The Milwaukee Brewers have promoted outfield prospect Joey Wiemer to the majors, the team announced Saturday. Wiemer's arrival corresponds with starting third baseman Luis Urías being placed on the injured list after suffering a hamstring injury on Thursday. Urías is expected to miss at least six weeks. The Brewers will, as a result, move outfielder Brian Anderson back to the hot corner, where he began his career.
Wiemer started in center field and batted ninth against the Cubs on Saturday. He doubled in his first career plate appearance, dumping the first pitch he saw into right field and using his good speed to gain extra bases:
First MLB hit and it's a double!#ThisIsMyCrew | @JWiems17 pic.twitter.com/hq4Xdepl1P
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 1, 2023
Wiemer, 24, originally joined Milwaukee as a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft by way of the University of Cincinnati. He's since put himself on the map thanks to good offensive production. CBS Sports ranked Wiemer as the No. 3 prospect in the Brewers system this spring, writing the following:
Wiemer looks like a great find by the Brewers in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. He split last season between Double- and Triple-A, hitting .256/.336/.465 with 21 home runs and 31 stolen bases. Wiemer can slug and he can run, but can he make contact consistently enough for it to matter? That's the question that will be facing him until he provides an answer in the majors. To his credit, Wiemer did cut into his strikeout rate after being promoted to Triple-A, from fanning in more than 30 percent of his trips to the plate down to striking out in a more manageable 19.5 percent of his plate appearances. The Brewers, if you haven't noticed, are rich with talented young outfielders; Wiemer is also likely to debut in 2023.
Wiemer is the third member of the Brewers' starting nine with less than a year of big-league service time, joining fellow outfielder Garrett Mitchell and second baseman Brice Turang.