Ep. 2 of new series gives look inside Spring Training

PHOENIX -- The second installment of the Brewers¡¯ prospect documentary series features a prominent guest star having a tough day at the poker table.

¡°That¡¯s going to be hilarious,¡± Sal Frelick said over the weekend after returning from the World Baseball Classic. ¡°We got after one of our buddies, [infield prospect] Tyler Black. He had a really bad haircut and we just went after him.

¡°And they put it all in.¡±

Black and fellow guest stars like Zavier Warren fit right into the docuseries, which is chronicling Frelick, Joey Wiemer, Garrett Mitchell and Brice Turang -- the Nos. 2-5-ranked Brewers prospects per MLB Pipeline -- in their first big league camp together. This is the second of three weekly installments during Spring Training, which are available on MLB.com as they¡¯re released.

Future episodes are expected to come during the regular season, with more footage of top Brewers prospect Jackson Chourio.

¡°They did a great job,¡± said Frelick, who watched the debut episode while playing for Italy in the WBC. ¡°That first episode just scratched the surface of what they filmed.¡±

Episode 2 follows the players off the field, including Frelick and Wiemer at their shared Spring Training home. There¡¯s also a segment at the dog park with Mitchell and his wife, professional softball player Haley Cruse-Mitchell, who is already well-known as a social media star.

¡°At first it felt like we were being filmed for a reality television show,¡± Cruse-Mitchell said. ¡°We were trying to figure out how to be normal. But I think I¡¯ve forced Garrett in front of a camera enough times that he was pretty natural at it. He¡¯s a much more private guy than I am, so that¡¯s a little tough to navigate at times. I overshare everything and I¡¯ve had to reel it back for his sake.

¡°But this was cool. It was cool to see him open up for the documentary a little bit and show who he is. He¡¯s such a cool guy, and so loved by everyone.¡±

Cruse-Mitchell has gotten to know the other prospects in recent years as they advance together through Milwaukee¡¯s farm system. Mitchell was the first to make it to the Majors last August, a callup that came as a big surprise.

¡°At least it was a surprise to me,¡± Cruse-Mitchell said. ¡°I had made up in my mind that it was going to be [2023]. I was visiting my friend in Colorado who I hadn¡¯t seen when I got a call from him that he was going to the Majors. I just said, ¡®Are you joking?¡¯ Then it was all a whirlwind. It was so, so cool to be a part of.

¡°These guys are all so tight-knit, and watching them all interact is so much fun. It¡¯s constant entertainment. That kind of talk is what gets you through the tough times, because it¡¯s such a hard sport. They have such a bond already coming up through the Minors. I¡¯m excited to see it go to the next level.¡±