Biloxi Shuckers news: First Half South Division champions, Brock Wilken injury, Tyson Hardin Double-A debut

Down in Southern Mississippi, the Biloxi Shuckers continue to impress with their record-breaking first few months of the 2025 season. Not only does the Milwaukee Brewers' Double-A affiliate roster some of the most exciting prospects in the farm system, with names like Brock Wilken, Cooper Pratt, Mike Boeve, Luke Adams, and more making up their high-octane lineup, but together they are playing impressive team baseball under the direction of second-year skipper Joe Ayrault, who has been a part of the Brewers organization since 2010.

Storyline after storyline has emerged from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, most of which have been exciting developments regarding players who will no doubt be a key part of the Milwaukee Brewers' future success. While they aren't all rosy, here are a few headlines that emerged late last week and over the weekend.

Shuckers clinch First Half South Division title, earning a playoff spot for the second year in a row

Clinching a playoff spot in Double-A, and most other minor league levels for that matter, is not the same as clinching one in the majors. It isn't simply where you stand at the end of the season that determines whether or not you are a participant for that year's postseason. Rather, in the Southern League, the league that the Shuckers compete in, the playoffs are made up of the winner of the North and South Divisions for the first half of the season, and the team with the best record in each division during the second half of the season. As explained on MiLB.com, "In the event the same Club wins both halves, the Club with the next best winning percentage in the second half will advance.”

A season ago, the Shuckers were dead last in the South Division during the first half of the season, but still qualified for the playoffs as the Montgomery Biscuits, the Tampa Bay Rays' Double-A affiliate, had the best record in the division in both halves of the season, and the Shuckers held the next best record during the second half of 2024. It's an odd format, but it rewards teams who might have a strong first half, promote their best players to Triple-A, and then fall off during the second half.

This year, the first half of the season has been a completely different story for Biloxi. As the team earned their 40th win of 2025, in a victory over the Knoxville Smokies, the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate, they clinched the South Division First Half title, guaranteeing them a spot in the 2025 Southern League playoffs. But the Shuckers haven't just been the best team in the South Division; they hold the best record in all of the Southern League. As reported on the Shuckers website, the team already knows that they "will host games two and three (if necessary) of the Southern League Division Series on September 18 and 19 at 6:35 p.m."

Tyson Hardin continues his breakout season with impressive Double-A debut

Drafted in the 12th round of last year's MLB Draft, Tyson Hardin has been turning heads in the Brewers' minor league system this year. After making just one start for the Low-A Carolina Mudcats last season following his selection in the draft, Hardin was assigned to High-A Wisconsin to begin the 2025 season. In addition, the Brewers elected to convert Hardin to a full-time starter despite him making just two starts during two seasons of Division I college ball at Mississippi State University.

It certainly looked like a tall task for the 23-year-old right-hander, but Hardin met the challenge head-on and was stellar in his 11 starts with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers; he posted a 2.34 ERA while striking out 62 in 57.2 innings pitched. Additionally, throughout his Timber Rattlers tenure, Hardin allowed just nine walks and didn't surrender a single home run. His performance was so impressive that he earned an early-season promotion to Double-A, returning to the state where he pitched in college.

Hardin's first start for the Shuckers came last Wednesday, in what ended up being the team's South Division First Half title-clinching win. While facing a strong Knoxville Smokies lineup, Hardin covered six innings, struck out five, and surrendered just two earned runs on four hits. He earned both the win and a quality start in his first outing in Double-A, continuing what has been an incredibly impressive 2025 campaign for one of the most intriguing arms in the Brewers' farm system.

Brock Wilken suffers knee injury in First Half title celebration

In a rare instance of bad news for the 2025 Biloxi Shuckers, their best hitter of the season, slugging third baseman Brock Wilken, suffered a knee injury while celebrating the team’s clinching of the South Division First Half title, as initially reported by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Though the extent of the injury still isn't known at this time, as Rosiak notes in his post on X, the threat of missing more time due to a freak injury is an absolutely devastating development for Wilken. A season ago, he was hit by a pitch in the face and forced to spend nearly a month on the injured list — which actually is a shockingly short amount of time considering he suffered facial fractures.

Wilken is in the midst of a breakout season. He leads the Southern League in homers (18), RBIs (41), and walks (57) while posting an interesting slash line of .230/.392/.550. That adds up to an OPS of .942, which is also the best in the Southern League, with the next highest mark coming from his teammate Luke Adams, who currently sits at .899.

The hope for Wilken, Brewers fans, and everyone in the organization is that the injury is minor and the Brewers' 2023 first-round pick will be back on the field in no time. Stay tuned for more updates on Wilken and the rest of the Shuckers squad as their impressive 2025 campaign continues.