2025 Brewers Minor League Roundup: Week 18

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

Author’s note: Yesterday, I wrote up brief bios on every single prospect listed on MLB’s updated list of the Brewers’ top 30 prospects. For those of you who want to dive deeper into some of the prospects I cover in this column, that article can be found here.

Now, here’s what you came for:

Triple-A Nashville (55-41)

The Sounds went 4-2 this week against the Charlotte Knights. Nashville is now 18 games above .500 and two games back in the International League West.

Milwaukee still has two top 10 position player prospects in Nashville despite all of the call-ups this year. Catcher Jeferson Quero (No. 5) was placed on the 7-day IL due to a shoulder injury. The injury is reportedly to his left shoulder, not his surgically repaired throwing shoulder. Quero is expected to be out for the next 3-4 weeks.

The other top 10 prospect is Tyler Black (No. 10), who was slashing .323/.400/.548 over his last two weeks in Triple-A. Black had a rough start to the season (three hits through his first three weeks) but played well enough recently to earn a call-up to the big leagues in place of the injured Jake Bauers. Black went 2-for-5 in two games with Milwaukee before being optioned back down in favor of Sal Frelick.

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. Milwaukee also has Tobias Myers, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall coming out of the bullpen.

Oh, and Robert Gasser and Nestor Cortes are both on their way back from injury. Gasser began his rehab stint with High-A Wisconsin on Saturday. Cortes, who’s also on a rehab assignment, threw 5 2⁄3 innings for the Sounds this week, allowing four hits and one earned run. He should be back with the Brewers very soon.

Milwaukee has two other starting-caliber guys — Logan Henderson (3.59 ERA), and now Chad Patrick (3.52 ERA with Milwaukee) — down 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 (3.77 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.

Rodriguez got shelled in his return from injury this week, allowing three home runs and seven runs (all earned) in 3 1⁄3 innings. His ERA before this week was 2.64. 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. Crow’s last start, however, was a bit of a different story (6 ER, 3 IP). Triple-A is always an adjustment for pitchers, especially ones that don’t throw all that hard. Crow is now on the IL due to left hip pain but should be back with the Sounds relatively soon.

Next week’s opponent: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

Double-A Biloxi (55-41)

Biloxi went 4-2 this week against the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The Shuckers are 13-14 in the second half of the season after winning the first half Southern League title.

Luis Lara (No. 10) had been the hottest hitter on the Shuckers over the last couple of weeks, but he cooled off dramatically this week (2-for-19, 4 K). Lara’s still slashing .257/.364/.337 on the year with a team-leading 24 doubles and 29 stolen bases.

Cooper Pratt (No. 3) went 5-for-19 (.263) this week. He’s had a pretty up-and-down season so far; Pratt has gotten hot for weeks on end but cools off just as fast as he heats up. The Brewers’ No. 4 prospect has a .691 OPS (.241 average) on the year.

Corner infielder Luke Adams (No. 7), who had a .986 OPS over his 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 over a month ago at this point. Fellow 1B/3B prospect Mike Boeve (No. 16) also hasn’t played since July 13, when he went 1-for-5 in the last game before the All-Star break.

RHP Tyson Hardin (No. 19), who’s been really impressive this year, didn’t pitch this week. He was placed on the 7-day IL retroactive to July 20 — no word on why yet. Hardin has posted a 3.38 ERA through five starts in Double-A.

Brett Wichrowski (No. 25) gave up eight hits and three runs in four innings this week. It was a rough start, but the 22-year-old Wichrowski has been quite effective all year for the Shuckers (2.69 ERA, 3.28 FIP).

Lefty Tate Kuehner continued to shove this week, racking up six strikeouts in six innings of three-hit ball (1 ER). He still leads Biloxi in strikeouts by a wide margin. Kuehner has 104 — the second closest pitcher, Alexander Cornielle, has 88. Kuehner has only allowed one earned run over his last three outings (17 2⁄3 IP), racking up 16 strikeouts in the process. He’s been insanely impressive over the last month (1.29 ERA in 28 innings pitched).

K.C. Hunt (No. 26) and Cornielle also put together great outings. Cornielle went eight innings over two starts, allowing just three hits and a single earned run. Hunt went six innings in his only start, also allowing three hits and one earned run.

Next week’s opponent: Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

High-A Wisconsin (43-52)

The Timber Rattlers went 2-4 this week against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Wisconsin has won just four of their last 13 games.

Most of the Timber Rattlers have been cold at the plate in recent weeks, a trend that continued into this week. Wisconsin had just four players who hit over .111 this week — Luiyin Alastre (.391), Hedbert Perez (.333), Blayberg Diaz (.273), and Jadher Areinamo (.269). Only Areinamo and Alastre had more than four hits.

Blake Burke has been consistently great at getting on base all year for the Timber Rattlers but has hit a cold patch over the last couple of weeks — he’s just 7-for-38 (.184), with over twice as many strikeouts (15) as hits. He’s still hitting .296 with an .793 OPS on the season, so he might end the season with Double-A Biloxi — especially if Luke Adams continues to miss time.

Areinamo (No. 24), who’s been one of Wisconsin’s best hitters each of the last two seasons, is now 28 for his last 96 (.292). The 21-year-old shortstop now has an OPS of .818 on the year. Areinamo could very well get called up to replace Cooper Pratt if/when Pratt moves up to Triple-A. He could also be used as trade bait if the Brewers end up making a move before the trade deadline, given the Brewers’ organizational depth in the infield.

RHP Manuel Rodriguez (No. 30) was again the standout pitcher this week for the Timber Rattlers, going 5 1⁄3 shutout innings while allowing three hits. Rodriguez struck out seven without walking anyone. He now sports an impressive 1.76 ERA across 11 starts this year. Ryan Birchard (4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K) also had a solid outing for the Timber Rattlers.

Next week’s opponent: Lake County Captains

Single-A Carolina (55-37)

Carolina went 4-2 against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. The Mudcats are three games up in the Carolina League North and 18 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 Mudcats’ roster includes:

Jesus Made (No. 1): Made went 7-for-19 (.368) with three doubles this week, righting the ship after somewhat of a down month. The 18-year-old Made has lived up to his top prospect billing so far this year, hitting .279 with a .793 OPS.

Luis Peña (No. 2): Not only is Peña one of the best prospects on the Mudcats, he’s one of the most productive players. That continued this week, as Peña went 6-for-20 (.300) with two extra-base hits and just one strikeout.

Braylon Payne (No. 8): Payne is slashing an astounding .383/.517/.638 over the last month. He wasn’t projected to be much of a power hitter coming out of high school, but already has seven home runs this season.

Eric Bitonti (No. 11): Bitonti has been slumping over the last two weeks (5-for-28) after a sustained hot streak. The 19-year-old Bitonti has one of the highest ceilings in the farm system, as evidenced by his team-leading 15 home runs. He’s also still raw, as evidenced by his 34.7% strikeout rate. Bitonti is certainly a work in progress but has shown more than enough flashes to earn his spot in the Brewers’ top 15 prospects.

Bryce Meccage (No. 13): Meccage went six innings in his only start of the week, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out five. Milwaukee’s 2024 second-round pick could stand to improve his command, so zero walks is certainly a positive.

Josh Adamczewski (No. 14): Adamczewski has gone 10-for-29 (.345) since returning from a back injury that sidelined him for nearly two months. That’s not even a hot streak — he’s slashing .356/.448/.542 through 118 at-bats this season.

Ethan Dorchies (No. 20): Dorchies has been lights-out since the Brewers promoted him from the Arizona Complex League. The 6’5” righty sports a 1.11 ERA in seven games (three starts) with the Mudcats. Dorchies, a 10th-round pick last year, is already a five-pitch pitcher and looks like an early development win for the Brewers’ organization.

Jose Anderson (No. 29): Anderson went 7-for-21 (.333) and is now slashing .217/.308/.396 on the season.

Other standouts over the last week include pitchers Melvin Hernandez (2.05 ERA in 18 games this year), Jayden Dubanewicz (5 IP, 8 H, 1 ER) and Travis Smith (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER).

Next week’s opponent: Augusta GreenJackets

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

SS/3B Jesús Made (A): .279/.386/.407, 4 HR, 40 SB

SS/3B Luis Peña (A): .315/.381/.482, 6 HR, 40 SB

SS Cooper Pratt (AA): .241/.344/.347, 5 HR

C Jeferson Quero (AAA): .259/.333/.362, 2 HR

RHP Logan Henderson (AAA): 16 G, 15 GS, 10-4 W-L, 77.2 IP, 3.59 ERA, 1.11 WHIP

RHP Bishop Letson (A+): 6 G, 5 GS, 1.33 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 10 K/9, 2.33 BB/9

1B/3B Luke Adams (AA): .241/.422/.477, 11 HR

OF Braylon Payne (A): .264/.378/.423, 7 HR, 25 SB

C Marco Dinges (A): .323/.426/.532, 9 HR

OF Luis Lara (AA): .257/.364/.337, 29 SB

Player of the Week

Welcome back, Josh Adamczewski! Milwaukee’s 15th-round pick in 2023 hit .389 with a home run and two doubles in his first full week back from the back injury. Adamczewski wasn’t even ranked on Pipeline’s list of top 30 Brewers prospects coming into the season, but if he continues to hit like this for the rest of the season, he could very well sneak into the top 10.

Play of the Week

I already linked this play earlier, but I want you guys to watch it again. This is a grown man play from Cooper Pratt. Big-league athleticism. I’m convinced Pratt would already hold his own in Milwaukee — at least defensively.