Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Milwaukee Brewers. Scouting reviews have been compiled with info supplied by trade sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fourth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column beneath: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed usually correspond to the 12 months a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Handbook changes are made the place they appear applicable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means may be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview may be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects beneath additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the positioning provides that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from numerous sources) than this text and integrates each crew’s listing so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm techniques. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Observe
Grouped by kind and listed so as of desire inside every class.
Current Energy or Energy ProjectionErnesto Martinez, 1BWes Clarke, 1BPedro Tovar, RFIdalberto Santiesteban, LFJesus Chirinos, 1BLuis Castillo, LFZavier Warren, 1B
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Martinez has by no means fairly been in a position to faucet into his appreciable uncooked energy by way of launch, however he has reduce his strikeouts sufficient to be attention-grabbing once more. He has higher contact charges, measurable energy, and long-term athletic projection than Clarke, who was a very good faculty hitter at South Carolina. Clarke swings and misses an terrible lot for a primary base prospect however has comfortably plus uncooked energy. Tovar and Santiesteban are lanky DSL kids with room for giant power. Tovar’s bat velocity is already thrilling, however he’s beneath a ton of excessive pitches. Santiesteban isn’t as explosive, however he has the extra secure hit device of the 2. Chirinos, a 22-year-old former catcher, has above-average energy, but it surely isn’t actualized sufficient in video games to make up for his lack of hit device. Castillo and Warren have extra balanced contact/energy blends however neither is plus, making it robust for them to profile at their present positions.
Contact-Oriented InfieldersFreddy Zamora, SSLuis Lameda, 3BDemetrio Nadal, UTILKevin Ereu, SS
Zamora was an early draft pick of Miami due to his contact and protection. He’s fallen behind the age/stage tempo partly due to accidents, and can be much less crisp on protection than I beforehand thought — it is a man with a poor inner clock who approaches balls too slowly. Lameda is a switch-hitting 18-year-old third baseman with good really feel for contact. He’s rather less bodily gifted than the DSL infielders who made the primary part of the listing, however he nonetheless has a prospect-y ability basis and needs to be monitored for development. Nadal had an enormous 2023 in his second DSL season (which makes it more durable to contextualize these numbers) whereas enjoying everywhere in the diamond. He has a pull- and lift-heavy method already. Ereu was a $1.4 million bonus prospect from two signing durations in the past whose bat seemed tough in his DSL debut. He can choose it, although.
Higher-Stage Pitching DepthChad Patrick, RHPAidan Maldonado, RHPNick Merkel, RHPRyan Middendorf, RHPBlake Holub, RHPRussell Smith, LHPJustin Yeager, RHPYorman Galindez, RHP
A 2021 fourth spherical choose by Arizona, Patrick has been traded a few occasions within the final 12 months, first for Jace Peterson after which for Abraham Toro. He has a five-pitch combine headlined by a very good cutter, and could possibly be a spot starter. Maldonado, 23, is a funkadelic righty from Minnesota with a very good changeup. His workload trended down all through final 12 months and he might come out as a pure reliever in 2024. If that’s the case, search for a velo spike above his present 91-92 mph. Merkel is a 6-foot-7 25-year-old undrafted out of Central Methodist. He has large extension and a plus slider, however solely sat about 90-91 final 12 months. Yeager, Holub, Middendorf, and Smith is a regulation agency of acceptable depth relievers. Middendorf is a low-slot groundball man, Holub is a vert-slot driving fastball kind, and Smith is a lefty with a very good slider. Yeager was harm for many of final 12 months, however is a wild upper-80s slider man when wholesome. Galindez, 21, has had bat-missing success as a swingman within the decrease ranges whereas sitting 92-93 with a very good curveball. His hips are free and he will get down the mound fairly properly, which helps the road on his fastball keep shallow.
System Overview
This can be a fairly deep system, although a few of my biases as an evaluator/scout/analyst are most likely to thank for that, as I are likely to gravitate in direction of the identical form of hitters Milwaukee does: contact-driven little guys at up-the-middle positions. Whereas it has plus depth from high to backside, the depth within the influence tier (40+ FV tier and above) is nearer to common and perhaps even just a little bit beneath. Remember that Milwaukee has traded away eight prospects throughout the offseason (most of them fringy); this listing would most likely be a number of names deeper if not for that. There’s a good mixture of short-term and potential long-term influence on this system, and I feel that’s true regardless that I’m bearish on Tyler Black and wish to see just a little extra from Brock Wilken earlier than I transfer him into the highest 100.
The Brewers have a number of transactional patterns other than simply their desire for the little hit device guys. They choose a ton of junior faculty or small college gamers, particularly pitchers, and develop them. This listing is populated with guys like that for the third straight 12 months, and there are some 2023 draftees (like Jason Woodward and Ryan Birchard) who would possibly present comparable enchancment within the coming season. Milwaukee’s worldwide scouting operation tends to do properly in Venezuela extra usually than somewhere else (three of the highest six gamers within the system are from there), however the Brewers’ high two 2024 signees have been from the Dominican Republic, and so they’ve signed a number of pitchers from Nicaragua within the final couple of years.
The Corbin Burnes commerce (DL Corridor could be ranked someplace within the Wilken-Josh Knoth vary have been he eligible for the listing) was the second seller-postured blockbuster the Brewers have made over the past three seasons, with the Josh Hader deal being the opposite. In each cases they bought again a number of prospects, however other than Joey Ortiz becoming their contact-oriented tendencies, the sorts of gamers they’ve gotten in these offers have run the gamut. Evidently periodic trades like this are a part of the best way Brewers possession is inclined to function given their market dimension.
