Jett playing primarily SS is 2026?

[Turning2]

On 1/27/2026 at 6:13 PM, sveumrules said:

Fallen out of favor with whom? He's landed on multiple Top 100 lists so far this winter.

Outside of 3 games at 2B during his first season on the complex Pratt has played exclusively SS throughout his minor league career with defense as his carrying tool. Jett has played mostly SS with some CF and 2B thrown in as well.

In the likely scenario both are at Nashville to start the year I'd imagine Cooper will get four games a week at SS with the other two at 3B/2B, while Jett picks up those other two games at SS with a mix of CF/2B/maybe even some LF thrown in.

They're really just two different prospects. Jett has the more advanced bat at the moment, and Cooper is more of legit SS defender. 

Chourio's 109 wRC+ at AA wasn't overly impressive (Pratt posted a 107 wRC+ last year) and it didn't do much to dim Jackson's shine because a 19 year old (or even a 20 year old like Cooper) holding their own in the Southern League is a pretty big deal. If Made only puts up a wRC+ in the 110's somewhere I'd imagine he'll still be regarded as one of the best prospects in MLB this time next year.

It's just the general vibe I'm sensing from forum posts, podcasters etc. Not in the sense of he's a bust, but most everybody is already crowning the new SS golden boy (Made). Pratt is probably trade bait unless he moves to OF. Made is pretty much penciled in as the very near future SS. At 3B Pratt will / would have Wilken, Fischer, maybe Adams to contend with in that same near future. Williams seems destined for the OF, but maybe they have real plans for him in the dirt. Just a lot of competition swimming in the prospect pool not to mention the existing starters, and Pena too. 

He is pretty young. Seems to me expectations were a bit high for him at AA. But to his misfortune, he has Made forcing the issue. Normally, I think most people would be quite content to let him play another season at AA, bumped up to AAA if merited. But as it is, he may very well be leapfrogged I suppose. 

[endaround]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

The average batter in the 2025 Southern League was 23.7 years old with a .340 slugging percentage.

Cooper Pratt was 20 years old with a .348 slugging percentage and plus defense at SS.

As a 21 year old in AA Brice Turang slugged .385 versus league averages of 24.5 years old and a .393 slugging percentage.

And there were concerns if Turang would hit enough even with a better glove than Pratt.

[Jopal78]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

The average batter in the 2025 Southern League was 23.7 years old with a .340 slugging percentage.

Cooper Pratt was 20 years old with a .348 slugging percentage and plus defense at SS.

As a 21 year old in AA Brice Turang slugged .385 versus league averages of 24.5 years old and a .393 slugging percentage.

Maybe you’ve seen him play, I haven’t seen him play. However, Keith Law has seen him play and writes, Pratt needs to develop power and make better quality contact to be more than a soft regular in the major leagues. So there’s someone,  certainly with some credibility, who has seen him play that’s questioning the potential of the bat.

 

[Austin Tatious]

1. Jett being a regular shortstop? I like him overall but have my doubts on that on a regular basis.  I think where we are is “let’s see what it looks like.”   
2. I don’t think Ortiz is as bad offensively as he showed last year.  Lost confidence, pitchers figured him out, poor adjustments, etc.  Having said that, I’m not in the blind defense of him camp.  Last year was unacceptable offensively and the Brewers won’t tolerate it either.  They did until now because of his defense, no other candidates for the spot, and the hope he’d play out of it.  He did hit well for a stretch but it didn’t last.  He’s got to turn it around and get mentally tougher.  
3. I’m not worried about Pratt.  He was drafted out of high school, like Turang.  I used to defend Turang too and he got grief by naysayers.  

These guys who are far younger than league average but are toolsy get graded on a curve in my eyes.  Picture being a freshman playing with a senior.  There’s just a built in growth and experience factor that has to be considered in terms of what he can expand by the time he grows into league average age. 

You can be young for a level and not be very talented.  It’s being really young and having all the tools which Pratt has and Turang has.  Pratt’s defense is exceptional and if anyone moves off short I doubt it’s him.  I personally would like to see him hit to all fields better but, like Turang, it’s not about stats with him.  

The runway looks great. If anything I think he’s underrated because the Keith Law’s are too stuck on recent stats and not what his runway looks like.  With his frame and tools, he has very good potential at shortstop.   

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, endaround said:

And there were concerns if Turang would hit enough even with a better glove than Pratt.

When was Turang said to have a better glove than Pratt?

[duewizard]

1 hour ago, Jopal78 said:

Maybe you’ve seen him play, I haven’t seen him play. However, Keith Law has seen him play and writes, Pratt needs to develop power and make better quality contact to be more than a soft regular in the major leagues. So there’s someone,  certainly with some credibility, who has seen him play that’s questioning the potential of the bat.

 

Joey Ortiz with a better hit tool sounds good to me

[mudbutt]

I think Kileys top 100 that came out explains it well enough. Pratt is looking like an everyday shortstop and that makes him a solid top 100 prospect. Meanwhile Made is compared to Lindor but is basically an incomparable package with an unlimited ceiling. So it’s not that Pratt has lost any shine, it’s just Made on his way to being the best prospect in the game.

[sveumrules]

12 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

So there’s someone,  certainly with some credibility, who has seen him play that’s questioning the potential of the bat.

There are certainly questions about the potential of the bat with Pratt, I was just providing some context to show that a slugging percentage under .350 isn't as bad as it sounds on the surface nor should it really be all that surprising for one of the youngest players in one of the most pitcher friendly leagues in the minors.

A familiar comp for the shape Cooper's production might take could be old friend JJ Hardy in the years he didn't hit for power...

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 tree four years down the road like JJ eventually did for five of his seven seasons from age 24 to 30.

 

[Playing Catch]

I just saw that Rosiak report this morning, and I agree with others that it probably means little. Williams is still young and developing, and the Brewers see enough there as an infielder to keep giving him reps there. As much as Ortiz is "on notice," so is Monasterio.

I think we should realize by now that the Brewers have really embraced the "team" concept, and that aside from maybe 3 or 4 players, guys will take turns on the bench, particularly in the early part of the season where they can get some of the inexperienced guys some real big-league time so that they can evaluate what they need before mid-Summer. They basically did this with Durbin and Chad Patrick last season (although injuries obviously played a role). You've got to know what the kids can do, if you think you may need to rely on them later in the season.

I maintain that the best-case scenario for Williams is that he makes the opening day roster in Monasterio's spot, and that he starts 3 or 4 days a week at all of his three positions, and then is used in a bench role (pinch hit, pinch-run, "defensive" replacement), on the days that he doesn't start.

I know some posters really hate platoons because they have the old football adage in their heads that, "if you have 2 quarterbacks, you really have zero (starting quarterbacks)". But like in football, (Montana/Young, Favre/Rodgers, Bledsoe/Brady, Rodgers/Love, etc.), that's merely a convenient phrase. Obviously, Ortiz isn't Joe Montana, but you get my point. Competition for playing time is a good thing.

If you can put your rookie into some favorable at-bats and situations to let him ease into his big-league career, and let him adjust as a spectator from time-to-time, and at the same time let your dudes like Yelich, Frelick, and Turang also ease into the season, it's not a bad thing, IMO.

[wntrtxn21]

Right now the Brewers need to see if Williams can hit well enough in AAA to contribute this year. Spring training doesn't say a whole lot because most pitchers are just working the kinks out and don't have their good stuff. Nashville is crowded with prospects so they'll have to figure something out, but I think Williams will be in AAA playing CF/SS/3B. 

 

[True Blue Brew Crew]

20 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Fallen out of favor with whom?

Only the perpetually pessimistic thankfully. The organization and scouting community still very clearly hold him in high regard. Another factor it seems many have forgotten about is the effect of the southern league and its tendency to humble many future major leaguers on their first go around. I, along with many others, expect a strong year from Pratt in '26

[CheezWizHed]

I think most had higher hopes for Pratt initially, hoping for a higher ceiling type SS.  After a couple of years, his bat looks a little light but could still change.  Meanwhile you add Made who has a huge ceiling and Williams who is ahead of CP developmentally... 

Doesn't mean he is bust, just that he has been passed up. 

[ClosetBrewerFan]

I think people are being too hard on Pratt.  He basically skipped over high A this year (only 23 g in A+ in '24) and was an above average bat (to league average) and played gold glove level defense at SS. He was 3-4 years younger than his competition at AA. Sure Made has passed him up. But only two prospects in baseball have not been passed up by Made. If Pratt had crushed AA last year, with his glove, he would be a top 10 prospect this year.  With him being merely an above average bat, I guess that makes Pratt just a top 100 prospect.  Not too shabby.

[endaround]

23 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

When was Turang said to have a better glove than Pratt?

Fangraph's fielding scores: Ortiz FV 70/70, Turang FV 60/60, Pratt FV 45/55, Williams FV 45/50, Made FV 40/60.

[markedman5]

MLB pipeline has Pratt as an arm 60 field 60

Did Turang win a minor league gold glove?

Don't think he did….

I’d say they were comparable …..depending on what site you prefer.

[Playing Catch]

You've all seen Turang and Ortiz play defense. They are elite. Thats a tough bar for Pratt to meet, while still being a really good defender.

[markedman5]

19 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

You've all seen Turang and Ortiz play defense. They are elite. Thats a tough bar for Pratt to meet, while still being a really good defender.

I think we are talking about them as prospects not compared to now.

 

[BrewCrew8675309]

On 1/28/2026 at 2:53 AM, Brewcrew82 said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, but that would likely come at the cost of Jesus Made reps at SS in AA fwiw. 

How is Wilken not the odd man out in this situation? (Pratt to 3rd with Jett and Jesus at SS)

[Jopal78]

2 hours ago, BrewCrew8675309 said:

How is Wilken not the odd man out in this situation? (Pratt to 3rd with Jett and Jesus at SS)

Maybe money? Brewers have $3.1 million in bonus money invested in Wilken, $1.3 million in Pratt. 
 

Probably makes sense to be a little more deliberate with a college player they have a good chunk of bonus money invested into, than automatically clearing the decks for the 20 year olds. 

 

[TURBO]

It feels kind of like we are reaching the point of finding out just what we have in Wilken.  I know his face injury really threw his trajectory for a loop, but at that point, it was feeling like he was on the brink of contributing with the big club.  After all this time has passed, I'm hoping they take a really close look in ST to see exactly what we have.

Will he get some kind of shot in 2026?  If not, when?

[CheezWizHed]

5 hours ago, BrewCrew8675309 said:

How is Wilken not the odd man out in this situation? (Pratt to 3rd with Jett and Jesus at SS)

If Wilken hits > 800 OPS and Pratt hits <700 OPS.  Futures are still TBD and Wilken's power is always going to give him a bit more leash given how rare it is. 

[CheeseheadInQC]

I wouldn’t hate starting Pratt at AA. I don’t know that he needs an abundance of additional shortstop reps based upon the scouting reports, so him being on the short end of a 70/30 split with Made and playing elsewhere in the infield the rest of the time shouldn’t set him back. I am still optimistic because of his youth and frame, but the power does have to come.

I also wonder if the Southern League effect is being overstated by half for Biloxi. I have read that their stadium is kind of the exception and if I remember correctly the home/road splits for Pratt, Wilken, Adams, Pratt and Lara kind of bear that out.

[liveforoctober]

1 hour ago, CheezWizHed said:

If Wilken hits > 800 OPS and Pratt hits <700 OPS.  Futures are still TBD and Wilken's power is always going to give him a bit more leash given how rare it is. 

I think the other thing that always comes true is the MLB hit rate of prospects. The forever example moving forward is the trio of Frelick, Wiemer, and Mitchell coming up together. So many convos of having the outfield of our future set. One worked out, one didn't, one can't stay healthy. 3 blossoming prospects and we hit (thus far) on 1/3 of them. So the excitement of having a farm system with Williams, Pratt, Made, Pena, Wilken, Fischer, etc ... is that I'm confident we have 2 guys in there somewhere who will be really good big leaguers for us on that side of the diamond. Just a matter of seeing which ones can get to the finish line. IF we end up with a surplus... awesome, then we have some moves to make to supplement elsewhere.

[igor67]

90's Cleveland Indians are a good example of surplus. Sure maybe 'development' involved extra tools not available today but at the end of the day they cranked out a large number of guys who could mash in OF and 1B

[thebruce44]

3 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

I think the other thing that always comes true is the MLB hit rate of prospects. The forever example moving forward is the trio of Frelick, Wiemer, and Mitchell coming up together. So many convos of having the outfield of our future set. One worked out, one didn't, one can't stay healthy. 3 blossoming prospects and we hit (thus far) on 1/3 of them. So the excitement of having a farm system with Williams, Pratt, Made, Pena, Wilken, Fischer, etc ... is that I'm confident we have 2 guys in there somewhere who will be really good big leaguers for us on that side of the diamond. Just a matter of seeing which ones can get to the finish line. IF we end up with a surplus... awesome, then we have some moves to make to supplement elsewhere.

How high up the rankings did Frelick, Weimer, and Mitchell get? I don't remember reading much about Weimer so it was surprising when he had a decent early year. Otherwise, I'd say the success rate between Frelick and Mitchell has been good outside of injuries. Either way, this is anecdotal and looking at a small sample.