Each week, I'll be bringing you a roundup of the Brewers minor league affiliates, including score updates, key players, and more. Here is the week 24 roundup.
Triple-A Nashville
The Sounds took four of six against the Gwinnett Stripers (68-70 overall, 33-30 second half) to improve to 73-63 overall and 35-26 in the second half, 4.5 games behind Columbus for the International League West lead.
Chris Roller led the Sounds with three homers and six RBIs this week, while Wes Clarke slugged a pair of homers. Vinny Capra led the team with eight hits and Isaac Collins picked up seven hits in just four games before being promoted for his MLB debut on Sunday. As a team, the Sounds hit .233/.358/.376 with six homers and 35 runs scored this week.
Chad Patrick bounced back from a rough series-opening start (3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) to mow down hitters in Sunday's series finale, allowing just one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts across six innings as he picked up the win. Mitch White had another solid start himself, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts across six frames. Easton McGee was virtually perfect in two long-relief appearances, allowing just one hit and one hit batter with three strikeouts across five innings as he earned a pair of wins. The Sounds pitching staff finished the week with a 3.67 ERA, striking out 60 across 54 innings.
The Sounds stay home for their last series in Nashville of the season as they welcome the Memphis Redbirds (68-70 overall; 30-33 second half). Nashville is an even 9-9 against Memphis this season.
Double-A Biloxi
The Shuckers had a 3-3 week against the Rocket City Trash Pandas (59-72 overall; 26-37 second half), moving to 63-67 overall and 33-30 in the second half as they near a second-half division clincher, sitting 3.5 games ahead of the Mississippi Braves and Pensacola Blue Wahoos with just six games to go.
Brock Wilken slugged a pair of homers but Ernesto Martinez led the offense with eight hits, including a homer, as he slashed .400/.520/.650. Darrien Miller picked up six hits for a .286/.348/.381 line with three runs scored. As a team, the Shuckers hit a dismal .184/.300/.295 with four homers and 21 runs scored.
Nate Peterson made another strong start, allowing just one run and striking out five across five innings. Justin Yeager picked up three saves with five strikeouts over three scoreless innings. Adam Seminaris went five scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his start. The pitching staff finished the week with a 3.04 ERA, striking out 47 across 50 ⅓ innings.
The Shuckers return home for their last regular season series in Biloxi this week, as they welcome the Mississippi Braves (61-70 overall; 30-33 second half) with the division title on the line. Biloxi is 11-13 against the Braves this season.
High-A Wisconsin
The Timber Rattlers wrapped up their regular season with a 3-3 week against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (67-63 overall; 30-36 second half) to finish the season at 77-54 overall and 35-30 in the second half.
Six different players slugged a homer for the Rattlers this week, including top prospect Cooper Pratt. Luis Lara hit a homer and led the squad with six hits in 18 at-bats for a .333/.400/.556 line, also racking up four steals. As a team, Wisconsin hit .203/.292/.330 with a league-high six homers and 21 runs scored.
Stiven Cruz, Will Rudy, and Tyler Wehrle led the pitching staff with solid starts this week. Cruz made two starts, allowing one unearned run over seven total innings with four strikeouts; Rudy allowed no runs with seven strikeouts across six innings; and Wehrle allowed no runs with five strikeouts across five innings. As a staff, the Rattlers finished the week with a 3.08 ERA, striking out 60 batters over 52 ⅔ innings.
The Rattlers now take on the Quad Cities River Bandits (68-63 overall; 38-28 second half) in a best-of-three series to determine the Midwest League West champion. The first game is Tuesday night in Iowa with game two and a potential game three scheduled for Thursday and Friday night in Wisconsin. The Rattlers are 11-13 against the Bandits this season.
Single-A Carolina
The Mudcats went 3-3 against the Delmarva Shorebirds (53-78 overall; 30-36 second half) to close out the regular season at 78-51 overall and 37-27 in the second half.
Reece Walling hit the lone homer for Carolina this week, also leading the team with nine hits and three doubles for a strong .474/.524/.789 line. Braylon Payne made his minor league debut, hitting .438/.526/.625 with seven hits, five RBIs, and four steals across four games with the Mudcats. Daniel Guilarte went 8-for-18 with six runs scored, three doubles, and five RBIs. As a team, the Mudcats hit .300/.396/.371 with one homer and 42 runs scored.
Daniel Corniel had another solid start this week, allowing no runs with seven strikeouts across four innings. Jesus Flores worked 4 ⅔ scoreless innings in relief, striking out four and picking up the win. Mason Molina went three scoreless innings and Manuel Rodriguez went two scoreless innings in starts this week. As a pitching staff, the Mudcats had a 4.33 ERA and struck out 53 over 54 innings.
The Mudcats now take on the Fredericksburg Nationals (74-57 overall; 39-26 second half) in a best-of-three series to determine the Carolina League North champion. The first game is Tuesday night in Virginia with game two and a potential game three scheduled for Thursday and Friday night in North Carolina. The Mudcats are 8-10 against the Nationals this season.
Performances by Top 10 Brewers Prospects (Weekly Performance; Season Totals)
*Milwaukee's first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Braylon Payne, was placed at Low-A Carolina and made his minor league debut this week. He's ranked as Milwaukee's No. 9 prospect but with No. 1 prospect Jeferson Quero and No. 5 prospect Robert Gasser out for the year, he slots in at No. 7 on this list. That also knocks Blake Burke off our top 10 list.