Underrated Brewers Prospects In 2024: Catcher and First Base

[Harold Hutchison]

The Brewers farm system is stacked with upper-echelon talent, but it's also a deep system. Let's look at some unheralded prospects at first base and catcher.

Last year, we began looking over underrated prospects in the Brewers system. While many are looking at the Crew’s top prospects list – and rightly so, given that they have five players (Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero, Jacob Misiorowski, Tyler Black, and Joey Ortiz) on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, it would be very myopic to ignore other players. Last season, one underrated prospect became a crucial contributor to the Crew’s 2023 division title run. Can the Crew hit that Andruw Monasterio jackpot again?'

One problem with looking at a Top 30 list on MLB Pipeline, much less Brewer Fanatic’s Top 20, is that it can miss players who can contribute a lot. Monasterio never cracked either list, yet he emerged as Brewer Fanatic’s Top Rookie in 2023. Are there other unheralded prospects who could embark on similar journeys? Let’s look at some of them at catcher and first base.

Catcher

Darrien Miller (Advanced-A Wisconsin)
.228/.336/.364 with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 47 RBI, 43 walks and 76 strikeouts in 316 at-bats

Miller dealt with a slump early in the season but still showcased pop and on-base skills in his second year in Appleton. His defense has never quite been up to the level of Jeferson Quero, but his left-handed bat could go well at American Family Field.

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Matthew Wood (Single-A Carolina/Advanced-A Wisconsin)
.253/.377/.327 with 15 doubles, four home runs, 63 RBI, 73 walks and 68 strikeouts in 388 at-bats

Which Matthew Wood bat is the real one? Was it the potential slugger in Carolina who posted a .956 OPS, or is it the OBP-heavy bat whose slugging percentage was 300 points lower in Wisconsin? Should Wood rediscover his power, he could be an excellent fit at American Family Field. The good thing is that his OBP skills were solid despite the slump in Wisconsin. He would be well-served to repeat at Wisconsin.

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Satchell Norman (Rookie ACL Brewers)
.308/.425/.473 with six doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI, 19 walks and 26 strikeouts in 91 at-bats

Norman probably wishes the Brewers had kept two ACL teams in 2023 – he appeared in only 30 of the 66 games the team played. His bat was arguably second only to that of Juan Baez in terms of being a dynamic contributor to the team’s success – his .897 OPS is superb for any position, particularly catcher – even though his defense was… adventurous.

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Edgardo Ordonez (Rookie ACL Brewers)
.253/.384/.392 with seven doubles, one home run, seven RBI, 18 walks and 31 strikeouts in 79 at-bats

Ordonez previously flashed a power bat in the DSL. It was still evident in his short sample from 2023 in the ACL – like Norman, more playing time would have been beneficial. That said, Ordonez also has a more refined defensive game than Norman, even if the bat isn’t quite as dynamic. As a left-handed hitter, though, Ordonez is a good fit for American Family Field.

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First Base

Zavier Warren (Double-A Biloxi)
.236/.319/.406 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs, 63 RBI, 45 walks and 86 strikeouts in 377 at-bats

Warren moved to first base with Tyler Black’s shift to third base. While he struggled at the plate early in the season (as did many other Southern League hitters), he rebounded to post solid numbers overall. Warren’s a switch-hitter who has posted solid numbers since being a third-round pick in the abbreviated 2020 amateur draft. In addition to first base, he’s seen significant time at third base, but he has also worked behind the plate at the middle infield positions in college and his professional career.

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Ernesto Martinez (Advanced-A Wisconsin/Double-A Biloxi)
.261/.345/.416 with 16 doubles, 12 home runs, 44 RBI, 40 walks and 79 strikeouts in 349 at-bats

Martinez has quietly developed into a solid first-base prospect who recovered from a lost 2022 due to injuries. At 6’5” and 250 pounds, he has that Eric Thames-esque bulk to match the power numbers and OBP skills Thames displayed from 2017-2019. However, Martinez adds speed (54 steals over the last three seasons), and he also spent time in center field in 2021 and didn’t embarrass himself, either. His defense has also been excellent.

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Tayden Hall (Single-A Carolina/Rookie ACL Brewers)
.274/.419/.320 with nine doubles, 25 RBI, 49 walks, and 45 strikeouts in 192 at-bats

Hall brings in some superb OBP skills and a decent hit-for-contact left-handed bat. He spent much time on the injured list in 2023, though. In addition to first base, Hall saw limited action as a catcher and left field. Hall’s biggest issues appear to be his health and the lack of power, although he seemed to find some pop during the 2023-2024 season in Brisbane, which has launched some other Brewers prospects into big-time contributors.

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Wild Card

Wes Clarke (AA Biloxi)
.241/.392.,498 with 24 doubles, 26 home runs, 80 RBI, 89 walks and 147 strikeouts in 398 at-bats

One big question Wes Clarke must answer in 2024: Is he a catcher or a first baseman? While Clarke primarily played first base in 2023, he was also Biloxi’s first choice to go behind the plate when Quero missed time, with 34 games behind the plate (33 starts). Clarke didn’t embarrass himself too badly on defense. He was also a legit power bat, leading Biloxi in home runs, doubles, OPS, and walks (topping Jackson Chourio in those categories in 112 fewer at-bats. His offensive profile is much like Russell Branyan’s, as he also led the team in strikeouts, but a 3TO bat is a nice asset at first base or catcher.

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Overview

The Brewers are in good shape behind the plate between William Contreras and Jeferson Quero, but digging deeper into the farm system shows a lot of potential beyond them in the lower minors. Meanwhile, the Crew’s situation at first base is either solid with Warren, Martinez, and Hall or excellent if Clarke spends much more time at first base than behind the plate.

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[eddiemathews]

The Brewers should probably put Clarke at first and leave him there, letting him concentrate more on his bat without the pressures of catching. Hoskins is a one-year stopgap, and a big year at the plate could really position him for a shot at the show in '25. There seem to be enough options behind the plate to go that route.

[Jim French Stepstool]

His value as a catcher on a major-league roster is that he can do it if you happen to get stuck & need a 3rd guy to go back there. He took a big step forward as a viable prospect in '23. No reason to mess with that by putting more on his plate.

[Harold Hutchison]

17 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

His value as a catcher on a major-league roster is that he can do it if you happen to get stuck & need a 3rd guy to go back there. He took a big step forward as a viable prospect in '23. No reason to mess with that by putting more on his plate.

Except he already has catching on his plate - he's spent substantial time behind the plate the last two seasons.

In 2022, he was the primary backup for Darrien Miller in Wisconsin - catching 28 games (26 starts) - in his 16 games with the Shuckers that year, he had three more starts at catcher. In 2023, he had 33 starts in 34 games at Biloxi. Again, he was the primary backup, this time for Jeferson Quero.

Granted, minor-league rosters have often been larger, so Clarke's split backup catcher duties (with Alex Hall in 2022 and Nick Kahle in 2023), but he's been the primary backup both years.

 

[Jake McKibbin]

2 hours ago, clancyphile said:

Except he already has catching on his plate - he's spent substantial time behind the plate the last two seasons.

In 2022, he was the primary backup for Darrien Miller in Wisconsin - catching 28 games (26 starts) - in his 16 games with the Shuckers that year, he had three more starts at catcher. In 2023, he had 33 starts in 34 games at Biloxi. Again, he was the primary backup, this time for Jeferson Quero.

Granted, minor-league rosters have often been larger, so Clarke's split backup catcher duties (with Alex Hall in 2022 and Nick Kahle in 2023), but he's been the primary backup both years.

 

Reasonable arguments but the general consensus is he's not a catcher at the big league level. His throws are too often wayward hence the low caught stealing rates and his receiving skills are subpar despite improvements in 2023. The brewers are great with developing catcher's but can only do so much, and evidently value defensive prowss at the position immensely.

 Clarke should easily be able to learn first base when necessary, and may play catcher this year but he won't in the bigs barring emergency. Could be wrong but think my view is very much the majority viewpoint amongst boths scouts and prospect followers. Possibly time to let this one go, unless you have some footage of his defensive abilities shining? I will say there's not a ton of it around

[jay87shot]

I'd let Clarke play mostly 1B and still sprinkle a bit of catcher. If you want Quero and Contreras on the 2025 roster together we need an emergency catcher and Clarke would be great. In a perfect world he would only catcher bits of a few games and if someone got hurt you would bring someone up.

I love Matt Wood as an eventual backup, I feel like he will be very similar to Caratini. Hall and Norman seem to have some really nice ceilings as they progress. Hall may actually be more of a 1B prospect at 6'4" if his power develops.

[Jim French Stepstool]

18 hours ago, clancyphile said:

Except he already has catching on his plate - he's spent substantial time behind the plate the last two seasons.

In 2022, he was the primary backup for Darrien Miller in Wisconsin - catching 28 games (26 starts) - in his 16 games with the Shuckers that year, he had three more starts at catcher. In 2023, he had 33 starts in 34 games at Biloxi. Again, he was the primary backup, this time for Jeferson Quero.

Granted, minor-league rosters have often been larger, so Clarke's split backup catcher duties (with Alex Hall in 2022 and Nick Kahle in 2023), but he's been the primary backup both years.

 

You're right. He's spent a lot of time as a backup catcher in the minor leagues. I'll stand by my prediction for his potential role at the big league level.