Minor League Baseball

Milwaukee Brewers Prospect, with Scary Injury Behind Him, Takes Double-A Lead in HRs

Brock Wilken has 12 homers for the Biloxi Shuckers as he moves past 2024 facial fractures.
Jami Leabow|
The Blue Wahoos load the bases as Biloxi Shuckers third baseman Brock Wilken (25) can't find the handle on a soft grounder during the opening night of the baseball season in Pensacola on April 4, 2025.
The Blue Wahoos load the bases as Biloxi Shuckers third baseman Brock Wilken (25) can't find the handle on a soft grounder during the opening night of the baseball season in Pensacola on April 4, 2025. | Gregg Pachkowski/Pensacola News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Milwaukee Brewers

The Double-A Biloxi Shuckers have the best record in the Southern League and have outscored opponents by 48 runs heading into play Thursday night. The affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers can credit Brock Wilken, in part.

Wilken hit his 12th home run Wednesday night in a loss to the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels affiliate), giving him the most in the Double-A ranks. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound third baseman is ranked as the team’s No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Now 22, Wilken was the No. 18 overall pick by the Brewers in 2023 after he set an Atlantic Coast Conference career record with 71 home runs at Wake Forest. 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. Last season, he batted .199 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs and an OPS of .675 in 108 games at Biloxi.

While his average hasn’t rebounded this season – he’s batting .219 – he has an OPS of .902. He’s got 27 RBIs to go along with the dozen homers and 78 total bases. And he’s being more selective at the plate, with 44 walks and 53 strikeouts compared to 63 and 133, respectively, last season.

Here’s what MLB Pipeline said about Wilken heading into the 2024 season:

“It's tough to balance the impact of the early-season HBP, as well as the move to the pitcher-friendly Southern League. Batting hunched over from the right side with a toe tap, the Demon Deacons legend is built to rip hard-hit balls in the air to the pullside, and he still has ample strength. His 17 homers were fourth-most in the SL, but he’s also proved to be extremely vulnerable to soft stuff low and away, and pitchers took advantage.”

The Brewers must like what they are seeing for Wilken and by this point of the season have figured out the areas where he needs work. Executives in Milwaukee undoubtedly will continue to watch his progress.

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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.

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