2025 Brewers Minor League Roundup: Week 15

Payne, Bitonti, and Burke highlight another strong week for the Brewers’ farm system

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 4-2 this week against the Memphis Redbirds. Nashville is now 15 games above .500 and ¹⁄₂ game up in the International League West.

We’re at the point in the season where a lot of the top performers in Triple-A have been called up to the majors. Many of the position player mainstays in this part of this column — Andrew Vaughn, Anthony Seigler, Andruw Monasterio, even Caleb Durbin — are up with the big club. It’s exciting, as a fan, but doesn’t give me a lot to write about.

So, who’s left in Triple-A that could someday make an impact with the Brewers?

First, Milwaukee still has two top 10 prospects in Nashville. Jeferson Quero (No. 5) went 3-for-15 (.200) this week after going 3-for-17 (.176) last week. Tyler Black (No. 10) went 5-for-22 (.227) after three straight weeks with only one hit. For more on both prospects, check out my overview of the Brewers top 11 prospects per MLB Pipeline here.

Ernesto Martinez (No. 30) went 2-for-12. Martinez has been a favorite prospect of Brewers fans for a while due to his bat. He posted an OPS of .832 with Double-A Biloxi last year. This year, it’s down to .739. The 26-year-old first baseman is hitting just .238 with five home runs on the season (although he’s missed some time due to injuries). It’s at least a little telling that Milwaukee chose to call up recent acquisition Andrew Vaughn in the wake of Rhys Hoskins’ recent thumb injury instead of giving Martinez a shot.

As for Vaughn, who currently has an .838 OPS in Nashville:

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 an encouraging start to his time with the Brewers’ organization (albeit in a very small sample size).

Outfielder Blake Perkins, apparently the spiritual successor to Brandon Woodruff, hurt his groin in his second game of the week and was pulled off his rehab assignment. Hopefully he heals up soon, although the emergence of Isaac Collins means Perkins isn’t urgently needed. He’s still a valuable piece as a fourth outfielder/pinch-runner/defensive replacement for a Brewer team that would prefer to not make Christian Yelich play left field (although he made a really nice sliding catch Sunday).

What about the pitching staff? Well, the Brewers organization might have the deepest one in baseball right now. The big league rotation right now is Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Jose Quintana, and Quinn Priester. Oh, and they also have Robert Gasser and Nestor Cortes coming back from injury. Cortes pitched three shutout innings (one hit) in his first rehab start with Nashville.

Milwaukee has three other starting-caliber guys — Tobias Myers (2.93 ERA), Logan Henderson (3.16 ERA), and now Chad Patrick (3.52 ERA with Milwaukee) — in Nashville. It doesn’t really matter what these guys do on a week-to-week basis — it’s not a question of whether or not they’re ready for the big leagues. If Milwaukee needs them, they’ll show up.

Carlos Rodriguez (2.64 ERA) and Coleman Crow (2.51 ERA in Double-A) aren’t quite ready to challenge any of those guys for a roster spot, but they’re both legitimate prospects who could develop into major league starters. Crow, one of my favorite prospects in the Brewers system, pitched great in his first week with the Sounds. He went four shutout innings, allowing three hits and walking two.

Next week’s opponent: Durham Bulls

Double-A Biloxi (49-32)

Biloxi went 3-2 this week against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The Shuckers now have a run differential of +91, which leads the Southern League by almost 60 runs, and they’ve officially clinched the first-half South Division title.

Corner infielder 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 two weeks ago. Fellow 1B/3B Mike Boeve (No. 6) went 7-for-20 (350) on the week. He’s up to a .735 OPS on the season.

Cooper Pratt (No. 3) went 4-for-12 (.333). Pratt hit .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, a trend that has carried over into the first week of July.

Luis Lara (No. 21) went 8-for-27 (.296) 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 .260/.353/.341 with 28 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 gave up two runs in 5 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out six without walking a batter.

The jump to Double-A is often the hardest for pitchers, but Hardin has looked at home in Biloxi. He now sports a 1.99 ERA through four starts with the Shuckers. Hardin’s K:BB ratio is a sparkling 22:2.

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 four runs in six innings. Hunt’s ERA is now up to 4.80 on the season. The 24-year-old righty has alternated great starts with mediocre ones as he continues to adjust to Double-A, but the last few weeks have been rough for him. Hunt has a 5.95 ERA over the last month.

Brett Wichrowski (No. 13) showed out again this week — going 5 ¹⁄₃ one-run innings. His ERA is down to 2.35 through 10 starts this season.

Lefty Tate Kuehner still leads Biloxi in strikeouts by a wide margin. He has 88 — the second closest pitcher, Alexander Cornielle, has 69. Kuehner gave up three earned runs in five innings this week, but — per usual — still struck out seven. Kuehner’s ERA on the season sits at 2.82.

Next week’s opponent: Birmingham Barons

High-A Wisconsin (38-41)

The Timber Rattlers went 2-3 this week against the Beloit Sky Carp. Wisconsin is now three games under .500 on the season.

For a third straight week, the stats out of Wisconsin don’t look great. Eduardo Garcia, Luiyin Alastre, and Yhoswar Garcia all hit under .200.

The Timber Rattlers had just two players hit over .273 this week (min. eight at-bats) — Blake Burke (a column mainstay) and Juan Baez (No. 26), a pure contact hitter who has zero home runs and just six extra-base hits all season. True to form, all of Baez’s hits this week were singles.

Burke has been consistently great at getting on base all year for the Timber Rattlers. Burke went 7-for-22 (.318) with two home runs on the week. He’s hitting .311 with an .840 OPS on the season. Burke might end the season with Double-A Biloxi, especially if Luke Adams continues to miss time.

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

Jadher Areinamo (No. 23), who’s been one of Wisconsin’s best hitters each of the last two seasons, went 6-for-22 (.273). The 21-year-old shortstop now has an OPS of .817 on the season.

Standout pitchers this week for Wisconsin included RHP Manuel Rodriguez (5 IP, 1 ER), Jaron DeBerry (6 IP, 3 ER, 7 K), and Sam Garcia (4 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 ER).

Next week’s opponent: Beloit Sky Carp

Single-A Carolina (46-32)

Carolina went 3-2 against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. The Mudcats are still 1.5 back of first in the Carolina League North, although they remain 14 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.

Jesus Made (No. 1) went 4-for-22 (.182) this week. This was his first truly bad week pretty much all season, so there’s not much to extrapolate. He wasn’t striking out a crazy amount (5 Ks), just getting unlucky with balls hit in play. I’d be surprised if he hits under .200 in consecutive weeks.

Luis Peña (No. 3) only played in two games this week, going 1-for-6. No injury has been reported yet for Peña, and he’s not on the IL either. Stay tuned.

Braylon Payne (No. 10) went absolutely nuclear this week — 7-for-16 (.438) with four walks and a home run. His OBP this week was an astounding .550. Payne appears to have figured it out recently — he’s now slashing .327/.389/.612 over the last month.

Eric Bitonti (No. 11) went 7-for-22 (.318) with another home run. His thirteen home runs on the season leads the Mudcats.

Like Payne, Bitonti seems to have figured out A-ball. The nineteen-year-old infielder is now slashing .284/.376/.531 since June 1st.

Ethan Dorchies, called up a few weeks ago after a hot start with the ACL Brewers, had another strong start — 3 ²⁄₃ IP, 0 ER. The 18-year-old right-hander also struck out four batters. He seems to be acclimating to Low-A just fine. Dorchies has allowed just eight hits in 13 ¹⁄₃ innings as a Mudcat.

RHP Bryce Meccage (No. 15) gave up three runs in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. Meccage has had a really rough month, sporting a 6.86 ERA over the last 30 days. The Brewers’ 2024 second-round pick now has a 4.65 ERA through 14 starts with Carolina.

Other pitching standouts this week include Melvin Hernandez (5 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 ER) and Jayden Dubanewicz (4 ²⁄₃ IP, 1 ER)

Next week’s opponent: Fredericksburg Nationals

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

1. SS/3B Jesús Made (A): .275/.382/.405, 4 HR, 37 SB
2. C Jeferson Quero (AAA): .263/.344/.313
3. SS Cooper Pratt (AA): .254/.350/.375, 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): .311/.382/.493, 6 HR, 35 SB
6. RHP Logan Henderson: 13 G, 12 GS, 8-3 W-L, 62.2 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 10.48 K/9, 2.87 BB/9
7. 5. 1B/3B Mike Boeve (AA): .240/.353/.366, 4 HR
8. 1B/3B Luke Adams (AA): .241/.422/.477, 11 HR
9. OF Braylon Payne (A): .249/.356/.392
10. 1B Tyler Black (AAA): .129/.260/.177
11. 1B/3B Eric Bitonti (A): .250/.347/.451, 13 HR

Player of the Week

Braylon Payne. Milwaukee’s 2024 first round pick had had a rough start to the year, slashing .178/.339/.178 in May and .216/.231/.431 in June. He;s gotten off to a great start in July with a 7-for-16 performance, including a homer, a double, and a pair of steals.

Things have clicked for Payne. He’s raised his batting average 40 points in the span of a month. Payne was never supposed to be a finished product at the plate as an under-slot high school draft pick, but the development he’s shown in the last month is an incredibly encouraging sign.

Play of the Week

When hitting coaches tell you to throw your bat at the ball, they don’t mean like this:

Honorable mention to this diving catch by Luis Lara: