Seth Stohs

Two Cy Young candidates met on Friday night in Milwaukee, and the guy with a Cy Young Award already was just a little better to help the Brewers to a big win to help them keep pace with the Phillies in the Wild Card race. Image courtesy of Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Two Cy Young candidates met on Friday night in Milwaukee, and the guy with a Cy Young Award already was just a little better to help the Brewers to a big win to help them keep pace with the Phillies in the Wild Card race. Box Score SP: Corbin Burnes: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (103 pitches, 62 strikes (60.2%)) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Corbin Burnes (0.568), Devin Williams (0.161), Garrett Mitchell (0.38) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Cy Young Matchup Many times when two “Aces” match up, the game winds up being a 13-12 game where neither starter gets through four innings. Friday night’s matchup between a couple of Cy Young candidates was everything you would hope it would be. By “you”, I mean the Brewers fans because it ended in a Brewers win. Marlins starting Sandy Alcantara is the leading candidate for NL Cy Young this year. He was fantastic on this night too. He went all eight innings and gave up just one run on five hits. He walked none and struck out eight batters. With the loss, Alcantara is now 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Corbin Burnes knows a little something about Cy Young Awards. On this night, with the Brewers needing him, he came through and looked like the best pitcher in baseball again. He tossed eight shutout innings and gave up just four hits. He also walked none and struck out seven batters. With the Win, he is now 12-8 with a 2.98 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. In his eight innings, Burnes didn’t allow a runner to reach second base. In six of the innings, he faced three batters. As you can see from his WPA (Win Probability Added), Burnes came through when his team needed him the most. That would be the definition of Clutch. One is Enough There was no score until the bottom of the sixth inning. Garrett Mitchell led off with a single to center field. After one out, Mitchell stole second base. He advanced to third base on a single to left by Willy Adames. Rowdy Tellez came up and drove in the game’s lone run on a sacrifice fly to center. The same situation came up in the bottom of the third inning. Jace Peterson singled, stole second and was sacrificed to third base on a nice bunt by Omar Narvaez. Unfortunately, Mitchell struck out and Christian Yelich grounded out to end the threat. Outside of that, Hunter Renfroe had a two-out double in the fourth inning but was left stranded. Then the team failed to add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Mitchell doubled, but did not advance any further. One Was Barely Enough… Craig Counsell left himself open to second-guessing when he removed Burnes after eight innings and turned to The Airbender, Devin Williams, for the ninth inning. As you know, Williams recorded his 15th Save of the season, but it didn’t come without increasing the heart rates of Brewers fans across and beyond Wisconsin. Lewin Diaz led off with a single. He was pinch run for by Peyton Burdick. Jon Berti then walked. Williams responded by striking out Joey Wendle and Bryan De La Cruz. However, he walked Avisail Garcia to load the bases. With the tying run on third base, Williams came through with a strikeout of Jesus Sanchez on a perfect changeup just below the zone to end the game. "Just keeping it exciting..." What’s Next? The Brewers have two more games at home against the Miami Marlins. On Saturday at 6:10, The Crew will send lefty Aaron Ashby (2-10, 4.50 ERA) to the mound against Edward Cabrera (6-4, 3.15 ERA). The teams will finish their series on Sunday afternoon. Wild Card Scenarios The final two NL Wild Card spots are clearly between three teams, and really, that final spot is likely to come down to the Brewers and the Phillies. But, the Padres have also been very mediocre and left the door open a little bit. Remaining Games Brewers: 2 at home vs Marlins, 3 at home vs Arizona Phillies: 3 at home vs Nationals (DH on Saturday), 3 at Houston Padres: 2 at home vs White Sox, 3 at home vs Giants Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUES WED THU FRI TOT Williams 0 0 25 0 27 52 Strzelecki 0 19 0 22 0 41 Gott 0 31 0 0 0 31 Peralta 0 0 0 31 0 31 Bush 0 0 23 0 0 23 Milner 0 0 21 0 0 21 Boxberger 0 0 17 0 0 17 Suter 0 17 0 0 0 17 Rogers 0 0 16 0 0 16 Topa 0 0 0 9 0 9 View full article

As the regular season winds down, it is time to start handing out awards. Today, we begin a series of minor-league awards by handing out our choice for Brewer Fanatic Short Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. Image courtesy of Neal Hock (graphics by Thieres Rabelo) As the regular season winds down, it is time to start handing out awards. Today, we begin a series of minor-league awards by handing out our choice for Brewer Fanatic Short Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. When Brewer Fanatic’s minor-league writers were asked to vote for the two short-season minor league awards, it was insisted that only statistics produced in the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Complex League should be considered. Outfielder Jace Avina put up such incredible numbers in the 36 games he played for the Brewers “Blue” squad in Arizona, that it earned him the Brewer Fanatic Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year award. Avina hit .294/.436/.630 (1.067) with eight doubles, a triple, and 10 home runs in 149 plate appearances. Avina hit for average, and he got on base. The crazy thing is that he had 15 walks and he was also hit by 15 pitches. He also provided some big-time thump, something you don’t always see in these lower levels. Not all was perfect. He struck out 51 times (34.2%). He was named the Brewers Player of the Month for July and called up to Low-A Carolina just a few days later. Now these numbers did not go into our voter’s criteria, but Avina ended the season by hitting .245/.336/.471 (.807) in 28 games. He had four doubles, two triples and five home runs. Overall a very impressive season for a youngster who turned 19 years old just weeks before the short-season leagues started their season. Avina was the 14th round pick of the Brewers in 2021 out of Spanish Springs High School in Nevada. He had a full-ride scholarship to the University of Nevada, but when the Brewers offered him $255,900 plus college tuition (to be used later), he signed. In high school, Avina played in the middle of the field. He played shortstop, second base and center field (no, not all at the same time). The Brewers drafted him as an outfielder. In his pro debut this year, he played all three outfield spots, but spent the vast majority of his innings in center field. Avina has been blessed with good genetics too. His father, Armando, was drafted by the Astros in 1991. He didn’t sign but instead went to the University of Nevada-Reno to be a punter and kicker. In 1996, he signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. At 6-2, 180 pounds, Avina is quite athletic. He can run. He’s got power. He can play defense. He has a strong arm. He works hard. He wants to get on base. Now, he just needs to keep working on making more contact because when he does, good things tend to happen. Hitter of the Year: Jace Avina, OF Rookie League Stats (36 G): .294/.436/.630 (1.067), 8-2B, 1-3B, 10-HR, 29 RBI Runner-Up: Yeison Perez, 1B/OF Rookie League Stats (42 G): .331/.409/.654 (1.063), 15 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 40 RBI Not every player develops in the same timeline. Player development is certainly not linear. Perez signed with the Brewers in January 2021 and debuted with the DSL Brewers that summer. He hit .244/.293/.333 (.626) with nine doubles, one triple, and one home run. Now look back up at his 2022 numbers. Huge improvements across the board. He got bigger, got stronger, and really improved. The 18-year-old has primarily played first base. Second Runner-Up: Jadher Areinamo, IF DSL Stats (34 G): .323/.416/.472 (.889), 10 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI Like Avina, Areinamo played most of his season in Arizona. He spent about a week in High-A Wisconsin before joining his ACL team. Then at the end of July, he was promoted to Low-A Carolina to finish the season. The smooth-fielding 18-year-old showed some doubles-pop at the Complex, but he also walked as much as he struck out. He spent a lot of time at both middle infield spots and at third base. While his tools aren’t exciting, his instincts, control of the strike zone and intelligence stand out. The Venezuelan signed in January of 2021 for $150K. Which players will most likely impact the Brewers down the road? Who would you vote for as the Brewers short-season hitter of the year? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Wild Card Update: Brewers Lose. Phillies Lose. Padres Win. 9 games remaining for the Brewers. To make the playoffs: If the Brewers go 7-2, they would need the Padres to go 3-6... OR... the Phillies to go 5-5. If the Brewers go 6-3, they would need the Padres to finish 2-7... OR... the Phillies to go 4-6.

Wild Card Update: Brewers Lose. Phillies Lose. Padres Win. 9 games remaining for the Brewers. To make the playoffs: If the Brewers go 7-2, they would need the Padres to go 3-6... OR... the Phillies to go 5-5. If the Brewers go 6-3, they would need the Padres to finish 2-7... OR... the Phillies to go 4-6.

The Brewers need to find ways to win as many games as they can over the final ten games. Unfortunately on Sunday afternoon, a late home run (and a lack of offense coupled with a little bad luck) cost the Brewers in a close loss to the Reds. Image courtesy of David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports The Brewers need to find ways to win as many games as they can over the final ten games. Unfortunately on Sunday afternoon, a late home run (and a lack of offense coupled with a little bad luck) cost the Brewers in a close loss to the Reds. Box Score SP: Freddy Peralta: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (44 pitches, 28 strikes (63.6%) Home Runs: Hunter Renfroe (28) Top 3 WPA: Peter Strzelecki (0.156), Keston Hiura (0.122), Freddy Peralta (0.107) Bottom 3 WPA: Matt Bush (-0.211), Willy Adames (-0.146), Victor Caratini (-0.143) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Peralta Returns as “Opener” It was quite the query heading into the game. Freddy Peralta was activated from the Injured List before the game. He has been out with shoulder inflammation. How long would he go? How long could he go? How would he look? Let’s start with the last question. Peralta looked really good. But how long did he go? The Brewers chose to use Peralta as an opener in this game. He worked just two innings, though he needed 44 pitches to get through it. He wasn’t perfect, but he got through his innings healthy and without allowing a run. He showed good stuff, with the three strikeouts, but he wasn’t completely sharp. How did you feel about the performance of Peralta? Renfroe Provides More Power After going 4-for-5 with two homers on Saturday night, Hunter Renfroe led off the second inning with his 28th home run of the season to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== The Brewers were unable to do much against Reds rookie starter and former first-round pick Nick Lodolo. The southpaw gave up only that one run on just four hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. Overall, he has a 3.75 ERA on the season and certainly has a bright future. Journeymen Derek Law and Buck Farmer worked a scoreless inning each. Then Alexis Diaz came on and struck out Willy Adames, Christian Yelich and Hunter Renfroe in the ninth inning to slam the door. Key Play of the Game You never know when the most important, most impactful play of any game will happen. Turns out, in this game, that play may have happened in the second inning. Following the Renfroe leadoff home run, Mike Brosseau singled to left field. Luis Urias flew out, and then Keston Hiura doubled Brosseau to third base. Victor Caratini struck out for the inning's second out. However, Tyrone Taylor hit what should have been a two-run single. Unfortunately, and maybe even inexplicably (though Craig Counsell tried to stand up for Hiura in his postgame interview below), the ball hit Hiura and ended the inning. There is no way of knowing what would happen over the rest of the game had the Brewers scored three that inning instead of just one, but in a 2-1 loss, when fighting for a playoff spot, that's a pretty huge play. Ashby Struggles but Bullpen Provides a Mixed Bag Lefty Aaron Ashby came on to replace Peralta. It makes sense. Have the left-hander come in after the right-handed opener. But it didn’t go as I’m sure Craig Counsell had hoped. The rookie gave up one run on two hits, two walks and two hit batters, and maybe more important, he was only able to provide 1 2/3 innings. Fortunately, Peter Strzelecki came on and got the next four outs, two of them on strikeouts. Trevor Gott worked a perfect inning. Brad Boxberger gave up a single, but struck out two batters in a scoreless seventh inning. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Matt Bush gave up a leadoff home run to Reds rookie Spencer Steer to give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== What’s Next? The Brewers will hopefully enjoy their final scheduled off day on Monday before playing their final nine games at home starting on Tuesday. Postgame Interviews data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Bush 0 14 12 0 19 45 Boxberger 15 0 13 0 14 42 Gott 17 0 0 10 14 41 Ashby 0 0 0 0 40 40 Suter 18 0 0 17 0 35 Strzelecki 0 16 0 0 16 32 Perdomo 0 0 27 0 IL 27 Williams 0 0 18 0 0 18 Rogers 0 0 0 16 0 16 Milner 6 0 0 0 0 6 View full article

Good catch... I started typing into the software heading into the 9th inning. Oops!

Good catch... I started typing into the software heading into the 9th inning. Oops!

Needing to win as many games as possible over their final 11 games, the Brewers got a 9-2 win in Cincinnati on Saturday. Image courtesy of David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports Needing to win as many games as possible over their final 11 games, the Brewers got a 9-2 win in Cincinnati on Saturday. Box Score SP: Corbin Burnes: 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K (102 pitches, 61 strikes (59.8%) Home Runs: Hunter Renfroe 2 (27), Rowdy Tellez (33) Top 3 WPA: Hunter Renfroe (0.328), Corbin Burnes (0.147), Omar Narvaez (0.141) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Hunter Renfroe Provides the Power Things were pretty quiet in the first three innings. The Reds scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the 1st inning on an Alejo Lopez single. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Hunter Renfroe came to bat with Rowdy Tellez on base. He launched his 26th home run of the season to give the Brewers the 2-1 lead. The Crew kept adding on that inning. Omar Narvaez later singled to score Andrew McCutchen, and then Luis Urias scored on a Tyrone Taylor single to make it 4-1. One is terrific but twice is really nice. In the fifth frame, with Rowdy Tellez again on base, Renfroe came to the plate again and hit a second, two-run homer to give the Brewers a 6-1 lead. It was the 27th home run of the year for Renfroe. Both teams went scoreless in the 6th inning. The Reds didn’t score in the top of the 7th and then the Brewers added on. Christian Yelich scored on a Willy Adames double. Soon after, Renfroe drove in his fifth run of the game to score Adames on a single. Renfroe later scored on a single by Urias. Through seven innings, the Brewers held a 9-1 lead. The Reds scored a run in the bottom of the 7th inning. The 8th inning was scoreless for both teams. Rowdy Tellez led off the top of the 9th inning with a solo home run off of position player Alejo Lopez. That brought Renfroe to the plate again. He was 4-for-4 to that point, and of course, the one “pitcher” to get him out was Lopez who started the game at second base. Burnes Comes Through With the Brewers needing to win at least eight of their final 11 games, they really need to be able to rely on Corbin Burnes. It’s fair to say that Burnes wasn’t at his absolute best on Saturday in Cincinnati, but he was certainly good enough on this night. Good enough to earn his 11th win of the year. He struggled with his control a little more than he usually does. His strike percentage was just under 60% He gave up just the four hits, but he also uncharacteristically walked three batters too. However, he worked into the 7th inning and kept the Crew in control. He had eight strikeouts in the game. Bullpen Provides Zero(es) Burnes gave up the first-inning run and then didn’t give up a run until the 7th inning. He left the game with one run in and a runner in scoring position. He was relieved by Trevor Gott who got the next two batters out. Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless 8th inning before Brent Suter struck out two batters in a perfect 9th inning. That’s got to hurt! Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless, hitless eighth inning despite a lack of control. Just six of his 16 pitches were strikes. He walked the leadoff batter of the inning on four pitches, but he also hit Reds’ rookie infielder Spencer Steer. It is interesting because the two were teammates and went to spring training together in 2021 and 2022 with the Minnesota Twins. Rogers was traded to the Padres on Opening Day, and of course, the Brewers acquired him from San Diego in the Josh Hader deal. Rogers got the opportunity in a low-leverage situation. In his previous outing, he gave up four runs on one hit and three walks in just 2/3 of an inning. And before that, he gave up a run on two hits in one inning against the Yankees. However, in his previous four appearances, he worked four scoreless, hitless, walkless innings that included eight strikeouts. It has certainly been a roller coaster season for Rogers. What’s Next? The Brewers will play their final road game of the season on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Reds one more time. Freddy Peralta will come off of the Injured List to try to keep the team’s hopes alive for a playoff berth. He is 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA. The Reds will counter with former first-round pick Nick Lodolo who is 4-7 with a 3.90 ERA. Game time is 12:40 central time. Wild Card Update The Brewers won. The Padres beat the Rockies 9-3. The Phillies lost to Kyle Wright and the Braves 6-3. The Brewers made up one game on the Phillies. Postgame Interviews View full article

While not mathematically eliminated quite yet, the Brewers are 7 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the NL's Central Division. They are left to compete for one of three Wild Card spots in the playoffs. Can they do it? Image courtesy of Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports While not mathematically eliminated quite yet, the Brewers are 7 1/2 games behind the Cardinals in the NL's Central Division. They are left to compete for one of three Wild Card spots in the playoffs. Can they do it? As play begins on Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers find themselves on the outside looking in. The Cardinals are very likely to win the NL Central. They have a 7 1/2 game lead over the Brewers. The New York Mets have a 2 1/2 game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The Dodgers have already clinched the NL West title. As of this moment, the Atlanta Braves have clinched a playoff berth. They will have the #4 playoff spot unless they are able to pass the Mets and win the division. Here is a quick look at the Wild Card positioning in the National League heading into Saturday's games. As you can see, if the season were to end today, the Brewers would not find themselves in the playoffs. Right now, they are 2 1/2 games behind the Phillies and two games behind the Padres. Here is a quick look at the remaining schedules for those three teams: Milwaukee Brewers (11 games remaining) at Cincinnati (2 games) Day Off Monday Home vs St. Louis (2 games) Home vs Miami (4 games) Home vs Arizona (3 games) After finishing their series this weekend in Cincinnati, the Brewers will head back to American Family Field for the final nine games of their season. With ace Corbin Burnes on the mound Saturday, the team could use him three times in the final 11 games, which is certainly a positive we can agree. The Cardinals will want to clinch, so I would expect them to continue playing hard in those two games. Miami is well out of contention, but with their young pitchers, especially Sandy Alcantara, they have a good chance to play "spoiler" over the season's final weeks. Finally, the Brewers will end the season with three games against the Diamondbacks. They have been out of contention for a long time, but with Zac Gallen and some young talent such as Corbin Carroll, they will not go down without some fight. San Diego Padres (11 games remaining) at Colorado (2 games) Day Off Monday Home vs Dodgers (3 games) Home vs White Sox (3 games) Home vs Giants (3 games) Like the Brewers, the Padres will finish their current series on the road and get a day off on Monday before playing nine games at their home ballpark to end the season. The Padres could theoretically get three more starts from Yu Darvish, and pitchers like Mike Clevinger an d Blake Snell are certainly guys who have pitched in many big games before. The Dodgers have clinched, but they have had a 20+ game lead in the NL West for most of the second half of the season, so they are going to keep playing. The White Sox have been a mess, but they certainly have the talent to test the Padres for three games. Finally, while the Giants had a disappointing 2022 season, they have a solid pitching staff and would likely enjoy playing spoiler to Juan Soto, Manny Machado and the Padres. Philadelphia Phillies (12 games) Home vs Braves (2 games) Day off Monday at Cubs (3) at Nationals (4) at Astros (3) The Phillies have the opposite schedule as they have two more home games before ending the season with ten games on the road, including a doubleheader next Saturday. Atlanta has been great again this year, and the Phillies will face Kyle Wright, who will be making an attempt to win his 20th game of the year, and Charlie Morton. The Cubs aren't a good team, but Wrigley in September can often create its own challenges The Nationals will put up a fight with some of the players acquired the last couple of years in trades of Trea Turner, Max Scherzer and Juan Soto. And ending the season at Houston will also be tough. The Astros will be setting their playoff roster and rotation, but their talent is tremendous. The Path for The Crew Let's start with the obvious; the Brewers need to do their part and win games. So, let's say that they win the final two games in Cincinnati, split their series against the Cardinals, win three of four games against the Marlins and end the season with at least two wins against the Diamondbacks. If they are able to do that, they will finish the season by going 8-3. This season, there will be no Game 163s to break ties. Instead, the first tie-breaker is head-to-head matchups between the teams. This year, the Brewers were 3-4 against the Padres and 2-4 against the Phillies. In other words, if they tie for the final Wild Card spot with either team, they will not make the playoffs. They will have to pass them which makes it significantly more challenging. If the Brewers go 8-3 the rest of the way, they would need either the Padres to go 5-6 or the Phillies to go 5-7 to pass them. The Brewers can help themselves. If they go 9-2 over the season's final 11 games, then they would pass the Padres if San Diego went 6-5 or if the Phillies went 6-6. Of course, that goes the other way too. If the Brewers go 7-4 the rest of the season, then they would need the Padres to go 4-7 or the Phillies to go 4-8. Not impossible in either case, but much less likely to happen. So what do you think? The Brewers have put themselves in a position where they not only need to win, but they need help too. Do you think the Brewers will pass either the Padres or Phillies and make the playoffs? View full article

This is just guessing, but they have an 8th Brewers prospect on the roster. It's possible that they have a guy who can only play once a week, and maybe that's Quero. I don't know officially what the rule is, but I know there have been times where that happens. It's also possible that they want to push him to watch and work with top talent from around the league, and additionally, maybe it's an opportunity for him to learn some additional English or get more comfortable with it. Maybe it's something to keep Quero and Uribe together to make sure they have someone to talk to. I'm guessing here. I know very little about Je'Von Ward. Since he missed the full season with injury, his name really never crossed my path. Do we know what his injury was?

This is just guessing, but they have an 8th Brewers prospect on the roster. It's possible that they have a guy who can only play once a week, and maybe that's Quero. I don't know officially what the rule is, but I know there have been times where that happens. It's also possible that they want to push him to watch and work with top talent from around the league, and additionally, maybe it's an opportunity for him to learn some additional English or get more comfortable with it. Maybe it's something to keep Quero and Uribe together to make sure they have someone to talk to. I'm guessing here. I know very little about Je'Von Ward. Since he missed the full season with injury, his name really never crossed my path. Do we know what his injury was?

How is the current first-round draft pick ranked that low?? (12th) And strange that their second-round draft pick ranks one spot higher...

Since it hasn't been updated yet, I figured I'd get my list out there for conversation: 1) Chourio (easy choice, isn't he like #4 overall by Baseball America?) 2.) Frelick 3.) Brown 4.) Wiemer 5.) Black 6.) Turang 7.) Mitchell 8.) Misiorowski 9.) Gasser 10.) Small 11:) Valerio 12.) Carlos Rodriguez (P) 13.) S. Cruz 14.) Reetz 15.) Quero 16.) Moore 17.) N. Bennett 18.) H Perez 19.) Jarvis 20.) Mendez 21.) D. O'Rae 22.) C Rodriguez (OF) 23.) B Knarr 24.) TJ Shook 25.) I Puello

Matt Bush... That... Matt... Bush!! Wow! Brewers got fleeced in this deal. Bush is a bit of an enigma, and Kelly has immense upside. Is that really the cost for a solid MLB reliever?

I was hoping they would take Drew Gilbert with the pick, but Brown sure looks intriguing, competitive, athletic, and like a guy you want on your team who will do whatever or play wherever.

I really enjoy stories like this... Guys gets a chance, has a great moment, can always call himself a big-leaguer.

On Thursday morning, MLB announced the participants in the upcoming Futures Game. Two Milwaukee Brewers prospects will participate, LHP Antoine Kelly, Jr., and outfielder Jackson Chourio. 7/14 Update: Joey Wiemer was added to the Futures Game roster. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr (Kelly), Neal Hock (Chourio) On Thursday morning, MLB announced the participants in the upcoming Futures Game. Two Milwaukee Brewers prospects will participate, LHP Antoine Kelly, Jr., and outfielder Jackson Chourio. 7/14 Update: Joey Wiemer was added to the Futures Game roster. The 2022 Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game will be played at Dodgers Stadium on Saturday, July 16th at 6 pm central time. You can watch Brewers prospects Antoine Kelly and Jackson Chourio live on Peacock and SiriusXM with MLB Network producing the telecast and re-airing the game at 7:30 pm that same night. Jackson Chourio, the 18-year-old from Maracaibo, Venezuela, has been flying up prospect rankings, nationally. He has also jumped up to the Brewers' #2 prospect on the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Prospect Rankings in July. Why? Well, he just signed a pro contract as a 16-year-old about 18 months ago, and having just turned 18 in March, he has really flourished at High-A Carolina. In 53 games since joining the Mudcats, he has hit .319/.371/.587 (.958) with 17 doubles, five triples and 10 home runs. He is very exciting at the plate, but he has done a nice job in center field as well, showing good range and a strong arm. He's also 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts. Sure, he has just 17 walks to go with 67 strikeouts, but overall, he has the makings of being a future cornerstone for the Brewer organization. Antoine Kelly won't turn 23 until December. He was the Brewers 2nd round pick in 2019 after a season at Wabash Valley College in Illinois. His high draft spot speaks to his immense talent and potential, but coming into the season, there were still plenty of questions after he experienced injuries in late 2020 and pitched in just nine games in 2021. He was recovering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, so no surprise by his near-7 ERA in 17 innings (7 games) a year ago in Carolina. However, he has been a stalwart in a strong Wisconsin Timber Rattler pitching staff this season. In 15 starters, he is 2-3 with a 3.55 ERA. In 76 innings, he's given up just 45 hits, walked 41 batters, and struck out a remarkable 100 batters (11.8 K/9). Yes, the walk rate is still high, but that can be worked on. The future is exciting for this southpaw flamethrower. Kelly jumped up to fifth in the July Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Brewers prospect rankings and could keep climbing. Ethan Small was the Brewers representative at the 2021 Futures Game in Denver. View full article

I enjoyed this article... and WOW, that's a pretty impressive return for Sexson!

I enjoyed this article... and WOW, that's a pretty impressive return for Sexson!