Milwaukee Brewers

Brewers pitching prospect Peralta tops minor leagues in opponent batting average

Published Sep. 7, 2017 4:00 p.m. ET

Dave Heller

The Milwaukee Brewers are reshaping their franchise with an injection of youth and prospects.

Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Wisconsin will take a closer look at some specific young players in Milwaukee's farm system -- as well as noting others who might be stepping up -- measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.

This is the 19th edition of the 2017 Young Brewers Tracker.

Mauricio Dubon (Age 23/Triple-A)

Last week: 5 games, 17 AB, 5 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 1 K, .294 BA.

Season (Triple-A): 58 games, 224 AB, .272 BA, .320 OBP, .420 SLG, .739 OPS, 15 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 40 R, 33 RBI, 7 SB, 14 BB, 34 K.

Notable: Dubon saved one of his best games for last. On Sept. 2, he was 3 for 5 with a double, home run and four RBI. Dubon had similar numbers at Double-A and Triple-A, but more power at Colorado Springs, where he hit .336/.386/.541 at home, including hitting five of his six home runs. After stealing 31 bases in 40 attempts at Biloxi, Dubon was just seven of 13 with the Sky Sox.

Jake Gatewood (Age 21/Double-A)

Last week: 5 games, 18 AB, 3 H, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 5 K, .167 BA.

Season (Double-A): 23 games, 92 AB, .239 BA, .300 OBP, .457 SLG, .757 OPS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 9 R, 9 RBI, 3 SB, 8 BB, 29 K.

Notable: With a pair of homers in the final week, Gatewood finished with 15 overall combined between Single-A and Double-A in 134 games. However, he also struck out 161 times in 512 at-bats.

Keston Hiura (Age 21/Low-A)

Last week: 3 games, 10 AB, 2 H, 2 2B, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 3 K, .200 BA.

Season (Single-A): 27 games, 105 AB, .333 BA, .374 OBP, .476 SLG, .850 OPS, 11 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 14 R, 15 RBI, 2 SB, 7 BB, 24 K.

Notable: Hiura returned from a hamstring game to finish out the season and also played a couple of more games at second base. In 42 combined minor-league games, the Brewers' top pick in 2017 hit .371/.422/.611 and had a hit in 37 of those contests. In his five hitless contests, he reached base via a walk in four of them. Only once -- Aug. 1 -- did Hiura not get on base.

Luis Ortiz (age 21/Double-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-0, 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 1 K

Season: 22 games (20 starts), 4-7, 4.01 ERA, 94.1 IP, 79 H, 12 HR, 37 BB, 79 K, .227 OBA, 1.23 WHIP.

Notable: Before Ortiz missed a couple of weeks with an illness he had an ERA of 3.67, .207 opponent batting average and 1.13 WHIP. He didn’t pitch more than four innings or 77 pitches (his final start) after returning.

Freddy Peralta (age 21/Double-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 8 K

Season (Double-A): 13 games (11 starts), 2-5, 2.26 ERA, 63.2 IP, 38 H, 2 HR, 31 BB, 91 K, .167 OBA, 1.08 WHIP.

Notable: It took us all year, but we finally added Peralta to the capsule portion in our last "real" Tracker of the season (next week we'll have our superlatives at each level). Peralta also pitched at Single-A this season but was better at Biloxi. Overall he had 11 games with seven or more strikeouts -- not bad when you consider his longest outing all season in his 25 appearances was 6 1/3 innings. Peralta led all minor leaguers -- at any level(s) -- with a .178 opponent batting average.

Corey Ray (age 22/Single-A)

Last week: 4 games, 11 AB, 2 H, 1 2B, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 4 K, .182 BA.

Season: 112 games, 449 AB, .238 BA, .311 OBP, .367 SLG, .679 OPS, 29 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 56 R, 48 RBI, 24 SB, 48 BB, 156 K.

Notable: Ray finished the season with a 2 for 2 game on Sept. 4, his fifth multiple-hit game since Aug. 19. Last year's top draft choice led the Carolina League in strikeouts and was tied for seventh in both doubles and stolen bases.

Others: 3B Lucas Erceg (2nd round, 2016) was moved up from Single-A Carolina to Triple-A Colorado Springs and put on the Sky Sox playoff roster. In the final three regular-season games, Erceg went 4 for 10 with two doubles. … Colorado Spring OF Nate Orf finished off a stellar season by going 8 for 17 (.471) with two doubles and six runs. The 27-year-old hit .320/.397/.507. … Biloxi OF Johnny Davis stole seven bases last week to give him 52 for the season. … Davis and teammates OF Tory Stokes Jr. (4th round, 2014) and RHP Aaron Wilkerson (3.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) were called up to Colorado Springs for the playoffs. … Carolina RHP Nate Griep (8th round, 2016) saved two games, giving him 30 on the season which is a Mudcats franchise record. … Helena C/DH K.J. Harrison (3rd round 2017) hit two more home runs and now has 10 in 47 games with three contest remaining. … Helena OF Jay Felicano went 5 for 6 with two homers, four runs and nine RBI vs. Missoula on Sept. 4.

Statistics courtesy milb.com

Dave Heller is the author of the book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams - Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns