BREWERS MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Garrett Cooper, 1B, Colorado Springs: A sixth-round pick of the Brewers out of Auburn in 2013, Cooper is off to a hot start this season with the Sky Sox. He totaled an organization-high 14 bases in six games last week, hitting .346 with one home run, five runs batted in, a .393 on-base percentage and a .931 OPS. Cooper is hitting .349 with 11 RBI, a .391 on-base percentage and .926 OPS in 10 games overall. He played the bulk of last season at Class AA Biloxi and then closed out the year by hitting .276 with five homers and 20 RBI in 36 games with Colorado Springs.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Marcos Diplan, RHP, Carolina: Diplan was the wild card in the Brewers’ 2015 trade of Yovani Gallardo to the Texas Rangers, and he’s continuing to show great promise as he climbs up the ladder in the minors. Diplan went 1-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA in two appearances last week (one start), allowing just two hits and five walks while striking out 11 over nine total innings. On April 10, Diplan started and combined with Freddy Peralta to take a no-hitter into the eighth inning in an eventual 2-1 victory at Wilmington. JOURNAL SENTINEL’S TOP FIVE PROSPECTS 1. Lewis Brinson, OF, Colorado Springs: Brinson returned from a dislocated left pinkie finger to play four games, hitting .250 with two doubles, a homer and an RBI. He’s hitting .273 in five total games. 2. Josh Hader, LHP, Colorado Springs: Hader went 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA in a pair of starts, allowing six hits, four runs (earned) and six walks with five strikeouts over nine total innings. In three starts overall, he’s 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA, has 11 strikeouts and a WHIP of 2.19 (14 innings). 3. Isan Diaz, INF, Carolina: Diaz, the Brewers’ 2016 minorleague player of the year, hit .154 with two RBI and nine strikeouts in seven games. In 10 total games, Diaz is hitting .231 with five RBI and one extra-base hit (double). 4. Corey Ray, OF, Carolina: Ray, Milwaukee’s top overall pick in 2016, made his season debut on Sunday and tripled in his first at-bat. He collected two hits in five at-bats overall. Ray had been working his way back from off-season knee surgery. 5. Lucas Erceg, 3B, Carolina: Selected in the second round in 2016, Erceg hit .316 with a pair of doubles and three RBI in five games. He’s hitting .303 with a .343 on-base percentage in eight total games.
AFFILIATES UPDATE Class AAA Colorado Springs: The Sky Sox won four straight to finish the week with a 4-2 record, and their 7-3 overall record was tops in the 16-team Pacific Coast League. Ryan Cordell’s three homers have paced the offense thus far while Hader, Brandon Woodruff (2-0, 0.00 ERA, nine strikeouts in two starts) and Paolo Espino (1-0, 3.86, 13 strikeouts in two starts) have led a strong showing by the rotation. Class AA Biloxi: The Shuckers went 1-5 last week and are 4-6 to start the season, leaving them in fourth place in the South Division of the Southern League. First baseman Dustin DeMuth was leading the team in hitting at .313 with a homer, four RBI and an OPS of .858. Starting pitchers Jorge Lopez, Aaron Wilkerson and Luis Ortiz are off to good starts. The Shuckers tied a league record originally set in 1971 by committing nine errors in a 13-6 loss at Montgomery on April 10. Advanced Class A Carolina: The Mudcats went 4-3 last week and were 6-4 overall, placing them second in the Southern Division of the Carolina League. Third baseman Jake Gatewood is off to a great start, hitting .361 with a homer, five RBI and an OPS of 1.033. His on-base percentage also sat at .477 thanks in part to his eight walks, a much-improved area of his game. The pitching has been outstanding, with Cody Ponce (2-0, 1.29 ERA) and Corbin Burnes (0.82) joining Diplan as early standouts. Class A Wisconsin: The Timber Rattlers went 3-3 last week and were 5-5 overall in the Midwest League. Catcher Mario Feliciano is off to a good start (.292) along with outfielder Monte Harrison (.273, two homers), who escaped serious injury when he was hit in the face by a pitch on April 13. Pitchers Thomas Jankins (0.82 ERA) and Trey Supak (0.00 ERA, 11 strikeouts in 82⁄3 innings) led the staff.