Brewers' prospect Bishop Letson tosses best career start when Biloxi Shuckers needed it most

The postseason is already in full swing for the Milwaukee Brewers' Double-A squad, the Biloxi Shuckers. In fact, the Shuckers have already won a postseason series -- a 2-0 sweep of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Miami Marlins' Double-A affiliate, in the Southern League Divisional Series -- and will play for the Southern League title tonight.

The Shuckers' backs were up against the wall last night after dropping the first game of their best-of-three Southern League Championship Series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Los Angeles Angels' Double-A club, on Sunday night. Biloxi needed a win to keep their season alive and force a decisive Game 3.

Led by legendary minor league manager Mike Guerrero, who collected the 1,500th win of his career this year, Biloxi turned to right-hander Bishop Letson for their must-win game last night. Letson, who currently checks in at No. 8 on MLB Pipeline's list of the top prospects in the Brewers' farm system, already has one postseason win to his name this year, after a five-inning, one-run performance in Game 1 of the Divisional Series.

On Tuesday night, Letson was on another level. The 22-year-old right-hander covered seven shutout innings and struck out 12 batters, while allowing just four hits. The 12 punchouts in a single game are a new career-high for Letson and tie a Shuckers' franchise record. Unsurprisingly, given Letson's dominance, the Shuckers defeated the Trash Pandas and forced a winner-takes-all Game 3.

However, Letson wasn't the only top Brewers prospect that played a key role in Biloxi's necessary Tuesday night win. A pair of Southern League All-Stars led the Shuckers' offense to their dominant seven-run victory.

Bishop Letson spins a gem, Andrew Fischer crushes 50th homer, Jesús Made collects two RBI in Biloxi Shuckers' season-extending victory

While Letson was busy pitching the best game of his career, the Shuckers' offense was held in check for the first five innings of the game. However, Biloxi's bats finally broke through in the sixth, and it started with MLB's top prospect Jesús Made. After 2024 first-round pick Braylon Payne singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch with one out in the sixth, Made laced an RBI-double down the left field line and gave the Shuckers a 1-0 lead.

The next batter, prolific slugger Andrew Fischer, crushed a two-run home run to center field that quickly tripled the Shuckers' lead. Fischer, who has already been named the Brewers' minor league player of the year by Baseball America, collected his 50th total home run of the season -- including the regular season and the playoffs.

However, Made and Fischer weren't done yet. After Payne led off the eighth inning with a single, and Made followed with a walk, Fischer roped a two-RBI double into the right field corner to give Biloxi a 5-0 lead. After an error on a bunt single from Dylan O'Rae brought home a run in the top of the ninth, Made added an RBI-single to give the Shuckers a 7-0 victory. Not to be overlooked in the game are the two perfect innings with five strikeouts that left-hander Wande Torres posted to close out the win.

It was an energizing win for the Shuckers, led by a trio of top prospects. Now, Biloxi has a chance to earn their first Southern League Championship in franchise history with a win on Wednesday night. The decisive Game 3, which will be played at the Trash Pandas' home ballpark in Madison, Alabama, is set for 6:35 p.m. CT tonight. Brewers' 2025 second-round pick J.D. Thompson is lined up to start for the Shuckers.

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