Brewer Fanatic 2024 Offseason Top 20 Prospects - No. 9: Mike Boeve

[Spencer Michaelis]

Welcome back to Brewer Fanatic's 2024 top 20 prospect breakdown! In this edition, we will be taking a deep dive look at Mike Boeve. Boeve comes in as the ninth-ranked prospect in the system, as voted on and compiled by the Brewer Fanatic community.

9. Mike Boeve (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Biloxi Shuckers)

The Brewers' second-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, Boeve stood out as someone the franchise could potentially have interest in even before he was taken, due to some of the analytical traits he possessed. The Brewers aren’t strictly model-based when making draft decisions, but they do value them quite a bit, and Boeve was a model darling. After a strong start in the Arizona Complex League, Boeve finished 2023 in High-A with Wisconsin and struggled a bit with the Timber Rattlers. He began 2024 back in High-A, and proved to be up to the challenge this time around, posting a .553/.642/.632 line in 13 games before a quick promotion to Double-A Biloxi. He would remain there the rest of the season, battling injuries throughout but producing whenever he was playing.

What to Like:
Boeve is not the most visually appealing player of all time, but he seems to consistently get the job done, and also stands out in a lot of analytical models.

Always known for making a lot of contact during his time at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he capped that off in his senior season by posting a minuscule 4% strikeout rate, paired with a 15.2% walk rate. He has continued that trend in the minors, with a very strong 15.8% strikeout rate, and an above-average 11.7% walk rate. Even beyond the plate discipline numbers, his whiff rate of 16.1% was in the 97th percentile for all of MiLB. He has plus-plus bat-to-ball skills, and makes strong swing decisions.

At one point seen as a contact-only type of bat, Boeve has shown a few signs of being more than that. After signing and reporting to the Arizona Complex League, he posted wood-bat exit velocities of up to 112 MPH in the couple of weeks he spent down there. While he only hit six home runs in 2024, he was posting strong exit velocities throughout the year and broke 110 MPH on multiple occasions. The other good sign is that the power was coming around as the season progressed, including hitting three home runs in a three-game stretch in August. His build shows signs of being able to hit for more power, especially if he can pull the ball a bit more often, and if he can get some of his hard-hit line drives to turn into fly balls.

Turning some of those line drives into fly balls could help Boeve’s power numbers, but the 29% line drive rate he posted in 2024 is an elite number in its own right. His hit tool shows signs of being plus. He wouldn’t want to sacrifice much of that to be able to get to the previously mentioned power potential, so finding the right balance will be important for him moving forward.

What to Work On:
After being drafted, Boeve had played second and third base for the Timber Rattlers and in the ACL. His arm is fringe-average for third and average for the keystone. However, he didn’t spend any time at second base in 2024, instead exclusively occupying the corners. He essentially split his time with Biloxi between first base and third base. He did well at first, despite having minimal experience, showing pretty good hands and comfort with the requisite footwork. Third base is a spot where he appears to be able to hold his own as well, but at both spots, he could use improved work on his range, especially going to his forehand. 

At the plate, the raw power will need to show up in games more consistently, if he wants to reach his full potential. The good news is that he has the juice in his bat to do it; he simply needs to alter his batted-ball profile a bit. That's easier said than done, to be sure, but pulling the ball in the air a bit more often could help Boeve rapidly increase his power production.

The power is especially important for Boeve because, while a plus hit tool is certainly a positive, that profile doesn't play as much if the hitter lacks speed, which Boeve does. Players who live on line-drive singles would ideally steal a decent number of bases and “turn singles into doubles,” which he is not able to do.

What’s next:
Boeve dealt with a lot of injuries in 2024, so he only played in a little over half of the games available to him. Because of this, he might begin 2025 back in Biloxi, simply to get a bit more experience. However, his production does point to a player who is ready for the challenge of Triple-A, so neither assignment would be a big surprise. Depending on what the Brewers do this offseason, third base could be a wide-open position at the MLB level, and first base may end up needing some help, as well. If Boeve can stay healthy, show improvement in the areas mentioned above, and things break right for him, a 2025 MLB debut can’t be ruled out.

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What are your thoughts on Boeve? What are you hoping to see from him in 2025? Let us know in the comments!

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[SF70]

Not seeing a future at 3B with this defensive-centric team so the power will need to come or I don’t see a future with this team. 

[izzi]

I definitely see a future for him on this team. When Willy leaves and Joey moves to short, they should try him at third to see if the glove will play. If not, first base and DH rotation with Rhys.

Looking at his body and swing I think the power will come. I am surprised they haven’t seen if he could shift to the outfield.

[jay87shot]

Great write up, Boeve is one I kind of hope doesn't reconfigure his swing for more power. As mentioned in the article he could probably get more power numbers if he lifts the ball more. However I think this might be a case of if it's not broke don't fix it. I think long term be could be a really nice 1B defensively. It will be really interesting to see how the Black, Wilken. Boeve, Adams, Bitonti 3B/1B future shakes out.

[Spencer Michaelis]

1 hour ago, SF70 said:

Not seeing a future at 3B with this defensive-centric team so the power will need to come or I don’t see a future with this team. 

I personally think he's comparable to Monasterio at third, which they been willing to put up with in a utility role. But yeah for him to be an everyday starter, that does feel like it would be something they'd want to avoid.

[Spencer Michaelis]

1 hour ago, jay87shot said:

Great write up, Boeve is one I kind of hope doesn't reconfigure his swing for more power. As mentioned in the article he could probably get more power numbers if he lifts the ball more. However I think this might be a case of if it's not broke don't fix it. I think long term be could be a really nice 1B defensively. It will be really interesting to see how the Black, Wilken. Boeve, Adams, Bitonti 3B/1B future shakes out.

Yeah, it's a tough balance. Like I mentioned in the article, heavy hit tool players are tough to make work if they don't have speed. If he can get to 15+ HR power consistently, I think that makes him a lot more likely to stick as a major leaguer. But as you mention, there is always risk in trying to add some lift and get to that power more often as well.  

[SF70]

Personally, i think the power will come at some point. Plus hit-tool players with his frame & EV are the exact type of players that can eventually get to that power.

 

[Spencer Michaelis]

17 minutes ago, SF70 said:

Personally, i think the power will come at some point. Plus hit-tool players with his frame & EV are the exact type of players that can eventually get to that power.

 

I am inclined to agree, especially because he was starting to show signs of it more often at the end of the season, before his final injury.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

4 hours ago, Spencer Michaelis said:

Yeah, it's a tough balance. Like I mentioned in the article, heavy hit tool players are tough to make work if they don't have speed. If he can get to 15+ HR power consistently, I think that makes him a lot more likely to stick as a major leaguer. But as you mention, there is always risk in trying to add some lift and get to that power more often as well.  

Kevin Seitzer, Bill Mueller are two examples off the top of my head that have good hit tools, but not much HR power.  Wade boggs is another but that hit tool is otherworldly.  You could throw Cirillo into that mix, but he had average HR power plus lots of gap power.

It can be done, but the hit tool needs to be really good and the defense can't be a liability.

[sveumrules]

I think Boeve starts in AAA next year along with Dunn. That leaves Wilken and Adams in a timeshare at AA.

Juan Baez in Wisconsin, Bitonti in Carolina likely rotating around with some combination of Made and Pena when they aren't playing SS.

Impressive DSL performers like Juan Ortuno and Demetrio Nadal probably in the Arizona mix.

[Spencer Michaelis]

1 minute ago, sveumrules said:

I think Boeve starts in AAA next year along with Dunn. That leaves Wilken and Adams in a timeshare at AA.

Juan Baez in Wisconsin, Bitonti in Carolina likely rotating around with some combination of Made and Pena when they aren't playing SS.

Impressive DSL performers like Juan Ortuno and Demetrio Nadal probably in the Arizona mix.

That makes plenty of sense to me, yeah. That's probably the way they'll go.

[Playing Catch]

22 hours ago, Spencer Michaelis said:

I personally think he's comparable to Monasterio at third, which they been willing to put up with in a utility role. But yeah for him to be an everyday starter, that does feel like it would be something they'd want to avoid.

While recent seasons have suggested that defense is really, really important to the organization, I also believe that this isn't some kind of rigid dogma. I believe they've emphasized defense because of the cost-effectiveness of the strategy. Light-hitting, good defenders are cheaper than their inverse, and it makes average pitchers good pitchers.

But if a hitter comes along and derives surplus value with his stick, I don't think they would hesitate to put him at a corner. I mean, they started Hoskins and Yelich for much of the season. I think a lot of their supremely gifted defenders just also happen to be the best hitters available to the team (I'm not buying Black as a better hitter than Frelick/Turang/Ortiz at this point, and the same goes for the AAAA guys).

[Spencer Michaelis]

1 hour ago, Playing Catch said:

While recent seasons have suggested that defense is really, really important to the organization, I also believe that this isn't some kind of rigid dogma. I believe they've emphasized defense because of the cost-effectiveness of the strategy. Light-hitting, good defenders are cheaper than their inverse, and it makes average pitchers good pitchers.

But if a hitter comes along and derives surplus value with his stick, I don't think they would hesitate to put him at a corner. I mean, they started Hoskins and Yelich for much of the season. I think a lot of their supremely gifted defenders just also happen to be the best hitters available to the team (I'm not buying Black as a better hitter than Frelick/Turang/Ortiz at this point, and the same goes for the AAAA guys).

Oh yeah, I agree with this for sure. I'm just not sure if Boeve will hit enough to fit into that category. If the power starts to show more often, it can be a totally different story.

[Joseph Zarr]

22 hours ago, sveumrules said:

I think Boeve starts in AAA next year along with Dunn. That leaves Wilken and Adams in a timeshare at AA.

Juan Baez in Wisconsin, Bitonti in Carolina likely rotating around with some combination of Made and Pena when they aren't playing SS.

Impressive DSL performers like Juan Ortuno and Demetrio Nadal probably in the Arizona mix.

Recall: Unfortunately, we don't know the actual ongoing severity of Demetrio Nadal's June 60-Day IL stint placement and, well, he last played in 2023. Obviously, we all want to see him play given the taste he gave us in 2023. But, we just don't know what the situation is here.

I doubt the Crew keep Kevin Ereu in the Dominican for a third consecutive season. He'll be turning 19 next May so they'll likely give him what I'll refer to as the 'Barrios Benefit of the Doubt' (Industry term😁) and bring him stateside for a new environment given the general improvements show in 2024 and his original signing status. The same could be said for 2024 Int's Class marquis headliner Jorge Quintana who really came on in the second half of the summer and may have done enough to merit coming over for the 2025 ACL season - it wouldn't surprise me in the least. He didn't have Pena or Made type season (or Ortuno for that matter) but he was a headliner and he improved quite a bit and was seemingly playing his best ball by summer's end. Given Juan Martinez's age and slight fade as last summer progressed, I imagine they give him another season at the Dominican Academy. 

[Spencer Michaelis]

8 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Recall: Unfortunately, we don't know the actual ongoing severity of Demetrio Nadal's June 60-Day IL stint placement and, well, he last played in 2023. Obviously, we all want to see him play given the taste he gave us in 2023. But, we just don't know what the situation is here.

I doubt the Crew keep Kevin Ereu in the Dominican for a third consecutive season. He'll be turning 19 next May so they'll likely give him what I'll refer to as the 'Barrios Benefit of the Doubt' (Industry term😁) and bring him stateside for a new environment given the general improvements show in 2024 and his original signing status. The same could be said for 2024 Int's Class marquis headliner Jorge Quintana who really came on in the second half of the summer and may have done enough to merit coming over for the 2025 ACL season - it wouldn't surprise me in the least. He didn't have Pena or Made type season (or Ortuno for that matter) but he was a headliner and he improved quite a bit and was seemingly playing his best ball by summer's end. Given Juan Martinez's age and slight fade as last summer progressed, I imagine they give him another season at the Dominican Academy. 

Quintana also apparently had immaculate swing decisions, based on this Baseball America article so I have to imagine he's brought stateside like you said. Ereu will likely be over as well. I'm sure it will work itself out, but it's going to be extremely interesting to follow next year. 

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Recall: Unfortunately, we don't know the actual ongoing severity of Demetrio Nadal's June 60-Day IL stint placement and, well, he last played in 2023. Obviously, we all want to see him play given the taste he gave us in 2023. But, we just don't know what the situation is here.

I doubt the Crew keep Kevin Ereu in the Dominican for a third consecutive season. He'll be turning 19 next May so they'll likely give him what I'll refer to as the 'Barrios Benefit of the Doubt' (Industry term😁) and bring him stateside for a new environment given the general improvements show in 2024 and his original signing status. The same could be said for 2024 Int's Class marquis headliner Jorge Quintana who really came on in the second half of the summer and may have done enough to merit coming over for the 2025 ACL season - it wouldn't surprise me in the least. He didn't have Pena or Made type season (or Ortuno for that matter) but he was a headliner and he improved quite a bit and was seemingly playing his best ball by summer's end. Given Juan Martinez's age and slight fade as last summer progressed, I imagine they give him another season at the Dominican Academy. 

Obviously reading into tiny samples isn't too instructive, but based how things were divvied up last year I'd guess (hope?) the primary AZ alignment ends up as Quintana (SS) Ereu (2B) Ortuno (3B) with guys like Nadal (health pending), Roderick Flroes (132 wRC+ last year), and Moises Polanco (125 wRC+ last year) in more of the bouncing around utility type roles.

[Joseph Zarr]

12 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Obviously reading into tiny samples isn't too instructive, but based how things were divvied up last year I'd guess (hope?) the primary AZ alignment ends up as Quintana (SS) Ereu (2B) Ortuno (3B) with guys like Nadal (health pending), Roderick Flroes (132 wRC+ last year), and Moises Polanco (125 wRC+ last year) in more of the bouncing around utility type roles.

Indeed. Flores, especially, played literally everywhere. He had a fantastic month of August. Neither he nor Polanco flashed any long ball power but they certainly demonstrated uncanny plate discipline and recognition. Both absurdly good K:BB ratios. Certainly have the make-up (from afar, as we know) for potential utility guys all over the infield (Flores played all over the OF too in spots).

[Playing Catch]

18 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Obviously reading into tiny samples isn't too instructive, but based how things were divvied up last year I'd guess (hope?) the primary AZ alignment ends up as Quintana (SS) Ereu (2B) Ortuno (3B) with guys like Nadal (health pending), Roderick Flroes (132 wRC+ last year), and Moises Polanco (125 wRC+ last year) in more of the bouncing around utility type roles.

Did they sign Malamazian?

[Spencer Michaelis]

19 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

Did they sign Malamazian?

Unfortunately they did not

[Austin Tatious]

I’ve got this guy ahead of Wilken.  Boeve has a chance to be special in terms of OBP.  He just gets on base and avoids K’s.  The question is position.  I am bullish.