Tyler

Black

In spite of his success at the end of last month, Black wasn’t finding much playing time with Andrew Vaughn back, and now he also would have Christian Yelich to contend with. So, he’ll resume playing regularly in the minors after going 9-for-27 with four doubles and seven RBI during his 2 1/2 weeks in the majors.

Lockridge also suffered a severe laceration when his right leg slid into an unpadded corner of the wall at Miller Park last week. Blake Perkins and Tyler Black are in line for extra at-bats while Lockridge is out, though Black might soon be sent down to make room for Christian Yelich on the roster.

There’s no word yet on why. Sal Frelick is now leading off, Jackson Chourio moves to center field, and Tyler Black is in the lineup in left field.

Black has torn the cover off the ball in six games since being called up from the minors, hitting .429 (9-for-21) with four doubles and seven RBI during that span. It’s admittedly a small sample size, but the 25-year-old former prospect has shown flashes of intriguing fantasy potential in the past without gaining any traction at the highest level. He’ll continue to get opportunities to face right-handed starters while taking a seat against most southpaws, which is the case with Nationals lefty Foster Griffin on the mound on Saturday afternoon.

Black knocked in three runs in the Brewers’ 13-2 series-opening win on Tuesday and three more today in a 13-1 game, giving him six RBI in five games (four starts) since his callup last week. He’s not a home run guy with his weak exit velocity numbers, but his ability to steal bases as a corner infielder would make him interesting with regular playing time. It just doesn’t figure to happen unless the Brewers continue getting beat up by injuries.

Black singled home two runs in the fifth, and added a third with a run-scoring single an inning later. The 25-year-old added another single to improve his slash to .385/.385/.462 over his 13 at-bats. Black still offers some long-term appeal, but he’s not likely to be an option for Milwaukee after some of their injured stalwart return.

If you’re going to have to get a day off, doing so against Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes isn’t the worst thing that could happen to you. Tyler Black will start in his place as the Brewers designated hitter on Friday evening and will bat cleanup.

Black had been hitting .282/.378/.410 in 45 plate appearances with the Sounds, hitting one homer and stealing two bases. He’s been an interesting prospect for a bit. We’d wait-and-see what the role looks like in the bigs before we pounced — at least outside of deeper leagues — but it’s certainly possible Black carries some fantasy value while Christian Yelich is sidelined.

Henderson is the headliner among this group. Given the injuries in the Brewers’ rotation, he had a shot to earn an opportunity with the big league club to start the season but he has been fighting elbow soreness of his own throughout the spring which held him back. He’ll start the year biding his time in the rotation at Triple-A Nashville.

Black doubled off of Kumar Rocker in the opening inning but wound up being stranded at third base. He then singled in the third inning and scored as Luis Lara worked a bases-loaded walk. The 25-year-old infielder added to the Brewers’ lead in the fourth inning with a two-run triple that made it a 4-0 ballgame. He has been sizzling at the plate to open the spring, hitting .667 (8-for-12) with a homer, triple, two doubles, eight RBI and three stolen bases in his first four games. He could be an intriguing late-round option for fantasy purposes if the Brewers ever committed to giving him regular playing time.