StaTuesday: Brewers prospects in the Arizona Fall League
While the Milwaukee Brewers' season came to a close in early October, several of their prospects just finished playing in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros.
The Saguaros made it all the way to the AFL championship game -- falling to the Scottsdale Scorpions -- and Brewers players had a big part in Surprise's success. Or maybe we should say Milwaukee's pitching prospects had a large hand in it.
Three Brewers position players played for Surprise, but only one finished out the season.
Outfielder Brett Phillips played in just seven games before leaving to play for Team USA in the WBSC Premier 12 international tournament, which was held Nov. 8-22. Phillips did his part in his limited action, though, posting a .990 OPS.
Outfielder Michael Reed appeared in 11 games, batting just .211, before he was shut down due to knee soreness.
Yadiel Rivera, one of several shortstop prospects in the system, batted .315 with a .405 on-base percentage and was named to the AFL All-Star Game.
But, as mentioned, it was on the mound where the Milwaukee prospects really excelled, in particular Josh Hader and Jacob Barnes.
The pair combined to allow just one run over 27 2/3 innings in AFL play.
Barnes gave up just six hits and three walks in 11 2/3 innings while striking out 17 (although he was touched for two runs on three hits and a walk in the championship game).
Perhaps not surprisingly, the 2011 14th-round pick was recently added to the Brewers' 40-man roster.
In addition, Adrian Houser made seven starts for Surprise, posting a 3.51 ERA and 1.40 WHIP.
Here's the complete stats of the six Brewers prospects in the Arizona Fall League:
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2b | 3b | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Phillips | 7 | 26 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | .346 | .452 | .538 | .990 |
| Yadiel Rivera | 21 | 73 | 11 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 4 | .315 | .405 | .425 | .829 |
| Michael Reed | 11 | 38 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 2 | .211 | .237 | .388 | .625 |
| Pitcher | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Houser | 7 | 7 | 25.2 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 3.51 | 1.40 |
| Josh Hader | 7 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 0.56 | 0.94 |
| Jacob Barnes | 8 | 0 | 11.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0.00 | 0.77 |
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