After Graduations, Brewer Fanatic Has a New #1 Brewers Prospect

Over the past couple of weeks, we have had open prospect voting for Brewer Fanatic writers and for the community. The results of the rankings have now been updated on the site. Here is a brief summary. 

There are certainly some quality candidates to take over at #1. Would the very young, very talented catcher at Triple-A who is out for the year move up a spot? Would the flamethrower that no one can hit at Double-A jump into that top spot? Could the Canadian hitter who made his debut this year, or the southpaw who debuted just last week with a fantastic outing jump into the spot? The Brewers have a strong system even after the graduations. 

The last time that we had a vote for Brewer Fanatics Top 20 Prospect rankings was in February. In many cases, there was minimal change from the end of the 2023 season. Players acquired or lost in a trade can create change. Maybe a solid prospect does something remarkable in the Winter Leagues. Or maybe a report comes out about a pitcher at Instructional League suddenly hitting 99 mph rather than 95. Or an injured player works his way back. 

With the mid-May voting, we now have six or seven weeks of 2024 performances by hitters and pitchers. Some players get off to fast starts. Others start out slow. There are injuries and promotions. In other words, we all have more data points for helping us better rank those players. You can find all kinds of stats online, which is great. But you can also watch games online and see the players or attend games at minor-league parks. 

With that, we did have the Brewer Fanatic writers rank their top 20 prospects first, and then we opened it up to the community rankings. We truly thank you for taking time to rank prospects. Because there was such a huge community turnout, the community rankings take on a higher weight. Those rankings were used in conjunction with the writers vote in a formula to give us the updated rankings you can see today. 

Let’s get to some of the interesting things we find within the updated rankings. 

GRADUATIONS: Jackson Chourio, DL Hall, Joey Ortiz. 
All three of these guys have easily surpassed the limits to still be called a “prospect.” I think it’s fair to say that there is reason to be excited about each of them. Chourio has had his struggles, but he’s also had some great moments. Hall has spent time on the IL, but the southpaw has potential to stick as a starter. Ortiz has played a lot more of late and come up with some big hits and even shown some power. 

BIGGEST RISERS: Mike Boeve, Brett Wichrowski
Mike Boeve had a nice pro debut last summer after he was the Brewers second-round pick in the draft out of Nebraska-Omaha. He began this season with the Timber Rattlers, but when he was hitting .553 with a 1.273 OPS after 13 games, he forced his way up to Double-A. He is hitting .311 with an OPS of .818 in 26 games with the Shuckers. He jumped from #15 to #8. 

Of players who entered the season Not Ranked, right-hander Brett Wichrowski. One year ago, he was finishing up his time at Bryant University in Rhode Island. The Brewers took him in the 13th round and he didn’t pitch in 2023. He started at High-A Wisconsin and posted a 2.45 ERA in four starts. He has now made three starts at Biloxi. In 27 2/3 combined innings, he has 32 strikeouts to go with nine walks. He also has a fastball that touches 98 mph and a really good slider. 

BIGGEST DROPS: 
Maybe it’s because of the three players who graduated, but this prospect ranking shows only two players who rank lower than they did in the preseason rankings, Jeferson Quero and Eric Bitonti. Quero dropped from #2 to #3 after getting hurt on Opening Day. He had shoulder surgery and will miss the full season. Bitonti was the Brewers third round pick in 2023 out of high school. He has not yet debuted in Carolina. However, in 12 games, he is hitting .300/.407/.620 (1.027) with two doubles, a triple and four home runs. A promotion should be coming soon. 

THE NEXT FIVE: Gregory Barrios (#21), Tyler Woessner (#22), Bishop Letson (#23), Dylan O’Rae (#24), Ryan Birchard (#25). 
As you would expect, the group that just missed the top 20 is a very young but very talented group of players. Tyler Woessner is the “old” guy of the group, and he’s just 24, and he’s already at Triple-A after being drafted less than two years ago. 

Barrios is just 20 years old. Not only is he already in High-A Wisconsin, but he’s hitting over .300 and showing improved doubles power while playing strong defense at shortstop. 

O’Rae is also 20. He was the team’s third-round pick in 2022 out of secondary school in Canada. A spark plug in the lineup, he is getting on base at about 40% in Wisconsin. And, he’s got 20 stolen bases in 40 games. 

19-year-old Letson was the Brewers 11th round pick a year ago out of high school in Indiana. At 6-4 and just 180 pounds, he looks the part of a future starting pitcher. Long, and lanky, already a good fastball with potentially more to come as he matures and gains strength. He has pitched 16 innings this season for Low-A Carolina over five games. He has 23 strikeouts but also 10 walks. 

Another 2023 draft pick, Birchard made one appearance this year for Carolina. He has been on the IL since with an oblique injury. 

Will some of these players jump into the Top 20 when we re-rank the players around the draft? 

Updated Brewer Fanatic Top 20 Brewers Prospects
Here is the list with links to their prospect page which includes links to Brewer Fanatic articles or videos that they have been tagged in.

#1 - RHP Jacob Misiorowski (Biloxi)
#2 - 1B/3B Tyler Black (Nashville)
#3 - C Jeferson Quero (Nashville)
#4 - LHP Robert Gasser (Milwaukee)
#5 - 3B Brock Wilken (Biloxi)
#6 - RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (Nashville)
#7 - OF Luis Lara (Wisconsin)
#8 - 3B Mike Boeve (Biloxi)
#9 - SS Cooper Pratt (Carolina) 
#10 - OF Yophery Rodriguez (Carolina)
#11 - RHP Josh Knoth (Carolina)
#12 - SS Eric Brown Jr (Biloxi)
#13 - RHP Brett Wichrowski (Biloxi)
#14 - RHP Logan Henderson (Carolina)
#15 - 3B Luke Adams (Wisconsin)
#16 - RHP Bradley Blalock (Milwaukee)
#17 - IF Juan Baez (Carolina)
#18 - SS Eric Bitonti (ACL Brewers)
#19 - 1B Wes Clarke (Nashville)
#20 - SS Daniel Guilarte (Carolina) 

BIG QUESTIONS: Three players graduated from this ranking in the season’s first six or seven weeks. Tyler Black and Robert Gasser have spent some time in the big leagues as well. Black is back at Nashville, and Gasser has been quite solid in his two big-league starts and earned more. 

Do you think that Black or Gasser, or both, will graduate during the 2024 season? Just as important, which other prospects in the Top 20 do you think will be called up at some point during the season and hopefully get some opportunities to help a winning club in a pennant race? Bradley Blalock was called up recently and is yet to get into a game. What kind of role could he have? Can Misiorowski gain enough command to move up as a starter, or could they have him spend September in the big-league bullpen? Is this the season that Carlos F. Rodriguez makes his MLB debut? Could “The Other” Carlos Rodriguez move up from Biloxi and get an opportunity? Could Mike Boeve play at four levels this season, including the big leagues? Wes Clarke continues to rake. Could he get plate appearances down the stretch? 

Interested in learning more about the Milwaukee Brewers' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!