The Milwaukee Milkmen Continue to Update their Roster for Next Season
Baseball starts at the Roc sports complex on May 10th. But before the season gets going the team has to fill out its roster. Interestingly enough, the team was in dire need of more pitching.
The “other” Milwaukee baseball team has been busy this winter, updating their roster and adding new players. The team is facing some roster upheaval for good reasons: two of their players have been offered MLB contracts. Also, Milwaukee has been in desperate need of more pitching. It appears they have found some great diamonds in the rough.
The team lost star Christian Young to the Los Angeles Angels.
Young started 18 games this past season for the Milkmen. He went 7-6 with an impressive 3.91 ERA. Young pitched 98 innings and had 110 strikeouts. He only gave up 30 walks. Young’s impressive whip helped the team throughout the season.
Also, a HUGE congratulations to Christian Young! 🐮
After 3 seasons with the Milkmen, Young has signed with the Los Angeles Angels 😇 Best of luck with your new team!#GoMoo pic.twitter.com/58EjJ4HrFh
— Milwaukee Milkmen (@MKEMilkmen) December 18, 2023
The squad also lost star Bryan Torres to the St. Louis Cardinals. While Torres was an outfielder, he was a valuable part of this team.
Related: Milkmen player heading to the St. Louis Cardinals
Torres led all of the American Association of Professional baseball in batting, averaging .370 on the season. Teammate Roy Morales was second in the AA, hitting .360. He played in 90 games and had 359 AB’s, garnering 133 base hits. He was known all throughout the AA as a “tough out”.
Say ‘Hello’ to Some New Milkmen Pitching
In a big move for the team, the Milkmen have signed former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jhordany Mezquita.
Here is a link to his fangraphs page when he played at the MLB level. He made it all the way to double A ball.
🚨 Welcome Jhordany Mezquita to the Milwaukee Milkmen! 🚨
Mezquita joins the Milkmen after 4 seasons with the Phillies organization. In those 4 years, Mezquita pitched for a 3.97 ERA with 12 wins and 267 strikeouts. ⚾️
We can't wait to see him in action this season! 🐮 pic.twitter.com/faOztdznoU
— Milwaukee Milkmen (@MKEMilkmen) January 29, 2024
Welcome to Pitcher Alirio Negrette
The former Oriole and Cardinal pitcher will come aboard to help add some more valuable pitching depth. He is a “high-volume” strike out pitcher. Negrette had a stellar MILB year in 2016. His film shows a very live fastball. Can he add some other pitches and/or movement to that fastball?
🐮 Welcome to the the Milkmen, pitcher, Alirio Negrette 🚨
Negrette was signed to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 has spent the last 4 seasons with the Cardinals and Orioles organizations.
We cannot wait to see him in action this summer! ☀️ pic.twitter.com/N1sICVbULF
— Milwaukee Milkmen (@MKEMilkmen) January 24, 2024
The team has bolstered their pitching depth with other additions. It will be important to keep that strong defensive identity the team enjoyed last season. The Milkmen also led the American Association of professional baseball in team steals. That “team speed” was also valuable defensively.
Mark Simon is coming aboard to help handle some pitching duties. Simon has played the last three seasons in the Northwest and Pioneer leagues where he threw for 14 wins, a 3.54 ERA, and 179 strikeouts. He is expected to be a starter for the team. Simon could take the role of a “Christian Young”-type innings eater.
The Milkmen also added Pablo Garabitos. He was drafted in the 25th Round of the 2018 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. It will be great to have him for this team.
It will be interesting to see where all of these different arms slot into their pitching staff. One might suspect it will be an interesting training camp for the team.
The team has also announced their 2024 season schedule. It looks to be a fun preview for what should be a great summer of local baseball. Check it out below!
It's a good start to November….the 2024 Milkmen Schedule is here
Now that the schedule is out, it's time to get your Milkmen Ticket + Gift Package today! 🐮🥛 Get our BEST games of the season, gifts, & more!
Check it out ➡️ https://t.co/tsZfLchayO pic.twitter.com/G60N4S7rEP
— Milwaukee Milkmen (@MKEMilkmen) November 8, 2023
Related: In-Season Update
Ever been to a game? Interested in getting more information on the team? Leave a comment below.
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