Ben Lepak

Image courtesy of BrewerFanatic As Nashville labored through another uneven night in Quinn Priester's season debut, Biloxi and Wisconsin continued to stack wins and standout performances. Will the AA and A+ squads begin to apply upward pressure on the organization? It's still early, but it's worth pondering. Transactions: Milwaukee Brewers sent RHP Quinn Priester on a rehab assignment to Nashville Sounds. Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent OF Mark Coley II to a minor league contract and assigned him to Biloxi Shuckers Nashville pre-game media notes Charlotte (White Sox) 9, Nashville 4 Box Score As always, you are encouraged to read the official round-up from the team’s site: Two Early Grand Slams by Charlotte Costs Sounds Quinn Priester’s season debut at Nashville did not go to plan on Wednesday night. Slated for three innings and 45 pitches, the righthander did not finish the first inning after tossing just 12 of 29 pitches for strikes (3BB, HBP and 2K). Peter Strzelecki came on and allowed a grand slam on his second pitch, the first of two salamis Strzelecki would allow in his 1.1 IP of work. After two innings it was 9-1 Charlotte and the Knights cruised to an easy victory. The Sounds saved some face with four runs on eight hits, all singles. Tyler Black had his third consecutive multi-hit game and also stole a base. Black has positioned himself for a call-up to the big league club as soon as this weekend. Jeferson Quero and Eddys Leonard also had multi-hit efforts in the defeat. It’s been a tough April for the Sounds’ offense overall. Through 22 games, the team ranks last in the 20-team International League in home runs (12), 19th in runs (95), and 17th in OPS (.695). Cooper Pratt (.169/.290/.186) has struggled atop the Sounds’ lineup and while Jett Williams has gotten on base (.198/.337/.272) he hasn’t yet shown himself to be an option for the Brewers’ infield either. Brock Wilken (.118/.284/.206) has also labored early on. Certainly, the peaks and valleys will even out over the season, and it’s still very early. However, with so many other highly touted prospects raking to start the season at the lower levels, it will be interesting to see how the Brewers prioritize player development. When could the roster spots of players like Ethan Murray or Freddy Zamora become vulnerable in favor of someone with more upside? Biloxi pre-game media notes Biloxi 6, Rocket City (Angels) 5 Final/10 Box Score Extra Innings Win Highlights Wild Afternoon for Shuckers Speaking of Biloxi, one such player generating buzz for a promotion — or at least inclusion on Brewers’ prospect lists — is Dylan O’Rae. O’Rae continued his assault on AA pitching and catching batteries on Wednesday, with three more hits and a Biloxi team-record five stolen bases in the Shuckers’ win. The diminutive O’Rae (.387/.494/.532) has looked absolutely locked in to start the season, reaching base in every game he’s had a plate appearance in, while setting the table for Jesus Made and Blake Burke. Jordyn Adams picked up right where he left off after yesterday’s three RBI performance, with a solo shot in the second inning to give the Shuckers the early 1-0 lead. It was the second homer in as many days for the 26 year-old right fielder, courtesy of Biloxi’s X account: Unfortunately, Raudi Rodriguez (#15 Angels prospect and MLB Pipeline’s top-rated Rocket City prospect) struck again in the third inning, homering for the second time this series as part of a two-run rally off Shuckers starter Bishop Letson that put the Trash Pandas ahead. For Letson (4IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 2K) there was at least some progress in the results, if not the process as he set a season-high in innings, with a season-low in runs allowed. The Shuckers tied the game in the fifth when Eduardo Garcia legged out an infield single to score Jesus Made. The inning also featured the first caught stealing of the season for slugger Blake Burke, who had been a perfect 8/8 on the season. It looked like a potential missed double steal, as Burke didn’t bother to slide into second, but Made didn’t break for home. The final few frames were a bit of a seesaw affair. Solo tallies in the 8th and 9th gave Rocket City a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, but the Shuckers’ best hitters pulled off a two-out rally. O’Rae singled up the middle, just out of Rodriquez’s reach to extend the game. Next, Made walked in front of Burke, who then smashed the game-tying double to right that handcuffed the fielder allowing both runners to score: The knock gives Burke 16 RBI in 17 games this season, good for second-best in the Southern League. Burke was stranded at second, and after Rocket City took the lead in the 10th inning, it looked like heartbreak might be in store for Biloxi. However, Adams drew a walk to put the winning run on and then Mark Coley II tapped one back to the mound that the pitcher threw away to bring in the winning two runs. Coley was only announced as a signing earlier in the day and got the walk-off celebration in his first game of the season: Additional Video: Eduardo Garcia infield single for RBI to tie the game O’Rae’s 5th SB of the game, a club record Letson strikeout to retire the side in the 3rd Tyson Hardin (0-1, 6.75 ERA) will take the mound on Thursday as the Shuckers look to take the first three games of the series. Wisconsin pre-game media notes Wisconsin 9, Fort Wayne (Padres) 3, F/8 Box Score Wednesday night’s game was called mid-action in the bottom of the 8th, due to a medical emergency in the Rattlers dugout: (h/t to @JH Lee for providing the update in the BF MiLB forum) We hope it was precautionary and that everyone is ok. EDIT and UPDATES as of Link Report Overnight Post Time: (You may refer to our forum thread at this link, but for now, the most recent update as shown below is relatively positive): On to game action… Right-hander Ethan Dorchies (5IP 2H 2R 1ER 0BB 4K) turned in his best outing of the season on Wednesday night. Dorchies, who is very young for the level (19 all season), was able to shake off an early unearned run as a result of an Andrew Fischer throwing error. Besides a solo home run allowed, Dorchies looked to be on cruise control, needing just 64 pitches (45 strikes, 8 whiffs, 8:2 GO:FO ratio) to get through his outing. The Rattlers’ offense gave Dorchies all the offense he needed with a four-run rally in the second, and then added on two more in the third. Tayden Hall, Luis Pena and Josiah Ragsdale provided the run-scoring hits, which you can find below. Pena also turned in this diving stab and wild looking throw: Josh Adamczewski (.314/.478/.771), another player who may soon apply upward pressure in the organization, added another multi-hit day and scored three times. He’s looking better in the outfield too: Braylon Payne had two hits and stole a base. Lefty Wande Torres will take the mound on Thursday. On Friday, it will be an exciting matchup for the Rattlers’ offense versus Kash Mayfield (Padres #4 overall prospect and 25th overall pick in the 2024 draft) who has allowed just one hit in 12 IP to start the season. Additional Video: Hall RBI single Pena RBI Single Ragsdale 2-run single Eric Bitonti RBI Single Wilson pre-game media notes Delmarva (Orioles) 11, Wilson 7 Box Score Wilson Rally Falls Short at Delmarva The Wilson Warbirds dropped an 11–7 decision to the Delmarva Shorebirds on Wednesday night despite a strong late push. Wilson fell behind 7–0 through three innings before getting on the board in the fourth on Frederi Montero’s two‑run homer, his second of the season, via the Wilson X account: The Warbirds made the game tight in the seventh, erupting for four runs to pull within one at 7–6, but Delmarva answered immediately with a decisive four‑run bottom half. Montero continued to lead the offense, finishing with three hits and four RBI. Jose Anderson chipped in with a double and a run scored, while catcher Luis Corobo reached base four times (three hits and a walk) and knocked in two. Wilson added a run in the eighth but couldn’t complete the comeback, ultimately settling for the four‑run loss. Additional Video: Corobo RBI single Montero 2 RBI single Luis Lameda RBI single Enderson Mercado (3IP 6H 7R 5ER 3BB 6K) started and took the defeat for the Warbirds. RHP Jarrette Bonet (1-0, 3.18) will take the hill on Thursday. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on how the Brewers prioritize their player development this season. Which top prospects will be the first to advance this season? What happens if its May or June and some of these players are still toiling away at Nashville? 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

I was worried it was Dinges. Hope everyone is ok

Image courtesy of BrewerFanatic Transactions: RHP Coleman Crow optioned to Nashville from Milwaukee. Nashville Sounds activated RHP Junior Fernández. RHP Joe Corbett assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Nashville Sounds. SS Jheremy Vargas assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Nashville Sounds. C Tayden Hall assigned to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from Biloxi Shuckers. INF/OF Eric Brown Jr. placed on AA Biloxi’s 7-day injured list (per Biloxi’s Game Notes) Nashville 5, Charlotte (White Sox) 1 Box Score Via the Sounds, game details, and we encourage readers to always review affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine: Quero Homers, Adds Three RBI in Win over Charlotte Nashville and Charlotte were locked in a pitcher’s duel for the first six innings on Tuesday morning, as the teams combined to play the first six innings scoreless. The Sounds continue to bring starter Logan Henderosn along slowly, as the 24-year-old righty worked only 3.1 IP before being lifted after 65 pitches (42 strikes). In the seventh inning, Luis Lara opened the scoring with his third home run of the season. Lara bounced back after a mini slump (0/10 4K 1BB) over the weekend, reaching base three times. Lara is now one off his career-high home run total (4 in 2024 at Wisconsin) while raising his OPS back over 1.000 on the season. Here’s the blast, courtesy of the Sounds’ X account: Following Lara’s blast, the Sounds collected three straight singles before Jett Williams forced in a run on a bases loaded walk to make it 2-0. The next inning, catcher Jeferson Quero broke the game open with his second extra-base hit of the game, a three-run home run: The Sounds used five relivers to close the game after Henderson departed. Jacob Waguespack (1.2IP 0R 0H 1BB 4K) was the only pitcher to record more than three outs. Reiss Knehr earned the win in relief with a scoreless appearance and Brian Fitzpatrick ran his scoreless innings streak to 9.1 to start the season at AAA. Nashville (12-9) now sits tied for the third-best record in the 20-team International League after three weeks of play. Biloxi pre-game media notes Biloxi 7, Rocket City (Angels) 3 Box Score 3-RBI Day for Adams Headlines 7-3 Shuckers Victory Bolstered by a solid start from Ryan Birchard (3IP 0R 0H 5BB 5K) and a relentless attack on offense (ten hits, four for extra bases), the Shuckers cruised to a series-opening victory over Rocket City on Tuesday night. Jordyn Adams got the Shuckers on the board with an RBI single in the second, then extended the lead to four when he crushed this one out to deep center, courtesy of the Biloxi X account: After bulk man Brett Wichrowski was again victimized by a long ball (7 HRs allowed in 18.2 IP) to cut the lead to two, Blake Burke roped a single to score Jesus Made to give the Shuckers some insurance. Dylan O’Rae extended the lead when he dropped a double just inside the left field foul line in the bottom of the eighth to score two more. It was O’Rae’s sixth multi-hit game of the year, and he’s now second in the Southern League with a .362 batting average. With the win, Biloxi evened its’ record at 8-8. Bishop Letson (0-3 14.29 ERA) will look to turn in his first good outing of the season on Wednesday morning (11:00AM CT start). Wisconsin pre-game media notes Wisconsin 8, Fort Wayne (Padres) 2, (F/6 innings) Box Score Wisconsin Beats Fort Wayne and the Weather The Timber Rattlers are here to do two things: have their game shortened by weather and hit bombs. Wisconsin once again bludgeoned an opponent via the longball in their 8-2 victory on Tuesday. Homers from Braylon Payne (2 for 4, 3 runs, 2 RBI) and Eric Bitonti (2 for 3, 3 RBI) gave the Rattlers a Midwest League-best 17 home runs on the season. Check out the two mammoth shots here, via Wisconsin’s X account: Wisconsin tallied runs in each of the first four innings, on the way to collecting nine hits and five walks in the rain-shortened affair. Wisconsin also leads the Midwest League with an .846 team OPS, with four players (Payne, Luis Pena, Marco Dinges and Josh Adamczewski) finishing the day with an OPS over 1.000 on the season. Dinges 2 RBI Single Bitonti RBI Single Wisconsin starter Travis Smith (5IP 3H 2R 2ER 2BB 6K) set a season high in innings and strikeouts to earn the win. Ethan Dorchies (0-2 9.58 ERA) will look to lead two of every position player to the ark… err lead the Rattlers (9-5) to consecutive victories on Wednesday, so long as the weather cooperates. Wilson pre-game media notes Wilson 3, Delmarva (Orioles) 2 Box Score Warbirds Hold on to Down Delmarva in Series Lidlifter Wilson put only two balls in play in the first four innings against Delmarva starter Kiefer Lord (4IP 11K), but they made the most of their batted balls when they scratched a run across in the fourth. After a walk and a single, Jadyn Fielder just beat out an inning-ending double play ball to make it Warbirds 1, Shorebirds 0. That would be the lone run of the game until Fielder would manufacture a rally on the basepaths in the top of the eighth. With runners on the corners, Fielder stole second but the throw trickled into center, allowing Yannic Walther to score and Fielder to advance to third. Fielder would then score on 2025 #32 overall pick Brady Ebel’s single, his first multi-hit game of the season. Delmarva rallied for two in the bottom of the 8th, including a run on a double steal of second and home. (Side note: can anyone defend this play in the lower levels? I feel I have seen this work no less than 10 times already this season. Just hold onto the ball!) Delmarva put the tying run on in the ninth, but the runner was erased by Walther. After Walther saved a wild pitch with a diving grab, he got up and fired a strike to gun down the runner, who had a late break for second. Walther was 2/9 on the day in caught stealing attempts. Garrett Hodges earned the save, ending the game on a play I am not sure I have ever seen before. The third (swinging) strike bounced in front of home, but Walther turned to run to the backstop. Hodges bounded off the mound and secured his own strikeout, with a comically clunky lob to first to end the game. Miqueas Mercedes (3IP 2H 0R 5BB 6K) started, but struggled with control all night, throwing 40 of 75 pitches for strikes. Thomas Conrad (3.2IP 0H 0R 4BB 4K) turned in his best professional outing to earn his first ever professional win in relief. Delmarva went just 1/15 with RISP on the night. Enderson Mercado (0-0, 6.00 ERA) is slated to take the mound on Wednesday, as Wilson (6-9) will look to draw closer to .500 on the season. 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

Like I said previously, Sal is already a "dead spot" in the order. He has a 57 OPS+ to start the season. That's worse than 2025 dead spot Joey Ortiz (62 OPS+). Do you think learning a new position on the fly is going to be what unlocks Sal at the plate? Rengifo has 3 seasons where he was above 100 OPS+ (2022-2024). Sal has one such season (2025). It's just as likely or even more likely Rengifo comes around offensively as it is Sal replicates last year's productvitiy. In addition, both Hamilton and Rengifo have rated out well defensively to start the season, Moving Sal there now is most definitely going to be a downgrade defensively. Besides, I don't think Sal has the offensive profile to be an every day third baseman. We are 3 weeks into the season. The team had a plan and they're not gonna make knee jerk decisions off such a small sample of Rengifo ABs early on. I'm excited by Lara as much as the next guy, but if they wanted to call him up, he would already be here instead of Perkins or Jones. You don't have to force Sal to a new position to make space for Lara, you would just swap him for one of those guys. I think promoting a 21 year old kid to every day MLB RF for Sal after 75 AAA ABs is expecting a lot. Also, Chourio will be back soon, so even if Lara came up now, he would see sparse playing time for two weeks and then be forced to the bench or get sent back down.

Ha, proly a fair response, but a bit ugly both ways. Glad calmer heads prevailed

Frelick has a 57 OPS+ on the season. How does moving him to third solve anything? That's not much of an upgrade over Hamilton or Rengifo at the moment and those two have actually played pretty good defense. I can't see this being a change they make in-season with the OF depth (Greg Jones and Luis Matos are making starts regularly) already being tested. Maybe once they get Chourio back I could see this happening, but even then seems like a stretch.

Closer look at the HBP IMG_4156.mov

Fireworks in Nashville! Kuehner HBP on a 96.5 MPH heater to the head of Braiden Ward and then Ward threw the bat near the mound. Yikes. Benches cleared

QP Heading to Nashville next week? Troy Collins (@troycollinsbaseballlife) • Instagram reel WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 193 likes, 0 comments - troycollinsbaseballlife on April 17, 2026: "Milwaukee Brewers Quinn Priester on the mound for his last tune up before he heads to Nashville for a rehab assignment...

We out here letting up touchdowns 😩

That's great! I hope the weather has been better there after all the snow, ice, and rain lately. It kills me that I am nowhere near any of the Brewers farm teams and can't see these guys in-person. I have to settle for these often times cruddy MiLB feeds with press box views, scrambled audio, or lag.. The Rattlers' lineup is sexy, not unlike last year's Mudcat roster, except everyone is a little bit further along. and they added Fisch. The speculation of what these guys could become is reaching new heights for me each week. Smash some curds and a few Cows for me this weekend

Lemme just say great profile pic and happy Mania weekend to you, if you still celebrate. :P You touched on some of the more interesting questions that surround the Brewers minor league system this year. I don't always get to explore that space in these recaps, and I'm only a couple years into really following the system on a nightly basis, so I'm a bit green on how development works. If you think all the T-Rats you mentioned deserved to be promoted soon, who is going to move to the outfield or how do they make space at AA? What about what I will call downward compression of the system - if someone like Brock Wilken, who is off to a slow start - has to be demoted, how does that work? Same for a guy like Mike Boeve who has stagnated at AA the last couple seasons, and let's not forget Tyler Black on the IL at Nashville. How would they impact the "risers" in Appleton? To me, the Brewers gotta use some of these guys as trade fodder to clear a path. I assume Wilken, Black, or even Adams won't have massive trade appeal, but they should move some of these guys before they go the way of Black. Which corner infield prospect (Burke, Fischer, Adams, Wilken) is most likely to impact the 2027 Brewers' roster? Whose development takes precedence this year? Last question, and it pertains to Lara too, who I would love to see right now, but understand they don't want to burn up a year of service... do the Brewers consider the potential 2027 lockout in their 40-man roster construction? In my limited research into a potential lockout, minor league play will continue, but players on the 40-man won't be eligible to play (sorry Cooper Pratt). Will that effect decisions on who we see in The Show in 2026? Gotta think that if there's gonna be a labor stoppage (and games lost) in 2027, the Brewers would want some of these young bucks to still be getting in regular game action next April.

Did y'all see Ethan "Door Cheese" glove?

Did you know his full name is Matthew WILKIE Childers and he goes by WILL? Discovered that tonight lol

Image courtesy of BrewerFanatic Transactions: DSL Brewers Gold released RHP Enrique Velasquez (briefly discussed here) Nashville pre-game media notes Nashville 5, Worcester (Red Sox) 3 Box Score NOTE: For a consecutive evening, Nashville did not post their game summary online. However, the team did distribute the very detailed recap and tidbits, which you can find pasted in full as a reply to this article below. For the second night in a row, the Sounds’ first few hitters carried the offense. Jett Williams led off the game with a triple that rattled around the left field bullpen. Cooper Pratt followed with his first extra-base hit of the season to tie the game at 1-1. Williams was on base twice, Pratt three times, and both players stole their fifth base on the season, as both players are starting to show signs of waking up offensively. In the second inning, Luis Lara put a grounder through the left side to bring in two more runs and make it 3-1 Sounds: It’s become apparent that it is Luis Lara’s world and the rest of us are just living in it. After another three-hit night, Lara is now top three in the International League in hits (24), runs (16), steals (10), average (.414 - shoutout MKE area code) and OPS (1.103). Lara just missed another home run, which would have established a new career-high for the 21-year-old centerfielder, with this 102.7 MPH rope in the 4th, courtesy of the Nashville X account: The rest of the Sounds’ four through nine hitters combined to go just 2/16 on the night. Logan Henderson (3IP 2H 1R 1ER 3BB 4K) started on the mound for the Sounds. After retiring the first two hitters of the game, Henderson allowed two walks and a single to put the team in an early 1-0 hole. It seems the team is still bringing Henderson along slowly, as he tossed just 59 pitches (36 strikes) in his outing. Henderson gave way to Joe Corbett, who earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings. Will Childers earned the four-out save, despite putting the tying runs on in the ninth. The 25-year-old Childers has now worked seven scoreless innings to start the season. It will be interesting to see if the Sounds’ hitters can keep the offense rolling throughout this series, as the team takes on two of Boston’s top pitching prospects. Jake Bennett (Boston #7 via MLB Pipeline) will take the mound in an attempt to slow the Sounds offense on Thursday. Bennett has allowed just one earned run, five hits, two walks, and 15 strikeouts in his first 13.1IP at AAA to start the season. The challenge will only increase over the weekend, when Payton Tolle (#15 overall prospect via Pipeline) heads to the rubber on Saturday. Tolle sports a 19:4 K:BB ratio through 15IP this season. More Nashville video: Hustle triple for Jett Williams Cooper Pratt doubles in Williams Logan Henderson's four strikeouts Pratt flares a single to right, driving in Williams again Jeferson Quero sacrifice fly Columbus (Braves) 7, Biloxi 3 Box Score As always, you are encouraged to read the official round-up from the team’s site: Shuckers Set Season-High with 13 Walks in Morning Loss to Clingstones The Shuckers quickly fell behind in the Wednesday matinee game at Columbus. Biloxi starting pitcher Brett Wichrowski (5IP 7H 4R 4ER 1BB 5K) was victimized by the long ball in each of the first three innings as Columbus jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Brewers’ top prospect Jesus Made lifted one just beyond the right field wall for his second homer of the season, courtesy of the Biloxi X account: Made also drew two of the Shuckers 13 walks in the game. Unfortunately, Made’s homer was one of just four hits for the Shuckers, and the lone extra-base hit on the day. The Shuckers left 14 men on base and went 0/9 with RISP. After falling behind 7-1, the Shuckers did show some signs of life in the final few frames, but couldn’t break out the big rally they needed. In the 7th Made and Blake Burke drew two-out walks in front of Mike Boeve, but Boeve failed to deliver in the clutch. In the 8th, the Shuckers plated two on a bases loaded walk to the newest Shucker Tayden Hall and on a Dylan O’Rae ground out. That brought the right hitters to the plate as Made (1.033 OPS) once again walked, but Burke (1.025 OPS) grounded out with the tying run on deck. In the 9th, the Shuckers put two men on, but failed to score, falling by the final score of 7-3. Eduardo Garcia, who recently returned from injury, produced two hits in the loss. Bishop Letson will take the mound on Thursday and will seek his first win of the season after two rocky starts (2.2IP 4H 8R 6ER 6BB 3K). Videos: Hall RBI walk O’Rae RBI groundout Wisconsin pre-game media notes Game 1: Wisconsin 7, Peoria (Cardinals) 3 Box Score Wisconsin Jumps to Early Lead to Beat Chiefs in Game One After Mother Nature washed out Tuesday’s game in Appleton, Wisconsin and Peoria played two seven-inning games on Wednesday. The Timber Rattlers jumped on the Cardinals’ affiliate early and often in game one. After first inning walks to Braylon Payne and Luis Pena, Marco Dinges and Josh Adamczewski each knocked in runs on singles to center. Dinges RBI Single Adamczewski RBI Single In the second inning, Payne knocked in a run on a single up the middle, courtesy of Wisconsin’s X account: In the third, Adamczewski left the yard with this shot down the left field line: Luis Castillo added a sac fly that made it 6-0 in the third inning. Timber Rattlers’ starter Jason Woodward (3IP 1H 0R 2BB 1K) shut Peoria down for the first three innings and now has 5.2 scoreless innings on the ledger after missing all of the 2025 season. The Chiefs were able to break through for three runs in the 4th off reliver Quinton Low to cut the lead in half. Daniel Dickinson was able to respond with a two-out RBI in the bottom half of the frame. That gave relievers Jesus Flores and Bryan Rivera all the support they needed, as the duo combined to shut out the Chiefs over the final three frames. Other T-Rat notes: Braylon Payne stole a pair of bases and added this snag in center: Dickinson, a 22-year-old sixth round pick in last year’s draft, had his second multi-hit game in his last three appearances, after starting the season 1/16 Andrew Fischer was caught stealing and is now just 1/5 in steal attempts on the season. Fischer did add this web gem though: Game 2: Wisconsin 6, Peoria (Cardinals) 5 Box Score Home Runs Send Rattlers to Game Two Victory In the second half of the twin bill, Peoria’s top prospect stole the show early when Rainiel Rodriguez (Cards’ #3 prospect via MLB Pipeline) opened the scoring with an RBI triple off Wisconsin starter Travis Smith (3.2IP 3H 4R 4ER 1BB 3K). Rodriguez then gunned down Luis Pena for his first caught stealing of the year in the bottom of the first to help Tanner Franklin (Cards’ #11 prospect) face the minimum through the first two innings. Peoria would stake Franklin to an early 4-0 lead, but in the third, Wisconsin manufactured a run as Josiah Ragsdale led off with a single, stole second, and then came into score on a double play. Wisconsin was able to knock Franklin from the game in the fifth. After the first two men of the inning reached base via HBP and error, Ragsdale struck again with his first professional home run to tie the game at 4-4: The 22-year-old Ragsdale was a 7th round pick out of Boston College in last year’s draft. The Snakes gave the lead back in following half inning, but in the bottom of the sixth, Marco Dinges and Adamczewski went back-to-back to give the Rattlers the lead for good: Ethan Dorchies (9.95 ERA in 6.1IP) will make his third start at A+ on Thursday, as the Timber Rattlers look to make it three in a row and stay atop the Midwest League standings. Wilson pre-game media notes Hill City (Guardians) 6, Wilson 3 Box Score Pitching Lifts Hill City Past Wilson The Warbirds have not been the Score Birds early on this season, as the club ranks last or second-to-last in the 12-team Carolina League in batting average (.161), homeruns (4), and runs (45) through their first 11 games. The team did not improve upon those numbers in their 6-3 loss to Hill City on Wednesday night, with just three runs and three hits on the night. Jose Anderson was one of two batters in Wednesday’s lineup to have a batting average over .200 at the completion of the game. Anderson was able to knock in a run on a well-placed fly ball in the first inning. Wilson’s other two runs were scored on a balk, and a Pedro Ibarguen walk. The Wilson pitching staff as a whole has also struggled to start the season, as the team ranks in the bottom three in runs allowed (63), strikeouts (107), and WHIP (1.61). Wilson starter Miqueas Mercedes (3IP 6H 4R 4ER 3BB 4K) labored through his outing, tossing 43 of 70 pitches for strikes. Anfernny Reyes, a 22-year-old lefty who is repeating the level to start the season, was impressive in relief. Reyes worked three spotless innings with five strikeouts. Wilson (4-7) will send Enniel Cortez to mound in game three of their series on Thursday night. 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

Cooper Pratt with his first extra base hit of the season to score Jett, who has led off with a triple

Lara has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the early going. I know the Brewers aren't going to rush him up to The Show, but I feel he would be an upgrade over Blake Perkins right now. Perkins has looked feeble at the plate, and I think Lara might already be the better fielder. Lara does have a .432 BABIP this year and a .170 ISO, which is double his career number. It'll be interesting to see what kind of production he can sustain as the season goes on

Image courtesy of BrewerFanatic Transactions: Milwaukee Brewers selected the contract of RF Greg Jones from Nashville Sounds. SS Jheremy Vargas assigned to Nashville Sounds from Biloxi Shuckers. C Tayden Hall assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from Wisconsin Timber Rattlers RHP Edwin Jimenez assigned to Biloxi Shuckers from ACL Brewers. Nashville pre-game media notes Nashville 9, Worcester (Red Sox) 4 Box Score Worcester starter Patrick Sandoval did not look the part of a starting pitcher with 100 career MLB starts under his belt on Tuesday night. After Jett Williams singled to open the bottom of the first, Nashville would load the bases and score three runs without the aid of another hit. Jeferson Quero took a bases loaded HBP, before Brock Wilken and Eddys Leonard each plated runs on sac flies. Wilken, who made his first professional start at first base, (h/t to Ro in the MiLB forums) just missed a grand slam with his warning track flyout. Quero and Wilken each drew bases loaded walks in the bottom of the second to stake the Sounds to an early five run lead. It felt like both teams were constantly batting with the bags full all night as there was a lot of traffic on the base paths. The Sounds left a whopping sixteen men on base, as they drew 11 walks and five HBP in addition to their nine hits. The top of the order broke out in this game, leading the way for the Sounds to score a season-high nine runs. Luis Lara reached base five times with the HBP, walk, and three singles. Lara is now hitting .396 with a 1.058 OPS through his first 14 games at AAA. All three of Lara’s hits were groundballs on Tuesday. Here’s one he managed to leg out: Jett Williams was on base four times, scored twice, and drove in one on a grounder with the infield pulled in. Cooper Pratt drew three walks, scored three runs, and stole two bases. Quero drove in four runs, with just one hit, a two-run ground ball single, also with the infield pulled in during the fifth that made it 8-2 Sounds. On the mound, the story was Shane Drohan facing and shutting down his former AAA teammates. Drohan (5.1IP 5H 2R 1ER 2BB 8K) retired the first seven men he faced, before getting tagged for a solo homer in the third. Drohan then ran into some trouble in the fourth after second baseman Freddy Zamora rushed a tailor-made double play ball, which should have ended the inning. Instead, Worcester made Drohan work and were able to take advantage of the miscue with an unearned run. Drohan rebounded nicely with a nine-pitch fifth inning, which allowed him to be extended into the sixth inning. Here is his final strikeout on the night, courtesy of the Sounds’ X account: Righthander Coleman Crow will seek his third straight win when he toes the slab on Wednesday night for the Sounds in game two. Biloxi pre-game media notes Biloxi 4, Columbus (Braves) 2 Box Score As always, you are encouraged to read the official round-up from the team’s site: Three-run Second Inning Propels Shuckers Over Clingstones, 4-2 Manuel Rodriguez’s second start of the Southern League season got off to a surprising start in the first inning, when the Columbus leadoff man crushed a pitch off the top of the scoreboard in leftfield. It would turn out to be the only damage the Clingstones could muster against the righthander, as Rodriguez (4.2IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB 6K) would mostly cruise from there. The Shuckers responded immediately in the top of the second by taking advantage of some poor defense from Columbus. After a one-out single from Dasan Brown, Dylan O’Rae reached after the Columbus second baseman let the ground ball scoot under his glove into left field on what should have been the third out. The relay throw was then bobbled, which allowed Brown to score from first on the play. Eric Brown Jr. followed with a two-run home run, that would prove to be the difference in the game, courtesy of the Shuckers’ X account: The Shuckers lead the Southern League in homers on the young season with 16. O’Rae extended his hit streak to nine games and the Shuckers lead to 4-1 with a ground rule double in the sixth: The Shuckers pen did their part with 4.1IP with just one run allowed, which came in on a wild pitch from Jesus Broca in the bottom of the eighth. Jesus Made and Blake Burke each drew two walks and added two steals on the basepaths for the Shuckers. The 236-pound Burke is giving some Josh Naylor vibes with his instincts on the bases in his minor league career: after stealing 15 bags last year, Burke already has five this season. The Shuckers will be back in action with the early first pitch at 10:00AM CT Wednesday for game two. Wisconsin pre-game media notes Wisconsin was postponed on Tuesday night and they’ll play two on Wednesday against Peoria. The Timber Rattlers website shows Jason Woodward (media notes had Travis Smith) taking the mound for game one at 12:10 CT. Game two will follow approximately 30 minutes after the completion of game one. The Peoria lineup will feature the Cardinals’ #3 overall prospect Rainiel Rodriguez behind the plate. We may also see Tanner Franklin (#11 Cards’ prospect according to MLB Pipeline) who has 16K in 6.2 IP so far this season. The T-Rats will look to keep up with his 70-grade fastball. Wilson pre-game media notes Wilson 7, Hill City (Guardians) 5 Box Score Early Offensive Outburst Gives Wilson Home-Opener Win The Wilson Warbirds were victorious in their inaugural game at Wilson Park. Taylor Renz made his third start on the young season and went a season-high five scoreless innings, en route to earning the victory. Renz looked comfortable as he allowed just five baserunners (two hits and three walks), while striking out five. Yannic Walther opened the scoring for the Warbirds in the third inning with a solo shot to left field. The first ever homer at the park was just the third professional for the 22-year-old, German-born catcher. Brady Ebel would add a run on a sac fly to make it 2-0 through three innings. The Warbirds broke the game open in the following inning, giving the sellout crowd of 3,700 more reasons to cheer. Luiyin Alastre came up with a two-run double, and Jose Anderson had a two-run single to pad the lead to 7-0. The Warbirds X Account didn’t post many highlights, so you can find a few of the big knocks here: Walther Homerun Anderson two-run single It looked like the Warbirds would cruise to victory after Thomas Conrad (3IP 4H 1R 1ER 1BB 1K) held Hill City at bay in his second professional appearance. However, the Howlers made things interesting with four unearned runs in the ninth inning after a poor throw by pitcher Jose Meneses. All four runs came with two out, before Meneses was able to finally get the third out to seal the Warbirds first win in Wilson. Miqueas Mercedes will take the mound for Wilson in game two on Wednesday. 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

Manuel Rodriguez let up a lead off BOMB to the first Columbus hitter of the game. High off the scoreboard. Sheeesh

I think he showed enough in his first season to pique interest. He's definitely moved beyond being "Prince's son." However, I think he's still considered old for the level (turns 22 in August), so it remains to be seen what he will become... just my two cents