Braylon Payne, Matthew Wood Among Brewers Prospects to Dazzle in First Week of Arizona Fall League

[Cory Sparks]

Image courtesy of Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

While the big-league Brewers are dancing in the postseason, some of their top-end prospects have extended their seasons into the Arizona Fall League (AFL). The AFL is a showcase opportunity for some of baseball’s brightest young stars to get more reps, and nine of the team’s farmhands are in it this year, per MLB.com. 

Let’s dive into some of the standout performers so far and how their first few games of action relate to trends they set into motion this summer.

Braylon Payne (MIL’s #4 prospect)

Braylon Payne’s prospect pedigree is the highest of anybody on this list. Ranked as Milwaukee’s No. 4 prospect here at Brewer Fanatic, the outfielder enjoyed a breakout 2026 campaign, which he divided between the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Double-A Biloxi Shuckers. The 2024 first-round pick saw a power surge this season. At just 20 years old, he slugged 28 home runs while slashing .277/.358/.552 over 102 games. 

His AFL sample size is small, but the power has followed the outfielder into the month of October. Payne has gone 4-for-15 (.267) with two doubles, three RBIs and a stolen base through four games.

The one aspect he needs to work on is critical, though: swing decisions. While Payne had a 20.0% pull-air percentage (65th percentile, per Prospect Savant), his 28.2% strikeout rate (30th percentile) and 41.3% chase rate (5th percentile) suggest there’s plenty of room to grow. The future Brewer has stayed aggressive in the AFL, striking out six times over 18 plate appearances. 

Matthew Wood

While Matthew Wood isn’t a ranked prospect in the Brewers’ pipeline, he still enjoyed a productive season in Double-A and is parlaying that into a promising start with the Scottsdale Scorpions. The 25-year-old backstop throttled 18 homers, compiled 67 RBIs, and walked (71) more times than he struck out (52) with the Shuckers this year. In fact, that caliber of strike-zone control is something the 2022 fourth-round pick has done throughout his pro career, drawing 241 free passes while going down on strikes just 223 times.

That plate discipline has carried over nicely in Arizona. Wood is 3-for-7 with four runs scored, a stolen base and a whopping six walks in just 13 plate appearances. The catcher has proven his worth as a cerebral up-and-coming option for the Crew, and seeing him in the top 10 percent of minor leaguers in strikeout rate, walk rate, chase rate, whiff rate, zone-contact percentage and more is an encouraging sign. 

Peyton Niksch

Peyton Niksch is one of five pitching prospects representing Milwaukee in Scottsdale this year, and he’s been the most impressive so far. Niksch climbed the team’s minor-league ladder this year, playing at three different levels. He dazzled for Low-A Wilson, logging a 3-1 record with a 2.70 ERA (26 2/3 innings) with the Warbirds. Upon getting a promotion to Wisconsin, he looked even better, going 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 frames. He ran into some trouble in Biloxi, allowing an 8.63 ERA with a WHIP that ballooned to 2.13 over 24 innings of work. 

In the AFL, Niksch has served well as a pure strike-thrower. The 22-year-old right-handed pitcher has made two appearances (one start), allowing just one run on two hits over 4 2/3 innings of work. He has four strikeouts and no walks in 16 batters faced. He doesn’t blow people away, as shown by his 8.4 SO/9 rate, but generating weak contact can be an equally effective way to find outs—especially for a hurler with plus control.

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