The Top 20 Milwaukee Brewers Player Assets of 2024: Part 1 (16-20)

[Seth Stohs]

Which players provide the Brewers with the most value? Not solely in terms of production on the field, but which players are most important to the future of the ball club. We’ll try to answer that question over the next few days. 

Read on for the first installment, in which we'll explain the concept and profile the players I ranked numbers 16 through 20.

Image courtesy of Carlos Hurtado (photo of Wilken), Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports (Mitchell), Jovanny Hernandez-USA Today (Turang)

One of my favorite baseball-writing series at Twins Daily that I have enjoyed the last half-dozen years is Nick Nelson’s annual Top 20 Minnesota Twins Player Assets of the Year. Recently, Nick completed the four-part series. I thought it would be fun to bring that series to Brewers Fanatics. Over the coming days, I’ll share my thoughts on the Top 20 Milwaukee Brewers Assets, and I welcome your feedback and thoughts on each list. 

Since I’m stealing the series idea from Nick, I might as well use his words to define the list. How do you measure an “asset,” and how should players be ranked? This isn’t a prospect ranking. This isn’t a best-player ranking. But it considers minor leaguers and big leagues. 

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“The idea of this exercise is to take stock of the organization's talent through the scope of team-building. The goal is to answer this question: Which current players in the organization are most indispensable to fulfilling the vision of building a champion?

We account for age, contract, controllability, upside, etc. It's not strictly a ranking of trade value because that would be more team-agnostic, whereas this list aims to capture a very Brewers-specific point of view. As such, players in areas of scarcity get elevated, while those in areas of abundance get downgraded a bit.

I always find compiling this list to be an interesting offseason pastime–one that brings to the surface unique conversations about the players, how we value them, and where the system's strengths and weaknesses truly lie.”

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As I worked on creating this list, I looked at the same factors as those mentioned above - age, team control, contract status, and more. This is an intriguing list because there is such a variety. How do you rank an MLB Top 100 hitting prospect who isn’t on the 40-man roster compared to a multi-time All-Star pitcher who could be traded at any time? In other words, we may need to update this list in another month.

20. 2B Brice Turang (24) 
Brice Turang grew up in southern California. The son of a former big leaguer (Brian Turang), Turang made a name for himself early. He represented Team USA on the 15U and 18U levels. In 2018, he was the Brewers first-round pick, 21st overall. His rise through the organization was slow but steady. He reached Triple-A in 2021 despite losing the 2020 season. After an entire season at Nashville in 2023, Turang made the Brewers Opening Day roster. Granted, he hit just .218/.285/.300 (.585, 62 OPS+) with nine doubles, three triples, and six home runs. He looked utterly lost at times, but that isn’t unusual for any player in his rookie season. His OPS in his full season at Triple-A was .772.  

If Turang can get his OPS up over .700 and continue to play terrific defense at second base, he can be a 2-3 WAR player for a few seasons. If he were to move over to shortstop at some point, his value would be even a little higher. He also has good speed and instincts. That’s evident with his range in the infield and his baserunning. He was 26-for-30 in steal attempts, and if he gets on base more, he should steal even more bases in the future. Should he remain with the Brewers and in the big leagues, he will have two more pre-arbitration years followed by four arbitration years. 

19. OF Luis Lara (19) 
No, he’s not Jackson Chourio. However, there are enough similarities to make Luis Lara one of the most intriguing prospects in the organization. Like Chourio, Lara was pushed up to Low-A Carolina very quickly, early in April, at 18, just 15 months after the Brewers signed him out of Venezuela with a $1.1 million bonus. Despite being about three years younger than the average player in the Carolina League, he hit a very solid .285/.379/.354 (.733) with 11 doubles and two home runs. As the Brewers have done with other prospects they are high on; they had Lara finish the season with about three weeks in High-A Wisconsin (where he was over four years younger than the league average). He hit .290/.351/.377 (.727) with two doubles and two triples in 17 games. 

That is where he will begin the 2024 season, a complete season he will play as a teenager. In 2023, Lara had 30 stolen bases. He’s got great speed and plays strong defense. He doesn’t have power at this point, but he has excellent plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills, especially for a player so young. A year from now, Lara could be a top ten player on this list, or we could look back and smile at his inclusion near the bottom. 

18. Wade Miley (37)  
Easily the oldest player on this list, Wade Miley quickly signed this offseason to remain with the Brewers after going 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts last year for Milwaukee. A former first-round pick, Miley has over 12 years of service time since 2011. He has played for eight big league teams and spent the 2018 season with the Brewers. While Miley may not be a part of the long-term Brewers plan, there is also a mutual option for 2025. If he can do what he did in 2023, the Brewers will certainly pick up their half of the option.

The expectations for Miley are what they are. In 120 1/3 innings in 2023, he had just 79 strikeouts. However, he walked just 38 batters and limited damage. With several unknowns surrounding the Brewers' starting staff in 2024 (Will Burnes be traded, and who will be healthy?), the team will need Miley to give them a chance every fifth day, even if that means five and dive. 

17. Garrett Mitchell (25)
Had this list been made a year ago, Garrett Mitchell likely would have ranked several places higher. He had been called up for his MLB debut in late August of 2022. He was a spark plug for the Brewers down the stretch. In 28 games, he hit .311/.373/.459 (.832) with three doubles and three home runs. On April 4th, Mitchell slugged two home runs, including one against Max Scherzer. Then on April 5th, he did this: 

He was 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts and used great speed to make big plays in center field. Unfortunately, on April 19, he went on the 60-Day Injured List with a left shoulder injury. He returned to the Brewers and played in three of the team’s final four games. Sometimes, player rankings of any sort come down to intangibles, and frankly, this is hard to top:  

Mitchell’s best tools are his speed and defense. His history says he should hit for some average and get on base. He has two more years of pre-arbitration and three years of arbitration. However, Christian Yelich is going to be around for a long time. Jackson Chourio and his new contract will handle a spot in the outfield for years. Sal Frelick should remain the third outfield starter for years. Joey Wiemer and Blake Perkins are in the organization. Tyrone Taylor was traded recently. Could Mitchell or Wiemer be dealt for pitching or as part of a more significant return for Corbin Burnes?

16. Brock Wilken (21)
A year ago at this time, Brock Wilken and his Wake Forest teammates were beginning practice for a season that saw them reach the College World Series. They beat Stanford and LSU before losing twice to the eventual champion LSU Tigers. In July, the Brewers made the slugging third baseman the 18th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He posted a .983 OPS and hit 17 homers in 47 games as a freshman in 2021. In 2022, he posted a .964 OPS with 23 homers in 60 games. In 66 college games in 2023, he hit .345/.506/.807 (1.313) with 15 doubles, 31 homers and 82 RBI. A solid all-around hitter, he had 69 walks to 58 strikeouts. 

After signing with the Brewers, Wilken spent about a week in Arizona shaking off the rust. He moved to High-A Wisconsin for about six weeks before ending the season with a week playing for Double-A Biloxi. In 47 combined professional games, he hit .285/.414/.473 (.887) with eight doubles, four triples, and five home runs. The assumption is that Wilken is going to mash wherever he is. The key question will be, can he play third base well enough? Depending on that answer, the question becomes, how quickly can he get to Milwaukee? There’s no reason to think he couldn’t be in the big leagues by midseason. 

To recap, here is the first installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists: 
20. Brice Turang, 2B
19. Luis Lara, OF
18. Wade Miley, LHP
17. Garrett Mitchell, OF
16. Brock Wilken, 3B 

Check back. In the coming days, I will return and continue the countdown with our picks for numbers 11 to 15. For now, let me know what you think of this group. 

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[Michael Trzinski]

I like Lara and Wilken for sure. Might have to take a trip to AppleTown and watch the T-Rats this summer.