Minor League Notes: Nelson, Stars One-Hit Birmingham

The Huntsville Stars will not be playing in the postseason this year, but that doesn’t mean that don’t have any good games left in them.

Last night, the team proved that there’s still plenty of reasons to believe in the AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers going forward, as pitcher Jimmy Nelson and Kyle Heckathorn hung a one-hit shutout on the Birmingham Barons.

The crowd of nearly 2,000 at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama, appeared to be in a pitcher’s duel from the very beginning as both pitchers were dealing. In fact, it only took three batters for Jimmy Nelson to give up his first hit – a single to right field.

The batter was thrown out on a steal attempt in the next play.

From then on, Nelson collected five strikeouts, walked two, and never gave up another hit on his way to collecting only his second win of the season in a masterful performance.

Jimmy Nelson is 2-4 on the year with Huntsville, and spent nearly a month of the season on the DL with a shoulder injury. The seven inning, one hit performance marks his longest outing since making the move up from Advanced-A Brevard County in mid-June. The number nine ranked prospect for the Brewers told reporters told MiLB.com’s Zack Cox that this performance was “…the best outing, for sure, since I’ve been in Huntsville.”

It was also a good outing for another member of Milwaukee’s top 20 list, outfielder Kentrail Davis.

The 24 year-old improved on his stunning August numbers with a 2-for-3 performance and three runs batted in. He’s currently hitting .301 on the month with 12 RBI’s and an .841 OPS.

Top Prospects Scooter Gennett and Hunter Morris also hit and scored in the 4-0 victory. All around the team played well, backing up Nelson with sound defense and timely hitting, and reliever Kyle Heckathorn pitched two no-hit to seal off Nelson’s impressive start.

While last night’s game was against another lower member of Huntsville’s division in the Southern League, it was able to showcase the enormous depth of talent Milwaukee has only a few years away. With brilliant performances from around the lineup, and another dominating performance out of the pitching staff, it appears that the core group of Huntsville players may soon be able to take their talents on to the parent club.

If they can play like they did last night – it’s something to look forward to, indeed.