Brewer Fanatic 2024 Offseason Top 20 Prospect - No. 2: Jeferson Quero

2. Jeferson Quero (Nashville Sounds, Full-Season Injured List)

The Brewers signed Quero out of Venezuela in the 2019 international class. He garnered the sixth-highest bonus in the Brewers class at $200,000. While the Brewers did not have as much success as they would have hoped on their biggest bonus players, such as Luis Medina and Hedbert Perez, Quero has been a revelation since signing. From the moment he was signed, Quero has been heralded for his makeup and his ability to handle a pitching staff, both within the organization and externally. Coming into the 2024 season, he was seen as someone who could potentially impact the big-league club by the end of the season.

Unfortunately, his season was flipped on its head after only one plate appearance. After drawing a walk in that plate appearance, the pitcher attempted a pickoff, Quero dove back into first base somewhat awkwardly and ended up dislocating his right shoulder, tearing his labrum in the process. Though it happened differently, the injury was the same one Shohei Ohtani sustained in Game 2 of the World Series: the shoulder pops out and back in, but in the process, the labrum tears under the strain of trying to stabilize the joint. Quero would miss the rest of the season, delaying his potential debut until at least 2025. The stats below are from 2023, when he had played a full season.

What to Like:
As mentioned above, Quero has been lauded for his moxie behind the plate. Having only turned 22 in early October, he's considered to be extremely mature for his age. He has the respect of his pitchers and coaches as a game-caller and is a vocal and energetic competitor. He’s more than just a smart defensive catcher though; he’s an extremely talented one as well. His arm grades out as plus, posting pop times as low as 1.86 and averaging around 1.9, which would have placed him in the top 10 in MLB last year. His shoulder injury was to his throwing arm, so his throwing will be something to keep an eye on in 2025.

Quero also does a good job as a receiver, stealing his pitchers strikes and fighting for every close pitch. Defense is his calling card and assuming the arm returns to where it was pre-injury, it gives him a pretty high floor as an MLB-level backup. The reason his prospect status has grown so much over the last couple of years is the improvements he has made on the other side of the ball.

At the plate, Quero has always had above-average bat-to-ball skills and shown some pop to all fields. That continued in 2023, and the pop turned into more in-game power than he had shown in the past, hitting 16 home runs. Those 16 home runs surpassed his previous career high of 10 in 2022, in fewer plate appearances. 

His batted-ball profile points to continued improvement in the power department. He hits the ball in the air quite a bit, and he hits the ball with authority, posting exit velocities of up to 110 MPH in 2023. His 105.2 MPH 90th-percentile exit velocity was fourth-highest for his age in 2023, and he was sandwiched between two big-time prospects in Marcelo Mayer and Jasson Dominguez. Quero has the potential to hit for a decent average and for power, all while playing plus defense at a premium position.

What to Work On:
While Quero has very good contact skills, he would do well to exercise a bit more patience at the dish. His walk numbers aren’t awful, but they were below-average in 2023. He’s a very aggressive hitter, and he swings out of the zone at an above-average rate. We aren’t talking about a Javier Báez level of chase, so it’s not something that should ever hamper him completely, but improving his swing decisions would go a very long way toward helping him reach his full potential offensively. 

Speed is the least important tool for a catcher, so it’s not a big deal, but Quero is below-average in that regard. He appears to be a heady base runner, though, and was able to go 5-for-5 on stolen bases in 2023. Despite that, his legs are more likely to be a negative than a positive at the MLB level. 

On the defensive side, Quero did at times struggle with receiving lower fastballs, but even that improved as the season progressed. He allowed more passed balls than you would hope for. However, that's not uncommon for younger catchers, for a multitude of reasons. Losing concentration from time to time or simply being too focused on attempting to frame a pitch rather than making sure the ball is actually caught are often the culprits. At times, Quero can also have a bit too much faith in his arm, which over the years has caused a few throwing errors on plays on which he didn't have a chance of recording an out. 

On one hand, the majority of these “concerns” appear to simply be youthful mistakes and energy. On the other hand, if he’s going to be impacting the big-league club in 2025, they are mistakes that would be harder to swallow. Cleaning up some of those lapses would go a long way toward building trust with Pat Murphy and company, though Querp certainly impressed Murphy last year in spring training, anyway.

What’s next:
Quero was able to get some at-bats as the DH for the Brewers in their instructs games, and is expected to be ready to catch by spring. He is already on the 40-man roster, so depending on how the rest of the offseason goes, he could enter spring training with a chance at the backup catcher position. The more likely scenario, though, is that he will begin next season back in Triple-A, ideally avoiding any major injuries this time, and get the chance to play every day at the level. Either way, he will be on the doorstep to the majors, where he could have a chance to make an immediate impact with his defense and power potential. With those tools on his side, Quero's long-term ceiling is becoming a multi-time All Star, and a top-five catcher in baseball.

What are your thoughts on Quero? What are you hoping to see from him in 2025? Any concerns about his injury? Let us know in the comments!

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