Minors

Biloxi’s bullpen took care of business, enabling Tristen Lutz to hit the game-winning single in extra innings. Nashville was outplayed and looks forward to a better week ahead. The Wisconsin-Beloit finale was Covid-ed out and will not be made up. Carolina couldn’t keep up with Myrtle Beach.

We once again turn to the Crew's farm to distract us from big league woes. It will be nice when that's no longer the sentiment of our opening line here. Our latest turn around seven box scores (not eight, as the Maryvale youngsters faced each other) includes a surprise contributor on the Sounds' mound, Wes Clarke and his pals keeping the T-Rats in the first-half playoff discussion, and more pro and stateside debuts at the rookie level. Here we go!

Fun happenings before the home folks in Nashville and Biloxi, while at times exasperating moments during losses for the Timber Rattlers and Mudcats. We check in on stateside and pro debuts at the complex levels, where box scores always try and tell a story beyond what we can't see in person. Here we go with your usual slate of eight.

Stiven Cruz (Game One) and Jackson Chourio (Game Two) led Carolina to two tight victories over first place Myrtle Beach. Ryne Moore had his first terrific start in Wisconsin and Cam Robinson closed out the 3-1 win in Beloit. Wiemer, Frelick & Co. followed Biloxi’s recent script of dominating the game, only to unfortunately lose it late 10-9. Nashville continued its recent rough patch, losing two tight contests at home against Norfolk. The short seasons squads won three of their four games.

Everything is a a few notches better in Biloxi when Joey Wiemer is doing his thing. This isn't hyperbole. He ripped a solo knock and had an incredible outfield assist (his seventh of the year) to set the tone early (highlight within). Brandon Knarr was magnificent in his Double-A debut - he worked fast, looked confident, pounded the zone, and left with a 3-1 lead after six complete innings. Wisconsin failed to back-up another fantastic start from Antoine Kelly managing a mere one hit. Nashville scuffled in a disastrous third inning. My Jackson Chourio fix was left unfulfilled as Carolina took the tarp off...and then postponed their contest. On to the reports!

With the first games of the ACL and DSL now completed, it's really starting to feel like summer. Let's hope the bats heat up in concert with the weather. With this caveat, I will give daily updates and box score tid bits and any possible highlights to our DSL and ACL affiliates first and then carry into my usual Low-A to Triple-A routine. Firstly, let's take a look at yesterday's and today's many transactions and then head to Arizona and the Dominican locales and see how our young men fared. I can tell you, in the higher levels of our minor leagues...I'm getting a wee tired of losses across the board. Let's hope this recent run is just a spurt of hiccups and we rebound and head for greener pastures. Many games does a season make. Let's be honest: we've hit a rough patch.

We have been covering four full-season Brewers affiliates for the past two months now. From this point until September, we will be covering eight Brewers affiliates across six leagues. On Monday, the short-season affiliates in Arizona and the Dominican Republic started their seasons. So be sure to continue checking back often for minor league reports. We’re essentially doubling the coverage!  

The Brewers four rookie level teams debuted on Monday, with two games played in Arizona and two in the Dominican Republic. There were professional debuts, stateside debuts, and names that are now etched in Baseball Reference and thus Milwaukee Brewers history.

Jackson Chourio provided most the offense in Carolina’s 6-3 win, with Carlos F. Rodriguez shutting the door with 4 scoreless innings. Justin Jarvis pitched Wisconsin to a series-tying victory. Biloxi once again led most of their game, before inventing a new way to lose (3 ninth inning runs on zero hits). Nashville lost its first series of the season, failing to match Durham’s clutch hitting.

With the recent misery of the big-league club, particularly on offense, Brewers fans turn to the farm this AM for solace and inspiration. Alas, while there's plenty of talent at the affiliate levels, in terms of wins and losses Saturday, it was a whitewash. Let's see how it came about, as there was variety in the pain.

The Brewers’ full season affiliates added a victory-filled May (60 wins, 41 losses) to their super April (50 wins, 33 losses). Wisconsin’s Cam Robinson (seven saves, 0.00 ERA) is the clear award winner for relief pitcher, while the starting pitcher and top hitter awards could have gone any number of ways. The choices here are Carolina’s Carlos F. Rodriguez for 2.01 ERA-ball and 30 strikeouts over six games and Abraham Almonte, who hit six dingers and registered an OPS of 1.154 for Nashville.

Hey, we're only two days away (Monday the 6th) from the complex league games! Action in the Dominican will continue to begin late-mornings (Sunday's off), with Arizona-based fun in the evenings. We already know 90% of DSL box scores will have a note of "sunny, 85 degrees", while we'll prepare for the triple-digit readings in the desert. We will (somehow) often recap as many as eight games a day, yikes, as the Crew has two teams in both locales.