Midseason Prospect Rankings

[Matt]

ESPN Updated their rankings today: 

45. Jesus Made, SS, Milwaukee Brewers/DSL, Age: 17.2
51. Cooper Pratt, SS, Milwaukee Brewers/High-A, Age: 20.0
57. Jeferson Quero, C, Milwaukee Brewers/AAA, Age: 21.8
79. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers/AAA, Age: 22.3
92. Tyler Black, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers/AAA, Age: 24.0

Notable Risers
Luis Pena, SS, Milwaukee Brewers/DSL, Age: 17.7

NOTE: Edited out paywall commentary.

 

Edited August 14, 2024 by Jim Goulart

[Matt]

So that's definitely interesting.

[jay87shot]

I love Made and Pena I just don't like putting guys in the Dominican league that high up. Give me a couple solid weeks in Carolina and top 100 it is. Our top 4 Quero, Misi, Pratt, Black all are probably 40-75 prospects and then there is a pretty decent gap to like Yophery, Henderson, Adams, Boeve, Bitoni, Wilken, Made, Pena etc who are maybe borderline top 150-200 (in my opinion) but where our organization is better than any other club is from like 5-25, even 25-50 is probably top in the league. 

Look at our 16-20 Lara, Made, Wichrowski, Letson, Yoho (on mlb.com) vs. the top systems Mariners, Cleveland, Tampa, Balt., Minny. Our guys are way better, and then think we have guys like Adamchecski, Ortuna, Anderson who aren't on any big publications radar as like 30-40 prospects. I bet a guy like Ernesto Martinez who probably ranks about 45-50 on our systems ranking would be a top 20 prospect for a bunch of teams.

 

[Matt]

I think with the stats available it's easier to identify standout prospects earlier. In the past, sure, you had to take DSL and ACL numbers with a huge grain of salt. But when you can add stuff like exit velocity and barrel rate into the equation you can have an idea of what's smoke and mirrors and what's not. 

[wiguy94]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

I think with the stats available it's easier to identify standout prospects earlier. In the past, sure, you had to take DSL and ACL numbers with a huge grain of salt. But when you can add stuff like exit velocity and barrel rate into the equation you can have an idea of what's smoke and mirrors and what's not. 

Agreed. It's also extremely nice getting public statcast data for AAA. Hopefully someday we will have statcast data for all the minor leagues.

[Joseph Zarr]

23 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Agreed. It's also extremely nice getting public statcast data for AAA. Hopefully someday we will have statcast data for all the minor leagues.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Maybe I am remembering incorrectly, but this is the earliest I can recall hype building for a Brewers DSL prospect. It seemed like for Chourio, Lara and Rodriguez, the hype came more out of instructs and the next year’s spring training.

[wiguy94]

4 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Maybe I am remembering incorrectly, but this is the earliest I can recall hype building for a Brewers DSL prospect. It seemed like for Chourio, Lara and Rodriguez, the hype came more out of instructs and the next year’s spring training.

From national level evaluators absolutely. Nobody was getting near the hype than Made has gotten. Kiley even listed Luis Pena as inside his Top 150 which is also probably more hyped/higher ranking than any of those previous 3 when they were still in the DSL

[Playing Catch]

15 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

From national level evaluators absolutely. Nobody was getting near the hype than Made has gotten. Kiley even listed Luis Pena as inside his Top 150 which is also probably more hyped/higher ranking than any of those previous 3 when they were still in the DSL

I've mused about this before, but I think the Brewers now have a reputation for having a secret sauce, and evaluators are curious about what diamond they will unearth next.

[Matt]

The only other prospect (besides Chourio) that I remember getting this kind of hype early on was Hedbert. 

[Playing Catch]

26 minutes ago, Matt said:

The only other prospect (besides Chourio) that I remember getting this kind of hype early on was Hedbert. 

Perez was hyped by us here, and within the context of the team's prospects, but I don't believe he ever hit an overall Top 100 list. 

I actually think that Perez, the prospect, is a great contrast to better contextualize Made, the prospect.

Similarities? Venezuelan, signed for just under $1M. Made a switch-hitter, Perez a lefty. Both with precocious power for their age. Both with similar slash lines in DSL

Differences? Perez had a famous baseball-playing father. Perez a corner outfielder only, Made a shortstop most likely destined for 3B.

DSL line for Perez:  
.333/.394/.575      148 wRC+   6% BB-rate, 26% K-rate

DSL line for Made
.337/.461/.548        170 wRC+   18% BB-rate, 14% K-rate

 

Now these are BOTH young guys that can flame out at any time. But as prospects, you can see what really sets them apart in terms of ceilings/helium. And this doesn't take into account for any of the advanced stats.

As PROSPECTS, Made is definitely closer to Chourio at this stage than Perez.

[Matt]

I definitely agree with Made being a better prospect, and part of that is that like I said, we just have access to more information. Made is also making the rounds on more rankings than Perez. 

But just doing a quick google search from back in 2021 I see Perez popping up here and there. Had a national BP writeup. Pipeline was high on him as an up the middle potential star ranked as high as #4 in the system. Showed up on a top 150 Bleacher Report list. Here is ranked #36 on Prospects 1500. 

[Playing Catch]

4 minutes ago, Matt said:

I definitely agree with Made being a better prospect, and part of that is that like I said, we just have access to more information. Made is also making the rounds on more rankings than Perez. 

But just doing a quick google search from back in 2021 I see Perez popping up here and there. Had a national BP writeup. Pipeline was high on him as an up the middle potential star ranked as high as #4 in the system. Showed up on a top 150 Bleacher Report list. Here is ranked #36 on Prospects 1500. 

Yeah, I stopped looking after MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, so I stand corrected about his national juice.

[CheeseheadInQC]

44 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

Perez was hyped by us here, and within the context of the team's prospects, but I don't believe he ever hit an overall Top 100 list. 

I actually think that Perez, the prospect, is a great contrast to better contextualize Made, the prospect.

Similarities? Venezuelan, signed for just under $1M. Made a switch-hitter, Perez a lefty. Both with precocious power for their age. Both with similar slash lines in DSL

Differences? Perez had a famous baseball-playing father. Perez a corner outfielder only, Made a shortstop most likely destined for 3B.

DSL line for Perez:  
.333/.394/.575      148 wRC+   6% BB-rate, 26% K-rate

DSL line for Made
.337/.461/.548        170 wRC+   18% BB-rate, 14% K-rate

 

Now these are BOTH young guys that can flame out at any time. But as prospects, you can see what really sets them apart in terms of ceilings/helium. And this doesn't take into account for any of the advanced stats.

As PROSPECTS, Made is definitely closer to Chourio at this stage than Perez.

Perez never played in the DSL. He signed before the COVID shutdown and then he, Quero, Herrera and a few others skipped the DSL and went to the ACL in 2021.

[Brewcrew82]

If you want a closer analogue to Made's current prospect status, I'd look to Wander Franco. Tooled up MI who tore up rookie ball as a 17 year old with a precocious combination of power, plate discipline and bat to ball. Both walked significantly more than they struck out. 

Only real difference is Franco was one of the top prospects in his IFA class and skipped the DSL in favor of the the short-season Appalachian League (RIP). 

Franco subsequently found himself in BA's preseason Top 100 before reaching full-season ball. Obviously, there are zero guarantees and Made still has a long ways to go before reaching Franco's prospect stature, but I think that comparison is better than Hedbert Perez who didn't play first year rookie ball at all as a 17 year old due to COVID. 

[wiguy94]

1 hour ago, Playing Catch said:

Perez was hyped by us here, and within the context of the team's prospects, but I don't believe he ever hit an overall Top 100 list. 

I actually think that Perez, the prospect, is a great contrast to better contextualize Made, the prospect.

Similarities? Venezuelan, signed for just under $1M. Made a switch-hitter, Perez a lefty. Both with precocious power for their age. Both with similar slash lines in DSL

Differences? Perez had a famous baseball-playing father. Perez a corner outfielder only, Made a shortstop most likely destined for 3B.

DSL line for Perez:  
.333/.394/.575      148 wRC+   6% BB-rate, 26% K-rate

DSL line for Made
.337/.461/.548        170 wRC+   18% BB-rate, 14% K-rate

 

Now these are BOTH young guys that can flame out at any time. But as prospects, you can see what really sets them apart in terms of ceilings/helium. And this doesn't take into account for any of the advanced stats.

As PROSPECTS, Made is definitely closer to Chourio at this stage than Perez.

Just some correcting. Made is from the DR not Venezuela and Perez never played in the DSL those numbers were from the ACL.

[Playing Catch]

Wow, just so much wrong in my post... sorry everyone.  Very embarrassing!😳