Brewers catching prospect Nottingham goes on power tear
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 18th edition of the 2017 Young Brewers Tracker.
Mauricio Dubon (Age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 9 AB, 2 H, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 2 K, .222 BA.
Season (Triple-A): 53 games, 207 AB, .271 BA, .318 OBP, .411 SLG, .729 OPS, 14 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 36 R, 29 RBI, 7 SB, 13 BB, 33 K.
Notable: With one day left in August, Dubon is hitting just .230/.301/.311 in the month, a stark dropoff from his July slash line of .295/.339/.486.
Jake Gatewood (Age 21/Double-A)
Last week: 5 games, 23 AB, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 11 K, .130 BA.
Season (Double-A): 18 games, 74 AB, .257 BA, .295 OBP, .446 SLG, .741 OPS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 2 SB, 4 BB, 24 K.
Notable: Gaetwood hit a solo homer on Aug. 24, but last week struck out multiple times in each of the five games he played and has done so in six straight overall.
Keston Hiura (Age 21/Low-A)
Last week: DNP
Season (Single-A): 24 games, 95 AB, .347 BA, .385 OBP, .484 SLG, .869 OPS, 9 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 13 R, 15 RBI, 2 SB, 6 BB, 22 K.
Notable: Hiura remains on the disabled list with a hamstring strain.
Luis Ortiz (age 21/Double-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-0, 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Season: 21 games (19 starts), 4-7, 3.99 ERA, 90.1 IP, 75 H, 12 HR, 33 BB, 78 K, .226 OBA, 1.20 WHIP.
Notable: After a couple of relief appearances, on Aug. 27 Ortiz made his first start since Aug. 11.
Brett Phillips (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 17 AB, 4 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 8 K, .235 BA.
Season: 105 games, 383 AB, .305 BA, .377 OBP, .567 SLG, .944 OPS, 23 2B, 10 3B, 19 HR, 79 R, 78 RBI, 9 SB, 45 BB, 129 K.
Notable: A slight blip in the radar last week for Phillips who has been red-hot since the Triple-A All-Star break, batting .340/.429/.524 in those 29 games.
Corey Ray (age 22/Single-A)
Last week: 6 games, 28 AB, 8 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 8 K, .286 BA.
Season: 108 games, 438 AB, .240 BA, .311 OBP, .370 SLG, .681 OPS, 28 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 56 R, 48 RBI, 24 SB, 46 BB, 152 K.
Notable: Ray had three multiple-hit games last week, including going 3 for 5 with a double and triple on Aug. 26.
Others: Biloxi C Jacob Nottingham had four hits last week -- all home runs. Nottingham now has 9 HRs on the season. … On Aug. 28, RHP Freddy Peralta pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out a career-high 12. He had reached double digits in whiffs just once before in his career, striking out 10 on July 2. On the season Peralta has a 2.53 ERA and 161 K in 114 IP combined with Biloxi and Carolina. … Shuckers CF Johnny Davis was named the Southern League's "Best Hustler." He then proved it by stealing five bases last week, giving him 45 (on 56 attempts) this season. … Cody Pence (2nd round, 2015) was promoted to Biloxi and pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his debut on Aug. 25. He also started Aug. 30 and allowed three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. … Carolina 3B Lucas Erceg (2nd round, 2016) has had a good month. He batted .409/.519/.682 last week with 6 runs and 9 RBI, and in August he has a slash line of .309/.398/.500 to raise his season totals to .258/.309/.421. … Mudcats OF Monte Harrison (2nd round, 2014) was 10 for 26 (.385) with 9 runs and 6 RBI. He also hit another homer, giving him 10 in 54 games with Carolina. He also had 11 in 63 games for Wisconsin. Harrison entered the season with 12 home runs in his first 204 minor-league games. … Helena C/DH K.J. Harrison (3rd round, 2017) was 9 for 25 (.360) last week with 4 doubles, a homer and 8 runs. … Helena CF Tristen Lutz (1st round comp., 2017) had 7 hits -- including 3 HR -- 11 runs and 7 RBI. In 38 games with the Rookie team, Lutz is batting .314/.401/.575 with 9 HR, 34 runs and 26 RBI.
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
