Milwaukee Brewers Farm Report: Brevard County Manatees

Each week throughout the regular season, the staff at Reviewing the Brew will be bringing you a comprehensive minor league report about each of the Milwaukee Brewers affiliates. There isn’t much to write home about at the big league level this season (so far) for the Brewers, but Milwaukee does have plenty of exciting prospects off to hot starts throughout their minor league system.

The Brewers affiliate in the Florida State League (Advanced A) is no exception.

The Brevard County Manatees have struggled a bit through this interesting week, winning just two of six games. The team had a game postponed by rain and also completed a suspended game on May 1, losing 3-2 to FSL North Division leading Daytona.

The Manatees currently have a record of 11-13, in fifth place, four and one-half games behind Daytona. To add insult to injury, Brevard County dropped one of five contests to Daytona in the last week, putting them with a mark of 2-6 against the Tortugas for the young season.

Brevard County kept pace in the runs scored category in the last week, scoring 22 runs against giving up a like number while dropping four games. If the pitching can pick up the pace a bit, the team can win some games with the hitting as it is.

While the pitching continues to rank in the bottom half of the league stats, the hitters, as a group, have done well.

The Manatees rank first in stolen bases (36), tied for the runner-up spot in home runs (16), and rate second in OPS (.698).

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• Which Players May Be In The Final Month Of Their Brewers Careers?
• Brewers: Where Does Devin Williams Stand In NL Reliever Of The Year Race?

HITTER OF THE WEEK:
Christopher McFarland, 22-year-old second baseman

McFarland, an 18th round draft pick in the 2011 draft, batted .316 (6 of 19) in the last week, including a pair of two-baggers and a home run. For the year, McFarland is hitting  .243/.288/.359 with a team-leading nine doubles. His nine RBIs rank fifth on the Manatees this season.

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK:
Jorge Ortega, 22-year-old right hander
Ortega made one start against Daytona and earned the win. He pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and one run, striking out six and walking none.

Trevor Seidenberger, 23-year-old left hander
Seidenberger appeared in two games and pitched three and two-thirds, allowed one hit and whiffed four. This Texas hurler is quietly making some noise; don’t be surprised if he is pitching in Biloxi before too long.

UP NEXT:
The Manatees will contest Clearwater, Tampa, and Bradenton in the next week. Tampa and Clearwater boast better records in the North Division, while Bradenton ranks second in the South.

Either way, the Manatees have their work cut out for them this week.