Joseph Zarr

I miss the Brian Anderson I saw in the opening series at Chicago. Can I just pay someone or something to have that player every day? Sigh.

With the preamble that all the above players deserve opportunities in the lower levels. And putting all practicality, historicity and potential desires to relocate for a fresh start, these are the players listed above I would personally prioritize talking to if I were a voice in the Brewers Personnel Department: (not listed in any order): RHP Caleb Boushley - provides much needed veteran presence and gives meaningful innings RHP Luis Contreras - I continue to see MLB arm potential here. Lots to work with. C Payton Henry - Meaningful C depth; underrated bat RHP Tyler Herb - the injury was truly a bummer; one of my favorite interviews in the Brewers ML; lotta talent C Brian Navarreto - love Navs. Just a core depth backstop RHP Thyago Vieira - Can't have enough experienced 100 mph or Closer arms; other than a bad month he has been really important for manager Rick Sweet LHP Luis Amaya - I want to see what he can do year 2 in a new org; he's had flashes throughout 2023 RHP Harold Chirino - oft injured but so so talented. He has been legit lights out for extended periods for the Shuckers. Can he stay healthy? I think the Brewers might have a leg up because of the lack of exposure C Brent Diaz - I love Diaz. Like Sibrian (below) just vastly underrated. Heady player. RHP Max Lazar - They protected him in last year's Minor League Rule 5 when they placed him on Nashville's roster. He's had a solid and healthy 2023. I want to see what the Brewers have here as he builds innings. 1B Ernesto Martinez - After what we've seen over the past several months, the Brewers would be foolish to not try to get Ernesto back in the saddle. He's an ascending player. Would be hard to develop him and demonstrate patience over years just to see him jet away as he starts showing his full talents RHP Cam Robinson - Incredible in 2022. Scuffled mightily to begin 2023. Has really settled down. He's shown a lot of fortitude. Can never have enough high-leverage relief arms. LHP Karlos Morales - Incredible work in 2023 with inherited runners. I enjoy watching him pitch - even if he loses the plate at times. Very intriguing lefty in the mold of Milner. Want him to keep developing as a Brewer. RHP Michele Vassalotti - I think Brewers might have a leg up here given his rough High-A season. He has a historical (albeit brief) reputation of struggling his first exposure in a ML class. He's still just 23. He had very very good moments in the WBC. I'd love it if the Brewers could work with him again. C Jose Sibrian - You know how I feel here. He provides stability, skill, an ascending bat, an arm, the ability to call games. Despite his age (24) at Low-A, he 'should' be offered a regular rotation role with the T-Rats in 2024. Even if he likely tries his talents elsewhere. He's the bedrock of the Mudcats whole show.

Re: Jadher Areinamo...he does stuff like this nearly every game. He is such a pleasure to watch in the infield. Easily one of the more polished and smart defenders in the entire Brewers system by my eyes. Rarely, and I mean rarely, makes a mistake. He's essentially fielding at a 0.975 FP % as a 19 yo playing 2B, SS, and 3B. Just so dang reliable.

This is awesome. How cool. Congrats to you both! Excited to listen. (Says the grampa over here realizing this is your third episode. It's a senile belated Happy Podcast Birthday!)

Bless the young men playing in both contests tonight: it was a bit of an ump show behind the dish I'm sad to say. Just ask the Sky Carp skipper. The most egregious missed calls were happening in Tennessee but Beloit's ump sure made a case for that rep late. None the less, I will again remind fans: the players deal with these developing 'referees' on a nightly basis. Everyone is learning and growing in the lower levels. I was privileged to watch two fantastic Minor League baseball games. Truly entertaining and playoff-caliber baseball. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Biloxi Shuckers & Joshua Sumrall - Carlos Rodriguez Pictured Game Balls: SS Eric Brown Jr. gets a nod here for some quality and consistency at SS and getting on base early and often. And, frankly, he gets a nod for just being on the diamond! RHP Cameron Wagoner gets the nod for tossing another incredible performance in his late season resurgence. Carrying a 'No-No' into the deep part of the fifth frame, he saw a hard hit liner short hop the injury fill-in Ben Metzinger at 1B as the ball bounced into RF. Wagoner has been as good as any pitcher in the system over the past month. Fantastic stuff. RHP TJ Shook gave his team everything it needed to keep pace with the Cubs 2022 1st Rd pick in RHP Cade Horton (seventh overall). He didn't wow with eye-popping strikeout numbers. He walked five batters. But, he truly only made one mistake. I'd argue if he had a slightly friendlier zone his line looks even better. CF Luis Lara gets the nod for simply wreaking havoc and causing problems all across the offensive side of things. More below. RHP Ryan Middendorf gets the nod for his three pitch 'mow them down' strikeout to end Shook's final frame after he had walked two aboard. It was a crucial and momentum-killing AB. It was a vintage 2022 Middendorf moment. Transactions: NONE A Word on Carolina and Nashville: Both games were postponed due to inclement weather lasting through the day in both locales. Each game #2 from the respective series will be made up in double-headers. Carolina will play two seven inning games on Friday September 1st beginning at 5 PM EST. Nashville will play two tomorrow, 8/31, at Durham and those games will begin at 4:30 CST. Final: Biloxi 7, Tennessee (Cubs) 4 Box Score / Game LogGame Notes Via the Shuckers' site, game details, please visit and review: Four Late Runs Lead Shuckers to Second Straight Win Over Smokies RHP TJ Shook was decent early but he was fighting to find his best stuff. Honestly, it seemed like the Shuckers - Clarke and staff - were slow a bit too slow or hestitant to jump on the magnificence of his change-up. It was a beautiful pitch all night long. I don't think I saw a single swing make contact with that gorgeous offering. Meanwhile, Shook was struggling to locate his four-seamer and his curveball with any consistency in the early going. Unfortunately, this led to several walks. Two of those walks crossed home plate when Shook gave up a three-run jack just over the 320 foot mark of the Smokies' RF wall in the bottom of the second frame. However, a major credit is due a young man I lovingly call 'The Shookster' (apologies to TJ and his family if this is irksome but, man, it just feels right). He worked around a home plate umpire who squeezed his zone inexplicably robbing him of several borderline pitches in key AB's. As his outing progressed, Shook managed to locate the curveball and it opened up his entire approach. He ultimately got a 'No Decision' after 5 2/3 IP and this is largely due to the mistake three-run pitch mentioned above. He continues to be right there in his development as a professional hurler. He absolutely has the tools. It's now about fine-tuning the location and mix consistency. All in all, he gave his Shuckers teammates 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 5 BB (2 to the ever dangerous lefty Owen Caissie), 3 K, 3 ER. You take back the mistake home run pitch and you are looking at a brilliant workhorse outing. With Montgomery losing to Birmingham, the Shuckers moved to within 0.5 G of 1st Place and that coveted pole position for the Playoff birth. Only 16 games remain in this quest. Three Quick Strikes: 1) It's just a different creature out there when your infield is throwing to a mammoth 6'5" man at 1B. I can only imagine the benefit to INF's Ethan Murray and Freddy Zamora. As a fan, it's so apparent. Ernesto Martinez Jr. tends to struggle making diving plays within range of his feet - understandable given his OLB size and frame. But, regardless of that deficiency, he covers so much ground and routinely makes lunging catches (as you've seen me write about here) and he has an accurate arm. Here's a brief example of what I see on a nightly basis: Routine? Perhaps. Easy? Not in the least. Clean scoop. Accurate dart to 2B. Easy recovery to 1B to grab the final out. I continue to love the 2023 progression. There's a big baseball future here just beginning to unearth itself. 2) In another late season resurgence and joyous turn of events, RHP Cam Robinson has found a groove. It isn't a dominant 2022 groove, mind you. But, it's definitely a groove that is locking down absolutely crucial games in the win column. Tonight, Robinson came aboard inheriting LHP Luis Amaya's small mess (HBP and a single). After walking his first batter on four pitches making it a tension-filled bases loaded one out scenario, Robinson dug deep and got a sac fly to CF and then a fly out to Sparks in RF. He then calmly and cooly pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the victory. Earlier in the season, Robinson might have caved after that first batter four pitch free pass. It's a testament to his mental strength and resilience he has turned it around. He grabbed his 12th Save of 2023 for the Shuckers. With the earlier loss of talented relievers in RHP Harold Chirino and RHP Abner Uribe (now with the Brewers), Robinson's turnaround has been one of the more unsung qualities of the late-season Shuckers push. 3) Every Shucker got aboard at least one time except for RF Lamar Sparks who had a frustrating 3 K performance. There were timely knocks throughout. No single batter stood out as the game evolved but, rather, the collective; timely; and important knocks in key moments - whether it was the deep LF double smashed off Zamora's bat in the early going or Clarke's insurance-run adding deep blast in the 9th inning. This win was a total team effort. One of the more impressive victories I can recall all season long. Big and opportune plays in big moments. Very very refreshing. Final: Wisconsin 7, Beloit (Marlins) 2 Box Score / Game Log Game Notes Via the T-Rats' site, game details, please visit and review: Rattlers Win Fourth Straight Game Behind a Strong Start from Wagoner As alluded to above, RHP Cameron Wagoner was stellar. He is a different pitcher in the second half. It's a night and day experience as a fan and as a habitual viewer of Timber Rattlers games. With Wagoner, it's the location and deception - it's a combined Achilles' heel. In the early part of 2023 he was hanging far too many off-speed pitches. In the second half he is precision-point laser-focused dealing surgical cuts with his pitches. He's gathering many many swings and misses and many many weakly hit grounders and fly outs. Tonight was absolutely in the recent lineage of 'stellar stuff'. 6 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 5 K. He has become one of my favorite watches in my reporting duties over the past month plus. The T-Rats moved to 2-0 in this road series and they have now won four straight. They remain 4.0 GB of Peoria who squeaked a 3-2 victory out at Quad Cities. Three Quick Strikes: 1) 3B Brock Wilken is trending up of late while, I would opine, ACL HOF'er 2B Mike Boeve is trending down. This isn't any type of bold proclamation of anything lasting, mind you, it is simply an observation rooted in the most recent 4-6 game sample size. Wilken ripped 106 mph and 104 mph rockets tonight - one for a single to LF and the other a shoelaces fly out to LF. He continues to play sure defense at 3B. Boeve, for whatever reasons, is topping many balls to the 1B side and generally hitting weaker balls. He appears to be struggling within his swing and what he is seeing in the batters box. Boeve also made a very poor error on a weak dribbler up the middle in a 7-1 ball game deep in the ninth inning and also had a throwing error in this one. The grounder is a play he absolutely has to make in future opportunities. It was poor form. I continue to root for both young men to flourish. 2) CF Luis Lara was wreaking havoc all over the offensive part of this ball game. His speed forced an error. He 'grabbed' a catcher's interference. He hit a single. He stole 2B and advanced to 3B on a throwing error from the catcher. He then took home while forcing a rushed throw and error when he slid under the catcher's mitt in a bang-bang play. He causes problems in so many ways and continues to do the little thing impacting ball games that may not even show up in the box score. His breakout season is very very legit. He is easily one of the more entertaining players to watch in all the Brewers Minor League. 3) Eric Brown Jr. had an incredible overall game at SS. He ripped a ground ball single up the middle early. He took two free passes in patient AB's. He stole a base. But, the fielding is what really stood out to me. He made several professional plays from the deep infield dirt. None was more impressive than his sliding stab to his right deep in the hole with a quick pop and accurate rope to, then, Vargas at 1B (he was later injury subbed - source unknown). All the tools continue to show themselves even this late in the season after a seven week absence. About that seven week absence: he still has managed 32 SB on the season as of tonight. It's a hard season to judge based on its many absences but make no mistake: when he's available consistently he impacts games in big ways. That's a wrap for my Minor League reporting duties this week. Remember, the Sounds will get right to a double-header tomorrow early evening (or afternoon for us PST folks). RHP Colin Rea is already on the docket for one of those tilts. LHP Adam Seminaris will get his second start since returning to Biloxi's pitching stables. RHP Joseph Hernandez is back in a starting role after his recent relief appearance since returning from his ACL rehab stint. Lastly, RHP Yorman Galindez will try and give his scuffling Mudcats team all he has to keep pace atop the Carolina League second half playoff push. 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

With the end of the DSL season and the ACL Crew closing out their summer with a championship, we are back to our standard four full-season affiliates. We are literally in the final leg of the Minor League home stretch and there's quite a lot on the line. Tonight, we had a mixed bag 2-2 evening. The Sounds lost ground in their playoff pursuit, the Mudcats lost but held their 2.0 G Division lead, while the T-Rats and Shuckers both rocked shutouts. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Game Balls: RHP Tobias Myers gave us that early-season Tobias Myers dominancing. It was a pleasure to witness - his off-speed was dipping and grabbing many a swing and miss. 6 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 R. Absolutely fantastic. C Wes Clarke (more below) is a second half monster. I can't get enough of his moon shots (see below). 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 Rocket Blast (HR). What an incredible surge and possibly career-altering run of play. LHP Nate Peterson set the tone early and often in his 5 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 R game 1 road start. Fantastic stuff from Peterson. RHP Luis Contreras was a lone bright spot for the Sounds pitching staff. I continue to believe in his best stuff. 1 IP, 1 H, 3 K, 0 R. I hope he earns more chances for higher leverage scenarios as the season comes to its close. OF Hendry Mendez gets the final nod here for his solo blast in a 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI evening as a key part of the T-Rats 5-0 victory. Transactions: RHP Bradley Blalock was placed on the 7-Day IL by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (retroactive to 8/28) RHP Jeison Pena was transferred to the Development List by the Carolina Mudcats INF Juan Baez was assigned to the Carolina Mudcats from the ACL (Champion) Brewers RHP Bayden Root was assigned to the Carolina Mudcats from the ACL (Champion) Brewers RHP Blake Whiting was assigned to the Carolina Mudcats from the ACL (Champion) Brewers LHP Bennett Sousa was activated from Triple-A Nashville’s 7-day injured list and was then claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers Final: Durham (Rays) 7, Nashville 3 Box Score / Game Log Via the Sounds' site, game details, please visit and review: Bulls Best Sounds in Series Opener RHP Evan McKendry began his evening by earning outs via four consecutive strikeouts. He worked around two walks in the first inning but it was looking quite good and comfortable overall. Unfortunately, this did not last. Ultimately, he was done in by a two-run shot and a three-run shot in the fourth and fifth innings. He left his work with his team trailing 6-1 after 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 6 ER. The Sounds have now lost three straight after taking the first four games at Gwinnett. The road can be a challenging place to play. Durham has been a thorn in the Sounds side dating back to the Championship Semis in Las Vegas just last season. Three Quick Strikes: 1) The Sounds inability to do more with the three bases loading walks with one down (Tyler Black fly out) in the first inning off of talented and effective LHP Jacob Lopez and his back door slider was a big missed opportunity. INF Owen Miller should have hit into an inning-ending double play but the Sounds were gifted a run when the Bulls 1B dropped the throw to his bag. OF Jahmai Jones lined out to RF to end the threat. The Sounds stranded two in the fourth frame. Their only real threat, then, came in the ninth inning when they plated two off of Hiura and Toro RBI singles to right field. OF Jahmai Jones again lined out to end the threat. 2) This game had a very weird feel throughout. The Bulls delayed the start because of possible weather but several tweets from their fans made it appear this was a very generous and possibly overly-cautious delay. Minor League rules state in such an event the game is reduced to seven innings. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a 9:25 EST start time isn't ideal for the athletes routines or schedules. Why not simply schedule a double-header? I digress, I guess, but it had me wondering. With the Sounds trailing 7-1 I formally submitted a protest to the League offices. 3) I really wish rehabbing 1B Jesse Winker could bring his Triple-A approach and results to the Brewers. I really do. This is his second rehab stint with the Sounds and he continues to showcase AB's we have yet to consistently see at the MLB level. With two more free passes tonight, Winker has seven free trips in his six game ongoing stint. Cumulatively, across both rehab stints, Winker is batting 0.333 with a 1.090 OPS. Final: Biloxi 9, Tennessee (Cubs) 0 - (weather shortened 6 inning contest) Box Score / Game Log Game Notes Via the Shuckers' site, game details, please visit and review: Six First-Inning Runs Lead Shuckers to Rain-Shortened, 9-0, Win RHP Tobias Myers was gifted a fancy six-spot cushion to begin his mound work and he did not disappoint. All too often you see hurlers gifted a big lead only to struggle hitting the zone or pitching to far too much contact. Myers was straight dealing. This outing was the closest I have seen to his opening day 11 K dazzler. Myers is at his best when he is getting late dip on his pitches and tonight that was coming in spades. His change-up was particularly effective playing off the movement of his overall tools: The Shuckers 9-0 victory was quite large. They kept pace at 1.5 GB OF Tristan Peters and the Montgomery Biscuits. Three Quick Strikes: 1) 1B/C/DH Wes Clarke's absurdly noisy second half has thrown his name very much into the Brewers prospect spotlight. Considering his constant availability and his more than adequate work at C and 1B, one is left wondering where all the prospect pundits will see him in their coveted Top 30 lists. Personally, I don't care. I simply appreciate what he brings. He is quite simply destroying baseballs on a consistent basis. Tonight was no different. His 104 mph 435' rocket blast over the second deck had what looked like a 30 degree plus launch angle. It was a mammoth blast. Take a look: 2) CF Jackson Chourio's first poke was a very very weak dribbler botched by the 2B. He reached via error. However, his second AB featured a very hard hit broken bat line drive to the warning track in LF. His third AB produced the result we were looking for. Hard contact to space: Watching Chourio turn on a fastball is a thing of beauty. Such a fast bat. So much power. 80 RBI's is nothing to scoff at. This is the very first time it has happened in Shuckers team history. It is only the 11th time it has happened in the Southern League since 2015. Yowza. 3) 2B Isaac Collins was back to doing Isaac Collins things: hard contact, speed on the basepaths, and scoring runs (58 on the season now). I consider Collins season a revelation. I don't know what the Rockies organization was thinking when they exposed him to the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 draft in December of 2022 but kudos to the Brewers personnel department for recognizing a very talented baseball player worthy of a serious opportunity and scooping him up. Collins has more than filled the void of another pedestrian season from INF Felix Valerio. Final: Wisconsin 5, Beloit (Marlins) 0 Box Score / Game Log Game Notes Via the T-Rats' site, game details, please visit and review: Wisconsin Wins Third Straight Game with 5-0 Shutout at Beloit LHP Nate Peterson shook his road start woes in a big way in a very impactful game 1 winning start at Beloit. Peterson had some elevated counts he was working through but he never buckled - a single base on balls in his five complete innings pitched. In key spots he attacked the zone with fearlessness. His slider was particularly accurate and deadly as it needs to be for his greatest impact. It was the best he's looked since his promotion to High-A ball. Whats more, it helped earn his team a crucial game on the Peoria Chiefs - the T-Rats are now only 4.0 GB a second half Playoff berth. A fantastic night's work: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 R. Three Quick Strikes: 1) Since conceding 10 ER over 6 IP in three consecutive outings in early August, RHP Nick Merkel has been absolutely fantastic. It's a testament to his make-up and character he righted the ship. After tonights impactful 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K work, Merkel has now managed to pitch 9 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 13 K, 0 ER over his past five outings. In a game made up of sample sizes, Merkel is pitching some of his best baseball over any stretch of his entire 2023 campaign. Merkel, much like talented RHP Cameron Wagoner and his breaking balls, is a pitcher who thrives when his off-speed is accurately hooking outside the strike zone. He's been doing that and then some of late picking up many a swing and miss. His continued effectiveness over his multi-inning relief outings will play a pivotal role should the T-Rats continue chipping away at the Chief's lead. 2) I continue to be very impressed with 3B Brock Wilken's arm and accuracy. He puts it on display quite consistently. It has every bit of anything you'd need for those long ranging throws the position so often demands. Accurate darts on the regular - he's especially adept at firing rockets charging or on the run. Though he grounded into a double play, he also managed to pull an off-speed pitch into LF for a double. All in all, I continue to love what I'm seeing in his first High-A action. Brewers fans should be very pleased with having this young man in the system. 3) What's that you say? INF Robert Moore stole two bases in a single game?!? Perhaps, all that work and diligence developing a new facet of his game is finally paying off late in the 2023 season. It's important to remember, Moore is on record stating he never was really asked to steal bases while playing college ball. This is a stretch for him in 2023. But, kudos to him: he's committed to it. In July and August we now see the fruits of these efforts: 13 SB to just 2 CS. I'd say he might be turning a new leaf. Final: Down East (Rangers) 6, Carolina 3 Box Score / Game Log Game Notes Via the Mudcats' site, game details, please visit and review: Early Lead Not Enough in 6-3 Loss to Down East RHP Jesus Rivero had a no-hitter going into the fifth inning. There is an addendum here, however. He had also hit two batters and walked several entering the fifth and ultimately fateful frame. He contributed mightily to the precarious turn of events, unfortunately, when he led off the inning with a HBP. After a pop up for the first out, he then walked the bases loaded. This is how it has gone for the talented Rivero all season long: immense talent, flashes of brilliance, but often very erratic. He'll have to work diligently in his off-season to continue harnessing that vital release point. When all was said and done, he finished his evening after 4 1/3 IP, 0 H, 5 BB, 2 HBP, 5 K, 2 ER. Another intriguing outing with a fairly discernible open-ended question mark. Three Quick Strikes: 1) Back to the Mudcats pitching. Coming into tonight's game, since August 14th, the Mudcats were 5-7 with a collective 7.03 ERA. And, let me tell you, it continues to show like this. What was once a strength of the Mudcats squad at large has become a sudden hot mess. By my eyes and routine watching, it has been largely at the hands of the suddenly eggshell fragile bullpen. Tonight was unfortunately, more of the same. Clinging to a 2-0 lead with the bases juiced off the hands of RHP Jesus Rivero, RHP Tyler Wehrle induced a weak chopper to 3B. Newly promoted INF Juan Baez charged the ball and sailed the throw well wide of 1B - there really wasn't a play to be made and the smart play was to eat that ball. 2-2 ballgame. Wehrle then gave up a hard hit liner to right CF to the next batter. 3-2 Wood Ducks. Still trailing 3-2 in the 7th inning it was RHP Alexander Vallecillo's turn - if you recall struggling mightily of late with a combined ERA of 17 + over his last three outings (yikes). Vallecillo opened with a clean sixth frame - we tip our hats there. But, he loaded the bases in the 7th and then with two down gave up a 3-2 rocket off the LF wall. It was suddenly a 6-2 deficit. With the offense struggling, it seemed an insurmountable lead. This proved true. 2) My first prolonged live look at INF Juan Baez and it was a mixed bag: a crucial throwing error in the 5th was a turning point and he already has a reputation (for us ACL game log Fanatics) as a suspect defender. He did make a nice charging and running throw on a weak chopper in the 9th. Baez appears to have a very patient approach and an innate ability to identify pitches. He launched a fairly well hit double in the 6th inning low off the base of the left CF wall. This is obviously just one game. I continue to be concerned with the defense. Like we do with all these young prospects, we wait and hope for the best. 3) The polite thing to do here would be to talk about OF Jace Avina's ongoing torrid work at the plate - it's a very real thing. But, I simply end up wanting to share how much I continue loving everything about Jadher Areinamo's game. The young man is just so smooth and smart in everything he does. I could go on-and-on. Tonight's play of note was a gorgeous turning relay throw to grab the lead runner in what later proved to be Vallecillo's troubled inning. Areinamo's throw was pin point perfect - directly in front of the base, smack dab in the base path, and ankle high. Had the throw not been there, that runner gets on base. He does little things like this on a routine basis. These little things stack up to one big thing: winning. I remain a huge fan. I enjoy watching fundamentally sound baseball players. Hopefully, the bat will continue to evolve. We've certainly seen signs in 2023. We are back at it tomorrow as game 2's commence in all four series - the Mudcats, obviously, continue to be the only home ball club. At the time of publish we know we'll have the opportunity to watch LHP Brian Fitzpatrick, RHP Cameron Wagoner, and RHP TJ Shook. Lots of intrigue in each of these young men's ongoing seasons. Let's hope they can help lead their squads to victory. 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

Crucial bullpen reinforcements for the late push. The Mudcats needed some fresh talented arms.

OK. I am not done. Too much joy in a Championship for me. Check out this LIT atmosphere last night: (Espinoza's X/Twitter/Whatever Elon decides to call it tomorrow morning page is filled with great photos btw)

Finally, let's honor that coaching staff who dealt with an insanely wild imbalance of an often over-stacked roster. Draftees. Trades. ACL Rehab stints. UDFA's. The way they handled it all was nothing short of remarkable. Front and center (kneeling) is the main man Manager Rafael Neda. Directly above him (slightly to his left) I believe I see Pitching Coach Hiram Burgos. Two to Burgos' left, I see Hitting Coach C.J. Retherford. To Retherford's immediate left we see Development Coach Tommy McManus (formerly of Norfolk State University). I could be wrong but that looks like Johnny Barbato's (Development Coach) beard just to McManus' left. I believe (I could be wrong it's been awhile) that's Pitching Coach Paul Moeller on the very far right. That would leave us with Hitting Coach Mike Habas as the tall scruffy man with his arms around Burgos and Retherford dead center. That leaves me with a husband and (presumably) wife mystery team and two mystery men to his right (mysteries to me😄) and likely what looks like two Athletic Trainers on the very far left. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Extended Celebratory ACL Championship Cut-Up from Brewers PD twitter. It's Monday, after all. AND, the ACL Crew are Champs!!!!

How absolutely awesome is it to see Jhonny Severino made it back to his former teammates and surely good friends to cheer them on in the ACL Championship? Those relationships last far outside the base paths. Severino was absolutely key to the Crew's early success. If we recall back not so long ago, it was essentially the Severino and Baez show early in the summer. Still feeling the joy of a Brewers Championship! Any level is absolutely fine by me. Feels Goooooooooood!

Lots to work with here, Jim. Some of the best off-speed raw tools they have to work with in the starting ranks at present. Nice size. I've said it for two years now: he is my next Brewers arm in the mold of a young Mike Fiers. He took all that intriguing but highly erratic stuff from 2022 and took a giant step forward. Very exciting season for us ML obsessives..

Seeing yet another fantastic defensive play in LF, Avina supporters know: all the early season focus on his K woes and sleepy bat (reasonably so) failed to see his overall game. Mentioned in yesterday's Minor League GT (HERE), Avina has maintained a positive high-effort intensity for his ballclub all season long. When he wasn't seeing the ball/pitches as well as he would have liked he still made plays like the above on many many occasions. In addition to his underrated range he also has a very worthy cannon of an arm. He has been a true 'Gamer': In all seriousness: is there a more lovable walk-off triumphant trot than Avina's in the entire Brewers system? I can't think of any.

I don't know if the bid(s) came in late but OF Terence Doston surprises yet again leading all bids. Uncanny how he shows up everywhere.

Let's start the Brewers post-season runS with an ACL Crew trophy! An incredible way to welcome all that youth into their deeper Brewers journeys.

Still fully fan basking in the ACL afterglow. Great little write-up there, Daniel. Thanks for your efforts.

Around the All Star Break I did some random "What are these players up to?" mini-dives. I thought De La Cruz was with Gastonia in the Atlantic League. It turns out, he made the Frontier League All Star Game: (From HERE) RHP Trevor Tietz was a late addition to the All Star roster. Ol Shuckers RHP Robbie Hitt and 2B Gabe Holt made the original All Star rosters. Regardless, whereas Hasler and Garabitos (two of my faves) are still in 'Released' status realm in their respective lives (which obviously could be and is likely their personal choices given their immense talents), it was really nice to see some 2022 Brewers prospects still working hard on their crafts.

Before the Smith and Shears call-ups, in the midst of the T-Rats ongoing first half woes, Jordan was manager Joe Ayrault's high-leverage guy. He was mostly very effective in this role. I'm as surprised as you are. Doesn't make all that much sense.

Thanks, Jim! Much appreciated long relief. Power outages during a report? I wouldn't know anything about that 🫠 The Mudcats suddenly unraveling pitching staff is an unexpected source of baseball sadness. Sigh. The reality is, however, if they don't blow two games in Kannapolis late they are still leading by 4.0 G. They just need to get back on track and ready the ship. I pair the Je'Von Ward release on par with my personal surprises in LHP's Leoni de La Cruz and Pablo Garabitos for 2023. I wish them all the best and will miss their spirited and oft-impactful play.

Thanks for the write-up - a fun read before a long day. This would be an unexpected and welcomed boon to the ongoing chair shuffling. I'm still in 'we shall see' mode but success on the mound is a beautiful thing no matter how brief. Perhaps the low hanging fruit here, regardless of how this trends in the late season, is Megill now has a foundation to lean on and tape to glean from.

I will politely offer: the best defense I've seen Abraham Toro play is at 1B. Was surprisingly decent. And having seen him play 3B, I will realistically state: given the healthy candidates at 1B playing for the Brewers (and Winker now also rehabbing there) he's an important member of the Sounds playoff push.

Felix Valerio 2 long balls?! Jace Avina with an incredible game saving catch over the wall?! Sad to have missed that evening of Minor League awesomeness.

How good was that 2022 Sounds squad? My goodness they were stacked. It is a true shame they weren't playing three game series in 2022 - I believe they take Durham in 3. Anywho... OF Abraham Almonte gets the call-up with the New York Mets: Article Here. Almonte is definitely a DH or player essentially known for his bat. But, having watched him all of last year's first half before he was shipped to the Red Sox for cash (July 25th), I can say that the bat is extremely formidable. Having played the majority of his season for the Met's Syracuse affiliate, this will be his second call-up in the past 11 days.