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 Brewers’ affiliates. There hasn’t been much to write home about up at the big league level this season for the Brewers this season, but Milwaukee does have plenty of exciting prospects playing well throughout their minor league system. The Brewers’ high-A affiliate, the Brevard County Manatees, are no exception.

The Manatees had a strange week, going 1-4 in five games, along with two off days sandwiching the Florida State League All-Star game. Then they had a double-dip on Monday, dropping both games at Lakeland.

Five players participated in the FSL All-Star game. Chris McFarland went 0-for-2 and Clint Coulter took the collar in four trips. Jorge Ortega started the game and allowed one hit in one inning, as did reliever Javi Salas. Preston Gainey pitched two-thirds and struck out a pair while allowing one hit. Victor Roache was named to the team but was promoted to Class AA Biloxi and did not play.

As a team, the ‘Tees rank fourth in the league in both home runs (29) and stolen bases (72), while the pitchers have five complete games to lead the FSL.

Individually, several players, both at the plate and on the rubber, are among the league leaders.

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Coulter leads in homers (10), total bases (113), and hit by pitches (11). Roache is tied for first with ten homers, despite being gone for a week. He also ranks fourth with 107 total bags.

Unheralded Taylor Smith-Brennan is second with 44 runs and first with 36 base-on-balls. Chris McFarland leads the league with 78 hits and Garrett Cooper is tied for second with 19 two-baggers. Speedy Omar Garcia is third in the league with 25 steals.

Two starting pitchers have proven to be among the best in the FSL.

Ortega leads the league in WHIP (0.816), innings pitched (76), shutouts (1), and complete games (4). He is third among ERA qualifiers (1.78) and tied for fifth with six victories. Salas is second with 74 2/3 innings, tied for third with one complete game, and tied for fifth with a half-dozen wins.

HITTER OF THE WEEK: Taylor Smith-Brennan, 3B

Taylor Smith-Brennan was named Hitter of the Week by Reviewing the Brew. Permission and credit by Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography.

Smith-Brennan, a 37th round pick by the Brewers in 2012, had one of his best weeks of the season. Going 5-for-12, he scored three runs, smacked a pair of doubles, and drew five free passes in a week where he hit .417/.588/.583.

Runners-Up: Steven Halcomb, INF and Rafael Neda, C

Halcomb, a reserve infielder, played at third, short, and second during the week and went 3-for-9, scored a run and knocked one in during a .333/.333/.333 slash week.

Neda, a back-up catcher who was drafted in the 10th round in 2010, went 3-for-3 against Lakeland on Monday and went 3-for-6 overall, with a triple and two runs batted in.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Javi Salas, SP

Salas continued his solid season with a complete-game five-hitter against Jupiter last week, allowing an earned run while striking out three to improve his record to 6-4.

Runners-Up: Stephen Peterson, RP and Brandon Woodruff, SP

Peterson, 27, a lefty from the University of Rhode Island, pitched once against Jupiter, throwing two innings while striking out three.

Woodruff started in a 2-1 loss to Jupiter, going eight innings, allowing seven hits and one run (not earned) while whiffing four.

UP NEXT:

The Manatees will be road-warriors this week, playing a doubleheader on Wednesday at Lakeland after being rained out on Tuesday, and then will play home-and-home with Daytona (one game at each place), and then finish with three at Bradenton (four total) to end the week.

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