Joseph Zarr

If I had a nickel for every time I've watched Ernesto Martinez's head leave the zone (as if he suddenly saw a shooting star to his right) on a massive swing and miss, I'd at least have $2. 😅

The T-Rats are trying to atone for their bullpen's rough showing in the bottom of the 8th. They now have the bases juiced with nobody down. OF Je'Von Ward will get the sac fly to the warning track in LF on a liner. That's now 8-3. Fantastic. That was a nice swing and an effective result.

I would argue of the 3 wild pitches thrown that inning, C Matt Wood had to catch two of those. It appeared to my eyes, he was more concerned with or his eyes were tracking the base paths. He simply lost sight of the balls in key situations. He needs to do better with those types of pitches moving forward.

Batter number 2, he throws a pitch 1 curveball 3 feet high and outside to a lefty. 1-0. Back to the heater, he hits the inside corner down and in. 1-1. Next pitch, Wood misses the ball. The ball was not where it was asked for but Wood has to catch that ball. Sheesh. 7-3 now. Men all advance. He gets the ground out to end it. 7-3 into the 9th. That was an ugly ugly inning.

Vassalotti walks the bases loaded. He is pulled. And Gardner comes aboard and throws three straight heaters off the outside of the plate. He gets the count to 3-2. And, now we're in a battle. Two foul balls. Third foul ball. That's 8 pitches. And, he throws a slider 3 feet outside and in the dirt. 7-2. Bases still juiced.

RHP Michele Vassalotti continues to show why his 2023 season is so perplexing. Solid K numbers but extremely inconsistent with control. He now has a K, BB, HBP and 2 WP's in this inning. That's pretty much the story of his season. He's good when he's good. He can definitely get those swings and misses. But, he has been all over the map. The 5.54 ERA supports what I have seen since his shutdown early outings.

Agreed. Their overall brand of play is just more competitive. I'm running to the bank with that given what I was seeing in the doldrums. The bats, by and large, if we're being plain honest, just are not as a whole that impressive - obviously, Moore and Wood can find form at any time. BUT, if they can simply give me competitive AB's and allow for deeper counts I'll enjoy the heck out of that. When they are doing this without the intrigue of INF Eric Brown Jr., even better.

RHP Ryan Brady is really finding his form. He strikes out 2 here in the bottom of the 6th including his final out on a nasty nasty slider that must have dropped a good 18-24" by the time it reached the plate. This was the Brady we saw very early in 2023.

We call this the 'Butterfly Effect' 😜

C Matt Wood just took the T-Rats third free pass of the inning. That's the fifth of the day for the Loons' RHP Robbie Peto. The T-Rats drive him from the game after a mere 2 2/3 IP. His 5 BB on his outing are the most in his entire season. These T-Rats are just having better AB's all around. It makes for an enjoyable watch.

OH BABY! Let's GO! 5'9" INF Robert Moore just hit an oppo long fly just over the wall in right center. It's now a four run T-Rats inning here in the 6th after Eduarqui Fernandez just legged out a hard chopper deep to the 3B side. Fantastic! 7-1 T-Rats baby! This is a wonderful game 1 after taking the series at West Michigan. You just love to see it!

Meanwhile in our mid-day knock the T-Rats continue to play such a better brand of baseball. RHP Edwin Jimenez continues his fantastic 2023 as he completes 4 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 6 K. He was pulled after a hard fought 81 pitches. DH Darrien Miller has his 3rd HR of the year. Eduardo Garcia having a fantastic day at the plate - 2-for-2 and he just worked a count fabulously full and took the walk laying off a very intriguing pitch high and just outside the zone. Wonderful to see Garcia playing better of late. The Rattlers lead 3-1 in the top half of the 6th.

Have a day, Pedro Tovar! 3-for-4, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 CS, 1 PO. The full gambit. Another 4 run inning and the Brewers Uno have jumped to a 15-5 lead. This young squad has some pep. Make that 17-5. Whew. 9-for-25 with RISP.😁 Look at this Box Score:

17-year-old (truly, 5/1 birthday) Nicaraguan RHP Enniel Cortez is definitely flashing in his first two outings. Another 5 IP today. 2 ER off 6 H, 1 HR, 6 K, 0BB. The Brewers are really scouting and signing Nicaragua hard since the success of Carlos F. Rodriguez. I do ponder if there is any correlation.

I see those as two two-baggers. Is the Game Log different?

It is definitely worth noting: After being pulled from the game in the 6th inning yesterday (after stealing 3B in the previous inning via the game log) in a substitution, INF Kevin Ereu is entirely absent from the Box Score today. Tracking. Speaking of those talented Brewers Uno, they are currently 7-for-19 with RISP today and lead 11-5 late on the backs of several stellar offensive performances.

The DSL Crew #2 lost a tough 2-1 battle with the DSL Red Sox. They fall to 3-4 on the year but they certainly are showing fight.

Man, that second bomb from Severino has that 'whoa' factor. That had some serious punch. I was sheepishly watching the play-by-play during that AB. If I recall, Frelick and Van Meter had both just singled with two down. That was a big time middle innings take the lead variety. Both homers, actually, had quite the 'it'. That first oppo was a moon shot. This is quite an interesting development!

The DSL Uno y Dos were filling our Minor League fix with their Monday morning slates. The two combined for a 1-1 showing as the Dos lost their brief 2-1 lead in their final fateful inning. The ACL Brewers gave us our baseball dessert with their late knock against the ACL Guardians - it was quite the high-scoring affair. Let's get into the report! Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic Transactions: RHP Abner Uribe was assigned to the Nashville Sounds from the Biloxi Shuckers: INF/OF Josh Van Meter was sent on a rehab assignment to the ACL Brewers from the Nashville Sounds RHP J.B. Bukauskas was Optioned to the Nashville Sounds from the Milwaukee Brewers (after being activated off their IL) INF/OF Noah Campbell was assigned to the Biloxi Shuckers from the Nashville Sounds Game Balls: LHP Anthony Flores dealt 4 IP of 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 ER ball. That is now 2 GS, 8 IP, 12 K, 3 BB, 0 ER, 0.115 BAA, 0.75 WHIP C Yannic Walther continues to show hints, albeit in an absurdly small sample size, the Brewers can find catchers anywhere on the planet. More below. RHP Bryan Rivera is demonstrating real growth in his age 17/18 season and his second in the Brewers DSL. He hurled 5 IP of 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 9 K ball. He's been stellar through two starts. The punch out ratio is very new in 2023. INF Jhonny Severino hit two HR on the evening. He tallied 4 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 K. There's a reason he was the 21st ranked International Signing by MLB Pipeline in 2022. Now that he's stateside and removed from a rather pedestrian DSL season in 2022, by his lofty standards, it would appear he is ready to take off. Thanks to our very own @wiguy94, we have clips of both blasts and they sure sound pretty: This second blast has that 'it': INF Juan Baez is proving to be quite the right-hand man to Severino. He nabbed four SB on the evening. He also went 3-for-5 with 2 R and 2 RBI. Final: DSL Brewers #1 6, DSL Braves 3 Box Score/Game Log To be a 19-year-old German athlete playing in the Dominican Summer League. What a world. C Yannic Walther signed a professional contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on August 31st, 2022. And, so far, in a four game sample-size in the DSL he's demonstrating the bat he showed in the Bundesliga translates to the lowest level of affiliated ball. What a story for a young man who was originally destined to play college ball at Florida Southwestern State College and then Miami Dade as he chased his baseball dreams across the proverbial pond. He finished his day 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI (including a two out rbi). I'll be tracking what is quickly becoming a very fun story. We see INF Kevin Ereu left the game in the sixth inning. It shows up as a defensive switch and substitution after Ereu had singled, took 2B on a wild pitch, and then stole 3B (where he was stranded) in what proved to be his fifth and final frame. Hopefully, this was precautionary or a planned defensive shift. My antennae are on alert, however, given the bevy of injuries we've seen throughout the Brewers organization in 2023. More to come. There are intriguing tidbits all throughout the box score here. I'll highlight a few as the Dos moved to 4-2 on the young season: RHP Yonawil Florimon finished with a 2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K final line. A wonderful bounce back performance after his previous outing. However, we also see he inherited two runners in his opening action and allowed both to score on his bullpen mate's tab. In three games to date, 22-year-old Dominican RHP Roman Perez (in his second year with the Brewers DSL) has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.000 BAA. Yet, he also sports a 2.50 WHIP and hasn't hit a single batter. You can do the math. He grabbed his first save today in his first opportunity (3-for-3 in SO in 2022). The Brewers Uno had six stolen bases on the day. OF Idalberto Santiesteban had three of these. Speaking of Santiesteban, he also had a solid day at the dish: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 3 SB. This is a name that has shown up for me now in both my reports in the first two weeks of the DSL. I'm listening. Final: DSL Guardians 4, DSL Brewers #2 2Box Score/Game Log 17-year-old Dominican OF Antony Gomez continues to flash intriguing potential in the very early going for the Brewers Dos. His 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K outing is the only line that really pops at you when you scan the box score. The numbers 5 through 9 hitters went a combined 0-for-13 with 1 BB and 3 K. The Brewers Dos could have used just one of those elusive knocks after the bottom of the order had loaded the bases in the sixth frame with nobody down. Unfortunately, they only plated one run in the scenario. That brief one run lead quickly vanished in the seventh and final frame when 18-year-old Dominican RHP Lenin Mendez ran into trouble to the tune of three runs. That was all she wrote as the Brewers Dos went down swinging in three straight trips to close out the affair. Sadly, this late mini collapse tarnished the fantastic outing of surging young Nicaraguan RHP Bryan Rivera who is highlighted in the game balls above. The young men fell to 3-3 on their young season. Final: ACL Guardians 11, ACL Brewers 10Box Score/Game Log The ACL Crew actually grabbed a brief 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth inning. This came on the heels of INF Jhonny Severino's second HR of his evening - a three-run shot (clip above). However, things unraveled relatively quickly from there. A throwing error from rehabbing Josh Van Meter opened a small window and the Guardians took advantage reclaiming the lead 6-5. The Guardians then broke it open with four more runs off RHP Anthony Perez in the next frame - in the blink of an eye, it was 10-5 Guardians. However, with this current offense - led by the dynamic duo of Severino and Baez - anything seems possible for the ACL Crew. A five-spot in the seventh inning saw the game tied back up at 10-10. The Crew were outhitting the Guardians 11-to-5 at that point. It seemed a matter of finding an arm out of the bullpen who could limit the free passes. Or, unfortunately, in tonight's case, a clean inning in the field. A fielding error by OF Reidy Mercado - the Crew's 4th on the evening - allowed a run to cross. The 11-10 deficit would be the final score. RHP Jose Chavez likely deserved a no decision at worst given his valiant effort when the score was knotted at 10-10. He completed 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 ER ball but was credited with the loss. The young ballers also managed a 10-for-10 SB tally on the evening. A frustrating and tough loss. The Crew fell to 4-2 on the year. We'll close with a quick OF Sal Frelick update. Frelick finished his evening with a 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K line. It would appear, by my estimations, he is just about ready to head northeast to the Nashville clubhouse. I'd say the thumb looks just fine in this easy swing single to RF: View full article

Boy the three errors on the evening - one apiece for Baez, Van Meter, and now Mercado - have all resulted in runs scored. Of the 11 runs allowed by the ACL Crew, only 7 are earned. Ouch. They now trail 11-10 in the 8th. They can't seem to hold onto a lead tonight.

The ACL Brewers have tied it up 10-10 with a 5-spot here in the 7th inning. This would have been an incredibly fun game to watch. The Crew are outhitting the Guardians 11-to-5. They still have runners on the corners. Two down.

Well, my amigos, we clearly have something in INF Jhonny Severino in the early-going of 2023. He just hit his 2nd HR of his evening - a three-run variety - to give the ACL Brewers their first lead. He has a solo jack as well tonight. 4 RBI on the night. 3 HR now in the early going of 2023. In 20 AB, now, he has 3 long balls. 8 RBI. And, he's batting 0.450 with a 1.529 OPS. 🤣

Meanwhile, the Brewers Uno lead 3-0 in the 5th frame. LHP Anthony Flores with his second consecutive solid scoreless (so far) outing. 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K through 4 IP. INF Kevin Ereu is 2-for-2 with 1 R. OF Idalberto Santiesteban is also 2-for-2.

17-year-old (soon to be 18, June 17th) RHP Bryan Rivera of the DSL Brewers Dos has 8 K through 4 IP. Considering he had 7 K in his first start of the year, it is fair to propose the second year Nicaraguan player is taking a step forward after his 16 yo/17 yo debut in 2022. AND, he completes 5 IP of 1 ER, 9 K ball. The Dos are tied 1-1 in the 6th.