Brewers Farm Report: Brevard County Manatees, June 23-29

(Author’s Note: I would like to dedicate this column to my father, Gerald Trzinski, who had major surgery Friday night to repair a ruptured aorta. He is currently in critical condition in the ICU at Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Get better, dad!)

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.

You think the ‘Tees had a weird week last week? This week they had two rain-outs (welcome to Florida State League baseball!) and a make-up game that ended in a tie. Their record? 2-3-1.

On the year, they rank sixth in the FSL North with a 31-42 record, nine games out of first.

On the season, the hitters are tied for fourth with 30 home runs and are tied for second with 78 steals. On the pitching side, the hurlers lead the league with five complete games.

Individually, Clint Coulter leads the league with 119 total bases and 13 hit-by-pitches, while tying for second with ten home runs. Victor Roache–promoted to Biloxi–also has ten dingers.

Taylor Smith-Brennan ranks second with 45 runs scored, as does Chris McFarland with his 87 hits. Garrett Cooper has the runner-up spot with 20 doubles, while Omar Garcia has 28 steals to rate second in the FSL.

Pitching-wise, Jorge Ortega continues to be one of the top pitchers in the league. He leads with four complete games, a WHIP of 0.864, second with qualifier’s ERA of 1.78, and is tied for fifth with six victories. Javi Salas also has earned six wins.

HITTER OF THE WEEK: Chris McFarland, 2B

McFarland has won this award a few times this year, and always seems to come up with a bunch of multiple-hit games during the week. He went 9-for-25 (.360/.407/.360) with four runs scored and four runs batted in. On the year, McFarland is hitting .288/.338/.348  with 15 stolen bases. He is an unsung hero in the Brewers organization.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Wei-Chung Wang, LHSP

Wang has struggled this year at Brevard County, but did anything but this week. In a pair of starts, he went 15 2/3 innings, allowed nine hits and zero earned runs, whiffing seven while walking four. He earned a win and a no-decision with his efforts, finally living up to the parent club’s expectations.

UP NEXT:

Brevard County finishes up their series with one game at Bradenton, and then move over to Dunedin for a three-pack. Then, it is back home beginning on the Fourth with three games against Clearwater.