Article: 2023 Brewers Farm System Positional Preview: Second Base

[Harold Hutchison]

Second base is becoming very intriguing in Milwaukee, not just with the major-league competition between Luis Urias, Brice Turang, and Abraham Toro.

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The minors also have a lot of very interesting possibilities at the position, especially when looking at AA and below.

What are these possibilities, and how good could they be? Let’s take a look.

AAA Nashville
Brice Turang and Andruw Monasterio both played shortstop and saw action at second base. Josh VanMeter, Owen Miller, and Toro also could see action at the position for Nashville if they do not make the major-league roster. Felix Valerio also could be in Nashville if he forces his way up. There could be a revolving door, due not only to the fact that many of these players could be in Milwaukee at some point during the season but also that many of those there could be highly talented options for Nashville.

AA Biloxi
Valerio could end up back in Biloxi after some 2022 struggles, but he has a track record of offensive performance after coming over in the 2019 Keon Broxton trade. That said, Valerio could face a lot of competition from Tyler Black and Jose Acosta. Black has been a professional hitter on the field but has had multiple injuries in the regular season and the Arizona Fall League. Acosta has flashed a lot of power, but he’s also struggled with getting on base.

A+ Wisconsin
Zack Rabbe and Robert Moore both flashed potential in 2022. Rabbe was an on-base machine that generated a .364 OBP with many doubles. Moore, though, made a case that he could be a real star, with the #72 overall pick in the 2022 June draft adding a dominating performance during the 2022-2023 Australian baseball season. Either way, the Brewers have some interesting options there.

A Carolina
Jose Caballero, Jadher Areinamo, and Alexander Perez all posted decent seasons with the Brewers in the Arizona Complex League in 2022 and will likely be the top contenders for the Mudcats. Areinamo put together the best offensive numbers in a relatively small sample size, but Caballero showed an intriguing OBP-speed mix. Jesus Parra could also be in the mix if he isn’t playing a lot of first base.

Rookie Leagues
Angel Pereira and Demetrio Nadal will likely be the leading candidates to handle second for the lone ACL Brewers team or 2023, with Jose Pena and Donis Rodriguez serving as competition. Pereira flashed some superb OBP skills with the DSL Brewers 1, while Nadal has an OBP-speed mix and also flashed a little power potential for the DSL Brewers 2. Juan Baez also saw time at second base with the DSL Brewers 2, albeit he spent more time between shortstop and third base.

Overview
The Brewers have questions at second base through their farm system. That said, these questions, like those surrounding the outfield for the major-league team, could have many good answers. Turang, Black, and Moore are all blue-chip prospects, but Valerio, Monasterio, Miller, and Toro could be valuable contributors for a period at the major-league level. Further down, the Brewers have other players who could make things interesting. Then again, many of the system’s talented shortstops could wind up at second. 

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[Ro Mueller]

I don't envy you writing up the infield skill positions (2B, 3B, SS), given the vast number of decent players to consider. Speed skater Eddy Alvarez has mainly played second base in MLB Spring Training games, but he'll be battling for playing time with the likes of Miller, VanMeter, Toro and Monasterio. Tyler Black and Felix Valerio should ordinarily get 99% of the starts in AA, but we've also got Isaac Collins looking for some playing time. Then there's Ethan Murray, who logged 237.1 innings at second base last season. And of course, Eric Brown Jr. and Eduardo Garcia can't play shortstop at the same time. Finally, what is Dylan O'Rae's natural position?

It's a pretty fortunate situation that the organization finds itself in, I must say.

[Harold Hutchison]

And a lot of these players could be factors at multiple positions.