T-Rat Talk: Joey Wiemer

Through the first few months of his first full professional season outfielder and 2020 fourth round pick Joey Wiemer was having a pretty good season, but after a notable conversation with teammate and fellow 2020 draft pick Zavier Warren things quickly turned a corner.

“Probably about a month ago now at Kannapolis (playing for the Brewers’ Low-A Carolina Mudcats) I was hitting the ball hard but on the ground, though, a lot of ‘barrel’ outs, I was a little frustrated, not anything crazy. I talked to him and I was like ‘What do you see? I’m trying to hit the ball in the air more.’ And basically, long story short, it was a simple ‘start lower in your load, less head movement,’ and that’s played really well for me,” Wiemer said.

Entering that series in Kannapolis Wiemer was batting .238. He was drawing a lot of walks and had a .383 on-base percentage, but he was slugging just .349 and struggling to tap into his significant power potential.

“Just like any one of these guys, it’s just a matter of putting in the work every day and trying to handle the ups and downs and ebbs and flows,” Carolina broadcaster Greg Young said. “They all say that and it sounds like it’s lip service, but it’s not. It’s the truth, that’s what happens in a long season and that’s how you get better, you have to be able to handle that grind. He’s a guy that it was just a matter of time, and once it began to click the sky is the limit.”

Wiemer collected hits in all six of those games in Kannapolis and has been off to the races ever since. Over a span of 24 games for the Mudcats he batted .344 and slugged .708, connecting for eight home runs and driving in 21 runs. He was named the Low-A East Player of the Week on August 10 following another series against Kannapolis where he collected 14 hits in six games, including four home runs.

#Brewers prospect Joey Wiemer's last 4 games for @CarolinaMudcats :

12 total hits
4 home runs
2 doubles
12 RBIs
6 runs

2 walk-offs 👀 pic.twitter.com/tHL35QUZJD

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 8, 2021

On the day the award was announced, the Brewers also announced Wiemer had been promoted to High-A. Warren was moved on the same day and helped Wiemer reach Wisconsin in more ways than one: In addition to giving him the advice that helped him start a hot stretch at the plate, Warren and Wiemer drove from Zebulon, North Carolina to Appleton together.

After watching Wiemer in 75 games for the Mudcats, Young described him as “tremendously gifted.”

“When you do kind of a deep dive into the advanced analytics-type stuff that’s becoming more and more prevalent these days, it was pretty clear seeing what he does in regards to exit velocity, the launch angle, all of that, it was just a matter of time before he would take off like he is right now,” Young said.

Wiemer wasted no time showing off those gifts at his new level: On his first day with Wisconsin he homered in the second game of a doubleheader, going deep for the fifth time in seven days. Wiemer hit home runs in five of his first seven games as a Timber Rattler, picking up right where he left off after a big finish in Carolina.

@CMehring with the perfectly timed call!... @JWiems17 blasts a 436ft shot to left-center for his first career #timberrattlers hit 💥 #tratnation pic.twitter.com/NtIwjasZ0a

— Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) August 12, 2021

“I can see why people are all excited about the way the ball jumps off his bat,” Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson told the Rattler Radio podcast after the August 18 game where Wiemer collected four hits, his second such performance in a span of two weeks.

After two more home runs during the Rattlers’ series in Cedar Rapids last week Wiemer was one of just six Timber Rattlers with six home runs on the season, and he’s done it in a span of two weeks. Off the field, however, Erickson said Wiemer has also been a positive influence on his team.

“He’s a pleasure in the dugout and in the clubhouse. He loves baseball and there’s an energy to him that’s infectious,” Erickson said.

Wiemer said “a lot of perspective” goes into the attitude he brings to the ballpark each day.

“Just knowing I get to play baseball every day, as much as the season can kind of drag on, just be where your feet are. I know the season’s winding down, and I know the second it’s over I’m going to miss it and be ready for next year. So just going out and competing every day,” Wiemer said.

Like many players experiencing their first full professional season, it’s been a long year for Wiemer. Sunday’s game was his 87th in 111 days this season. He credited his experience in college as preparing him for the pro workload.

“I think it’s kind of underappreciated for college guys, but we play 60 games, and then we go right out to summer ball and play another 60. So I think we might get more games than we get credit for in college,” Wiemer said.

In 2019, his sophomore season at Cincinnati, Wiemer played 62 games for the Bearcats and went on to play 34 more for the Cape Cod League’s Harwich Mariners. Last year, however, with college seasons ended early and Minor League Baseball on hold, Wiemer took a different path: Like many of his 2021 Timber Rattlers teammates, he ventured out to independent ball.

Wiemer played in 24 games for the United Shore League’s Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers, based in Utica, Michigan. He struggled at the plate in his limited opportunities there, but took the chance to make mechanical adjustments that have served him well in affiliated ball this season.

“That was big for me, going from my leg kick to a toe tap and changing some other swing mechanics. It wasn’t the results I wanted, but that’s not what I was there for at all. It was really good for me,” Wiemer said. “I feel like I was doing something different at the plate every day. Not that it didn’t matter there, but the end goal was not to hit well there. It was to find some new feels, see what I could do with a new load, new swing and everything. It was just preparing myself.”

Back in affiliated ball in 2021, Wiemer’s skill set has drawn high praise. When asked for a comparable player for Wiemer, Young named former Brewers outfielder Brett Phillips and former Timber Rattlers outfielder Monte Harrison.

“I didn’t see Brett Phillips play in person, I know he’s a guy that came up in the Brewers system, but I would imagine that’s pretty close,” Young said. “I say that because Brett Philips, obviously, is a tremendously gifted athlete. A guy that also had an ‘80’ arm in the outfield. And I think Wiemer is that kind of athlete, where he has the total package, the five-tool type player. Just pure athleticism, in the years I’ve been here, probably the closest was Monte Harrison. Just because of the speed and power, that blend of the two, and then the arm strength and that ability to cover a huge part of the outfield with ease.”

“I didn’t see Brett Phillips play in person, I know he’s a guy that came up in the Brewers system, but I would imagine that’s pretty close,” Young said. “I say that because Brett Philips, obviously, is a tremendously gifted athlete. A guy that also had an ‘80’ arm in the outfield. And I think Wiemer is that kind of athlete, where he has the total package, the five-tool type player. Just pure athleticism, in the years I’ve been here, probably the closest was Monte Harrison. Just because of the speed and power, that blend of the two, and then the arm strength and that ability to cover a huge part of the outfield with ease.”

Wiemer said longtime Astros and Giants outfielder Hunter Pence was his favorite player growing up, and later he was fortunate enough to be compared to the four-time All Star.

“Hunter Pence was my favorite to watch, for sure. That was really cool with all the draft comps and stuff I got for him. That was awesome for me,” Wiemer said.

As a player with a highly-regarded outfield arm, it’s also hard not to imagine what Wiemer could do as a pitcher. He got onto the mound for a couple of games in college, but has yet to do it as a professional.

“I was not refined on the mound at all. I throw hard and have good off-speed, but I lack control, I won’t lie. It’s just something that was kind of fun, I enjoyed it, and if they ever want to toss me on the mound here I’m all game for it. It’s nice to have in the back pocket,” Wiemer said.

In the meantime, however, Wiemer is focused on what he needs to do to become the Brewers’ next great outfield prospect.

“It’s going to be fun to watch him continue to develop because all of the tools are there, there is no doubt about that. Just getting a chance to see him day-in, day-out, it’ll be really exciting to see what he turns into as he continues to grow and begins to really capture the mental side of things a bit more,” Young said.