Black is back healthy and mashing at Double-A

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers infield prospect Tyler Black is healthy again.?

That means he¡¯s hitting again, too.?

Black, drafted 33rd overall by the Brewers in 2021 and ranked Milwaukee¡¯s No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline, reached safely in his first 12 games for Double-A Biloxi with a 165 wRC+ going into Sunday, good for second in Milwaukee¡¯s Minor League system behind Triple-A veteran Eddy Alvarez¡¯s 189.

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After reaching base multiple times on both ends of Saturday¡¯s doubleheader at Rocket City, the 22-year-old Canadian was slashing .243/.442/.514 with three home runs and more walks (11) than strikeouts (10).?

¡°You¡¯re excited to see him get off to this kind of start coming off two significant injuries last year,¡± said Tom Flanagan, the Brewers¡¯ vice president of player operations and baseball administration. ¡°Seeing a healthy Tyler Black is a pretty good player.¡±

Black was not healthy for much of 2022. He fractured his last shoulder blade at High-A Wisconsin last July and missed the remainder of the regular season. The plan was for Black to pick up at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, but he went down after 17 games with a fractured left thumb that required surgery.

After a winter of rehab, Black was back to 100 percent at about the same time Brewers Minor Leaguers ramped up baseball activities in Spring Training. And he promptly started performing again.

¡°It¡¯s great that with the time off, the missed at-bats last year, to see him hit the ground running this year,¡± Flanagan said. ¡°The best thing about it is the strike zone discipline. That doesn¡¯t really go into slumps for him. He takes so much pride in that, and I think that really helps him coming back from things. Sure, he needs timing like everyone else, but knowing his purpose up at the plate goes a long way with him.

¡°So, it¡¯s great to see him taking more walks than he¡¯s punching out. It¡¯s great to see some home runs because you never know with a hand injury how long it¡¯s going to take to get that strength back. He¡¯s a tough kid and a strong kid, too.¡±

The Shuckers swept Saturday¡¯s doubleheader with 10 strikeouts from starter Justin Jarvis and No. 1-ranked prospect Jackson Chourio¡¯s first three-hit game at the Double-A level in Game 2. Chourio has a .710 OPS through his first 14 games this season.

Here¡¯s more from a couple of other spots in Milwaukee¡¯s system:

Triple-A Nashville
The Sounds rather quickly went from having too many outfielders to just enough, with Joey Wiemer called up to the big leagues after one game and Blake Perkins¡¯ promotion to the Majors last week in the wake of Garrett Mitchell¡¯s serious shoulder injury, and now Sal Frelick (sprained left thumb) and Tyler Naquin (bruised shoulder) on the 7-day injured list. The Brewers will learn more this week about how much time Frelick will miss after he gets a second opinion; Naquin is expected back Tuesday after being hit by a pitch on a bad spot on his shoulder.

¡°It went from having guys double parked to a little thin,¡± Flanagan said. ¡°We left Spring Training with a lot of outfielders there, and we don¡¯t have that level of depth now. But we have Skye Bolt out there, Monte Harrison pretty much holding down center field and Keston [Hiura] playing some left field and actually playing really well out there. And then some of the infielders, you can take out there with no problem.

¡°That¡¯s something we always preach, having guys who are more versatile. When you have these situations where you get a little thinner than you want, it certainly helps when you have guys who can jump out there for a game or a stretch of games and keep things going.¡±

Low-A Carolina
Catcher Matthew Wood, last year¡¯s fourth-round pick out of Penn State, has been an early-season glue guy for the Brewers¡¯ lowest full-season affiliate. Wood, 22, ranked third in the system as of Sunday morning with a 161 wRC+ while slashing .313/.450/.469.?

Wood¡¯s contributions go beyond what he¡¯s done in the batter¡¯s box, said Flanagan.?

¡°He¡¯s a very mature player for a first full season,¡± Flanagan said. ¡°He has a lot of experience coming in the door [compared to the rest] of a young Carolina club. I think in addition to taking care of his own business, he¡¯s a guy who the young Carolina pitching staff looks to lead the way. He¡¯s done a nice job behind the dish in the early going here.¡±