Gerson Calzadilla Named Arizona Complex League Pitcher of the Year

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Brewers prospect right-handed pitcher Gerson Calzadilla today was named Arizona Complex League Pitcher of the Year by Minor League Baseball.

Calzadilla went 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA (36.2ip, 4er), 36 strikeouts, a 0.95 WHIP and a .192 opponent batting average in 16 games with the ACL Brewers in 2023. His 4 saves were tied for sixth most in the Arizona Complex League. The 20-year-old was promoted to Class-A Carolina on Aug. 14, where he pitched in 6.0 innings across 2 games with the Mudcats. Calzadilla, a native of Venezuela, was signed as a non-drafted free agent in May of 2021.

Additionally, Calzadilla and infielder Juan Baez were named Arizona Complex League postseason All-Stars.

Baez batted .370/.395/.557 with 16 doubles, 4 triples, 4 HR, 42 RBI, 17 stolen bases and 39 runs over 48 games with the ACL Brewers in 2023. He led the Arizona Complex League in hits (71) and ranked among league leaders in batting average (2nd, .370), total bases (2nd, 107), RBI (3rd, 42), extra-base hits (T3rd, 24), doubles (T3rd, 16), slugging percentage (5th, .557) and OPS (9th, .952).

Baez hit .417/.500/.583 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI over 4 postseason games with the ACL Brewers, helping the team capture its fifth league title and first since 2010. The 18-year-old was promoted to Class-A Carolina on Aug. 29, where he had 3 doubles, 6 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 7 runs over 9 games with the Mudcats.

He batted .385/.429/.538 with a triple, an RBI and 3 runs over 3 postseason games for Class-A Carolina, which made its first trip to the postseason since 2008. Baez, a native of the Dominican Republic, was signed as a non-drafted free agent in January of 2022.

Right-handed pitcher Enniel Cortez and infielder Demetrio Nadal were recognized as Dominican Summer League postseason All-Stars.

Cortez went 4-1 with a 1.58 ERA (45.2ip, 8er), 49 strikeouts, a 0.88 WHIP and a .208 opponent batting average over 11 games/8 starts with DSL Brewers 1 in 2023. He ranked among Dominican Summer League leaders in WHIP (2nd, 0.88) and ERA (T3rd, 1.58). The 17-year-old, a native of Nicaragua, was signed as a non-drafted free agent last January.

Nadal batted .342/.478/.525 with 6 doubles, 5 triples, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 24 walks, 33 stolen bases and 28 runs over 40 games with DSL Brewers 2 in 2023. He tied for the Dominican Summer League lead in stolen bases (33) and ranked among league leaders in on-base percentage (T7th, .478), OPS (8th, 1.003) and batting average (8th, .342). The 19-year-old, a native of the Dominican Republic, was signed as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2021.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.