The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that eight prospects will play in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) this year. Those players are Eric Brown, Wes Clarke, Hendry Mendez, Joseph Hernandez, Adam Seminaris, Justin Yeager, Justin King, and Shane Smith. Let’s take a further look at these players who will be participating in the competitive six week league.
Eight Milwaukee Brewers prospects to participate in the Arizona Fall League.
- SS Eric Brown
Eric Brown, the Brewers 27th overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft, lost time during the 2023 season due to a scapula fracture. Playing in the AFL will give him some additional at-bats against very good competition. The speedster, who stole 37 bases in 63 High-A games this year, got just five games of Double-A experience this year. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to have success against several other elite prospects.
- 1B Wes Clarke
23 year old Wes Clarke was the Biloxi Shuckers home run leader this year with 26. He additionally maintained a .392 on base percentage in large part to drawing 89 walks. His breakout season was nice to see and he now can increase his stock even further with a strong showing in the AFL.
- OF Hendry Mendez
Hendry Mendez is yet another teenage Brewers prospect with lots of promise. Unfortunately this 19 year old had a few different stints on the IL during the 2023 season and as a result he was limited to just 66 games. A season ago Brewers prospect Jeferson Quero made a splash in the AFL as a teenager, so perhaps Hendry Mendez can follow in those footsteps.
- RHP Joseph Hernandez
Joseph Hernandez was acquired last off season when Milwaukee traded Justin Topa to the Seattle Mariners. The 23 year old made 10 starts in High-A Wisconsin this year and pitched to a 4.02 ERA. He will have his work cut out for him in the AFL and the Brewers should get a good sense of where he is at during those six weeks.
- LHP Adam Seminaris
Adam Seminaris was one of the three pitchers acquired during the Hunter Renfroe trade. Unfortunately he was placed on the injured list in the middle of May and wasn’t activated until the end of August. He then reported back to Double-A Biloxi where all together he finished with a 5.70 ERA over 12 starts.
- RHP Justin Yeager
Similar to Adam Seminaris right-handed hurler Justin Yeager was another off-season addition for the Brewers in which he was included in the three team trade involving Sean Murphy and William Contreras. He also spent the vast majority of the 2023 season injured and is in need of some playing time this fall.
- LHP Justin King
25 year old reliever Justin King signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the summer of 2022. He spent all of 2023 with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in which he had a 2.93 ERA in 30.2 innings. Two IL stint limited him to just 28 games this year.
- RHP Shane Smith
Shane Smith had a breakout season this year in which the 23 year old played primarily in Low-A and High-A ball, but he did receive a promotion to Double-A in September. Overall he pitched 59.2 innings, had a 1.96 ERA, had a 0.96 WHIP, and struck out 86 batters. He is one player to watch closely in the AFL.
Games will start being played in Arizona this year on Monday, October 2. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, November 11.
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