Brewers Minor League Hitter of the Month: June 2024

[Jason Wang]

Brewers' prospects continued to dazzle at all levels this past month, with a young infielder leading the way.

Image courtesy of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Honorable Mentions
C Darrien Miller (Biloxi Shuckers)
79 PA, .283/.456/.400, 17 H, 4 2 B, 1 HR, 10 R, 9 RBI, 10 BB, 12 K, 9 HBP, 1 SB

Darrien Miller was a ninth-round draft pick selected in 2019 from Clovis (CA) High School. Now at 23 years old, he’s in his first year at Double-A and has been holding his own, hitting a .748 OPS over 220 plate appearances. He hasn’t yet found the power in his swing this year, but he managed to hit his first home run in the last few days of June.

Despite lacking juice in his bat, his on-base percentage this month was impressive, receiving a huge bump from getting hit by nine pitches. But hey, getting on base is getting on base, right? Surely, this is replicable in the higher levels of baseball.

SS Cooper Pratt (Carolina Mudcats)
93 PA, .376/.419/.459, 32 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 14 R, 11 RBI, 6 BB, 14 K, 1 HBP, 6 SB

Since being drafted in the sixth round of 2023 out of Magnolia Heights (MS) High School, Pratt has been great, posting an OPS >.800 in both 2023 and 2024, at least so far. After a strong May, he had an even better June, highlighted by an impressive .376 batting average. 

To cap things off, he jumped into the MLB Top 100 Prospects list to snag the #96 spot, making him the fourth Milwaukee prospect to be ranked that high.

2B/OF Isaac Collins (Nashville Sounds)
96 PA, .296/.396/.543, 24 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 13 R, 19 RBI, 10 BB, 20 K, 4 HBP, 9 SB

One of the older prospects on the list, Isaac Collins, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the ninth round out of Creighton University. After a lukewarm 2022 in Double-A, he came to the Brewers in the Rule 5 draft and spent most of his 2023 with the Biloxi Shuckers, posting an .855 OPS over 376 plate appearances.

He’s been even better this year in Triple-A, hitting to a .912 OPS after 303 plate appearances. His June wasn’t quite as hot as his scoring in April, but it was a big improvement over the regression he saw in May. 

Minor League Hitter of the Month: 2B/SS Jadher Areinamo
108 PA, .358/.435/.516, 34 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 17 R, 14 RBI, 12 BB, 10 K, 1 HBP, 6 SB

Signed out of Maracay, Venezuela, as a foreign free agent in 2021, Areinamo swung a great bat in June, taking a big step forward from the uninspiring months of April and May. Nine extra-base hits boosted his slugging, and walking more than he struck out had a similar impact on his on-base percentage.

He’s a scrappy player, and despite being graded as having slightly below-average speed, his smart baserunning has allowed him to remain a threat, as he has already accumulated 25 stolen bases this season.

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Congratulations to each of these players mentioned today for a great month of June. Do you agree with the choice of Jadher Arienamo as the winner this month? 

 

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[biedergb]

Areinamo is one of those kinds of players that teammates and mangers must appreciate, he does little things. For a young kid, he doesn’t seem to make dumb decisions much, fields his position soundly but not flashy. His hitting was holding him back, good average last year with little/no power, and hitting turning around this year now,  his movements at the plate when the pitch is delivered may mess him up and may need to be quieted down and his power may limit him, but another solid middle IF prospect along with ORae who can be versatile and seems to add to a club when he is on it.

Miller - the only other real catching prospect we have outside of Quero. His an OBP machine due to walks and HBP.