Outfielder Luis Castillo socks four homers over weekend to lead Carolina Mudcats to 4-2 week
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 18 roundup.
Triple-A Nashville
The Sounds took three of five over the Charlotte Knights (45-53 overall; 12-12 second half) before Sunday’s series finale was canceled due to inclement weather. Nashville is now 53-48 overall on the season, including a 15-11 second-half record, two games behind Columbus for first place in the International League West.
The Sounds didn’t slug any homers this week, but Vinny Capra led the offense with six hits – including three doubles – scoring five runs and swiping two bases. Tyler Black collected three steals while Brewer Hicklen went a perfect 4-for-4 on the basepaths. As a team, the Sounds hit .196/.350/.250 with no homers and 23 runs scored.
DL Hall made a strong rehab start for the Sounds, allowing one run on a solo homer with four strikeouts across four innings. Devin Williams was also solid before returning to the big league squad, allowing just one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over two innings in relief. The Sounds pitching staff finished the week with an even 4.00 ERA, striking out 27 across 45 innings.
The Sounds now head to Gwinnett to take on the Stripers (48-54 overall; 13-14 second half). Nashville dropped five of six to Gwinnett back in June.
Double-A Biloxi
The Shuckers split their six-game set with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (52-43 overall; 14-13 second half), moving to 17-10 in the second half with a 47-47 overall record. The Shuckers remain in first place in the Southern League South second-half standings, up two games on Mississippi.
Lamar Sparks had a huge week, leading the team in hits (10), doubles (four), and RBIs (seven) while also homering. He slashed .435/.440/.739 on the week. Ernesto Martinez was second on the team with seven hits, driving in four and scoring four runs. As a team, the Shuckers hit .223/.304/.327 with three homers and 28 runs scored.
Logan Henderson had another strong start, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings in a win. Bradley Blalock was lights out in his last start before being traded to Colorado, allowing no runs and striking out four over 5 ⅓ innings. Craig Yoho, Sam Gardner, Nick Merkel, Will Childers, Russell Smith, and Kaleb Bowman were all solid out of the bullpen, allowing no runs across a combined 15 ⅔ innings with 17 strikeouts. The pitching staff finished the week with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 51 in 53 ⅔ innings.
The Shuckers return home where they’ll welcome the Rocket City Trash Pandas (45-49 overall; 12-14 second half) for six games. Biloxi went 5-1 against Rocket City in June.
High-A Wisconsin
The Timber Rattlers stayed hot, winning four of six against the Beloit Sky Carp (45-48 overall; 15-15 second half) to improve to 62-33 overall and 20-9 in the second half.
Tayden Hall picked up the only homer for Wisconsin this week, while Eduardo Garcia led the squad with eight hits, driving in two and scoring three runs. Eduarqui Fernandez swiped six bags to lead an aggressive running attack, as the Rattlers combined for an astonishing 19 steals this week. As a team, Wisconsin hit .211/.328/.281 with one homer and 24 runs scored.
Alexander Cornielle, recently-traded Yujanyer Herrera, K.C. Hunt, and Tate Kuehner all had solid starts for Wisconsin this week, combining to allow just three runs over 19 innings with 18 strikeouts. Aaron Rund was solid in two appearances out of the bullpen, allowing no runs and striking out two across three innings as he also picked up a save. As a staff, the Rattlers finished the week with a league-best 2.50 ERA, striking out 58 batters over 54 innings.
The Rattlers head back north to take on the South Bend Cubs (37-59 overall; 10-20 second half). Wisconsin is 10-8 against the Cubs across three series this season.
Single-A Carolina
The Mudcats took four of six against the Salem RedSox (50-46 overall; 16-14 second half) to improve to 57-37 overall and 16-13 in the second half.
Outfielder Luis Castillo had one of the most impressive weeks for any prospect all season, hitting .556/.600/1.333 with four homers, two doubles, 16 RBIs, and five runs scored in just five games this week. Castillo had two homers in both Friday and Sunday’s games, boosting his season line to .219/.305/.407 with 14 homers and 60 RBIs. Cooper Pratt had a respectable .304/.407/.348 line with seven hits, six runs scored, and three steals. As a team, the Mudcats hit .266/.347/.402 with four homers and a league-high 39 runs scored.
Daniel Corniel had the top start of the week for Carolina, allowing no runs and striking out three across four innings. Brailin Rodriguez, Tyler Bryant, Morris Austin, and Jeison Pena were all solid in relief, combining to allow no runs on four hits and four walks with 14 strikeouts over 8 ⅔ innings. As a pitching staff, the Mudcats had a 4.04 ERA, striking out 51 batters in 49 innings.
The Mudcats head home where they’ll take on the Charleston RiverDogs (45-48 overall; 18-10 second half) for six games. Carolina went 3-3 against Charleston in early June.
Performances by Top 10 Brewers Prospects (Weekly Performance; Season Totals)
- (MLB No. 32) RHP Jacob Misiorowski (AA): 7 IP, 4 H, 6 ER (7.71 ERA), 9 BB, 7 SO; 79 ⅔ IP, 52 H, 31 ER (3.50 ERA), 50 BB, 105 SO
- (MLB No. 33) 3B/1B Tyler Black (AAA): .167/.375/.250 (12 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .270/.376/.436 (307 at-bats), 10 HR, 51 RBI
- (MLB No. 93) SS Cooper Pratt (A): .304/.407/.348 (23 at-bats), 0 HR, 3 RBI; .295/.394/.395 (261 at-bats), 3 HR, 36 RBI
- 3B Brock Wilken (AA): .208/.296/.250 (24 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .227/.327/.401 (277 at-bats), 12 HR, 39 RBI
- RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (AAA): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER (0.00 ERA), 3 BB, 0 SO; 91 ⅔ IP, 89 H, 58 ER (5.69 ERA), 42 BB, 91 SO
- OF Luis Lara (A+): .185/.241/.296 (27 at-bats), 0 HR, 3 RBI; .240/.311/.318 (308 at-bats), 2 HR, 32 RBI
- OF Yophery Rodriguez (A): .500/.600/.750 (4 at-bats), 0 HR, 2 RBI; .259/.355/.428 (297 at-bats), 7 HR, 49 RBI
- SS Eric Brown Jr. (AA): .174/.296/.261 (23 at-bats), 0 HR, 1 RBI; .198/.283/.287 (268 at-bats), 4 HR, 31 RBI
- RHP Josh Knoth (A): 3 ⅔ IP, 7 H, 3 ER (7.36 ERA), 1 BB, 4 SO; 66 IP, 55 H, 29 ER (3.95 ERA), 36 BB, 77 SO
- 3B/SS Eric Bitonti (Rookie): .286/.615/.857 (7 at-bats), 1 HR, 4 RBI; .320/.451/.580 (181 at-bats), 8 HR, 44 RBI