Milwaukee Brewers Prospects: 2024 Midseason Top 30 Update
Entering the year, the Brewers had one of the premier farm systems in baseball.
It’s still a good system, but since the beginning of the year, outfielder Jackson Chourio has graduated, catcher Jeferson Quero was lost for the the season due to injury and now lefthander Robert Gasser is joining him on the injured list with Tommy John surgery.
The rest of the system has been a mixed bag, with some players raising their stock—particularly on the pitching side—while other highly-ranked players coming into the year have had disappointing seasons.
Encouraging early returns from the 2024 international signing class have helped, and while 2023 first-rounder Brock Wilken hasn’t been the offensive force that he was at Wake Forest, several others from that 2023 draft have been up-arrow players this year.
Baseball America subscribers can see the full updated Brewers Top 30 here. Notable risers, fallers, new additions and injury updates are below.
Notable Risers
Cooper Pratt, SS
Pratt entered pro ball last year out of high school with a reputation as an instinctive, high baseball IQ player on both sides of the ball. That has continued in Low-A Carolina, where Pratt has shown good command of the strike zone with a low swing-and-miss rate. Pratt is a 6-foot-4 shortstop, but even with his size, there hasn’t been much game power yet, something that will be key for him to take the next leap forward.
Eric Bitonti, 3B
Bitonti hasn’t made it to a full-season league yet, but he’s also still only 18 and younger than some of the high school players who will get picked in the 2024 draft. One of the most dangerous offensive threats in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, he’s a high-risk, high-reward player with big raw power from the left side and feel for the strike zone, though it comes with a higher swing-and-miss rate that he will have to keep in check.
Bishop Letson, RHP
Letson made a jump in our first in-season update and makes another one here. An athletic, projectable 6-foot-4 righthander with a fastball up to 93 mph when the Brewers drafted him out of high school last year, Letson has now been up to 98. He gets great extension that helps it play up even more, mixing four-seamers with carry and two-seamers with more armside run. His slider and improved changeup both elicit empty swings at a good rate as well.
Notable Fallers
Luis Lara, OF
Lara has moved rapidly through the system, playing in High-A Wisconsin this year as a 19-year-old. Lara is young for the level, doesn’t swing and miss much and plays a premium position, but there have otherwise been a lot of red flags raised in his 2024 campaign. There’s little power here—he hasn’t homered yet in 2024—and for a player whose value will come from his ability to put the ball in play and get on base, Lara can be too aggressive at the plate at times, leading to an OBP and a slugging average that have underwhelmed.
Brock Wilken, 3B
A first-round pick out of Wake Forest last year, Wilken hasn’t been bad, but for a player whose offensive game is going to have to drive his value, the performance hasn’t jumped off the page. He has big raw power, but there has also been higher swing-and-miss, especially against sliders, which has hampered his overall offensive output.
Notable New additions
16. Jesus Made, SS
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: The Brewers had three major signings when the international signing period opened in January 2024, one of them being Made for $950,000. He made his pro debut in 2024 in the Dominican Summer League.
Scouting Report: Made is an athletic, switch-hitting shortstop with an impressive power stroke for his age, especially from the right side. Made generates good bat speed, drives the ball with backspin and makes consistent hard contact, flashing above-average raw power with a chance to grow into a 25-plus home run threat. Some scouts who saw Made as an amateur thought he would have a power-over-hit profile as he gets closer to the big leagues, but early on he has shown solid contact skills and a good sense of the strike zone. Made is a plus runner with a plus arm that could still tick up to become a plus-plus tool, though he will need to improve his defense to stay at shortstop. If he does outgrow the position, he could end up at third base or use his speed in center field.
The Future: Made is far from the big leagues, so while there is a lot of risk, the early returns at the plate have been promising.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Speed: 60 | Fielding: 45 | Arm: 60
17. Luis Peña, SS
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: One of Milwaukee’s three big international signings from January 2024, Peña landed an $800,000 bonus. He made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2024.
Scouting Report: Peña has a strong, compact build and explosiveness to his game. He’s an aggressive hitter, but he has good hand-eye coordination and doesn’t miss much when he’s swinging at strikes. A good fastball hitter with a flatter swing path, Peña has the strength and bat speed to make consistent hard contact and the potential to develop plus raw power. He also has 70 speed. He’s more of a power runner than having the long, gliding strides of a sprinter, but he has quickly proven a high stolen base threat. Peña has the athleticism and plus arm for shortstop, though he will have to clean up some things with his defensive actions to stick there, otherwise he could slide to third base.
Track Record: Peña is off to a strong start in the DSL and has quickly made himself into one of the organization’s more promising prospects beneath the full-season leagues.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Speed: 70 | Fielding: 45 | Arm: 60
18. Craig Yoho, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: In college, Yoho got sparse playing time in 2019 and 2020 at Houston, then transferred to Indiana and didn’t pitch until 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and a knee injury. He threw well in relief for the Hoosiers as a 23-year-old in 2023. The Brewers drafted him in the eighth round that year, and he has already moved quickly through the system.
Scouting Report: Yoho isn’t a typical flamethrowing reliever who blasts high-octane fastballs by hitters in short bursts. His fastball has below-average velocity at 91-94 mph, though it does have lively armside run from his low slot. What allows him to pile up strikeouts is one of the best changeups in the minors. It’s a plus-plus pitch that maintains the same arm speed as his fastball but comes off 13-14 mph slower. His changeup parachutes at the plate with fade and late tumble, making it a devastating pitch for swing-and-miss against both lefties and righties. Yoho throws his changeup as often as he throws his fastball, mixing in an average curveball and sprinkling an occasional cutter. He doesn’t have as much command on those pitches, but he has been a high-level strike-thrower with his fastball and changeup.
The Future: Yoho has flown under the radar, but his elite changeup gives him a chance to develop into a high-leverage reliever. He should make his major league debut by 2025.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 70 | Cutter: 45 | Control: 55
22. Manuel Rodriguez, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: The Brewers signed Rodriguez out of Mexico when he was 16 a couple months before the start of the 2022 Dominican Summer League season, giving him $40,000. One of the youngest players in that signing class, Rodriguez has proven exceptionally polished for his age, moving quickly due more to his pitchability than his raw stuff.
Scouting Report: Rodriguez has a simple, efficient and repeatable delivery with compact arm stroke. That helps him fill the strike zone and avoid walks with the potential for plus-plus control. Rodriguez won’t throw a fastball above 91 mph, sitting in the upper-80s, but it’s a high-spin pitch (2,600-2,700 rpm) with good carry. He mixes in a 76-80 mph slider with tight rotation that could become an average pitch. His changeup has been effective against Low-A hitters because he keeps it down, but it’s a below-average pitch that comes in too firm. Rodriguez mixes in a short, low-80s cutter, as well.
The Future: Unless Rodriguez can generate more power behind his fastball, that lack of velocity will get tested against upper-level hitters. But his ability to pour strikes and keep hitters off balance by mixing his pitches will give him an opportunity to keep developing as a starter, likely in the back of a rotation if everything clicks.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 40 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 70
26. Yujanyer Herrera, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Herrera signed out of Venezuela with the Brewers on his 16th birthday in 2019 for $10,000. He didn’t do much to distinguish himself as a prospect in his first couple of seasons pitching in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, but his stuff ticked up in 2024 to make him a more intriguing arm in the lower levels.
Scouting Report: Herrera had a lankier 6-foot-3 frame when he signed, but he has filled out now with a thicker lower half. That strength has added more power behind his stuff, to where he’s now sitting 92-95 mph and can touch 98. His go-to pitch is an above-average slider, which he can manipulate anywhere from the lower to upper-80s. It has two-plane depth, making it a high swing-and-miss pitch against both righties and lefties. Herrera does have a changeup, but it’s a well below-average pitch he rarely throws. A lack of strikes hurt Herrera in the past, but he has shown better control in 2024.
The Future: While Herrera should continue to get the opportunity to develop as a starter, his fastball/slider mix could play well in a relief role, with the potential for both pitches to play up in shorter bursts.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 30 | Control: 45
27. Yorman Galindez, RHP
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: A few weeks before he turned 19 in 2022, Galindez signed with the Brewers out of Venezuela for $10,000.. He posted a 6.45 ERA in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League that year and repeated the league in 2023, but took a step forward in 2024 with Low-A Carolina.
Scouting Report: Galindez has a riding fastball that sits at 92-95 mph and can touch 97, attacking hitters with it up in the zone. Galindez will throw his fastball about a third of the time, relying heavily on his breaking stuff for more than half of his pitch usage. His primary breaking ball is an average slider in the low-80s that he spins well in the 2,500-2,700 rpm range and snaps off with short, late break. His curveball has bigger break at 73-76 mph with slurvy action and flashes average, as well. He doesn’t throw his changeup much, but it has been an effective pitch when he does. Galindez has below-average control with more feel for landing his breaking stuff for strikes than he does with his fastball, so he will need to improve his fastball command.
The Future: There’s enough stuff to give Galindez a chance to develop into a back-end starter or reliever if he can make improvements with his strikes.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40
28. Jose Anderson, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme
Track Record: The Brewers signed Anderson for $60,000 in January 2024, and he has quickly vaulted up prospect lists, going from an under-the-radar signing to become one of Milwaukee’s more exciting hitters in the lower levels.
Scouting Report: Anderson’s feel for hitting and his offensive track record stood out coming into the Dominican Summer League season. Now his power has trended up significantly, with Anderson showing one of the better power strokes in the league. Though he can sometimes be hurt by an aggressive approach, he has good hand-eye coordination, feel for the barrel and bat speed. That combination allows him to drive the ball with impressive impact for his age and gives a chance for above-average raw power. He’s a center fielder now, but he’s not a burner runner. He could end up in right field where he has a plus arm.
The Future: Anderson is several years away, but he has been one of the bigger up-arrow prospects for the Brewers since he joined the organization at the start of 2024.
Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50 | Power: 55 | Speed: 50 | Fielding: 45 | Arm: 60
Significant injuries
Quero remains one of the best catching prospects in baseball, but he won’t return to games until 2025. He had surgery on his right shoulder to repair a torn labrum in April.
Robert Gasser, LHP
Gasser reached the big leagues this year, but the 25-year-old won’t return until the middle of 2025 because of Tommy John surgery. Gasser had been a back of the Top 100 prospect, but the operation and time he will miss—and how it will limit his workload the next couple of seasons—will knock him out of that group.
