Batting Around: How the Brewers’ Top Prospects Are Mastering the Zone

[Ben Lepak]

Image courtesy of © Curt Hogg / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nashville Sounds’ Prospects in Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Prospects: Jett Williams #3, Cooper Pratt #4, Jeferson Quero #7, Luis Lara #11, Luke Adams #13, Brock Wilken #15

It was a tepid week for the Sounds’ offense, as the team started out with a seven-run outburst on Wednesday and scored just 17 runs in 5 other games. Jett Williams had one of the highlights of the season so far with his walk-off three-run home run in Wednesday’s contest:

The homer was one of three extra-base hits for Williams, who registered a .300/.417/.550 line for the week. Looking deeper at Williams’s plate discipline metrics, his Z-Swing rate (swings at pitches inside the strike zone) has jumped to 65.7% in 2026, compared to 61.2% in 2025 and 50.0% in 2024. Simultaneously, his Z-Contact rate has climbed to a career-high 87.8%.

Williams is no longer just being patient for the sake of drawing walks (though his 13.2% walk rate remains excellent). By increasing his swing rate on strikes while maintaining a solid 22% O-Swing (chase) rate, he's demonstrating mastery of the strike zone. This would suggest Williams is identifying strikes earlier and committing to them, which is a hallmark of a prospect maturing out of a passive approach into a selectively aggressive one.

The jump to nearly 88% contact on strikes indicates that Williams has likely tightened his swing mechanics, or is seeing the ball significantly better at the Triple-A level. The Brewers often prioritize damage and high-quality contact for prospects at this stage of their development, so it would seem Williams is adjusting to the “Brewers Way” the last few weeks.

Luis Lara has already tripled his home run total from all of last year in about a quarter of the time, with this blast over the weekend. A player who was previously seen as a glove-first speedster, Lara has raised his ceiling this year. Usually, when a young player (Lara is only 21) starts swinging for more power, their strikeout rate balloons. Lara's has done the opposite. He's cut his strikeout rate from 16.2% to 12.9%. He's making contact on an absurd 96.2% of pitches he swings at inside the strike zone.

Lara has transformed from a slap hitter who steals bases into a legitimate top-of-the-order threat in Nashville. With an elite eye and newly discovered power, he may end up forcing the Brewers' hand for a major-league promotion much sooner than expected.

Biloxi Shuckers’ Prospects in Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Prospects: Jesus Made #1, Blake Burke #14
Though not considered a top prospect, Damon Keith was the Shuckers’ best hitter last week, on his way to earning Southern League Player of the Week honors:

It seems like the Brewers may have uncovered something in Keith when they acquired him in late March from the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations.

Both Jesus Made and Blake Burke scuffled this week, combining for just nine hits in 44 at-bats atop the Shuckers’ lineup. Both prospects bookended the week with home runs, with Made going yard on Sunday and Burke homering on Tuesday.

One of the more impressive parts of Made’s 2026 season is the refinement of his hit tool. Despite jumping two levels in a year, he has significantly improved his contact metrics. Made has slashed his strikeout rate from 20.6% in 2025 to 14.8% in Double-A. His overall contact rate has climbed to 80.6%, proving that his swing is short and efficient enough to handle advanced velocity and breaking stuff.

Made is posting a .182 ISO, a significant jump from his .128 mark across MiLB last year. One look at Made this season and you can see that his 6-foot-1 frame has filled out, and his raw power (currently graded 50/60 by FanGraphs) has translated into games.

Burke is currently a three-true-outcomes threat who has added bizarrely effective base-stealing (10/11 in attempts this season) to his game, despite a 20-grade speed tool. It's somewhat similar to what Luke Adams did earlier in his pro career.

This season, Burke’s pull percentage has spiked to 54.7% (up from 31.7% in 2025). He is clearly looking to turn on pitches and drive them, which explains the high home run volume, but also some of the volatility in his batting average.

While Burke’s 11.3% walk rate shows he isn't just hacking blindly, his swing-and-miss issues have persisted at Double-A. His strikeout rate has ticked up to 26.6% this year. To reach the majors as a 1B/DH, he’ll likely need to bring that strikeout rate closer to the 20-22% range to ensure his elite power plays consistently. His overall contact rate has dipped to 69.1%, indicating he is struggling to put the ball in play consistently when he does swing.  However, Burke’s average is being dragged down by a low .269 BABIP. Given his power, you would expect more balls to fall for hits, suggesting he might be hitting into some bad luck.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ Prospects in Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Prospects: Luis Pena #2, Andrew Fischer #8, Marco Dinges #10, Josh Adamczewski #12, Braylon Payne #16

The Rattler’s offense slowed last week, ranking last in runs and OPS among 12 teams in the Midwest League. With a few of the team’s star prospects cooling down amid frigid temps in Grand Chute, we look beyond the Top 20 Prospects to highlight Josiah Ragsdale’s emergence.

Ragsdale has gone from a player who hit almost exclusively singles (one XBH in 92 plate appearances) last year to a legitimate extra-base threat. Ragsdale has doubled both his fly ball rate and pull rate this season. However, he has nearly doubled both his strikeout rate and swinging strike rate. He is essentially trading some of his 2025 "contact-first" stability for a more impactful, power-oriented approach. That approach has paid off with a .471 slugging percentage on the season and highlighted by this opposite field home run on Saturday:

 

 

Bitonti and Fischer each homered twice last week, including Fischer’s walk off blast on Friday. Both players also struck out in 50% of their at-bats this week, including Fischer’s four strikeout performance prior to Friday’s walk-off. Payne was just 2/20 on the week.

Wilson Warbirds’ Prospects in Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Prospects: Brady Ebel #19

The hottest affiliate in the Brewers system last week was the Wilson Warbirds, who smashed seven homeruns on their way to a four win week.

Handelfry Encarnacion was the star of the week, with seven hits, three homeruns and 12 RBI. He might also lead all of MiLB in time spent pimping home runs, with some truly bombastic celebrations:

 

 

Jadyn Fielder carried a 1.396 OPS in four games for the week, highlighted by his first home run at the level. Brady Ebel collected a triple and double among his six hits last week and also drove in six runs.

After such a slow start to the inaugural season for the Warbirds’ offense, its good to see them heating up and having fun.

Join the Discussion: Are you worried about the high strikeout rates for power-hitters like Burke and Fischer, or are you willing to live with the "Three True Outcomes" if the home runs keep coming? Are you a fan of the over-the-top celebrations we're seeing from guys like Encarnacion, or do you prefer the old-school approach? Also, which "under-the-radar" prospect like Damon Keith or Josiah Ragsdale has impressed you the most so far this season?

 

 

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