Article: Brewers Minor League Link Report (8/19): Victories and Excitement Abound

[Mass Haas]

There were lots of wins within the Brewers system Friday night, punctuated by the fact that several of the top prospects excelled. OK, so there was nothing but misery in the Dominican, but better that than reversed with the joy at the upper levels - those youngsters have years and years to lick their wounds. Let's get on with it!

Transactions:
- RHP Caleb Boushley placed on AAA Nashville's 7-day injured list retroactive to August 18
- LHP Clayton Andrews sent on rehab assignment to ACL Brewers Gold from AAA Nashville

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Final, Game One: Nashville 6, Jacksonville (Marlins) 5
Final, Game Two: Nashville 7, Jacksonville 2
Via the Sounds' site, game details, and we encourage readers to review each of the affiliate write-ups as part of their Link Report routine:
Sounds Take Two, Sweep Jumbo Shrimp in Doubleheader - Brice Turang tallies five RBI in game one, Garrett Mitchell adds two doubles in game two
Pre-Game Media Notes 

Game One - Box Score / Game Log
Game Two - Box Score / Game Log
 

Clearly, my note about the MLB debut is speculation. But when Tyrone Taylor's at-bats do get ugly (and not all do, clearly), but when they do, they really get ugly. And ugly has not been associated with Sal Frelick since, well, forever. Multi-hit games are more impressive in seven-inning affairs, by the way.

So, in Game One, old friend Payton Henry set off a bench-clearing dust-up and got Esteury Ruiz and attempted peace-maker Pedro Severin ejected in the process. Our daily "as it happens" thread on the Minor League Forum (always a suggested follow) has some of the details.

Lost in the offense's prospect goodness was the sour effort of LHP Ethan Small in the opener. After having his prior turn skipped (we assume for a rest/reset of sorts), Small walked six in 4.2 innings and can thank Jason Alexander for stranding two of his baserunners. Small's lack of development in 2022 despite an on-the-surface "OK" AAA ERA of 3.50 has been a disappointment.

Not only does Brice Turang have 25 steals, but he's only been caught twice. Lost in the recent Frelick hoopla is that young Brice's 2022 has been nothing short of tremendous in every facet, overlooking a mysterious one-month black hole of XBH's that coincided exactly with the June calendar.

Still a Dylan File fan; the Brewers control him for another season.

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Final: Biloxi 5, Montgomery (Rays) 4
Biloxi Rallies for Friday Night Win Over Biscuits - Kahle Homers as Part of Two Hit Night
Pre-Game Media Notes / Box Score / Game Log
 

OK, who would trade

Robert Gasser for Josh Hader straight-up right now, one-for-one? That's not a lot of hands. 
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but a 0.95 WHIP in his first three AA starts is nice.

My goodness, closer Cam Robinson, what a season.

Kudos to Nick Kahle on this shot, wow -

 

I am all for poring through the boxes and giving love to any player with a standout game, as Kahle had here. That being said, it's now late August, and it's the time in my Link Report season where primary attention is truly drawn to those top prospects who have excelled consistently, which makes Gasser's outing and the exploits of the Nashville kids getting us off to a wonderful start here so exciting.

Montgomery's LH starting pitcher was Mason Montgomery. Have to love the nuances of a box score. When I point out pitchers named Gasser and Gross also pitched in this game, well now I'm just being silly and am ready to host my 10-year-old great-nephew and his sisters, 7 and 6, for the weekend.

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Suspended, bottom of the 4th: Wisconsin 5, Cedar Rapids (Twins) 0
Rattlers and Kernels Suspended by Rain in the Fourth Inning - Rattlers lead 5-0 after top of the fourth inning; Game will restart at 5:30 PM on Saturday
Pre-Game Media Notes / Gameday Thus Far

Despite the shortened evening, Chris Mehring provides plenty of detail within that report, including the Wes Clarke (first game since July 30th) and Joe Gray, Jr. home runs.

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Final: Carolina 10, Fayetteville (Astros) 9
Jaraba Has 5 RBI as Carolina Wins Fourth Straight - Branlyn Jaraba hit a three-run home run and had a two-run single in Carolina’s series clinching victory
Pre-Game Media Notes / Box Score / Game Log

Both Branlyn Jaraba hits featured here, and thank you Greg Young Jr., for the pronunciation assistance on the last name of the 20-year-old Colombian native -

Inducing groundouts has not been a big part of RHP Alexander Vallecillo' s game in 2022, but he had a 7-to-0 ground-to-air ratio here.

First-round pick Eric Brown Jr . is now 5-for-7 in SB attempts with the Mudcats and nine-for-11 overall (4-for-4 in Maryvale).

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The rookie league seasons in both Maryvale and the Dominican Republic both conclude this coming Tuesday.
Final: ACL Angels 8, ACL Brewers Blue 1, seven innings as scheduled
Box Score / Game Log

Blue Man Group blue again after falling to 19-31.

Reliever Anthony Perez only allowed one hit and one walk in his 2.1 innings, but wait - oh, he plunked four batters, giving him 12 in 33 innings on the season.

Down to 86 degrees in the desert, just as the season winds down.

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Final: ACL Brewers Gold 6, ACL Rangers 3 
Box Score / Game Log

Trailing 3-1 heading to the bottom of the 9th, the 29-21 Golden Boys gave you a very good reason to click the game log link just above. There were two outs and nobody on when the five-run walk-off rally began!

On August 7th, Brewers Player Development gave us this view of Friday night's home run hero -

22-year-old 6th round pick RHP Tyler Woessner (Central Arizona JC) has toyed with batters over his first three pro outings.

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Final: DSL Tigers #1 Squad 11, DSL Brewers #2 Squad 10, completion of July 7th suspended game
Box Score / Game Log

Tigers were down to their last out with no one on base when they rallied for two runs to win it.

Final: DSL Tigers #1 Squad 3, DSL Brewers #2 Squad 0, regularly scheduled game
Box Score / Game Log

If I'm not mistaken, the Sounds, Timber Rattlers and now DSL #2 have all lost games in which they pitched one-hitters within the past month.

Final: DSL Mets #1 Squad 5, DSL Brewers #1 Squad 2, seven innings as scheduled
Box Score / Game Log

@damuelle conveniently posted several other notes on these island misadventures in his forum post here.
 

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It's a changeup of a schedule on Saturday. Nashville enjoys a rare Saturday off, but they play two in Jacksonville Sunday. The Saturday game had to be postponed due to another event at the sports complex. Wisconsin completes Friday's contest before moving on to the nightcap. There will be three games in the Dominican, with Thursday's suspended game to be completed. It's another daytime meeting of the two Maryvale clubs. 

However you choose to spend your day, do feel free to mix in a rebound win for the Crew in Chicago this afternoon (please!). Take care, everyone.

Organizational Scoreboard including starting pitcher info, game times, MiLB TV links, and box scores

Standings and sortable stat pages

Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Batting Stats and Depth

Current Milwaukee Brewers Organization Pitching Stats and Depth

 

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[edfunderburk]

I fear Milwaukee may have missed out on their best opportunity to “unload” Ethan Small in a trade at this year’s deadline 

His low velocity coupled with his lack of control (leading to far too many walks) will keep him from making an impact for the Brewers at the big league level

I dont see him getting any better 

Wish we had traded him & a few other minor leaguers for a decent bat 

[edfunderburk]

I fear Milwaukee may have missed out on their best opportunity to “unload” Ethan Small in a trade at this year’s deadline 

His low velocity coupled with his lack of control (leading to far too many walks) will keep him from making an impact for the Brewers at the big league level

I dont see him getting any better 

Wish we had traded him & a few other minor leaguers for a decent bat 

[Joseph Zarr]

I echo your sentiments on RHP Dylan File. Whereas it sadly seems like LHP Ethan Small is regressing (keeping in mind here, he's pitched a lot of baseball - if we recall he played through the winter in the Dominican League) and needs to regroup, File has simply gotten better as the season has progressed. I love the way he attacks the mound - of all the Sounds starters, I would challenge anyone to find a more dialed approach within the confines of a pitch clock. He's fast. He's a student of the game. I am rooting for his continued growth. 

[Joseph Zarr]

I echo your sentiments on RHP Dylan File. Whereas it sadly seems like LHP Ethan Small is regressing (keeping in mind here, he's pitched a lot of baseball - if we recall he played through the winter in the Dominican League) and needs to regroup, File has simply gotten better as the season has progressed. I love the way he attacks the mound - of all the Sounds starters, I would challenge anyone to find a more dialed approach within the confines of a pitch clock. He's fast. He's a student of the game. I am rooting for his continued growth. 

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

I fear Milwaukee may have missed out on their best opportunity to “unload” Ethan Small in a trade at this year’s deadline 

His low velocity coupled with his lack of control (leading to far too many walks) will keep him from making an impact for the Brewers at the big league level

I dont see him getting any better 

Wish we had traded him & a few other minor leaguers for a decent bat 

I think the Brewers realize (well, I hope they do), Small needs an off-season in the Lab and not in competitive games. He pitched in the Dominican Winter League and then went right into ST and this season. I personally think he needs rest, analysis, study, and skill work. His current 'problem', from my eyes, is he's not comfortable with his 3rd and 4th pitches. He mentioned a new grip on a slider back in January - where is it? We only see his breaking ball but a few times each start. I trust they'll work these pitches hard in the off-season and I imagine they'll start really getting those pitches into game-scenarios in 2023. And, it may be a bumpy road. But, it's something he truly needs to start doing. The fastball and change-up will always be there. But, they've reached their peak of impact. 

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

I fear Milwaukee may have missed out on their best opportunity to “unload” Ethan Small in a trade at this year’s deadline 

His low velocity coupled with his lack of control (leading to far too many walks) will keep him from making an impact for the Brewers at the big league level

I dont see him getting any better 

Wish we had traded him & a few other minor leaguers for a decent bat 

I think the Brewers realize (well, I hope they do), Small needs an off-season in the Lab and not in competitive games. He pitched in the Dominican Winter League and then went right into ST and this season. I personally think he needs rest, analysis, study, and skill work. His current 'problem', from my eyes, is he's not comfortable with his 3rd and 4th pitches. He mentioned a new grip on a slider back in January - where is it? We only see his breaking ball but a few times each start. I trust they'll work these pitches hard in the off-season and I imagine they'll start really getting those pitches into game-scenarios in 2023. And, it may be a bumpy road. But, it's something he truly needs to start doing. The fastball and change-up will always be there. But, they've reached their peak of impact. 

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Anthony Perez is probably plunking batters because he has so much movement on his stuff. I would imagine he's struggling to find consistency with his two-seamer and this nasty (what appears to be) whip slider:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Anthony Perez is probably plunking batters because he has so much movement on his stuff. I would imagine he's struggling to find consistency with his two-seamer and this nasty (what appears to be) whip slider:

 

[CheeseheadInQC]

52 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

RHP Anthony Perez is probably plunking batters because he has so much movement on his stuff. I would imagine he's struggling to find consistency with his two-seamer and this nasty (what appears to be) whip slider:

 

Between the stuff in that video and his stats, I wonder if Cam Robinson is a good comp in that patience will be required, but in a few years you could be looking at a pretty good prospect.

[CheeseheadInQC]

52 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

RHP Anthony Perez is probably plunking batters because he has so much movement on his stuff. I would imagine he's struggling to find consistency with his two-seamer and this nasty (what appears to be) whip slider:

 

Between the stuff in that video and his stats, I wonder if Cam Robinson is a good comp in that patience will be required, but in a few years you could be looking at a pretty good prospect.