Highlights from Timber Rattlers Media Day

Joe Ayrault is one of the winningest and longest-tenured managers in the history of High-A minor league baseball, having previously managed the 2008-09 Sarasota Reds, the 2012-16 Brevard County Manatees and the 2017-19 Carolina Mudcats, where until recently he was the only manager ever to guide that team during the Brewers era (he also managed there in 2021, after their move to Low-A), This season he's back at that level in a new place, replacing local legend and new Brewers coach Matt Erickson. 

As he moves up a level, many familiar faces are following him to Appleton.

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The majority of these guys played for me last year in Carolina, and it was one of the most exciting offenses I've been around. Starting with the outfield, Carlos Rodriguez was here last year, Sal Frelick, Joe Gray, Tristan Peters, a new addition in the outfield, those guys are going to be running the club.

And then you go around the diamond on the infield we've got Zavier Warren, Ethan Murray, Tyler Black, a top pick: He's a kid from Canada, so the cold's not going to bother him at all, he's ready to rumble. Ernesto Martinez will probably be a fan favorite, you guys are going to love him, he's the show. He gets after it every night. Behind the plate Darrien Miller, Wes Clarke and Alex Hall. We've got other guys too: Returning Antonio Piñero, Yeison Coca and Noah Campbell, who's a gamer. He played all nine positions for me last year and actually got the save in the game, so it's an exciting group all around on the position player side.

On replacing Matt Erickson:

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Number one, my first thing I said was "not one player in that clubhouse is wearing #8 (Erickson's former number)." He's the legend around here, I got his jersey up there in my office. He left me a deer head in the office, it makes me feel at home, I'm a die-hard deer hunter. So he left me the deer head. Doing our thing, we're close, the same mentality. We've been in the game a long time, I've been in it for 30 years, so big shoes to fill, but I know Matt and I are on the same page. We're going to get after it, and I'm happy to see him up there in the big leagues. He deserves it.

On outfielder Sal Frelick, the #1 prospect in the Brewers organization:

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Consistently good at everything, as far as his defense in the outfield, his baserunning, he can flat-out hit, great guy in the clubhouse. He's one of the guys actually giving guys tips about playing in cold weather. All-around great guy, we're glad to have him, he's a great pick by our scouting department.

Speaking of Frelick, he returns to Wisconsin after playing 15 games there during his first professional season in 2021. The #15 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Frelick represented the Brewers on both MLB Pipeline (#70) and Baseball Prospectus's (#98) lists of the top prospects in all of baseball. He was asked about his status today:

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I think stuff like that can kind of be eyewash sometimes. I want to play like I'm not even ranked, I think I always play better that way. But I love expectations, whether it's team or individual. So I'll look to play up to that standard, but at the same time I want to make sure I focus on winning games and being a good teammate. When you focus on that, other things take care of themselves.

Frelick, a Boston native, took the field today in short sleeves on a day when temperatures were in the mid-40's with a light rain. 

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This is warm right now, I don't know what they're saying about it being cold out. I love the cold weather. Fall ball in Boston every year we were much colder than this. So I'll probably be out with no undersleeves unless it gets really cold, but I'm going to help some of these guys and try to get them to lose the sleeves. I really like the cold weather, I like playing in it, I think it's gritty, something I grew up doing, so it's nothing new to me.

I love it the best when the teams from down south come to visit us and they're all bundled up and stuff and we're wearing nothing. So I do really like it, I think a lot of guys can shy away from it and kind of use it as an excuse, but it's something I like more than others.

Outfielder Joe Gray Jr. stole the show today, spending ten minutes with reporters that could have gone longer if not for time constraints. He spent the second half of the season with Wisconsin in 2021 and finished with 20 home runs and 23 steals across two minor league levels in his first full professional season.

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At the end of the day I kind of have to think about it like this: Last year was my first full season. I was drafted in 2018, but I was hurt. The next year: Hurt. The next year: COVID. So while everyone else was getting games under their belt, I never had that luxury. So last year was my first full year and this year is going to be the same memo, stay healthy and stay on the field and everything else is going to happen how it happens.

As a baseball player, you can't learn and adjust if you don't have at bats. So you have to play games, you have to stay on the field, you have to stay healthy. 

On his infectious smile and energy:

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I kind of feel like I have a point to prove, At the end of the day, I like being put with my back against the wall. That's why I play this sport. I don't like easy. If I had went and played football or basketball, it'd be end of story. The best athlete on the court or on the field, you're pretty much going to be the one that comes out of that gym victorious. In baseball, everything's an equal playing field. So that's what gets me excited. You have to go out there, you have to grind, you have to show mentally you're there. Physical ability just doesn't do it. So I like being put with my back against the wall, I love it, and that's why I'm really happy because it's always a challenge. 

Pitcher Justin Jarvis is the longest-tenured member of the Timber Rattlers, having pitched there all season when they were a low-A affiliate in 2019 and again when they were a High-A affiliate in 2021. He's scheduled to start on Opening Day on Friday, something he's never done as a professional:

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It was pretty cool. I've never been an Opening Day starter in the minor leagues before, so that's pretty cool I'd say. But just doing my regular job, and it just happens to be the first game.

Reliever Tyler Gillies was also a Timber Rattler in 2019, but his life has followed a different path since then. Following the 2019 season Gillies was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He underwent surgery and recovered during the canceled 2020 minor league season, but in August of that year, tests revealed his cancer was back, and he had surgery again following a much scarier prognosis.

Now fully recovered, however, Gillies is back with the Brewers this spring and his early bullpen sessions were his first off a mound in 17 months. Gillies pitched this spring with no restrictions and is ready to get back in a regular-season game for the first time since September of 2019.

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You really can't take anything for granted after something like that. Being back at spring training was incredible for me, being around the game again. I couldn't watch baseball, couldn't do anything because it was too depressing when I was in the hospital. So it's good to be back out here. You learn to appreciate the game a lot more.

When asked how long it took him to get back to full strength, Gillies revealed that it's still an ongoing process.

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I'm still not quite there (to where he was in 2019), honestly. I started feeling more like myself during spring training. That was the first time I was throwing more often. I'm still getting back right now, but things are feeling good. I'm getting closer, for sure.

The Timber Rattlers open their season against Peoria on Wednesday night with the first of a three-game series. All fans in attendance will receive a vintage-themed bobble head.