Milwaukee Brewers Prospect, After Scary 2024 Injury, Hurt in Locker Room Celebration

Brock Wilken was injured as the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers celebrated winning their first-half division title.
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers    Brock Wilken (25) hits a single against the Dayton Dragons on Aug. 8, 2023, at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis.
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Brock Wilken (25) hits a single against the Dayton Dragons on Aug. 8, 2023, at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wis. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Milwaukee Brewers are awaiting answers about the latest injury to 2023 first-round draft pick Brock Wilken, who is leading the Southern League in both homers and runs driven in.

This isn’t an injury that occurred on the field, however.

Wilken is assigned to Double-A Biloxi, which clinched the first-half South Division title in the Southern League on Wednesday – the day after his 23rd birthday. But as the locker room celebration ensued, Wilken slipped and injured his left knee.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Wilken has inflammation and swelling but that Brewers officials still don’t have a precise injury report.

Wilken is the No. 18 prospect in the Milwaukee organization, as rated by MLB Pipeline.

He has had largely a rough going since the Brewers drafted him out of Wake Forest, where he set an Atlantic Coast Conference career record with 71 home runs.

Milwaukee sent him to Biloxi to start the 2024 campaign, and he was hit in the face by a 94 mph fastball in the first week of the season and sustained multiple facial fractures.

He returned after three weeks but couldn’t match what he achieved after the 2023 draft, when he hit .285 with five home runs and 29 RBIs across three levels and 47 games in his first pro experience. Last season, he batted .199 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs and an OPS of .675 in 108 games at Biloxi.

This season, he is batting .230 in 65 games  – and he has an OPS of .942. He’s got 18 homers and 41 RBIs. And he’s cut his strikeout-to-walk rate, with 57 walks and 74 strikeouts compared to 63 and 133, respectively, last season.

The Journal Sentinel reported that Wilken will head to Milwaukee for additional medical exams and testing.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.