Milwaukee Brewers 2026 Top Prospects, No. 1: Jesús Made

[Spencer Michaelis]

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

#1 Jesús Made (Carolina Mudcats, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Biloxi Shuckers)

Made earns the top spot on this list because of the rare upside he brings to the table, along with the strong production he put up as a 17 and 18-year-old between three levels in 2025. 

PA	H	2B	3B	HR	OPS	wRC+	wOBA	K%	BB%	SwStr%	Whiff%	PULL%	CENT%	OPPO%	LD%	GB%	FB%	IFFB%	SB	CS	SB%	90th EV
525	129	28	6	6	.792	128	.385	20.6%	12.8%	9.0%	23.9%	40.5%	26.1%	33.3%	24.8%	43.7%	31.6%	28.0%	47	13	78%	105.2

What to Like

Jesus Made is an explosive athlete with the potential for plus or better tools across the board. From a physical standpoint, he already looks the part, and he recently reported to camp looking even stronger, adding noticeable muscle to a frame that was already trending in the right direction.

Offensively, the switch-hitting ability is one of the most exciting parts of his profile. His swings from both sides of the plate are nearly mirror images, and his bat speed is similar whether he is hitting right-handed or left-handed. That level of symmetry is uncommon and gives him a very strong foundation at the plate. The hit tool projects as potentially plus, due to his bat-to-ball ability and the ability to use the whole field.

There is also real power upside. Made already shows the strength and bat speed needed to drive the ball with authority, and has already posted a 90th percentile exit velocity of 105.2 MPH, which would be above-average even in MLB. As he continues to mature physically, the power should continue to develop. If he begins to consistently lift the ball and convert hard contact into damage, the offensive ceiling becomes extremely high. A switch-hitting bat with plus hit and plus power potential is rare, especially at a premium defensive position.

Defensively, Made has the tools to remain at shortstop long term. He shows strong instincts, good hands, and a plus arm. His athleticism allows him to cover ground, and he has the body control to make plays from different angles. While there are still moments of youthful inconsistency, the physical tools and flashes of high-level defense suggest the potential for above average or better performance at shortstop, or either second or third base.

Made can also really run, posting plus times on home-to-first, and he does it with an effortless glide to his gait. He stole 47 bases in 2025, and has the type of speed to be a big-time threat in that regard.

When combining the athleticism with the offensive and defensive tools, the overall ceiling is extremely high. Few players in all of baseball possess this level of upside on both sides of the ball.

What to Work On
The primary offensive area for improvement is launch angle and overall batted-ball profile. Made already hits the ball hard, but maximizing his power output will require lifting more of those hard-hit balls into the air. Improving that aspect of his swing would unlock more consistent extra-base production and allow his raw strength to show up fully in games.

Defensively, consistency will be the main focus. While the tools are evident, there are still routine plays and throwing accuracy that need refinement. Cleaning up inaccurate throws and maintaining focus from pitch to pitch will help him turn flashes of high-end defense into the steady defense that is required of any Brewers infielder.

Made flashes plus speed, but he does have some work to do in terms of his jumps on stolen bases (note: he was caught stealing 13 times in 2025), as well as his reads off the bat, if he is going to maximize the value he can bring on the bases.

What’s Next
Made is expected to begin back in Double-A, where he finished briefly in 2025. He has the chance to make his way to Triple-A at some point, and it’d be foolish to completely rule out a 2026 MLB debut. Though 2027 seems far more likely. Given his combination of switch-hitting ability, power upside, defensive tools, and athleticism, he has the profile of a franchise-level player if everything clicks.

The 2026 season will be another key step in his development, particularly in seeing how the added strength translates into in-game production. If it’s seamless, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Made in Milwaukee by September.

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What are your thoughts on Made? What are you hoping to see from him in 2026? Let us know in the comments!

 

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[Robert The Bruce]

Made is the future of MKE baseball, what's gonna make it worth watching while he's there.  All the tools.  Hoping for continued development, a solid head on his shoulders and good health.

[igor67]

Really hoping we can have a few season's where Jackson and Jesus are performing near their ceilings at the same time. Combined with our ability to fill the roster with solid contributors that's how we finally get a title.

[sveumrules]

27 minutes ago, igor67 said:

Really hoping we can have a few season's where Jackson and Jesus are performing near their ceilings at the same time. Combined with our ability to fill the roster with solid contributors that's how we finally get a title.

Assuming Jesus follows something like Jackson's ascent it would be 2026 (AA), 2027-28 (get acclimated to MLB and put up like seven wins at age 20-21), 2029 (???).

With the team options on Chourio's contract that would put a potential dual prime window for the two around 2029 through 2032 unless Made busts out earlier to move up the front end or signs an extension that would cover Chourio's last team option year in 2033.

[Trax]

Wonder if they indeed are working on a long term deal with Made as they did with Chourio...?

[tmwiese55]

I went to a few games last week and noticed his swing path was almost a downward swing. For anyone that has seen many minors games for him or many more spring ABs, would you say that's his normal or maybe just them putting an emphasis on contact in spring?    I've only seen him play one minor league game and didn't notice it, but that type of swing is going to almost be exclusively grounders/liners and really no HRs.   

Obviously he still got great results because any time he made contact it was very hard contact, but just curious on more informed people's comments on it. 

[sveumrules]

20 minutes ago, Trax said:

Wonder if they indeed are working on a long term deal with Made as they did with Chourio...?

Don't think they'd be working on anything already, but I'd imagine the Brewers will offer some sort of extension if Jesus has the kind of summer this year that sets him up for an MLB debut in 2027.

On the one hand it would be pretty hard to turn down $100M as a 19 year old from the DR (or anywhere for that matter), but at the same time I'd certainly never fault an intrepid young man for seeing guys like Soto get $765M or Tucker get a $60M AAV and believing in himself enough to think he can do better than that.

[jay87shot]

I don't think you do a long term deal until next offseason. I would really like to see him split the year in AA and AAA if he plays well the 1st half. That way he could be ready for a callup the last couple weeks of the season if SS is a weak spot. 

Made and Chourio should get 4-6 years together, it would be nice to sign both long term. Yeli should be off the books by the time Made would be making decent money so an extension should be doable. However that would make keeping current mlb players on extensions a bit harder (Misi, Sal, Turang, other young pitchers). 

[Playing Catch]

His flashes of defensive play are pretty encouraging. The kid looks like he could become a good defender at short.

[Outlander]

Looking forward to a number of Chourio/Made seasons together. Barring an extension both could be here until 2033. Not so sure Made will be here for his ceiling since he is projected to be a free agent after his a ge 26 season if all goes well.

[keephopealive]

I'm curious who would've been rated higher at 19 if they were contemporaneous, Chourio or Made?  Anybody have a sense?

[sveumrules]

32 minutes ago, keephopealive said:

I'm curious who would've been rated higher at 19 if they were contemporaneous, Chourio or Made?  Anybody have a sense?

Jesus. Farther up the defensive spectrum, a switch hitter, and has shown better plate discipline.

Stats thru the first two years...

24-25 Jesus (741 PA)
298/402/452 (141 wRC+)
14.3 BB% | 18.4 K%

21-22 Jackson (628 PA)
290/355/512 (131 wRC+)
8.8 BB% | 23.2 K%

Made also has a big edge on the bases (75 SB | 17 CS vs 24 SB | 7 CS for Chourio) though the larger bases and pickoff rules make a one to one comparison more difficult there.

Only edge Chourio really has thru the same age is power production.

[Turning2]

5 hours ago, sveumrules said:

On the one hand it would be pretty hard to turn down $100M as a 19 year old from the DR (or anywhere for that matter), but at the same time I'd certainly never fault an intrepid young man for seeing guys like Soto get $765M or Tucker get a $60M AAV and believing in himself enough to think he can do better than that.

Exactly. Everybody assumes young guys will agree to an early, long term, cheap deal like Chourio did. Not necessarily. Also, everybody assumes that every shiny prospect who signs these types of deals will pan out and pay off BIG. Chourio set the precedent for MIL interests. Others who come after might be thinking "he shorted himself out of several hundred million dollars". Bird in hand versus two in the bush... each guy approaches that differently. 

[Turning2]

He's checks off a lot of boxes no doubt, but I'm not sold yet on his future at SS.  I wouldn't be surprised if he replaces Turang at 2B in the future rather than Ortiz. (Unless the new CBA dramatically changes the ability of small market teams to retain their stars, Turang won't be extended.)