2026 Picks to Click

[Tedaldtada]

Here we are on the precipice of the most anticipated Brewers minor league season of all time. We’re about a month out from placements. We’ve seen a plethora of prospect-laden lineups so far this spring. It’s officially dreamin’ season.

Who is your pick to click in 2026? My first pick is a guy looking to build off an impressive 2025 AFL campaign — Dylan O'Rae.

Entering his age-22 season, I’m expecting him to re-establish himself as a notable prospect. He’s cut from the prototypical Brewers cloth, with a profile built on commanding his at-bats, speed, and defensive versatility. And he might be the smallest of the small-sized Brewers — 5'7" and as wiry as 14-gauge copper. How he performs at that size and build will be a fascinating stress test for how a modern baseball player can be put together. It’s a body type that has rarely been offensively productive.

Nonetheless, he gets on base 40% of the time and really pressures the defense once he’s on. I predict he improves a power grade — or more — this season with some natural physical maturation and gets back closer to the gaudier batting averages that litter his track record. He’s capable of more extra-base hits, if not home runs, as a prodigal hustler with plus speed. If he can’t get to second base out of the box, he’ll likely try to steal it.

It looks to me like 2024 was the batting line outlier, particularly his time in Biloxi. The naysayers lined up in droves after that performance. I’d argue O’Rae still found a way to be pretty damn disruptive with 62 steals and 87 walks that year.

It’s wild to me that with all the fawning over Brewers depth, O’Rae is rarely cited as part of it. He’s one of those guys who’s beloved in the building, and he’s already in the high minors. He’ll get his due if he’s more impactful in Double-A.

I’m betting he’s going to do it.

Dylan O'Rae Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

Dylan O'Rae - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

[biedergb]

He could be Jett Williams light, which itself is hard to imagine lol.

I keep forgetting about O'Rae - he's got that speed and was a sparkplug on offense in 2022 and early 2023. Probably has to move to CF or play 2B in a crowded prospect field.

My pick to click can be KC Hunt, after a down year, and I see him moving to a bullpen role and he could become a great 7th/8th inning guy with his offspeed stuff and the velo could notch up a bit in shorter roles.  Again thinking of a guy with lower expectations who could pop back on the prospect map.

[snoogans8056]

Juan Ortuno and Handelfrey Encarnacion in Carolina. I just think they’re neat.

[SF70]

I’m going with 3 arms that missed last season recovering from TJ surgery — Woodward-Knoth-Broughton. All 3 reported to be 100% and can’t wait to watch them help make this system’s pitching explode to epic proportions.

[Tedaldtada]

10 hours ago, biedergb said:

He could be Jett Williams light, which itself is hard to imagine lol.

I keep forgetting about O'Rae - he's got that speed and was a sparkplug on offense in 2022 and early 2023. Probably has to move to CF or play 2B in a crowded prospect field.

My pick to click can be KC Hunt, after a down year, and I see him moving to a bullpen role and he could become a great 7th/8th inning guy with his offspeed stuff and the velo could notch up a bit in shorter roles.  Again thinking of a guy with lower expectations who could pop back on the prospect map.

That’s a good one. 18 months is an eternity when it comes to the lifespan of a prospect’s hype but he was a hot name after the 2024 season. 

[Tedaldtada]

My second pick to click is Eric Bitonti. 

Not the sexiest prospect name at the moment — especially if you’re adamantly strikeout-averse. But I predict Bitonti is headed to Appleton, where he’ll hit cleanup behind the super trio of Luis Pena, Andrew Fischer, and Marco Dinges. He’ll do so as a burly 6'5", 20-year-old — and with 27 doubles, 27 homers, 20 steals, and 82 walks over 147 Low-A games already under his belt. 

The whiff in Bitonti’s profile is concerning, but there’s reason for optimism when you factor in his age and power ceiling. The hit tool may end up being his only below-average major league skill. Reports on Bitonti’s aptitude and work ethic allow for some hope there.

The power (86 XBH in 210 career games) is already two deviations above the average major league hitter (++). He’s also light on his feet and boasts a strong arm — which maybe miscast at 1B, but an interesting weapon, nonetheless. I’m sure the cutting edge of run prevention has something to say about cutoff man positioning and arm strength. 🙃 From what I’ve seen, Bitonti is opportunistic on the bases, too. 

I’m willing to live with some whiff if the rest of the package is this well-rounded. And I'd argue it's much too early to write off an organic skill jump that changes the math even more favorably for Bitonti.

Had Bitonti gone to college, he’d be draft-eligible this summer. What round would he be drafted? And how about if he clicks between now and July, like I’m predicting?

Eric Bitonti - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

Eric Bitonti Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

[biedergb]

I have said in many game threads if Bitonti could fix the hole in his swing he will be a huge prospect.  When he makes contact it is often loud and hard and often very far.  But in 2 seasons so far that hole is there. Striking out is one things, but just missing in zone and being fooled easily by breaking pitches has been his hold up. Let’s hope he can find a way with practice, coaching and experience.

[eklinka]

Even a .260 BA Bitonti is a prospect to dream on. Still young, still has a lot of time. 

[Tedaldtada]

Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College, 2025 7th Round) isn’t a name you’ll find on any top-20 list, but I’ve heard him mentioned a few times by insider-types as someone to watch this season. I’m looking forward to seeing what the buzz is about.

We don’t have much pro data to go on yet, but Ragsdale certainly hit the ground running in Low-A after signing last summer. Maybe that’s to be expected, but I also see some notable swing-decision improvement in there. Pair that with reports this Spring that his ability to impact the ball might be underappreciated, and it starts to look like a pretty interesting offensive profile. 

I hypothesized about the top four hitters in the T-Rats lineup on Opening Day in an earlier post (Luis Pena, Andrew Fischer, Marco Dinges, Eric Bitonti), but I suppose Ragsdale, Braylon Payne, and Daniel Dickinson deserve proper consideration as well.

Have mercy!

Josiah Ragsdale College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Josiah Ragsdale Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

Josiah Ragsdale - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tedaldtada]

There are certainly a few more hitters I'd like to get to before the season starts but let's highlight a couple of arms first.

Wande Torres looks primed to make his mark. Torres has been exhibiting big stuff since he was signed in 2022 as an IFA out of the Dominican Republic. From what I've seen this Spring the stuff is as good as ever. Now a seasoned minor league veteran who is poised to pitch over 100 innings this season, Torres' skills and experience are converging. 

His repertoire is best described as heavy but maybe not electric. He throws hard. Of pitchers 22 and younger who have pitched in a Spring game, only Birchard and Letson have shown more top end velo this Spring. (Sidenote - Hell yes on Manual Rodriguez and that Prospect Savant Stuff+). He can generate sink as well. With a little more bite on the slider and better control, this is the year he will fully blossom into a weak contact, workhorse type. This is the perfect profile for what we do at the MLB level. Look for Torres to be in AA by the end of the year after an All-Star type first half in Appleton. 

Pitchers - 22 and Younger - 2026 Spring Training Metrics

Wande Torres Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Wande Torres Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

Wande Torres - Stats - Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball

[CheeseheadInQC]

27 minutes ago, Tedaldtada said:

There are certainly a few more hitters I'd like to get to before the season starts but let's highlight a couple of arms first.

Wande Torres looks primed to make his mark. Torres has been exhibiting big stuff since he was signed in 2022 as an IFA out of the Dominican Republic. From what I've seen this Spring the stuff is as good as ever. Now a seasoned minor league veteran who is poised to pitch over 100 innings this season, Torres' skills and experience are converging. 

His repertoire is best described as heavy but maybe not electric. He throws hard. Of pitchers 22 and younger who have pitched in a Spring game, only Birchard and Letson have shown more top end velo this Spring. (Sidenote - Hell yes on Manual Rodriguez and that Prospect Savant Stuff+). He can generate sink as well. With a little more bite on the slider and better control, this is the year he will fully blossom into a weak contact, workhorse type. This is the perfect profile for what we do at the MLB level. Look for Torres to be in AA by the end of the year after an All-Star type first half in Appleton. 

Pitchers - 22 and Younger - 2026 Spring Training Metrics

Wande Torres Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Wande Torres Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

Wande Torres - Stats - Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball

It’s going to be really interesting to see where Torres starts the season. As a whole, the A+/A pitching decisions are probably the most interesting group of roster decisions, from guys coming off missed seasons (Knoth, Cortez, Galindez) to young pitchers who were solid, but not dominant (Meccage, Torres) to guys who pitched well in low-A but in a small sample (Dorchies).

[Tedaldtada]

Everyone I've mentioned so far likely won't be a factor in the big leagues this year. Not the case here.

A 10th round pick in 2022 out of Brewers pitching prospect hotbed New Jersey (Rutgers), Brian Fitzpatrick is a contender to pitch quite a few innings for the Brewers in 2026. Like Torres, Fitzpatrick is big body lefty with a heavy arsenal. Unlike Torres, it's a much more eclectic mix including a well-graded fastball, sweeper, sinker, and slider. He's almost a future, optimized, version of Torres, albeit not nearly as built-up to eat innings. Fitzpatrick certainly looks like he could become a workhorse. 

So far this Spring, Fitzpatrick's metrics are terrific including 99th percentile wOBA and 99th percentile Zone Contact % for all MLB pitchers (21+ age and 20+ PA's) this Spring. His stuff is playing up. I see a man on a mission who is fully self-aware. There is more to unlock here if he can approach 50% GB%'s, like he has this Spring. Lots of weak fly ball. Good hitters make him work, so let's see if he can find an uptick in command or better sequencing to take advantage of all his above average shapes, hopefully generating more K's/whiff.

It'll be an absolute dog fight in the AA and AAA pitching staffs this Summer and it's easy to forget Fitz is in the mix. I suspect he'll start in AAA. Don't be surprised if he is working in middle relief, or even gets a spot start, in Milwaukee as the Brewers weather injuries and inexperience. He was fiery has hell during his Spring Breakout shutdown relief appearance against the cream of the Mariner's crop. It's ready to click for him.

Brian Fitzpatrick College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Brian Fitzpatrick Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

Brian Fitzpatrick - Stats - Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball

[Tedaldtada]

On 3/1/2026 at 8:44 PM, biedergb said:

He could be Jett Williams light, which itself is hard to imagine lol.

I keep forgetting about O'Rae - he's got that speed and was a sparkplug on offense in 2022 and early 2023. Probably has to move to CF or play 2B in a crowded prospect field.

My pick to click can be KC Hunt, after a down year, and I see him moving to a bullpen role and he could become a great 7th/8th inning guy with his offspeed stuff and the velo could notch up a bit in shorter roles.  Again thinking of a guy with lower expectations who could pop back on the prospect map.

Sir, you need a new Pick to Click!

[Tedaldtada]

On 3/3/2026 at 9:50 PM, Tedaldtada said:

My second pick to click is Eric Bitonti. 

Not the sexiest prospect name at the moment — especially if you’re adamantly strikeout-averse. But I predict Bitonti is headed to Appleton, where he’ll hit cleanup behind the super trio of Luis Pena, Andrew Fischer, and Marco Dinges. He’ll do so as a burly 6'5", 20-year-old — and with 27 doubles, 27 homers, 20 steals, and 82 walks over 147 Low-A games already under his belt. 

The whiff in Bitonti’s profile is concerning, but there’s reason for optimism when you factor in his age and power ceiling. The hit tool may end up being his only below-average major league skill. Reports on Bitonti’s aptitude and work ethic allow for some hope there.

The power (86 XBH in 210 career games) is already two deviations above the average major league hitter (++). He’s also light on his feet and boasts a strong arm — which maybe miscast at 1B, but an interesting weapon, nonetheless. I’m sure the cutting edge of run prevention has something to say about cutoff man positioning and arm strength. 🙃 From what I’ve seen, Bitonti is opportunistic on the bases, too. 

I’m willing to live with some whiff if the rest of the package is this well-rounded. And I'd argue it's much too early to write off an organic skill jump that changes the math even more favorably for Bitonti.

Had Bitonti gone to college, he’d be draft-eligible this summer. What round would he be drafted? And how about if he clicks between now and July, like I’m predicting?

Eric Bitonti - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

Eric Bitonti Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

Super interesting that they've had Bitonti playing some 3B this Spring. If it's workable, his value took a big step up. Bitonti was also in the Wilson Warbirds media guide at least mildly suggesting he'll return to low-A to start the year. That makes sense if you plan to work him at 3B. Still, I'd put him in A+ because he already has 600+ low-A at-bats. 

[Tedaldtada]

I wasn't going to mention this one, partly because it seemed too obvious maybe, but after seeing him in action a few times this Spring, Daniel Dickinson looks like a freaking sportscar out there., Maybe not a Lambo, like Luis Pena, but he's got some horsepower inside a really well-built baseball chassis. I'm hitching my wagon to the idea that he can make it.

Not a big name out of high school. Walked on at Utah Valley. Raked from day 1 there. Charged his way to a 125 wRC+ in the SEC as a Junior with a hurting wrist. He fell to the 6th round in 2025 and then signed for a very modest bonus ($325k). Dickinson has not played in a professional game except for this Spring Training. I see shades of Nico Hoerner in the batter's box. Can sting a mistake. Can get the bat on almost any shape or zone. Fast and quick. Seems to have the tools to be a good fielder and baserunner. The comps that come back for Dickinson will be very interesting. I'm excited to see how the Brewers decide to deploy this talent.

Daniel Dickinson - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

Daniel Dickinson College & Amateur Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Daniel Dickinson Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

[Joseph Zarr]

I think RHP Hayden Robinson is a low hanging fruit to 'pick to click' given how rough he fared coming off his TJ last summer. We can only hope after that brief exposure and a full off-season to build up strength and mechanics he can get back to spinning the living heck out of the ball and wowing us with his arsenal.

[biedergb]

4 hours ago, Tedaldtada said:

Sir, you need a new Pick to Click!

Dang it. Yes I do. Let’s go with ryan Birchard - moves to bullpen and can zoom up. 

[Joseph Zarr]

3 minutes ago, biedergb said:

Dang it. Yes I do. Let’s go with ryan Birchard - tweaks his release slightly; achieves more strikezone efficiency; continues to wow with caliber of raw arsenal and is establishing himself in Double-A and flirting with a Triple-A promotion by August.

Fixed it for you😁

[Playing Catch]

I'll take Juan Ortuno. His K/BB numbers are excellent, and the ISO is just right for the soon-to-be 19-year-old to breakout.

[biedergb]

4 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Fixed it for you😁

Ah joseph - perfect!

I look forward to the upcoming minor league season my friend.

[Jim French Stepstool]

There are so many kids in this organization that I feel good about so it's hard to go with one or two. But I'll highlight someone who I think can flat-out hit but has had health issues & needs to find a position.

Mike Boeve, anyone?

Also Coleman Crow, health permitting.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

I'll go Brock Wilken.  I think he can make himself into a decent platoon bat at 3b (Vs. LH) at a minimum.

[RedStickBrew]

On 3/25/2026 at 11:49 AM, Tedaldtada said:

I wasn't going to mention this one, partly because it seemed too obvious maybe, but after seeing him in action a few times this Spring, Daniel Dickinson looks like a freaking sportscar out there., Maybe not a Lambo, like Luis Pena, but he's got some horsepower inside a really well-built baseball chassis. I'm hitching my wagon to the idea that he can make it.

Not a big name out of high school. Walked on at Utah Valley. Raked from day 1 there. Charged his way to a 125 wRC+ in the SEC as a Junior with a hurting wrist. He fell to the 6th round in 2025 and then signed for a very modest bonus ($325k). Dickinson has not played in a professional game except for this Spring Training. I see shades of Nico Hoerner in the batter's box. Can sting a mistake. Can get the bat on almost any shape or zone. Fast and quick. Seems to have the tools to be a good fielder and baserunner. The comps that come back for Dickinson will be very interesting. I'm excited to see how the Brewers decide to deploy this talent.

Daniel Dickinson - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball

Daniel Dickinson College & Amateur Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Daniel Dickinson Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | baseballsavant.com

I watched him quite a bit last year at LSU and was really excited to see him go to the Brewers. He’s a really good defensive player. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on him this year. 

[CheeseheadInQC]

I'll start with hitting and break it down in my usual way: sleepers, deep sleepers and really deep sleepers. I'm not including any top-45ish prospects (used to be top 30, but 45 is the new 30 in this system), nor any of last year's draft picks.

Sleeper: Juan Ortuno

Over the last decade, here is a list of all the Brewers players who posted at least 50 plate appearances of sub 20% K-rate, .125+ ISO in both the DSL and ACL within their first two seasons: Hendry Mendez and Juan Ortuno. While this list is obviously shortened by Made, Pena, Anderson, Rodriguez, Lara and Chourio not getting 50 plate appearances (or, in most of their cases, any plate appearances) in Arizona and Quero skipping the DSL because of the pandemic, it still speaks to how well Ortuno has hit.

He had arguably one of the 5 best debut DSL offensive seasons the Brewers have ever seen. It just came in the same year as No. 1 and 2 on that list. I fully expect him to excel, setting the table as part of the exciting quartet atop the Wilson lineup, along with Ebel, Encarnacion and Anderson.

Deep Sleeper: Frederi Montero

When picking these, I look at two things: stats and organizational signals. And that makes Montero an unusual case, because almost no one in the Brewers system has a higher organizational signals to production ratio than Montero. In 2024, he tied for second among the Brewers' squads and 30th overall in DSL plate appearances. And despite posting an 89 wRC+ as part of a signing class so deep that multiple players with 120+ wRC+s ended up repeating the DSL, he got promoted stateside.

Once there, he was playing everyday again, starting more than 80% of their games and finishing 10th in the ACL in plate appearances. And again, he posted a 92 wRC+. But, as the spring schedules are coming out, he appears to have become a lock to start the season in Wilson, and routinely has been slotted 5th in their lineup behind only the quartet mentioned above.

Montero is a guy who frequently has "hard-swinging" attached to his name with power potential touted, but it hasn't shown up in games yet. Indeed, his batted ball numbers from Arizona last season indicated a Jadher Areinamo-style pure line drive hitter who sprays the ball to all fields rather than your typical corner infield power profile. The Brewers appear to believe in him, so we'll see if he can make the power leap in Wilson this year.

Very Deep Sleeper: Cristian Montilla

Here is my annual hit-over-power prospect pick after his first DSL season (see Juan Baez, Tyler Rodriguez, Luiyin Alastre, Juan Martinez ... I think I have a type). I considered a few players for this spot. Brailyn Antunez and Alexander Frias were too high profile. Leonard Rijo and Jefer Lista had good strikeout and walk rates and a lot of plate appearances but almost non-existent extra base pop. Matthew Moses had some interesting stats, but as a guy who mostly played first base, the bar is pretty high. Montilla, though had the lowest K-rate among the first-year DSLers, a 10% walk rate, and at least some semblance of an ISO. He also got progressively better as the season went on. I think this is either your surprise ACL promotion or this year's Martinez-type second year DSL breakout.

[CheeseheadInQC]

OK, same rules I used for the hitters for the pitchers.

Sleeper: Yorman Galindez

It was June of 2024. Yorman Galindez was climbing the Brewers' prospect ranks while mowing down a higher rate of batters in the Carolina League than current top-100 prospects Jarlin Susana and Elmer Rodriguez. A promotion to Wisconsin seemed to be likely, even with an elevated walk rate.

Then he got hurt and hasn't pitched in a regular season game since.

Now Galindez is back, starting games in minor league spring training. However he seems to have lost a bit of hype, between the injury and the glut of interesting arms the Brewers have at Wisconsin and Carolina this year. I think Galindez is a good bet to reclaim his ascending status this season while pushing his way up the prospect ranks.

Deep Sleeper: Carlos Carra

It feels weird putting Carra at this level because, well, his resume through two pro seasons should be generating more hype than it has. I guess, to some degree, you can chalk this up to bad timing.

He was a late signee in the 2024 class, inking in April of that year out of Mexico. He was part of a DSL group that outside of Wande Torres and Wenderlyn King all had their statistical warts (Argenis Aparicio, Ayendy Bravo, Saul Sanchez, and Manuel Moreno posted lower K rates, Enderson Mercado seemingly let everyone who reached base against him score, etc.). For Carra, it was an elevated walk rate. He did strike out more than 11 per 9 innings and posted an only in the DSL rate of infield fly balls (Almost a 60% flyball rate, 46.4% of which Fangraphs has listed as pop-ups).

Then he wasn't one of the DSL arms brought over for spring training (that honor went to Mercado and Miqueas Mercedes). Him being 18 years old in the ACL might have been noteworthy on some teams. It really wasn't on the Brewers. Even striking out more than a batter per inning (which only 13 pitchers ages 18 or younger with at 20 innings pitched did in either Complex League) only placed him third on that list among Brewers (behind Mercado and Ethan Dorchies). Be one of only 18 pitchers in their age 18 or younger season to throw 10 innings in full-season ball? Well, not as notable when fully 1/3 of those were Brewers prospects.

All this is to say, I think he's been overlooked (outside of @Spencer Michaelis and @Joseph Zarr's podcast; amazing work once again, guys). This is especially true given that he turned his biggest DSL weakness into a strength, walking barely over 2 batters per 9 on the season and only issuing one walk in his 11 A ball innings.

Really Deep Sleeper: Michael Fowler

Usually this is where I'd pick some DSL pitcher with good peripherals but a mediocre to lousy ERA. Raymond Sarmiento didn't quite fit as well as Mercado and Daniel Corniel did in previous years, though. Instead, I am bending my rules a little bit for this choice. Fowler was kind of a combo indy ball and UDFA signing this past year.

After 8 1/3 A-ball innings and 1 triple-A cameo, the Brewers first assigned him to the Arizona Fall League and then the Spring Breakout roster. It isn't unprecedented for an UDFA to get on the spring breakout roster the following season (see Hostetler, Jack), it is noteworthy that the Brewers think enough of him to give him those assignments. Not bad for a guy who never posted an ERA below 6.80 in college.