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Brewers, looking for offensive spark, call up Black

Brewers, looking for offensive spark, call up Black

MILWAUKEE — The Brewers called up infielder Tyler Black on Tuesday, adding the hot-hitting 23-year-old to an already young and inexperienced lineup.

Black was called up from Triple-A Nashville ahead of the Brewers’ game against the Tampa Bay Rays in an effort to add some punch to a struggling offense.

Black was off to a tremendous start at Nashville. In 117 plate appearances, Black was batting .303 with three triples, five home runs and 18 RBIs while compiling a .919 OPS.

The Brewers are hoping his production will help an offense that has been held to three or fewer runs in 10 of the past 14 games.

Defensively, Black had played primarily at third base since Milwaukee selected him out of Wright State in the first round of the 2021 draft. After acquiring prospect Joey Ortiz from Baltimore in a trade for Corbin Burnes, the Brewers shifted Black to first base during spring training. He’s likely to see most of his action there, splitting time with veteran slugger Rhys Hoskins.

Black was ranked the fourth-best prospect in the Brewers’ organization and the No. 51 prospect in all of baseball by ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel entering the season.

To make room for Black on the active roster, the Brewers optioned infielder Owen Miller to Nashville.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.