The Top 20 Milwaukee Brewers Player Assets for 2024: Part 4 (1-5)

[Seth Stohs]

Gradually, we have been discussing and ranking the Top 20 Brewers player assets in the organization heading into 2024. Today, the players chosen as the Top 5 Most Valuable Assets are discussed. With Thursday night's trades, we may need to adjust the list when we summarize, but it's been fun digging into these players numbers, contracts, years of team control, etc. Hopefully you have enjoyed the series and can discuss our rankings in the Comments. And, what would be great is for you to come up with your Top 20 (or even Top 10) rankings. 

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

For a more thorough explanation on these rankings and how they are developed, check out Sunday's Part 1 introduction post. The short version: Which players currently in the Brewers organization are most crucial toward developing a championship-caliber team? To rank the Brewers players and prospects, we consider things like age, contract status, years of control, ceiling/potential, and more. 

To catch you up, here are the first three installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists. If you missed either of the first two parts, you can click into Part 1 (16-20), Part 2 (11-15), and Part 3 (6-10):

20. Brice Turang, 2B
19. Luis Lara, OF
18. Wade Miley, LHP
17. Garrett Mitchell, OF
16. Brock Wilken, 3B
15. Joey Wiemer, OF
14. Jeferson Quero , C
13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP
12. Robert Gasser, LHP
11. Abner Uribe, RH RP
10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP
9. Christian Yelich, OF
8. Tyler Black, IF
7. Willy Adames, SS
6. Devin Williams, RH RP 

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With that reminder, let’s see who we have ranked as the Top 5 Most Valuable Player Assets in Milwaukee Brewers history:

5. RHP Corbin Burnes (30)  
I guess I should have posted this a couple of days sooner, but we knew all along that it was highly likely that the Brewers would trade the former All-Star. And the reason that I had him ranked this far down really came to fruition. Burnes had just one more year left before he can become a free agent. In the arbitration process, he was set to make over $15 million. 

So, we found that his value to the organization was two prospects at the backend of many Top 100 lists, and potentially a Competitive Balance pick. Initially when creating this ranking, I thought I should have Corbin Burnes ranked lower, but now it appears this was about right. The front office was able to turn Burnes into two prospects with six years of team control each. 

The other option, of course, was to play out the season with Burnes and then offer him the Qualifying Offer at season’s end. He would turn that down and the Brewers would get a draft pick after the first round. That is, if Burnes stayed healthy. 

4. OF Sal Frelick (23)  
Sal Frelick was the first-round pick of the Brewers in 2021 out of Boston College. He was the 15th overall pick.  In his first full season of pro ball (2022), he started at High-A Wisconsin and ended the year at Triple-A Nashville. That’s where he began the 2023 season, but a thumb injury cost him a couple of months early. He returned to the Nashville lineup and in mid-July, he was called up to the Brewers. 

If first impressions are important, Frelick’s debut was one of the best MLB debuts by any player in Brewers history. Overall, he hit .246/.341/.351 (.692) with nine doubles and three homers. Certainly not the difference-making level of play that many hoped, but there’s no reason to believe that he can’t be a solid all-around player for the Brewers for years to come.  

A consensus Top 50 global prospect coming into the season, he got his feet wet in 2023. Frelick will be under team control for six more seasons, at least. 

3. RHP Freddy Peralta (27)
No Burnes. No Brandon Woodruff. The remaining of the Brewers’ Big Three starters is Freddy Peralta. It seems as though he has been around forever, and I guess 2018 is a long time ago. In parts of six seasons in the big leagues, he is 42-27 with a 3.83 ERA. He also has 749 strikeouts in 580 2/3 innings (11.6 K/9). 

Peralta was an All Star in 2021. That season, he went 10-5 with a 2.81 ERA. He had 195 strikeouts in 144 1/3 innings (12.2 K/9). He was limited to 17 starts and 78 innings after some arm issues early that season. Those concerns should be alleviated because he made 30 starts in 2023. He posted a 3.86 ERA, and in 165 2/3 innings, he had 210 strikeouts (11.4 K/9). 

Before the 2020 season, Peralta signed a five-year, $15.5 million that included two option seasons which keep him under team control through the 2026 season. He is owed $5.5 million for the 2024 season. After the season, the front office will need to decide whether to pay Peralta $8 million in 2025 or pay him a $1.5 million buyout. Seems like an incredibly easy decision as long as Peralta stays healthy. Then after the 2026 season, the Brewers will have the option of paying Peralta $8 million. There is no buyout. But again, the Brewers essentially have Peralta signed for three years and $21.5 million. For how well he has pitched, those decisions would seem easy. And, frankly, if the Brewers want to be competitive the next couple of seasons, Peralta will be a big part of that.  

2. C William Contreras (26) 
The Brewers were the beneficiary of one of the strangest trades in recent history. The Brewers received Contreras and minor-league reliever Justin Yeager from Atlanta, and reliever Joel Payamps came to Milwaukee from the A’s. What did it cost the Brewers? They sent outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the A’s. Sure, Ruiz led the American League in Stolen Bases.  

Contreras had been an All Star in 2022 with the Braves. He had posted an OPS of .860 and drilled 20 home runs in 97 games. In 2023, Craig Counsell put him in the lineup as the catcher 108 times and 33 times as the DH. He responded by hitting .289/.367/.457 (.825) with 38 doubles and 17 home runs. He will spend the entire 2024 season at age 26. It will be his final pre-arbitration season. He will then have three years of arbitration. 

It can be so difficult to find catchers that can hit. While Contreras isn’t a great defensive backstop, he is adequate. However, if in the relatively near future, Jeferson Quero is deemed ready, he can cover more of the innings behind the plate with Contreras getting more at bats as the DH. While that might drop him a few spots down this list as his salary increases, he still will provide the team with value. 

The big question is, at what point will Willson Contreras be known as William’s older brother instead of vice versa.

1. OF Jackson Chourio (19) 
Jackson Holliday is currently the consensus top prospect in baseball, but Jackson Chourio typically ranks second. The 19-year-old from Venezuela signed on January 15, 2021, for $1.9 million. He spent that summer in the Dominican Summer League. In 2022, he came to the States and just a week into the season, he was promoted to Low-A Carolina. He crushed the ball for 62 games and earned a promotion to High-A Wisconsin. In 31 games, he posted an .805 OPS. He ended the season with six games at Double-A. 

That’s where he began the 2023 season. After a slow start, he hit .280/.336/.467 (.805) with 23 doubles, 22 home runs and 89 RBI. In addition, he went 43-for-52 in stolen base attempts. He ended the season with six games at Triple-A Nashville. After the season, he played in 17 games in the Venezuelan Winter League. He hit .379/.453/.530 (.984) with five doubles, a triple, and a home run. 

 

Chourio has all of the tools. He should hit and get on base. He has immense power. Signed as a shortstop, Chourio has primarily played center field as a professional. He has great range due to great speed, and he’s got a very strong arm. 

And, I think that we can assume that Chourio is blessed with several of the intangibles that made the organization comfortable enough to hand out an eight-year, $82 million contract to someone who won’t turn 20 until mid-March. The contract includes a $2 million signing bonus and runs through the 2031 season. It also includes a club option for 2032 for $25 million with a $2 million buyout. If that is accepted, then the club will have a $25 million option for the 2033 season with a $2 million buyout. With a couple of awards and escalators and incentives, the deal could be worth as much as $142.5 million over 10 years. 

Unfortunately, the contract puts a lot of extra pressure on Chourio to succeed. It is a long-term commitment to a young player. But he is the kind of player who has the potential to be a Hall of Famer, and to bring championships to the city. And that’s what this series and these player rankings are all about. Which players provide the most value toward achieving a championship. 

Is there any question that the player is Jackson Chourio? 

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Thank you for taking time to read all four parts of this series. Here are the full rankings. They do still include Corbin Burnes, so discuss how this list is altered with news of Thursday night’s trade. Do either Joey Ortiz or DL Hall fit into the Top 20? Do they have to produce because they were the players acquired for the All-Star starter. Please discuss in the Comments. 

 

To recap, here is the complete list of this year's top 20 Brewers player assets lists. (Click the links to find more Brewer Fanatic content on each of these players.) 
20. Brice Turang, 2B
19. Luis Lara, OF
18. Wade Miley, LHP
17. Garrett Mitchell, OF
16. Brock Wilken, 3B
15. Joey Wiemer, OF
14. Jeferson Quero, C
13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP
12. Robert Gasser, LHP
11. Abner Uribe, RH RP
10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP
9. Christian Yelich, OF 
8. Tyler Black, 3B/2B
7. Willy Adames, SS
6. Devin Williams, RH RP
5. Corbin Burnes, RHP
4. Sal Frelick, OF
3. Freddy Peralta, RHP
2. William Contreras, C
1. Jackson Chourio, OF

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[Jake McKibbin]

Interesting with Williams at 6, obviously a valuable guy but the gap may be huge between him and Burnes value wise. Williams at best provides 1.5 WAR over a regular reliever, Burnes provides 4 WAR plus over a 2 WAR starter at his best... Though that extra year, but relievers don't seem to take in the same hauls in trades.