Could Both Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara Get Rookie of the Year Votes?

[Michael Trzinski]

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

In the 56-year history of Milwaukee Brewers baseball, three players have been honored as the league's Rookie of the Year. In 1992, shortstop Pat Listach beat out Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton for the American League honor, on the strength of a .290 average with 54 steals. Fifteen seasons later, third baseman Ryan Braun was named the National League winner, barely edging Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki. Braun led the league in slugging at .634 and slammed 34 home runs in just 115 games. In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, reliever Devin Williams outpolled Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm and San Diego’s Jake Cronenworth on the basis of his impressive 0.33 ERA, 1375 ERA+, and 17.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

This year, the Brewers have two rookies who have performed exceedingly well and could garner some votes, though neither will claim the prize. Shortstop Cooper Pratt was called up to Milwaukee in mid-June. After going 7-for-16 in a five-game stretch early on, crashed back to Earth, looking like another scared rookie as his OPS tumbled below .500. Then, around Independence Day, he heated up as the weather got hotter, and other than a stint on the IL, he never looked back. He finished with a slash line of .281/.350/.368 in 266 trips to the dish. His in-game power hasn’t arrived yet, as he had only three homers, but his speed (19 steals in 22 tries) and defense (2 Defensive Runs Saved) have shone brightly.

Outfielder Luis Lara made his major-league debut on July 7, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs in a 10-2 blowout at St. Louis. He’s had his growing pains, but it was a solid freshman campaign. He batted .246/.311/.325 over 212 plate appearances. He’ll never be a big power hitter, and the Brewers are waiting to see his base-stealing prowess, as he had only three steals in five attempts. However, his forte has been his ability to make electrifying, leaping catches at the fence, forever reprising his Spider-Man impersonation. In just a fraction of a season, he was worth 11 DRS in the outfield.

It's unlikely that Pratt or Lara will get first-place votes, as they placed 16^th (Pratt) and 21^st (Lara) according to bWAR for first-year players. JJ Wetherholt, Sal Stewart and Carson Benge are the top three candidates for the NL honors. Depending on how things shake out, Pratt should get some down-ballot points, while Lara is a dark horse. But we can hope!

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Brewers Rookie of the Year History
(Ranking in parentheses)

2025: Caleb Durbin (3), Isaac Collins (4), Chad Patrick (7), Jacob Misiorowski (11)
2024: Jackson Chourio (3)
2020: Devin Williams (1)
2012: Nori Aoki (5)
2009: Casey McGehee (5)
2007: Ryan Braun (1)
2006: Prince Fielder (7)
2005: Rickie Weeks (6)
2003: Scott Podsednik (2)
2002: Alex Sánchez (9)
1996: Jeff D’Amico (7)
1995: Steve Sparks (9)
1994: José Valentín (9)
1992: Pat Listach (1), Cal Eldred (4)
1991: Doug Henry (8)
1988: Don August (4)
1985: Teddy Higuera (2), Ernest Riles (3)
1978: Paul Molitor (2)
1973: Pedro García (2), Darrell Porter (3)
1971: Bill Parsons (2)

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[sveumrules]

Pretty stacked field this year, so doubt Pratt (1.6 fWAR and 1.7 bWAR) or Lara (-0.1 fWAR and 1.2 bWAR) end up on any ballots.

Logan Henderson on the other hand...his 3.7 Runs Allowed WAR at FanGraphs is tied with Nolan McLean for most among rookie NL hurlers, and Henderson edges him out 3.3 to 3.0 per BRef WAR despite pitching 81 fewer innings. Those extra innings do give Nolan (3.59 FIP | 3.5 fWAR) the edge in the default FIP WAR at FanGraphs over Logan (3.32 FIP | 2.4 fWAR) though.

Will be interesting to see if the old school heads reward Sal Stewart (2.0 fWAR and 1.8 bWAR) for his shiny RBI total ahead of more well rounded players like Wetherholt (4.6 fWAR and 4.5 bWAR), Benge (4.3 fWAR and 4.3 bWAR), and even fellow first baseman TJ Rumfield (2.5 fWAR and 3.5 bWAR).

[Outlander]

Logan Henderson will get the most votes of any Brewer and maybe doesn't finish top 5. I imagine down the road people will wonder why he received so few votes in hindsight, especially if he continues his success in the playoffs.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Both Pratt & Lara exceeded what I thought the team would get out of them in 2026. Extremely happy with both. But I think Sal Stewart is a no-brainer. Not just the RBI total, but I thought I saw something that he played in all 162 games for the Reds? And really advanced strike zone knowledge & plate coverage for a rookie.