Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Biloxi Update



Biloxi has the best record (17-7) in Milwaukee's farm system at this point; they are in 1st place in their division and have the best record in the Southern League (AA).  Brett "Maverick" Phillips has 2 home runs and leads the club in that department (tied with two others).  His batting average is down to .250 on the season with a .388 slugging pct and .355 on-base percentage.  Despite all of this, he has 14 runs batted in and leads the team in this category. I for one can't wait until he arrives in Milwaukee in September, when expanded rosters are announced.  This top 5 prospect for the Brewers will continue to develop and hone in on becoming the CF of the future.

A little concerning is how Jacob Nottingham has been hitting at the plate.  His batting average has dropped to .169 and struck out 18 times in 65 plate appearances.  It's still early, so lets hope that our future Catcher can start to get it going.  Nottingham was the center piece of the Khris Davis/Athletics trade.

Victor Roache is having a strong start to the season with a .281 BA and a team leading 7 doubles, which is good for 3rd best in the league.

Josh Hader has been absolutely killing it on the bump for the Shuckers.  The starting 22-year-old LHP has the 2nd best ERA in the Southern League (AA) and has yet to collect a decision in his 5 starts.  Hader has struck out 32 hitters in only 23 innings pitched, which ranks him 3rd in the league.  Best of all is that he's only issued 9 free passes.  Hader was acquired in the Carlos Gomez/Astros deal last summer.

Another starting pitcher to collect impressive numbers so far in the season is Jorge Ortega (0-1).  This 22-year-old RHP has a 1.19 ERA over 4 starts and 22.2 innings pitched.  Despite his strike outs standing at 9 and giving up 22 hits, he has been able to keep the ball in the park (1 HR given up).  

Starting pitchers that have been struggling is Adrian Houser (1-2) with a 7.20 ERA over 20 IP and Jeb Bradley, the former first round draft pick for the Brewers in 2011 has a horrific 12.86 ERA in only 7 IP.