Good morning everyone and welcome to the Sunday edition of Brewer Daily News. This morning, we’ll be taking a look at two of the Brewers’ minor league teams, the Double-A affiliate Huntsville Stars and Triple-A affiliate Nashville Sounds, to see how some of the higher touted prospects are doing.
Scooter Gennett may see time up in the majors soon again this season. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Starting in Huntsville, the Stars sit at a 39-53 record, winning yesterday’s game 3-0 over the Birmingham Barons. On the team, the Brewers have two players on the 40-man roster, pitchers Nick Bucci and Ariel Pena. Looking first at Bucci, 22, he’s only pitched in one game this season and even then, only lasted 2/3 of an inning while allowing three unearned runs. Currently Bucci is on a rehab assignment and will look to be back with the Starts soon.
For Pena, 24, who was acquired in the trade for Zack Greinke last season, he’s been an efficient starter in Double-A, posting a 5-7 record with a 3.47 ERA. What’s also been impressive about Pena has been his low opponent’s batting average of .217 and maybe the Brewers will see him in September as a part of the call-ups.
The last player in Huntsville we’ll look at this morning is Taylor Jungmann. While Jungmann, 23, isn’t on the Brewers 40-man roster, he’s been one of the most talked about prospects in the farm league. Last season, Jungmann pitched in Brevard County, the Brewers’ A+ affiliate, and was great. This season, Jungmann has adjusted nicely to Double-A ball, owning a 9-6 record with a 3.56 ERA. However, his 58 strikeouts and 46 walks may leave a bit to be desired with the young right-hander.
Moving on to Nashville, we see this season they’re also struggling, sitting a low 33-64 record. They lost again yesterday, dropping a 5-4 game to the Memphis Redbirds. In Nashville, the Brewers have seven players on the 40-man roster, five of which have seen the majors league this season.
Scooter Gennett has been absolutely tearing it up in Triple-A, hitting a solid .302/.351/.410 with three home runs and 18 RBIs while stealing nine bases. Gennett, 23. made his debut on June 3 of this season. Alongside Gennett, Caleb Gindl, 24, has also been great, hitting a .294/.360/.489 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs.
Pitching wise, Johnny Hellweg had been an efficient starter for the team, but did not fare well at all in the majors. Hellweg, 24, is currently in Single-A, but will work his way back to the Sounds. Reliever Rob Wooten, 27, while not the 40-man roster, has been tremendous out of the bullpen, acquiring 18 saves with a 3.19 ERA and has 43 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched.
Major league wise, the Brewers will play in the final game of the four game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks today at 4:10 p.m. ET / 3:10 p.m. CT. The projected starters are Wily Peralta (6-9, 4.82 ERA) for Milwaukee and Ian Kennedy (3-5, 5.31 ERA) for Arizona.