Brewer Fanatic Short Season Minor League Hitter Of The Year

[Harold Hutchison]

In the Arizona Complex League and the Dominican Summer League, Brewers position player prospects stood out big time at the plate, showing impressive offensive tools. Without further ado, let’s go through the Brewer Fanatic Minor League Hitters of the Year for 2024, as voted for by our writers.

Image courtesy of Juan Berson

Before we get to our Top 3 short-season minor-league hitters, let's take a quick look at some other  DSL and ACL hitters who deserve mention. 

Honorable Mentions
Edgardo Ordonez – C/1B/DH
Ordonez finished second on the Maryvale squad in home runs, despite playing in only half the games, while also displaying excellent OBP skills.

Juan Ortuno – IF/OF
Ortuno displayed superb plate discipline (29 walks to 27 strikeouts) and flashed both speed (22 steals) and some pop (12 extra base hits) for the DSL Brewers 1 squad.

Josh Adamczewski – 2B
Adamczewski displayed pure hitting prowess while with the ACL Brewers, posting a .950 OPS with 26 walks and 26 strikeouts. His OBP skills remained very solid when he got a late-season promotion to Carolina.

Jose Anderson – OF
Just how good was Anderson’s season with the DSL Brewers 1? He posted an OPS of .916, hit 8 home runs, had 34 RBIs, and stole 14 bases. By comparison, in the DSL, some guy named Jackson Chourio posted an .833 OPS, had five homers, 25 RBI and seven steals.

The Verdict
3. Luis Pena, SS - .393/.457/.583
Pena nearly reached the .400 mark in batting average, fueled by incredible bat-to-ball skills (pitchers only notched 15 strikeouts in 44 games played). He drew only 15 walks, but much of his offensive game was from speed and just making contact. He also flashed serious potential as a threat on the base paths, stealing 39 bases in 43 attempts. He also drove in 36 runs, leading all Brewers prospects in the DSL, despite only hitting one home run. He’ll turn 18 over the offseason, but he could be looking at starting next year in Zebulon with the Mudcats, like Chourio. 

2. Eric Bitonti, 3B/1B - .320/.451/.580 with the ACL Brewers
Bitonti, a member of the Crew’s already outstanding 2023 draft class, just dominated during his time with the Maryvale squad. He led the team in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, and walks while splitting time at both corner infield positions.

Bitonti’s left-handed power bat is the type of profile that can prosper a lot in the confines of American Family Field, as we have seen in cases like Christian Yelich and Prince Fielder. He also spent 28 games with the Mudcats in 2024, where he matched his ACL home run total (eight), good enough to finish second on the team behind Luis Castillo, where his bat took on a three-true-outcomes profile.   

Short-Season Minor League Hitter Of The Year: Jesus Made, SS - .331/.458/.554
What didn’t Jesus Made do during the 2024 DSL season? The switch-hitting shortstop who was one of the highlights of the Crew’s 2024 international signing class, led the DSL Brewers 1 in home runs and walks, tied with two others to lead the team in triples, and finished second in doubles, stolen bases, hits, and OPS.

Made, who got the second-biggest bonus of the 2024 international class ($950,000), made the investment look very good for the Crew. He spent most of his time at shortstop, where he profiles as potentially a bat-first player at that position, but he also got plenty of looks at second base and the hot corner.

While the power was projected in scouting reports, Made surprised by drawing far more walks (39) than strikeouts (28), a very promising sign for a young player early on. By comparison, Jackson Chourio had 23 walks to 28 strikeouts in his DSL season.   

For Made, there is a ton of potential here – perhaps even a rise as rapid as Chourio’s. I, for one, cannot wait to see what his bat can do stateside, especially with a full offseason of conditioning.

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Congratulations to Jesus Made for being named the Brewer Fanatic Short-Season Minor League Player of the Year!

Do you agree with the choice, or might your 'ballot' look a little different? Share your thoughts below. 

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Previous Brewer Fanatic Short-Season Hitter of the Year winners:

2023: IF Juan Baez

2022: OF Jace Avina 

 

 

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[Ro Mueller]

Right or wrong, I went with Pena. Higher average, slugging, more SBs, RBIs, fewer errors playing basically the same SS/3B/2B mix.

Of course, Made is 6 months younger, with elite exit velocity, more HRs, better BB/K ratio. And he’s also the future MLB MVP.

It’s an awesome time to have these kinds of prospects!

[CheeseheadInQC]

3 hours ago, Ro Mueller said:

Right or wrong, I went with Pena. Higher average, slugging, more SBs, RBIs, fewer errors playing basically the same SS/3B/2B mix.

Of course, Made is 6 months younger, with elite exit velocity, more HRs, better BB/K ratio. And he’s also the future MLB MVP.

It’s an awesome time to have these kinds of prospects!

I think Made is the better prospect, but you could easily make a good case Pena had the better season. Those were just two incredible years.

[Joseph Zarr]

Hard to complain about this list. I have to laugh: Seth sent out the message to get us to Vote as Report writers all season. I completely forgot to vote on anything when I shifted into off-season Farm Mode. 😅Glad to see some of y'all tallied votes! I'll be very curious to see who you all selected in the full-season affiliate realm. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

I'd have gone with Pena by a whisker, but you really can't go wrong with Made either. I don't ever remember being this pumped about the depth of position-player talent at the rookie ball/low-A level.

If Bitonti can get the swing-and-miss a little more under control as he matures, look out. I mean, look out anyway, but.................