2025 Brewers Minor League Roundup: Week 14

Woodruff survives final rehab start, Hardin continues to impress after promotion

As a reminder, every Monday morning I’ll be bringing you a quick recap of the previous week’s minor league activity — including team records, roster updates, standout performances, and more

Triple-A Nashville (46-33)

The Sounds went 2-4 this week against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Nashville is now 13 games above .500 and a half-game up in the International League West.

Happy Monday! Work sucks, I know. If you’re in need of a smile this morning, you might be pleased to hear that Brandon Woodruff successfully completed his final final final rehab start with Triple-A Nashville. Yes, you’re reading that right. Woody didn’t roll his ankle or get hit by a line drive or suffer another random freak injury. Third time’s the charm, I guess. Woodruff is scheduled to make his first start since 2023 sometime next week.

Now, if that wasn’t enough to make you smile, look at this:

As for other Sounds pitchers:

Tobias Myers went six innings in his only start of the week, allowing nine hits and three earned runs. He also struck out six. Myers has a 3.27 ERA in 10 starts with Nashville this season.

Logan Henderson (No. 12) had another solid outing this week — 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB. I don’t really have anything else to say about Hendo this week. He’s proven he can hang in the big leagues and is just waiting to get another shot in the rotation.

Coleman Crow, who’s allowed just two earned runs over his last three starts (24 K), was called up to Triple-A last week and immediately placed on the seven-day IL. Crow — who missed all of last year while recovering from Tommy John surgery — is currently dealing with hip pain. He’s expected to make his first start with Nashville next week.

Most of the bats were pretty silent this week. Only two players hit over .250 this week — Oliver Dunn (.444) and Bobby Dalbec (.313).

Andrew Vaughn went 5-for-21 (.238), adding a couple of home runs. Vaughn has a .931 OPS in 39 at-bats as a member of the Sounds.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Vaughn could potentially become a contributor in Milwaukee. He’s done nothing to prove me wrong so far in what has been a very encouraging start to his time with the Brewers’ organization (albeit in a small sample size).

Jeferson Quero went 3-for-17 (.176), although he only struck out twice. He’s had some hard contact and hasn’t looked bad at the plate overall. If Quero (.688 OPS with Nashville this year) can pick up the pace a little, he could find his way onto the big league roster before the end of the season. William Contreras (103 OPS+) hasn’t been hitting the ball as well as he has in past seasons — perhaps due to a lingering finger issue. Eric Haase, as much as I love him, isn’t going to block the Brewers’ No. 2 overall prospect.

Tyler Black (No. 9) went 1-for-13 this week. He is now 3-for-40 (.075) with Nashville this season. Black hasn’t recorded more than one hit in any given week. Certainly a disheartening start to the season for the 24-year-old first baseman, who was selected No. 33 overall by the Brewers back in 2021 and has ranked as a top 10 Brewers prospect (per MLB Pipeline) every year since 2022.

OF Blake Perkins started his rehab assignment with Nashville, going 2-for-8 with four walks.

Finally, C/2B/3B Anthony Seigler was reportedly called up to the Brewers after yesterday’s game. If you read this column every week, you know I’ve been waiting for this move for weeks. I’m very excited to see if his penchant for making hard contact will carry over to the big leagues. More on the Seigler move here.

Next week’s opponent: Memphis Redbirds

Double-A Biloxi (42-27)

Biloxi went 4-2 this week against the Columbus Clingstones. The Shuckers now have a run differential of +83, which leads the Southern League by almost 50 runs, and have officially clinched the first-half South Division title.

Brock Wilken reportedly slipped in the clubhouse while celebrating the title and dislocated his left patella. Biloxi’s slugging third baseman is expected to miss 8-10 weeks. Wilken was a strong candidate for a promotion to Triple-A by the end of the season, but the injury makes that unlikely.

Wilken has gotten his average up to .230 and continues to lead all of Double-A with 18 home runs. He’s been playing extremely well (.982 OPS) over the last month. Hopefully, we’ll get to see him back on the diamond before the end of the season.

1B/3B Luke Adams (No. 7), who has a .986 OPS over the last month with the Shuckers, is still on the seven-day IL with a left shoulder contusion. Adams suffered the injury sliding into home plate last week.

1B/3B Mike Boeve (No. 6) went 5-for-24 (.208) on the week. He’s now slashing .226/.328/.355 with four home runs since returning from a right labrum procedure.

Cooper Pratt (No. 3) went 5-for-26 (.192) with a home run. Pratt is now hitting .280 across 93 at-bats in June after posting a .200/.289/.282 line in the month of May. He’s clearly been seeing the ball better in recent weeks, despite the slight down week against Columbus.

Luis Lara (No. 21) went 6-for-24 (.250) with a couple of doubles. Biloxi’s speedy centerfielder is pretty much a pure contact hitter, with just a single home run on the season, and profiles as a defensive fourth outfielder type in the majors. Lara is now hitting .257/.355/.342 with 23 stolen bases on the season.

Tyson Hardin, the Brewers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, continues to adjust nicely to Double-A competition. Hardin made two starts this week, totaling 11 innings. He allowed eight hits, but just one walk while striking out 11.

The jump to Double-A is often the hardest for pitchers, but Hardin has looked at home in Biloxi. He now sports a 1.59 ERA (0.82 WHIP) through three starts with the Shuckers. Hardin’s K:BB ratio is a sparkling 8.0.

I know he’s already 23, but it’s still baffling to me that he fell to the 12th round of the 2024 draft. The Brewers may have gotten an absolute steal. He has an impressively live arm, and his off-speed stuff jumps out of his hand. Don’t take my word for it, though:

K.C. Hunt (No. 24) gave up only four hits in five innings but allowed three earned runs. Hunt’s ERA is now up to 4.68 on the season. The 24-year-old righty has alternated great starts with mediocre ones as he continues to adjust to Double-A.

Same with Brett Wichrowski (No. 13), who completely showed out this week — going six shutout innings while striking out six and allowing only two hits. His ERA is all the way down to 2.45 (1.39 WHIP) through 10 starts this season.

Lefty Tate Kuehner leads Biloxi in strikeouts by a wide margin. He has 81 — the second closest pitcher (Alexander Cornielle) has 62. Kuehner had another great outing this week, going five shutout innings and striking out nine. His WHIP is still pretty high (1.41), but his ERA (2.64) suggests he’s able to bear down and get (strike)outs when they’re needed the most.

Next week’s opponent: Pensacola Blue Wahoos

High-A Wisconsin (36-38)

The Timber Rattlers went 2-4 this week against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Wisconsin is now two games under .500 on the season.

As you might guess due to how the series went, the stats out of Wisconsin don’t look great. The Timber Rattlers had just three hitters hit over .267 this week (min. eight at-bats) — Jadher Arenaimo, Yhoswar Garcia, and Blake Burke.

Marco Dinges had basically his first down week all season, going 4-for-18 without an extra base hit. That pales in comparison to what happened in yesterday’s game:

Dinges has had a true breakout season so far in his first full year with the Brewers organization. The 21-year-old catching prospect will undergo further testing this week, but — as of now — it doesn’t look great. Hopefully, Dinges can get back on the diamond before the end of the season.

Areinamo (No. 23), who’s been one of Wisconsin’s best hitters each of the last two seasons, went 7-for-22 (.318) with two home runs. The 21-year-old shortstop now has an OPS of .836 on the season.

Burke was absolutely electric all week for the Timber Rattlers. Burke went 9-for-21 (.429) with two home runs on the week. He’s hitting .310 with an .849 OPS on the season. Burke might end the season with Double-A Biloxi, especially if Luke Adams misses more time.

The Brewers have a logjam of minor league corner infielders (Adams, Wilken, Tyler Black, Mike Boeve, and Eric Bitonti, to name a few), but Burke is making a name for himself.

RHP Jaron DeBerry went 4 ²⁄₃ innings while allowing two earned runs. Ryan Birchard (5 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 ER) also pitched well in his only start of the week.

Next week’s opponent: Beloit Sky Carp

Single-A Carolina (43-30)

Carolina went 4-2 against the Delmarva Shorebirds. The Mudcats are still three games back of first in the Carolina League, although they remain 11 games over .500.

This is your weekly reminder to find a way to watch a Mudcats game (free to watch on Bally Sports’ website). They’re young, feature a ton of the Brewers’ high-ceiling and top-ranked prospects, and put up runs. Carolina seriously might be one of the most stacked Brewers affiliates ever.

The usual suspects all balled out this week. Luis Peña (No. 5) went 8-for-20 (.400). Jesus Made (No. 1) went 8-for-23 (.348). Filippo Di Turi also went 8-for-23. Eric Bitonti went 7-for-25 (.280) with an absolute moonshot of a home run.

Nothing really more needs to be said about those guys. If you’ve been following this column, you know that each of these guys has been raking all season. Bitonti (12) and Di Turi (nine) lead the Mudcats in home runs. Made (.811) and Peña (.882) lead the team in OPS (min. 100 at-bats) and remain two of baseball’s best infield prospects.

Braylon Payne, the Brewers’ first-round pick in last year’s draft, hasn’t played since June 17. No injury has been reported for Payne. He did, however, move up to No. 8 in the MLB Pipeline rankings, as both Black and Bitonti moved down (to 9 and 10, respectively).

To be honest, I don’t fully get the argument for Payne over Bitonti. Bitonti is a year older, but his .787 OPS is far higher than Payne’s .701. Bitonti’s also hitting .244 to Payne’s .231, and has hit triple the number of home runs that Payne has this year.

Payne’s upside is admittedly tantalizing, and he still has a lot of developing to do given that he was drafted out of high school less than a year ago. He’s also more likely to become an above-average defender than Bitonti. Bitonti is athletic enough, but will probably end up as a full-time first baseman, limiting his defensive value to an extent.

Still, I don’t really get it. Bitonti at No. 8, Payne at No. 9, and Black at 10 (or lower) feels right to me based on how their seasons have gone thus far.

Ethan Dorchies, called up a couple of weeks ago after a hot start with the ACL Brewers, went four no-hit innings in his only start of the week. The 18-year-old right-hander also struck out six batters, so he looks to be acclimating to Single-A just fine. Dorchies has allowed just five hits in 9 ²⁄₃ innings as a Mudcat.

RHP Bryce Meccage (No. 15) gave up six runs (12 H) in seven innings. The Brewers’ 2024 second-round pick now has a 4.50 ERA (1.28 WHIP) through 13 starts with Carolina.

Next week’s opponent: Fayetteville Woodpeckers

Season Totals for the Top 10 Brewers Prospects (MLB Pipeline)

1. SS/3B Jesús Made (A): .283/.390/.421, 4 HR, 33 SB
2. C Jeferson Quero (AAA): .277/.365/.323
3. SS Cooper Pratt (AA): .250/.341/.365, 5 HR
4. RHP Jacob Misiorowski (AAA): 13 G, 12 GS, 4-2 W-L, 63.1 IP, 2.13 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 4.41 BB/9, 11.37 K/9.
5. SS/3B Luis Peña (A): .315/.380/.502, 6 HR, 33 SB
6. 5. 1B/3B Mike Boeve (AA): .236/.339/.363, 4 HR
7. 1B/3B Luke Adams (AA): .241/.422/.477, 11 HR
8. OF Braylon Payne (A): .231/.337/.364
9. 1B Tyler Black (AAA): .075/.229/.150
10. 1B/3B Eric Bitonti (A): .244/.345/.442, 12 HR

Player of the Week

I have to give it to Tyson Hardin. Hardin gave up one earned run in 11 innings while striking out 11. He had the best ERA of any Brewers prospect this week. There’s nothing more impressive than jumping up a level and simultaneously stepping up your game. Those stats probably still would have earned him the award with the Timber Rattlers. The Brewers got a good one.

Play of the Week

Brett Wichrowski getting creative:

Honorable mention goes to recent acquisition Drew Avans, again. I have a feeling Avans will be a staple in this part of the column.

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