Brewers Farm Update: Thursday, July 2

Colorado Springs Sky Sox: (31-46), 19.5 GB

RHP Josh Roenicke:  (L, 4-5) 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K — 4.75 ERA
RHP Jaye Chapman:  1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 1.50 ERA
DH Elian Herrera:  3-for-4, 3 1B — .411 AVG

Biloxi Shuckers: (4-2), — GB

RHP Tyler Wagner:  8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR — 2.31 ERA
LHP Mike Strong:  (W, 3-0) 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — 2.68 ERA
3B Nathan Orf:  2-for-4, 2 2B, R — .277 AVG
SS Orlando Arcia:  2-for-4, RBI — .311 AVG

Brevard County Manatees: (3-3), 2.5 GB

RHP Javier Salas:  (W, 7-4) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K — 2.84 ERA
RHP Kaleb Earls:  (S, 2) 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K — 3.60 ERA
1B Taylor Brennan:  3-for-5, 2B, HR (2), 4 RBI, 2 R — .252 AVG
C Rafael Neda:  3-for-4, 3B, HR (2), 3 RBI, BB, 3 R — .213 AVG
RF Clint Coulter:  3-for-4, 3 2B, RBI, BB, 2 R, K — .261 AVG
DH Cameron Garfield:  2-for-4, HR (2), RBI, 2 R, 2 K — .239 AVG

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: (2-5), 4.0 GB

LHP Zach Hirsch:  6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 5 K — 2.98 ERA
RHP Gian Rizzo:  2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 4.38 ERA
RHP Scott Lieser:  (L, 0-2) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K — 6.75 ERA
CF Brandon Diaz:  2-for-3, 2 2B, RBI, BB — .230 AVG
3B Dustin DeMuth:  2-for-4, 2B, K — .277 AVG

Helena Brewers: (5-8), 3.5 GB

LHP Jake Drossner:  2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 9.00 ERA
RHP Joshua Torres:  (W, 2-0) 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K — 6.00 ERA
2B George Iskenderian:  2-for-5, HR (1), 5 RBI, R, K — .286 AVG
LF Troy Stokes:  3-for-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, BB, 3 R — .389 AVG

AZL Brewers: (4-6), 2.0 GB

(AZL Dodgers had a combined perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning.)

RHP Derek Eitel:  (L, 0-1) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 4.50 ERA
RHP David Lucroy:  4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 7 K — 3.52 ERA
2B Daniel Leonardo:  1-for-3, 1B — .308 AVG

DSL Brewers: (10-17), 10.0 GB

RHP Rodrigo Benoit:  6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 7 K — 2.92 ERA
RHP Jesus Brea:  (W, 1-1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 0.00 ERA
2B Julio Mendez:  3-for-5, 2 RBI — .235 AVG
CF Marcos Pinero:  1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB (3), K — .227 AVG

Prospect of the Day:  RHP Tyler Wagner, Biloxi

Wagner tossed a gem on Wednesday evening for Double-A Biloxi, only surrendering a single run over eight innings of work. He struck out three and walked no one. It ultimately became a ground-ball fest for his opponent, the Mississippi Braves, as Wagner induced 12 groundout to only three flyouts — which represents his strategy on the mound. Throw strikes, limit walks, get ground balls. Pitching doesn’t seem so difficult when described in that manner.

The Brewers got a brief glimpse of Wagner at the big-league level earlier this year, so his repertoire isn’t a mystery to most fans. He’s a standard ground-ball specialist, throwing a sinker and slider with the occasional show-me changeup. That’s a back-end profile, at best, but Wagner has shown solid command throughout his minor-league career, which gives him a legitimate chance to hang onto the back-end of a rotation. He does, however, have the typical problem that plagues sinker-ballers — hints of future platoon issues. Lefties are only hitting .248, but the underlying numbers show a stark difference in the level of success.

Largely, this underlying platoon split stems from his lack of a quality changeup, as he’s forced to attack opposite-handed batters with his sinker-slider combination. Wagner has experienced difficulty in consistently retiring lefties in Double-A. That limitation will only be exacerbated further in the majors. This is why, despite the sterling 2.31 ERA, Wagner only profiles as a back-end starter, unless something unexpectedly changes with his arsenal.