Is Now the Time for Milwaukee Brewers to Trade Cooper Pratt?

[Telemachus Rafaelidys]

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In 2023, the Brewers made a significant change in how they approached the MLB Draft. They selected a large number of high-school players and were able to sign many of them to overslot bonuses, stocking the lower levels of their minor leagues with raw talent and potential. They've cleaved to that strategy ever since, and the results look very promising. One of the biggest wins thus far was selecting Cooper Pratt in the sixth round of that 2023 draft, paying him second-round money and watching him jump onto industry-wide top-100 prospect lists after his first full season.

Pratt is a standout defensive shortstop with a strong and accurate arm. He won the Minor League Gold Glove Award at shortstop in 2024 and remained stout there in 2025. At 6-foot-3, Pratt moves well. He has the range to make all the necessary plays and the arm to be a regular shortstop at the highest level. Pratt is also savvy on the basepaths, stealing 31 bases this season with an 86% success rate. At the plate, Pratt makes contact at an above-average rate, but he hasn’t consistently hit the ball with authority and has struggled against premium velocity. As a 20-year-old promoted to Double A, Pratt saw his numbers slip from .277/.362/.406 to .238/.343/.348.

Last winter, as an ascending up-the-middle prospect, Pratt might have been a major piece in a trade for Kyle Tucker or Garret Crochet. Keith Law, for example, ranked Pratt 44th last offseason, while he ranked Kyle Teel 37th and Braden Montgomery 38th. They became the two main prospects the White Sox received for Crochet. Cam Smith ranked 43rd and was the prospect headliner in the Tucker trade. Could the Brewers have sold high on Pratt last offseason and added a key contributor to what ended up being a 97-win team? It's not that simple—Crochet, clearly, would have cost at least two of Pratt, while the Tucker deal also involved a valuable big-leaguer going from Chicago to Houston. Still, that's the caliber of prospect he was heading into his second full season as a professional.

This winter, Pratt’s stock will likely be down, FanGraphs published their Brewers 2026 prospect list, with Pratt moving from third in the organization (with a 50 overall grade) to eighth (with a 45 grade). Pratt is still very young and has plenty of time to grow into more power and make adjustments, but if this lower assessment is the industry consensus, then in the short term, he is likely to drop from top-100 lists and may have lost some trade value.

Long-term, the question appears to be whether becoming a solid everyday shortstop is now Pratt’s ceiling, instead of something more like his floor. It's worth noting, though, that while FanGraphs has soured on him, both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus ranked him third in the Brewers system again this fall, and each has the same grade (55, with a High risk grade) on him that they had last year. The tools haven't collapsed or anything, and he held his own at age 20 in the upper minors. There's cause for some concern, but not yet any call for panic.

Jesús Made has unequivocally overtaken Pratt as the Brewers' shortstop of the future, and should begin 2026 at Double-A Biloxi. The team can continue to develop Pratt at Triple-A Nashville, where he will be one of the youngest regulars—or they can trade him now, hedging their bet that he becomes a star and taking the buyout on their winning draft wager.

---

What do you think? Should the Brewers cash in on Pratt this winter, or will he grow into his 2024 promise and become an upper-tier big-league shortstop?

View full article

[SF70]

Hold him for now.

The team, as is, should be good to go until the trade-deadline as far as big trades go and if Ortiz still can’t hit by that time and Pratt ends up raking in AAA, he becomes an internal option to possibly upgrade the SS position.

The WC is Ortiz. If he can get near where Steamer thinks he will in the box next season (95 wRC+) no one, including Made, is replacing Ortiz at short not only next season but if he can maintain his improved hitting, probably 2027 as well.

[Soupy]

Conspiracy theory: Of course they run it back with Ortiz, they have to justify the Corbin Burnes trade. But the 197th time he pops up with the bases loaded is the final straw. No I don't think they trade Pratt. Really good glove and has hit at every level while being young at that level. We are spoiled with the development of Chourio and now Made. Pratt will get his shot and it will be with the Brewers. IMO of course.

[rafa79]

Pratt's not going anywhere except to play shortstop at Am Fam field in 2027.  He's Brice Turang Part 2.  

Speaking of which, Turang's a huge factor here.  The Brewers have VERY little time to extend him.  Don't tell me about him being under team control for 4 more years.  We all know he's ascending quickly and if he's not extended before the 2026 season, he's most likely going to be too expensive for the budget-conscious Brewers. If Turang is gone, Pena at 2nd, Pratt at SS and Made, as has already been mentioned numerous times in reports, will be at3b.

Meanwhile, Pena, though playing 25 games at High A Wisconsin, struggled a fair amount. Let's wait and see.  The Pirates just picked up SS Marco Luciano after being released by the Giants.  Luciano had been ranked #12 in the top 100 ML:B prospects a few years ago.  Things can change for sure!

If Turang is extended, then we'll see what happens but for now, let's wait and see.  I know the author of the article is making a VERY good point in trading someone while their value is high or at least decent which I agree with completely.  Just not Pratt, his skill set, consistency and intangibles jump off the page.

[eddiemathews]

If Pratt can be used to get a legit outfield bat (and by legit I mean all-star level), then fine. That'd most likely be along with one of the young rotation arms. Deal from strength to cover a weakness...or at least a deficiency.

[Michael Trzinski]

Made, Peña, and Pratt are 1-2-3 on most lists as the Brewers top prospects. Made and Peña have each played SS, 2B, and 3B in pro ball. Pratt has played all but three games at SS. The MLB ETA for Pratt is 2027, and 2028 for the other two.

Realistically (for now anyway), Turang is the only middle IF (2B, SS, 3B) that will still be entrenched at his position in 2028 and beyond. Durbin and Ortiz are solid, but could be replaced at some point. That said, the Brewers will most likely have room for only two of this trio. It would make sense to trade one of them for a piece that they would need at the major league level. Not exactly sure what that would be at this time, but a spot will pop up somewhere. The brain trust has to get out its crystal ball and find out which of the three will have the 'least bright' future. And then trade him. Will it be Pratt? Maybe. 

A lot depends on what happens in the next couple years, but to me, it wouldn't make sense to waste one of these guys as a utilityman.

Thoughts?

[Seth Stohs]

#NeverTradePratt

#CoopersTown

If the Brewers are lucky and Pratt, Made and Pena all pan out, that's a wonderful position to be in. Pratt can move to 3B or 1B. Made or Pena can take the left side of the infield. 

[Michael Trzinski]

15 minutes ago, eddiemathews said:

If Pratt can be used to get a legit outfield bat (and by legit I mean all-star level), then fine. That'd most likely be along with one of the young rotation arms. Deal from strength to cover a weakness...or at least a deficiency.

Pretty much my thought.

[TURBO]

36 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

If the Brewers are lucky and Pratt, Made and Pena all pan out, that's a wonderful position to be in. Pratt can move to 3B or 1B. Made or Pena can take the left side of the infield. 

I'm not sold on Pratt's bat playing at 3B or 1B.  He's a middle infielder, and probably has a bat that plays there.

Made is probably the guy you move to 3B.

Pena, since he struggled at high A is the guy I'm worried about.  Not a lot of worry, I think he turns it around this year.

We don't have room for Turang, Pratt, Made and Pena, something is going to have to give.  Maybe one of them turns into an outfielder?

I also think it's too late to extend Turang.  He's going to get paid, and I doubt the Brewers will be the ones paying him.

[TURBO]

40 minutes ago, Michael Trzinski said:

Made, Peña, and Pratt are 1-2-3 on most lists as the Brewers top prospects. Made and Peña have each played SS, 2B, and 3B in pro ball. Pratt has played all but three games at SS. The MLB ETA for Pratt is 2027, and 2028 for the other two.

Made is going to be with the Brewers long before 2028 unless something really bad happens.  He's on a Chourio type projectory.  If we don't see him at the end of 2026 in some capacity, he'll be here by 2027. 

Mark my words.

[Telemachus Rafaelidys]

42 minutes ago, Michael Trzinski said:

Made, Peña, and Pratt are 1-2-3 on most lists as the Brewers top prospects. Made and Peña have each played SS, 2B, and 3B in pro ball. Pratt has played all but three games at SS. The MLB ETA for Pratt is 2027, and 2028 for the other two.

Realistically (for now anyway), Turang is the only middle IF (2B, SS, 3B) that will still be entrenched at his position in 2028 and beyond. Durbin and Ortiz are solid, but could be replaced at some point. That said, the Brewers will most likely have room for only two of this trio. It would make sense to trade one of them for a piece that they would need at the major league level. Not exactly sure what that would be at this time, but a spot will pop up somewhere. The brain trust has to get out its crystal ball and find out which of the three will have the 'least bright' future. And then trade him. Will it be Pratt? Maybe. 

A lot depends on what happens in the next couple years, but to me, it wouldn't make sense to waste one of these guys as a utilityman.

Thoughts?

I think a lot of prospect lists will be updated over the winter and that there will be more shuffling.

I think Fischer will be given a real shot at third base and that the best version of a 2027 infield looks like Burke/Turang/Fischer/Made

[Telemachus Rafaelidys]

10 minutes ago, TURBO said:

Made is going to be with the Brewers long before 2028 unless something really bad happens.  He's on a Chourio type projectory.  If we don't see him at the end of 2026 in some capacity, he'll be here by 2027. 

Mark my words.

Strongly agree!

[sveumrules]

Always fun to compare our current prospects to ex-Brewers, how about JJ Hardy in the years he didn't hit for power as a comp for Cooper?

2005-06 Hardy
566 PA | 82 wRC+ | +16.0 DEF | 2.1 WAR
2009-10 Hardy
840 PA | 83 wRC+ | +23.4 DEF | 3.1 WAR
2014 Hardy
569 PA | 90 wRC+ | +17.9 DEF | 3.0 WAR
2016 Hardy
438 PA | 90 wRC+ | +7.6 DEF | 1.5 WAR

I don't think Pratt will have quite as good a glove as JJ did (his +86 DRS at SS are 6th all time since they started tracking in 2003) but Cooper should be a much better asset on the bases (Hardy was -24.0 BSR for his career), projects to walk more (Hardy only had a 6.5 BB%), and is still young enough to figure out how to maybe tap into some 20 HR power a couple two tree years down the road.

Barring a chance to acquire an established MLB player with multiple years of service time remaining I'd hold on Pratt for now.

[Trax]

No.

 

To me Pratt and Made are off the table for the most part.  Let's face it you have to talk about anybody, but I'm not going to get enough to move either of those two.  I don't want to move Pena either but I would before either of those other two.

[rafa79]

1 hour ago, eddiemathews said:

If Pratt can be used to get a legit outfield bat (and by legit I mean all-star level), then fine. That'd most likely be along with one of the young rotation arms. Deal from strength to cover a weakness...or at least a deficiency.

Agree completely with dealing from a strength to cover a weakness.  And, you hit the nail right on top with your definition and need for a legit outfield bat. 

However, although Pena is rated higher, I'm trading him and one of the young arms instead of Pratt.  Made and Pena will make more "wow" plays but Pratt is Mr. Consistency while still performing at a very high level.  Oh yeah, Made is obviously never going to be traded, he's Chourio #2.

[dsid74]

It all comes down to who is being acquired.   Ideally, someone who runs well, plays at least average defense, makes contact, but most importantly has a high on base and slugging%. 

Their chances in 2026 are much better if they add a 125 +wRC hitter into the top/middle of the lineup.

If including Pratt meant only giving up 1 quality pitcher (ML or prospect) in the deal, then yes.  You can never have enough pitching or pitching depth.  I would rather see him moved than give up 2 high end pitchers.

They have a lot of options behind Pratt who figure to eventually make it to the Bigs.  Trading Pratt should be on the table.  Getting an impact bat will not come cheap.  It comes down to how badly do you want to go for it in 2026.

[rafa79]

11 minutes ago, dsid74 said:

It depends on how badly do you want to go for it in 2026

Absolutely, 2026 is THE go for it year.  However, I can get that impact bat without trading Pratt. 

Obviously, it just comes down to who you think is going to help the Brewers more.  Pena and Pratt are going to be solid in my opinion, I just prefer to keep Pratt. 

So yeah, go for it and make a REALLY good package that most likely has Pena as the headliner along with another solid player or two.

[Joseph Zarr]

Both Made and Pena appear to offer quite a bit more projectable offensive potency than Pratt - especially when we factor in age with the output. According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, scouts are fairly divided on Pratt as a whole and especially when it comes to his bat. His defense, as a whole at SS, is largely considered his calling card to MLB ascendancy and the bat remains a mystery - tho, we do obviously see pull power from time-to-time it just isn't consistent nor is the hard contact consistent in any lasting manner as of now. Could he go the route of Turang in that regard? Sure. How likely that is is unknown. What's funny to me is I came into the 2025 season (and throughout the first 1.5 months) with Pratt as my clear SS #1 in the system. I made some outlandish statements overlooking Made's youth and over focusing on his rough edges and mental mistakes. Not a good look for me but I certainly learned to not look the prospect gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. It's important to remain open to possibilities while also understanding age implications not to mention the immensely long breadth of a baseball season. By season's end ,Made had leapfrogged Pratt for me. He's just a different level of human. IF Made can dial in the erratic throws across the diamond (he absolutely has the arm), he offers an entirely different level of athleticism and agility to the position. He really made some unbelievably athletic plays there as his season progressed. I think it's unrealistic to expect all three of Made/Pena/Pratt to achieve everyday MLB duties. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? I think not. I personally think Pena's best position down the line is likely 3B - cannon arm, uber athletic, incredible bat-to-ball profile, while limiting his range responsibilities and hopefully minimizing those uncomfortable moments (I personally don't think defense comes natural to him). Regardless, of the three Made is only the clear 'untouchable' prospect by my eyes. He is a crowned jewel. This being said, thankfully, the Brewers aren't in a position where they need to move on from any of the three. I personally hope they play this out as long as they can to continue discovering what untapped levels of play these talented three can reach. Given the nature of Made's bat, tho, he is on a fast track to the 40-Man. His bat and his switch-hitting profile is on another level and it has actually improved its impact with each successive promotion. He's different in all the best ways. 

[TURBO]

1 hour ago, dsid74 said:

It comes down to how badly do you want to go for it in 2026.

That is not the Brewers MO.  We don't go for it............EVER!

We are a slow burn type of organization.  We just keep rolling along, taking bites of the apple without ever just munching it down to the core.

[wallus]

It depends on who you are getting. If it is a pre-arb player that fills an area of need? You trade him. I wouldn't trade him for a rental however.

[dsid74]

Quote

I personally think Pena's best position down the line is likely 3B

If I'm not mistaken (I may be?) haven't most of his defensive mistakes centered around errant throws?  If that is the case, then he may profile better at 2B which is less demanding in regards to throwing.  As mentioned, he is uber athletic and should be able to provide the range and ability to turn the DP. 

Due to his size,iIf he can't cut it at 2B or SS, I see him in the OF before I see him at 3B.

[Telemachus Rafaelidys]

1 hour ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Both Made and Pena appear to offer quite a bit more projectable offensive potency than Pratt - especially when we factor in age with the output. According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, scouts are fairly divided on Pratt as a whole and especially when it comes to his bat. His defense, as a whole at SS, is largely considered his calling card to MLB ascendancy and the bat remains a mystery - tho, we do obviously see pull power from time-to-time it just isn't consistent nor is the hard contact consistent in any lasting manner as of now. Could he go the route of Turang in that regard? Sure. How likely that is is unknown. What's funny to me is I came into the 2025 season (and throughout the first 1.5 months) with Pratt as my clear SS #1 in the system. I made some outlandish statements overlooking Made's youth and over focusing on his rough edges and mental mistakes. Not a good look for me but I certainly learned to not look the prospect gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. It's important to remain open to possibilities while also understanding age implications not to mention the immensely long breadth of a baseball season. By season's end ,Made had leapfrogged Pratt for me. He's just a different level of human. IF Made can dial in the erratic throws across the diamond (he absolutely has the arm), he offers an entirely different level of athleticism and agility to the position. He really made some unbelievably athletic plays there as his season progressed. I think it's unrealistic to expect all three of Made/Pena/Pratt to achieve everyday MLB duties. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? I think not. I personally think Pena's best position down the line is likely 3B - cannon arm, uber athletic, incredible bat-to-ball profile, while limiting his range responsibilities and hopefully minimizing those uncomfortable moments (I personally don't think defense comes natural to him). Regardless, of the three Made is only the clear 'untouchable' prospect by my eyes. He is a crowned jewel. This being said, thankfully, the Brewers aren't in a position where they need to move on from any of the three. I personally hope they play this out as long as they can to continue discovering what untapped levels of play these talented three can reach. Given the nature of Made's bat, tho, he is on a fast track to the 40-Man. His bat and his switch-hitting profile is on another level and it has actually improved its impact with each successive promotion. He's different in all the best ways. 

Thanks for weighing in! Because the Brewers have such a strong farm system - it makes this type of question worth asking!

[maxximus]

the article is basically going off fangraphs lowering him, while the other 2 have not. seems like flimsy idea to base an article off of

[Michael Trzinski]

5 hours ago, TURBO said:

Made is going to be with the Brewers long before 2028 unless something really bad happens.  He's on a Chourio type projectory.  If we don't see him at the end of 2026 in some capacity, he'll be here by 2027. 

Mark my words.

Nothing wrong with that. I was just going off what the so-called 'experts' are predicting. 

[eddiemathews]

5 hours ago, rafa79 said:

Agree completely with dealing from a strength to cover a weakness.  And, you hit the nail right on top with your definition and need for a legit outfield bat. 

However, although Pena is rated higher, I'm trading him and one of the young arms instead of Pratt.  Made and Pena will make more "wow" plays but Pratt is Mr. Consistency while still performing at a very high level.  Oh yeah, Made is obviously never going to be traded, he's Chourio #2.

My thought is that another team would insist on Pratt, as Pena seems iffier. I could be entirely wrong about that...it's happened before.