12 Brewers Prospects To Watch Beyond The Top 30

The Brewers Top 30 prospects rankings are up now for Baseball America subscribers, with full scouting reports, BA grades and tools grade projections for all 30 players.

Through the process of narrowing the list down to a Top 30, there are other intriguing names who didn’t make the cut but are worth monitoring, with the potential to jump into the Top 30 in the future. Some of those are players who might be in the upper levels and could see big league time this year, though likely in a limited role, while others are lower-level players still in the complex leagues with more upside but plenty of risk.

Beyond the Top 30, these are 12 prospects to watch in Milwaukee’s farm system.

Gus Varland, RHP. The Brewers grabbed Varland, 26, from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft after the 2022 season. The results for Varland weren’t pretty—he had a 6.11 ERA in Double-A and moved to the bullpen during the season—but he can reach 98 mph and has a mid-to-upper-80s slider.

Johan Barrios, SS/3B. Barrios received a $1.385 million bonus, the Brewers’ biggest of the international signing period when it opened on Jan. 15, 2022. He hit .292/.351/.350 in 34 games in the Dominican Summer League with the projection in his 6-foot-3 frame to grow into more power and likely play third base.

Jace Avina, OF. A 14th-round pick in 2021, Avina hit .272/.392/.557 with 15 home runs in 64 games as a 19-year-old split between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League and Low-A Carolina. There are holes in his steep uphill swing—he struck out at a 35% clip—but he’s a center fielder who can impact the ball when he connects.

Luis Castillo, OF. Signed for $62,500 out of the Dominican Republic on Jan. 15, 2021, Castillo in 2022 hit .297/.387/.483 in 33 games as an 18-year-old in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League before the Brewers promoted him to Low-A Carolina in August. He’s a lefthanded corner outfielder who drives the ball with impact and should have at least average raw power, with exit velocities already up to 111 mph.

Filippo Di Turri, SS. One of Milwaukee’s big international signings from Jan. 15, 2023, Di Turri is a switch-hitter with a mature offensive approach for his age and a smooth, balanced swing with good strike-zone judgment. It’s a hit-over-power profile now with a chance to stick at shortstop, though he could end up at second or third base.

Patricio Aquino, RHP. Signed for $16,000 out of the Dominican Republic on Jan. 15, 2021, Aquino posted a 4.72 ERA with a 49-16 K-BB mark in 34.1 innings in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in 2022. He pitches at 91-94 mph, touches 96 and shows some feel to spin a slurvy but effective slider at 2,500-2,600 rpm.

Yujanyer Herrera, RHP. Herrera signed out of Venezuela for $10,000 when he turned 16 in 2019. He repeated the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in 2022 and his 5.36 ERA wasn’t inspiring, but he also had a 46-10 K-BB mark in 43.2 innings, touched 96 mph with the physical projection for more to come and mixed in a short slider that’s more effective than his curveball.

Joseph Hernandez, RHP. Hernandez is a 5-foot-11, 22-year-old righthander the Mariners signed out of the Dominican Republic for $45,000 in 2017, and he reached Low-A last year, posting a 3.39 ERA with 143 strikeouts and 54 walks in 116.2 innings. Traded to the Brewers in January for reliever Justin Topa, Hernandez sits in the low 90s and leans heavily on his slider, which flashes above-average, though it’s his only pitch that grades out average or better.

Jhonny Severino, SS/3B. Severino was a switch-hitting, power-oriented infielder who signed for $1.23 million at 17 out of the Dominican Republic on Jan. 15, 2022. Midway through the Dominican Summer League season, he started to hit exclusively righthanded, after which his performance improved, and he has projection in his 6-foot-3 frame for more power to come.

Darrien Miller, C. A ninth-round pick out of high school in 2019 who spent 2022 with High-A Wisconsin, Miller is an offensive-oriented catcher with a clean lefthanded swing, a solid sense of the strike zone and occasional power to his pull side.

Carlos Rodriguez, OF. Now mostly a corner outfielder, Rodriguez faces profile questions as a lefty with good bat control who has never hit more than three home runs in a season. His instincts for the game are strong, but a knee injury ended his season with High-A Wisconsin on May 29 after just 42 games.

Lucas Erceg, RHP. A former catcher, Erceg started pitching full time in 2021 and split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, posting a combined 4.55 ERA in 61.1 innings with 69 strikeouts and 37 walks. He’s a reliever entering his age-28 season who sits at 95-98 mph, touches 100 and throws an upper-80s slider that got hit hard, so finding an effective offspeed pitch will be key.