. Zamora, in particular, gave us his best defense of his season in the final two weeks. Both had solid overall seasons at he dish to boot and proved themselves as core utility system players. I've been hard on Zamora at times in the past year plus. He has earned my 'trust' after his 2023 season. OF Lamar Sparks became one of my favorite players to watch. Tho certainly prone to the swing and miss, he also provided clutch knocks (and some line drive power) and numerous web gem defensive plays including several astounding OF assists. The greatest thing about the Shuckers second half run is they found contributions up and down the line-up. A bullpen that struggled with any semblance of consistency throughout the season became lock down in two pivotal road series at Tennessee and Birmingham. RHP's Max Lazar and Cam Robinson found their best stuff during that time (despite Lazar's lone grand slam hiccup). Robinson, in particular, reclaimed his season and became the Southern League Saves leader. It was just a fantastic second half all around with many storylines and many many players played a part.

It was an evening with quite a bit of traffic on the base paths for the Sounds pitching staff but the Jumbo Shrimp's inability to make rallies of anything (13 LOB) and two early long balls from IF Owen Miller and OF Joey Wiemer were the big difference. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Transactions: RHP J.B. Bukauskas was recalled from the Nashville Sounds by the Milwaukee Brewers (and pitched a clean 9th inning for the Big Club!) RHP Colin Rea was officially optioned to the Nashville Sounds from the Milwaukee Brewers RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez was officially assigned to the Nashville Sounds (and debuted in his first Triple-A start - more below) Nashville 6, Jacksonville (Marlins) 4 Box Score / Game Log Via the Sounds' site, game details, please visit and review: Sounds Ride Night of Firsts to Victory RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez debuted at Triple-A Nashville by getting the starting nod and then firing off a whopping 101 total pitches. Rodriguez wasn't especially sharp, but, as he is prone to doing, he successfully managed to work around the majority of his woes - 4 BB, 1 HBP. He can also thank LHP Alex Claudio for inheriting his final two runners and not allowing a single man to cross home plate. This is Rodriguez's first time working with the ABS system in the International League. And, I have to say, having witnessed the system over a year and a half now I tend to agree with the majority of the players: the challenge system is a better fit. I digress. Rodriguez did manage 6 K in 4 2/3 IP and in grabbing that sixth punch out he entered the history books as it broke last season's team total strikeout record for a single season (which, is interesting considering they currently sit 10th overall in the International League in total team strikeouts). Rodriguez was not the only new face on the hill. RHP's James Meeker and Tobias Myers both made their inaugural appearances with the Sounds in 2023. Of the two, Myers looked like the player who had seen International League action in the past as he punched out the side in stellar fashion with a fantastic off-speed pitch on the inner half: Myers has gotten distinctly better as the season has come to its final week and seeing him come aboard as a bullpen arm was a wrinkle I was not expecting. He continues to make the case as one to watch in the early part of 2024. While rehabbing 1B Darin Ruff and OF Garrett Mitchell continue to struggle in the very early going of their Triple-A work, OF Joey Wiemer has started making consistent hard contact while playing his prototypical stellar defense. Here he is converting a three-run homer to a 413 foot sac fly: And, here he is ripping a two-run jack himself: After an 111 mph line out last night to left field, Wiemer also flew out hard to right field tonight 106 mph off the bat. It also appears to the naked eye he may be working toward limiting his over-active hands. All good things to witness in his brief tenure back in Triple-A. Beyond this, Jackson Chourio made his fifth appearance of 2023 in right field and he made it look easy while also smashing his second two-bagger in two nights. 3B Tyler Black did Tyler Black things at the dish as he gets more and more comfortable (2-for-3, 1 2B while extending his hitting streak to 11 games - hitting an absurd 0.429 since September 7th) though he did drop a catchable (albeit challenging) ball over the dugout railing. I'll close with congratulating RHP Luis Contreras for picking up his first Save as a Sound in 2023. He pitched a clean one walk, two strikeout ninth inning. It isn't always clean with Contreras but I continue to absolutely see MLB-caliber stuff flying off that pitching hand. Though the Sounds have officially been eliminated from the second half playoff chase, they did move to 16 games over on their entire season and lead their division by 1.5 G. Honorable Mention ribbons for all! And with that, I bid ye Brewer Fanatics adieu. This is my official last Link Report of 2023. It's been an awesome ride. It has been an honor reporting back to you what these old eyes see on a nightly basis. We'll have to wait and see what's on tap for the Sounds tomorrow - at this stage, it's hard to tell. As always, 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 Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View full article

- RHP Colin Rea was optioned to the Nashville Sounds by the Milwaukee Brewers - RHP J.B. Bukauskas was recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Nashville Sounds

We are whittled down to one affiliate and, well, I don't quite know how to approach this. Watch just one game? Yowza. You Brewers fans have it easy peazy pumpkin squeezy (as I would say to my 5-year-old daughter). None the less, Chourio was the headliner. Mitchell is rehabbing. AND, this game still ended up all about one of my favorite Brewers catching gems, Brian Navarreto. It was a heck of an entertaining series opener. Let's get into this late-season shortened report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: INF/OF Keston Hiura was placed on the Nashville Sounds 7-day injured list OF Greg Allen was released by the Nashville Sounds LHP Luis Amaya was released by the Biloxi Shuckers C Jason Lopez was released by the Biloxi Shuckers RHP Robbie Baker was released by the Biloxi Shuckers CF Jackson Chourio was assigned to the Nashville Sounds RHP James Meeker was assigned to the Nashville Sounds RHP Tobias Myers was assigned to the Nashville Sounds RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez was assigned to the Nashville Sounds RHP Zach Vennarro was released by the Biloxi Shuckers AND, to stay very very current back to Sunday (9/17) please visit our ongoing Transactions Mega-Thread HERE The releases never hit easy for me. I watch these men play on a routine basis and I respect their commitment and hard-work immeasurably. I wish each and every one of these players the absolute best as they hit the uncertainty of the upcoming Minor League Free Agency period. Nashville 5, Jacksonville (Marlins) 4 Box Score/Game Log Via the Sounds' site, game details, please visit and review: Sounds Walk Off Jumbo Shrimp in Series Opener With the Durham Bulls winning again tonight, the Sounds have officially been told to cease any and all thoughts of an improbable second half playoff birth. So it goes. The Sounds gave it a great run but, really, Durham was the better team in the end and the 5-1 head-to-head series victory for the Bulls against the Sounds in the past month attests to this. Without further ado, it's all fun and games from here on out. And, after a snooze-worthy clunker through the first 5 frames, the Sounds sure as heck made it a fun one in the later innings. RHP Janson Junk was being attacked early in counts for many a cheap hit - really, not a lot was hit hard for knocks. And, what was hit hard was hit right at someone. He sprinkled around nine hits and a free pass in his six innings of work - his 31 pitch, two run, second frame was the by-product of many a seeing eye squeaker. He never caved to the big inning even though he had men on base quite a bit. Kudos to him. It was a worthy Triple-A effort. Many a Shuckers call-up are getting their first tastes. Oh, and one of those just happens to be our crowned prospect jewel in CF Jackson Chourio (DH in his debut). After a ground out to third base and a deep fly out to left center field, the young superstar managed to rip an opposite field double standing up on an outside heater: But, really, this game was about C Brian Navarreto. We've been having some peripheral discourse in our Minor League Forum HERE (feel free to visit and chime in). I wrote about Brian wayyyyyy back in March of 2023 HERE. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth frame and with the only real thing to show for it being several very hard hit outs (including a 111 mph EV line out by still offensively struggling OF Joey Wiemer), Navarreto broke it open: It's like that. My faith in Navarreto knows no bounds. I will continue to pound the pavement for his opportunity. After a 2B Abraham Toro (he extended his on base streak to 34 games with a final AB walk - how many on base streaks does Toro have this season in Nashville? My goodness he is having a year) sac fly brought 3B Tyler Black home (triple to the left field wall) in the bottom of the seventh, it was up to LHP's Ethan Small and Clayton Andrews to protect that tight margin. Small did his work - touching 95 mph routinely in the process which turned my head - and Andrews had a lead-off walk on the bags with two down looking to find that final out. Well, the Shrimp's Austin Allen had other plans. Having scorched the hardest hit Shrimp balls all night but for outs, he finally got his revenge on a mistake slider from Andrews: After this bomb, Andrews hit 97 mph on consecutive heaters - that was a thing. Can he keep this into 2024, please?!? He ended the inning shortly thereafter without further damage. And, it was on to the bottom of the ninth where the Sounds got their 13th walk-off their 2023 season. And, it was the second in a row for, you guessed it, C Brian Navarreto: A truly fantastic game one of the Sounds last series of their 2023 season. Let's hope we get five more of these - well, maybe not the walk-offs. Tomorrow evening will officially be my final Minor League report of the 2023 season. It's been a fantastic season and a fun ride. Thank you to the players, the coaching staffs, and the organization for all they do for us Brewer Fanatics. I remain grateful to watch this team - organization wide. As always, 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 Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth View full article

Very good question. I absolutely think it's fair to ponder whether they'll take similar paths. Maldonado was on the golden path as a defensive stalwart - if I recall correctly he got his first action at age 25. Navs has also dipped his toes at the MLB level but just hasn't had the staying power. But, with age comes experience and with that (in his case) comes refinement. With the Sounds, we're talking about a clutch bat with a 99.5 ish FP% who throws out 33% of base runners. He's not going to hurt you. And the fact he can hit clutch is so key because he certainly doesn't hit consistently. That's his only flaw as I've seen it for the past two years.

I mean, can I get a witness: It's almost like I watch a full season of Minor League Brewers baseball. I guess this past month answered my own curiosities above. (Quote above from Part 4 HERE)

I think the greatest thing about having Navarreto and Henry is it is just a great depth 'problem' to have. Both young men are fantastic Triple-A players. Both young men deserve an opportunity to back-up at the MLB level. AND, if the Brewers re-sign Caritini? Well, good for the Brewers and we will see what happens with Henry this off-season. The Brewers continue to value catching quality and depth and it matters. C Brian Navarreto now owns the last two Sounds walk-offs. He hit the game-tying 2-run HR tonight. He hit the game-winning walk-off two-run double down the 3B line (which, well, they'll score a single cuz walk-offs and all). As much as I love Henry's bat and disciplined approach at the dish and he is more than a competent back-stop, I remain incapable of shaking my passion for Navarreto's game. He just does so much on a consistent basis despite his short-comings at the dish in terms of consistently finding production. He is clutch. That means something to me. He is also, arguably, the best defensive catcher (in terms of MLB-readiness) in the system. I go back to the fact the Sounds started Navarreto just last year in their championship game in Vegas. It caught most fans by surprise. Absolutely not me. He is vastly underrated (still) and I wrote just so back in March before the season began in my quick series on Overlooked and Underappreciated prospects. He also threw out another base runner tonight and consistently sits 32-35% in that arena. He has, at various points during the past two seasons, led the International League in CS%. As to Black, his positional mystery remains, well, a mystery. He just isn't a plus defensively anywhere. You can try him in places and he won't kill you but he'll rarely win you any innings there let alone games. The good plays come as a surprise (though they are made and he has 'improved' in 2023). BUT, the thing with Black is he is just so good on the basepaths and in the batters box that this almost just doesn't matter. This is a player who can easily, and I do mean easily, carve out a starting role in a number of ways. DH, first and foremost is the obvious in any game. He can steal a base any time he is on base. He can steal a base any time the ball hits the outfield grass. Then, he can simply rotate around as a fill-in in other areas. As @Smichaelis9says above: It's really just this. He's going to be up at some point (if not the beginning) of 2024 due to his offensive arsenal. I don't really think this is debatable. As he is now getting his feet under him in Nashville he is impacting the game in various ways. We'll see how he improves in the off-season. Not the perfect prospect by any means given the stiffness and inability to thrive defensively but it won't matter over the breadth of how he impacts baseball games. This isn't a situation where it's a qb handling every ball that leaves the batters box. We can live and die with the inevitable shortcomings. Devanney has quietly had a very solid season. Admittedly, before the season began and he was shelved for a month with injury, I was expecting more. BUT, the improvements Devanney made at the dish this season were discernible. He's more patient. He is hitting in a way that will help him play at the MLB level. He had a ridiculous poke single for an RBI in the past few weeks that was a style of hit we wouldn't have seen from Devanney before 2023. Like others have opined here, I think his best position is 3B but he is still a very good SS he just lacks the true range of an elite SS. His arm remains an absolute rifle shot. His glove is good. The confidence is absolutely there. He deserves an opportunity at some point down the road in the next couple of seasons. I firmly believe this. Like Monasterio (who I also highlighted in March), Devanney could hit the ground running and surprise a whole heck of a lot of the fanbase because they don't watch these guys. AND, the final addendum to all of this rambling @reillymcshaneis: ALL of these Triple-A players deserve at least ONE opportunity. They've earned it. They've paid their dues. My prayer for these players is they grab that first chance they get and run with it. When that fails, my next prayer is they receive another opportunity because they've earned it again. And so on down the line. I will never stop believing in these players - their talents; their work ethics; and their abilities to defy the odds. Every one you list above is capable of meeting the moment. We'll just have to wait and see if we are blessed to see it happen in a Brewers uniform.