The Brewers’ Dominican Summer League clubs had a rough Monday, dropping both games in a light slate that stayed entirely in the DSL. One of the losses came against a Dodgers squad, and Tarik Skubal, for the record, was nowhere to be found.
The offensive side never really got going against that “Mega” Dodgers group, and the Blue side in particular had a hard time keeping pace. Second-year right-hander Carlos Galindo, who turns 19 next month, turned in four effective long relief innings and allowed just one run, but the punchout total was again modest. He struck out one, and that’s been the sticking point all along: Galindo has 62 strikeouts in 92.2 career innings.
Leanders Matos kept his own strong run moving. Playing second base, the 3B/2B singled twice and pushed his OPS to 1.065. There was also some box-score oddity around him: Matos was credited with a caught stealing and a pickoff on the same play, which made it look as if he’d been erased twice in one sequence.
Another bright spot for the Blue was 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Sebastian Franeites. He entered Monday with a .457 slugging percentage and added his fifth home run in the game. He bats left-handed, which only adds to his appeal, and he’s one of seven Brewers DSL catchers who hail from Venezuela.
The Blue’s bench looked light in the live box score, but there doesn’t appear to be any injury issue there. Five players were idle for the game, yet each had appeared as recently as 7/28.
On the other side, the Gold club fell behind 5-0 after two innings and then watched a six-run Guardian eighth make the final margin even worse. Right-hander Derlin Garcia, 19 and from the Dominican Republic, came in after five strong outings and mostly held his own despite the line.
He allowed nine hits in five innings, but seven of those were singles, and he did not walk a batter. He did hit one, and he struck out four.
The two-run homer he gave up in the first was the biggest damage, but it was not a total disaster.
The other three Gold pitchers still carry those four-digit ERAs, and a trip to Maryvale in 2027 feels hard to picture at the moment, though “stuff” may wind up changing that equation.
Behind the plate, Moises Salazar had a rough one. The Venezuelan catcher was charged with two errors, bringing him to nine on the year in 25 games.
He has also committed six passed balls and has thrown out 18.6% of attempted basestealers. Salazar has worked only at catcher and designated hitter, and at 16 years old until Thursday the 13th, he remains an important development case for the organization.
Just like the Blue bench group, the six position players who didn’t get into Monday’s game have all played within the past week.
The DSL teams are back Tuesday morning, and the full-season affiliates head out on the road to open new series in evening action.
In Other News...
Brandon Sproat Just Put His Brewers Role In Real Jeopardy
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The Brewers did push back with some scoring in the fifth and sixth innings, but the deficit Sproat created was too much to erase. More than the loss itself, the outing raised a bigger question for Milwaukee: a pitcher trying to carve out a role in a crowded staff cant afford nights like this, and Sproats place in the rotation and even on the roster may now be in real doubt. [Read more 🡒]
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In his recent start, Sproat gave up four runs in three-plus innings, a rough line at a time when the Brewers are trying to sort out their long-term mix on the mound. Pat Murphy and the teams decision-makers are expected to meet with Sproat soon to talk through the next steps, and the discussion figures to be as much about opportunity as it is about performance. For a club trying to balance immediate needs with keeping its arms lined up, this is the kind of choice that can shape the rest of the pitching plan. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Pushed Hard For Tarik Skubal But Still Lost Out
The Brewers spent real energy trying to land Tarik Skubal, making a strong push with a three-prospect offer in hopes of bringing the Detroit ace to Milwaukee. Instead, the Dodgers came in with a package that Detroit preferred, and the trade moved on without the Brewers, a reminder of how quickly the market can turn when a premium pitcher is available.
Brewers officials did not hide their disappointment, though they also treated the negotiations as the kind of complicated process that often stays partially behind closed doors. Manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold both underscored how aggressively the club went after Skubal, a sign the Brewers were willing to make a meaningful swing even if the final cost never became public. [Read more 🡒]