Brewers Minor League Week in Review (5/31-6/6): Injuries, Promotions, and Jackson Chourio is Good

In the past, the beginning of the short-season, rookie league season was right near the time of the MLB Draft. However, now that the draft has been pushed back to July, Opening Day of the short-season leagues came up in a hurry. On Monday, the Arizona Complex League and the Dominican Summer League seasons began. At Brewer Fanatic, we will be providing reports on those teams in our daily Minor League Reports. Below you can see how the four rookie-level Brewers affiliates played on Monday. 

It was a big week, so let’s get to the recaps and more. As always, feel free to discuss this report, the teams and players or more in the Comments. 

TRANSACTIONS 
With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday: 

• RHP Lucas Erceg promoted from Biloxi to Nashville 

• RHP Kent Hasler and RHP Zach Vennaro assigned to Biloxi 

• LHP Brandon Knarr promoted from Wisconsin to Biloxi 

• Biloxi has placed RHPs Justin Bullock, Luis Contreras, Victor Castaneda and Harold Chirino on the 7 Day IL. 

• RHP Trevor Tietz and Jadher Areinamo transferred from ACL Brewers Blue from Wisconsin. . 

• RHP Bryce Milligan released. 

OPENING DAY AT THE COMPLEXES
The 2022 Arizona Complex League season began on Monday, and the Brewers Blue and Gold squads both played. The Brewers also have two teams in the Dominican Summer League. 

ACL Brewers Blue , ACL Reds
Box Score 
Starting Pitcher: Alexander Vallecillo (4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 K) 
Multi-Hit Games: None 
XBH: None  
Top Prospects: Daniel Guilarte (1-for-3, 2 BB), Quinton Low (1-for-4, BB, 2 R, K), Jace Avina (0-for-5, 3 K), Alexander Vallecillo (SP)

ACL Brewers Gold, ACL Athletics 
Box Score 
Starting Pitcher: Domingo Mejia (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) 
Multi-Hit Games: Jadher Areinamo, Kaylan Nicasia 
2B: Jadher Areinamo (1), Jesus Parra (1)
3B: Carlos Roa (1)
HR: Luis Castillo (1) 
Top Prospects: Gregory Barrios (1-for-5), Domingo Mejia (SP), Jadher Areinamo (2-for-5, R, RBI, 2B)  

DSL Brewers(1) 0, DSL Phillies Reds 2
Box Score 
Starting Pitcher: Kevin Briceno (4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
Multi-Hit Games: None 
XBH: None 
Top Prospects: TBD

DSL Brewers(2) 6, DL Tigers(1) 8
Box Score 
Starting Pitcher: Daurys Mora (3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 K)
Multi-Hit Games: Juan Baez (3-for-5, R, 2 K)
3B: Yeison Perez (1), Irving Igualas (1)
HR: Brayan Oropeza (1) 
Top Prospects: TBD  

ARTICLES

• Last week’s Week in Review (5/24-5/30): Carolina Crushes Cannon Ballers 
• Tuesday: Cam Robinson Officially Owns the Month of May 
• Wednesday: You Definitely Can’t Win Them All 
• Thursday: Biloxi Blasts Way to Victory, but Nashville and Wisconsin Fall 
• Friday: Four Affiliates, Three Wins 
• Saturday: An Organizational Sweep! (under the rug, that is)
• Sunday: Wisconsin and Carolina Lead the Way in Series Finales 
• Monday: The Complex-Level Kids Finally Get Their Day in the Sun 
• Hello, Good bye, Ethan Small 
• Minor League Players of the Month (May 2022): Carlos F. Rodriguez, Abraham Almonte, Cam Robinson 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: Nashville Sounds
Week: 1-4, @ Durham 
Season: 34-19 overall, 1st place in the International League West. They are 1 1/2 games ahead of Columbus and 3 1/2 games ahead of Memphis.  . 

Nashville actually played Durham six times last week, but just five times during the past week since they played a game on Memorial Day Monday. It was a strange week for the Sounds as they actually struggled. In fact, on Wednesday they lost 4-17. The Sounds scored just 20 total runs in the five games. 

• Mario Feliciano played three games. He went 4-for-11, hitting .364/.417/.545 (.962) with two doubles. 

• Abraham Almonte went 6-for-16 and hit .375/.444/.500 (.944) with two doubles. 

• Caleb Boushley went seven innings in his start to get a Win. He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks. 

• Alec Bettinger gave up two runs on three hits over five innings in his start. 

• Tyler Herb gave up two runs on three hits (two solo homers) in five innings in his start. He walked two batters, but he also struck out eight. 

• On the other side, Josh Lindblom gave up seven runs on ten hits (4 HR) and three walks in five innings. Zach Vennaro gave up six runs on six hits and three walks in just two innings. Nick Bennett went just 2/3 of an inning and gave up six runs on two hits and four walks. 

What’s Next? The Sounds will be hosting Norfolk for six games.    

Pitching Probables (LHP Ethan Small, Tyler Herb, RHP Josh Lindblom, RHP Caleb Boushley, RHP Dylan File, LHP Ethan Small) 

Double-A: Biloxi Shuckers  
Week: 1-5, @ Pensacola     
Season: 23-26 overall, Tied for 2nd place, but percentage points behind Mississippi (24-27), 3 1/2 games behind Pensacola (25-21). 

Coming into the week, the Shuckers and Blue Wahoos were separated by percentage points atop the Southern League South Division. After a rough week in Pensacola, Biloxi is now 3 1/2 games behind Pensacola in the division. However, it is important to note that the team has several players out with injury. Joey Wiemer played in just one game. The Shuckers won the Thursday game 10-7. All five of Biloxi’s losses were by one run.  

• Jakson Reetz played in all six games. He went 8-for-22 and hit .364/.517/.818 (1.335) with four doubles, two homers, and four RBI. 

• Yeison Coca went 7-for-23 and hit .304/.407/.609 (1.016) with two doubles, a triple, a homer, five RBI, and four walks over six games. 

• Tristen Lutz played in six games and went 7-for-24, hitting .292/.414/.583 (.987) with a double, two homers and seven RBI. He also walked four times. 

• Cam Devanney went 6-for-23 and hit .261/.357/.565 (.922) with a double and two home runs over six games. 

• Lucas Erceg struck out six batters over three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked two batters. 

• Luis Contreras tossed three scoreless innings in a relief appearance. He gave up no hits, but he walked three batters. 

What’s Next? The Shuckers will be hosting the Tennessee Cubs. They will be home in three of the next four weeks. .  

Pitching Probables (RHP JT Shook, LHP Brandon Knarr, RHP Noah Zavolas, RHP Carlos Luna, LHP Nick Bennett, TBD)

High-A: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers  
Week: 3-3, hosting Peoria   
Season: 31-20 overall, 2nd place in the Midwest League West Division, 2.0 game behind Cedar Rapids. They are 3.0 games ahead of South Bend.  

The Timber Rattlers had a back-and-forth week against Peoria. In their three wins, they scored a combined 17 runs. In their three losses, they scored a combined two runs. In fact, they were shut out in consecutive games on Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the struggles, they held serve and lost just one game in the division.   

• Cam Robinson went 2-for-2 in save opportunities last week. Over three scoreless innings, he gave up one hit, walked one and struck out four batters. 

• Max Lazar made one start and gave up only an unearned run over four innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out three batters. 

• Joey Matulovich  threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings over two relief outings. He gave up one hit, walked none and struck out two. 

• Brandon Knarr gave up one run on three hits over six innings in his start. He struck out five batters and walked just one.  

• What a week for Alex Hall. The Australian catcher was called up to the Brewers for the weekend to be the backup catcher. He didn’t play, but what an experience. He was also DFAd and returned to the Timber Rattlers. With Wisconsin, he went 3-for-7 (.429) with a homer and four RBI over just two games before the call-up. 

• Ashton McGee played in all six games. He went 8-for-20 and hit ..400/.455/.650 (1.105) with two doubles and a homer. 

• Tristen Peters went 7-for-22 over his six games. He hit .318/.375/.409 (.784) with two doubles.   

What’s Next? The Timber Rattlers will be staying in-state to play the affiliate formerly known as the Snappers. They’ll be playing in Beloit against the Sky Carp. 

Pitching Probables (LHP Russell Smith, LHP Antoine Kelly, RHP Ryne Moore, TBD, LHP Max Lazar, LHP Russell Smith)

Low-A: Carolina Mudcats 
Week: 2-4, @ Lynchburg    
Season: 28-23 overall, tied with Salem, 1/2 game behind Lynchburg.    

Carolina had a tough week. They were outscored 30-21 over the course of the week which is how you get to a 2-4 week on the road. However, there were a couple of big performances by some of the young prospects. 

• Jackson Chourio had another huge week for the Mudcats. Over six games, he went 11-for-25 and hit .440/.462/.920 (1.382). He had a double, a triple, and three home runs. 

• Arbert Cipion went 5-for-9 (.556) in two games before moving up to Wisconsin. 

• Oswal Leones went 4-for-11 and hit .364/.417/.636 (1.053) with three doubles over three games. 

• Jeferson Quero went 5-for-16 over his four games played. He hit .313/.313/.563 (.876) with a double and a home run.

• Carlos Rodriguez pitched twice. He started one game and finished another. In eight innings, he gave up one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out 11 batters. 

• Miguel Segura worked a three-inning bullpen appearance. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked two and struck out three batters.  . 

What’s Next? The Mudcats return home to take on Myrtle Beach for six games.  

Pitching Probables (RHP Miguel Segura, RHP Stiven Cruz, RHP Edwin Jimenez, RHP Carlos Rodriguez, RHP Alexander Cornielle, RHP Jeferson Figueroa) 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
This Prospect Summary shows our current Brewers Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week (May 31 to June 6). The rankings will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. 

#1 - OF Joey Wiemer (Biloxi) - 1 G, 0-for-4 (.000), 0-2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 44G, 50-for-176, .284/.357/.574 (.931), 15-2B, 12-HR, 34 RBI, 18 BB, 58 K)
#2 - LHP Ethan Small (Nashville) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 8 GS, 38.1 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 22 H, 21 BB, 49 K, 3-1, 1.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 11.5 K/9)
#2 - LHP Ethan Small (Milwaukee) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K, 6.75 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 13.5 BB/9, 13.5 K/9)
#3 - SS Brice Turang (Nashville) - 4 G, 2-for-16 (.125), 0-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K (Season: 47 G, 55-for-203, .271/.324/.370 (.694), 9-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 27 RBI, 17 BB, 51 K)  
#4 - OF Sal Frelick (Wisconsin) - Season: 21 G, 23-for-79, .291/.391/.456 (.847), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 9 RBI, 6/9 SB, 13 BB, 14 K)
#4 - OF Sal Frelick (Biloxi) - 6 G, 4-for-24 (.167), 1-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K (Season: 20 G, 21-for-88, .239/.316/.330 (.646), 3-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 5 RBI, 3/4 SB, 7 BB,14 K)  
#5 - OF Jackson Chourio (Carolina) - 6 G, 11-for-25 (.440), 1-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 11 K (Season: 28 G, 43-for-116, .371/.417/.595 (1.012), 12-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 25 RBI, 10 BB, 33 K) 

#6 - OF Garrett Mitchell (Biloxi) - Injured List (Season: 30 G, 24-for-107, .224/.331/.346 (.676), 3-2B, 2-3B, 2-HR, 11 RBI, 13 BB, 40 K) 
#7 - LHP Antoine Kelly (Wisconsin) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K (Season: 10 GS, 48.0 IP, 21 R, 18 ER, 28 H, 26 BB, 63 K, 1-1, 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 11.8 K/9)  
#8 - 2B Tyler Black (Wisconsin) - 5 G, 3-for-19 (.158), 1-2B, 1-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K  (Season: 36 G, 36-for-131 (.275/.389/.443 (.831), 6-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 23 RBI, 22 BB, 23 K)
#9 - 2B Felix Valerio (Biloxi) - 5 G, 4-for-21 (.190), 1-2B, 1-HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K (Season: 42 G, 41-for-156, .247/.323/.428 (.751), 7-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 27 RBI, 17 BB, 30 K) 
#10 - C Jeferson Quero (Carolina) - 4 G, 5-for-16 (.313), 1-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 39 G, 37-for-152, .243/.304/.362 (.665), 10-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 19 RBI, 14 BB, 37 K) 

#11 - SS Eduardo Garcia (Carolina) - 6 G, 6-for-27 (.222), 12B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 10 K (Season: 45 G, 52-192, 271/.299/.380 (.679), 8-2B, 2-3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 5 BB, 70 K)  
#12 - OF Hedbert Perez (Carolina) - 5 G, 3-for-18 (.167), 0-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K (Season: 41 G, 34-for-162, .210/.263/.370 (.633), 9-2B, 1-3B, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 6/8 SB, 11 BB, 57 K) 
#13 - OF Hendry Mendez (Carolina) - 5 G, 2-for-18 (.111), 1-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K (Season: 43 G, 30-for-145, .207/.363/.290 (.652), 4-2B, 1-3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 3/6 SB, 35 BB, 35 K)  
#14 - C Mario Feliciano (Nashville) - 3 G, 4-for-11 (.364), 2-2B, 0-HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K (Season: 33 G, 38-for-122, .312/.368/.377 (.745), 8-2B, 0-HR, 13 RBI, 7 BB, 26 K)
#14 - C Mario Feliciano (Milwaukee) - (Season: 1 G, 0-for-0, R, BB)
#15 - SS Freddy Zamora (Biloxi) - Injured List (Season: 24 G, 19-for-91), .209/.270/.286 (.556), 4-2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 22 K) 

#16 - UTL Zavier Warren (Wisconsin) - 6 G, 5-for-24 (.208), 1-2B, 1-HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (Season: 48 G, 39-for-180, .217/.304/.350 (.654), 15-2B, 3-HR, 15 RBI, 6/6 SB, 19 BB, 39 K)  
#17 - Victor Castaneda (Biloxi) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 10 G, 9 GS, 49.1 IP, 20 R, 16 ER, 36 H, 18 BB, 55 K, 1-2, 2.92 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 10.0 K/9)
#18 - OF Joe Gray, Jr. (Wisconsin) - 6 G, 6-for-24 (.250), 0-2B, 1-HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 13 K (Season: 50 G, 35-for-180, .194/.303/.372 (.676), 9-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 22 RBI, 9/9 SB, 27 BB, 80 K) 
#19 - LHP Brandon Knarr (Wisconsin) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K (Season:10 GS, 57.1 IP, 10 R, 10 ER, 43 H, 13 BB, 65 K, 7-2, 1.57 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 10.2 K/9)  
#20 - RHP Abner Uribe (Biloxi) - IL (out for season)

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 

Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Jackson Chourio, Carolina Panthers      

This is Chourio’s second player of the week award of the season. The 18-year-old from Venezuela had a great week. He had 11 hits in 25 at-bats. He hit .440/.462/.920 (1.382) with a double, a triple, and three home runs. 

In 28 games with the Mudcats since his promotion from the Complex, he has hit .371/.417/.595 (1.012) with 12 doubles, a triple, four homers and 25 RBI. Have I mentioned yet that he is 18-years-old?

Chourio was signed as a shortstop in January 2021 from Venezuela for $1.9 million. He played in the Dominican Summer League last summer and hit .296/.386/.447 (.883) with seven doubles, a triple and five home runs. 

He is a tremendous athlete who has been playing mostly center field for the Mudcats. He’s got really good speed. He also has good bat-to-ball skills, and finds a way to find barrels and hit the ball really hard. He is incredibly young for the level. 

Pitcher of the Week: RHP Cam Robinson, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 

Well, the streak of Timber Rattlers starting pitchers winning this award every week is over. However, the award stays in Appleton and goes to reliever Cam Robinson. 

Robinson pitched just three innings on the week, but he recorded saves in both of his outings. He struck out four batters without allowing a run. 

The Brewers used their 23rd round pick in 2017 to select the right-hander from University High School near Orlando. He spent most of 2017-2019 in the Arizona League. After the Covid-lost 2020 season, he split 2021 between Carolina and Wisconsin. In total, he pitched in 39 games out of the bullpen and went 3-2 with 13 saves. In 49 2/3 innings, he walked 30 and struck out 62 batters. He had a 3.08 ERA, but the walks pushed his WHIP to 1.59. 

He has now pitched in 17 games for the Timber Rattles this season and finished 16 games. He is 2-0 with 11 saves. In 25 innings, he has given up just 11 hits, walked 14 and struck out 33 batters. The walks are still plenty high, but his stuff has greatly improved and he’s become less hittable. 

Feel free to discuss the Brewers' prospects and their affiliates in the COMMENTS below.