Brewers Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2023

May was an exciting month for prospect followers, as some of the higher-ranked prospects had breakout months at the plate. We will look at the top four hitters for the month, as well as a couple of honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions
1B/DH Jon Singleton - Nashville Sounds - 25 H, .287/.392/.598 (.990 OPS), 143 wRC+, with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 14 R, 18 RBI, 15 BB, 21 K.

Singleton was crushing baseballs in May. As a 31-year-old in Triple-A, it didn’t feel quite right to include the former top prospect in this month’s top four, but he does deserve a mention for having a great month. If Rowdy Tellez were to miss significant time, it would not be a shock to see Singleton join the major league club.

C  Darrien Miller - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 19 H, .284/.342/.493 (.835 OPS), 138 wRC+, with 8 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 R, 12 RBI, 3 BB, 11 K, 1 SB
The Brewers ninth rounder in 2019 had a really solid May hitting two home runs and sporting  strong .835 OPS. Miller has had some issues throwing out runners in the past, but has improved upon that in 2023 with a 29.2% caught stealing rate. If he continues to hit and make strides as a thrower, he will be a name to watch.

THE TOP FOUR MAY HITTERS
#4 C Matthew Wood - Carolina Mudcats/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 27 H, .295/.436/.409 (.845 OPS), 152 wRC+, with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 9 R, 22 RBI, 21 BB, 18 K, 1 SB.

Wood is the only player from the April list to repeat on the May list. The Brewers 2022 fourth-round pick was seen as a high-floor catcher who should be able to stick behind the plate, with a very sound approach at the plate. In his first two months in the system he has been able to show all of those traits, doing a good job at the plate and behind it as well. 

In May, the majority of Wood’s damage came while he was still with the Mudcats, where he posted a 200 wRC+ through 11 games, prior to his call up to Wisconsin. In Wisconsin his numbers dipped a bit to a 113 wRC+, which is still nothing to scoff at, but not the same level as the start he got off to in Carolina. Wood hit both his home runs and his doubles in May while with the Mudcats. His triple was as a member of the Timber Rattlers. His walk rate and strikeout rate did change in a negative way as well once he was promoted, though neither are in a bad spot at 21% and 10% respectively. The main point of this is not to rip on Wood, not at all. In fact, he still did very well in his first action at High-A. This context is mainly to point out that he is likely now at the correct level for his talent. A level where he will be challenged more, and where we will be able to learn more about him as a player. 

Wood was moved quickly from Low-A to High-A after his strong start. Wisconsin has proven to be a bit of a tougher challenge for him thus far. It’s likely he will be spending more time there than he did in Carolina. The tools that a major league catcher need to possess are all there for Wood. Now we wait to see if he can continue to put it together like he has the first two months.

#3 IF/OF Patrick Dorrian - Nashville Sounds - 20 H, .299/.365/.627 (.992 OPS), 141 wRC+, with 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 16 R, 17 RBI, 6 BB, 23 K

Unranked by all publications.

Dorrian was an under-the-radar pickup by the Brewers front office last season. Acquired in a trade with Baltimore for cash in June of last year, Dorrian was off to a really poor start in Triple-A for Baltimore, sitting at a 43 wRC+ through 46 games. In the 48 games he played for the Sounds after the trade, he had a 126 wRC+ and showed some very interesting power flashes.

After another slow start to the 2023 season, Dorrian came out swinging in May. His six home runs were third in the organization this month, behind only Jon Singleton and Jeferson Quero (each with seven). Dorrian has a sweet looking, left-handed swing that allows him to generate a good launch angle on the ball and get to his power in games, something he struggled with earlier in his professional career.

Sporting a fantastic 27% line drive rate so far and hitting home runs on 32% of his fly balls, Dorrian is elevating the ball at a good clip and he’s doing it at an ideal launch angle for extra base hits. While most of his power does come to his pull side, Dorrian does have six batted balls hit over 100 MPH to the opposite field this year as well, including one of his home runs, showing an ability to get to the power even on pitches away from him. 

Dorrian’s bat is what placed him on this list, but he has also been able to rotate between second base and third base, as well as a few games at first base, while only committing one error so far this season. He has a strong enough arm for third base, and his hands are pretty good as well. He’s not just a hitter, he has a lot of the tools that a utility player would be asked to possess in the major leagues.

Despite such a great month, Dorrian is likely not knocking on the doorstep of the Brewers roster. Unfortunately for him, there is a lot of depth at the positions he plays. However, he is continuing to make himself known and should that depth deteriorate even further than it already has this season and he continues to swing the bat like he did in May, he may force his way into being given a shot. Sometimes a player gets their chance and runs with it. 

#2  C  Jeferson Quero - Biloxi Shuckers -  .256/.295/.573 (.868 OPS), 128 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 7 home runs, 16 R, 17 RBI, 5 BB, 18 K, 1 SB 

Quero is the Brewer Fanatic #4 prospect after the most recent re-rank. From the moment he signed out of Venezuela in 2019, Quero has been heralded for his makeup and ability to handle a pitching staff, both within the organization and externally. His defense and his arm are his calling cards. As a very good athlete for a catcher, Quero does a great job blocking, as well as picking, pitches in the dirt. His arm is consistently posting pop times in the 1.8-1.9 range and with good accuracy. In 2023 so far Quero has retired nine of 26 that have attempted to steal against him, good for a very impressive 34% caught stealing rate, which would rank sixth in MLB. 

While defense may be his calling card, there was a lot to like with Quero at the plate as well coming into the season. Quero hit ten home runs as a 19 year old catcher in 2022, to go along with a 116 wRC+ between Low-A and High-A. He also showed off a few exit velocities over 105 MPH in the AFL. His bat really exploded onto the scene in May which is what garnered him the number two spot for this month.

His batted ball profile is in a good place, as he is only hitting ground balls at a 37% rate and pulls the ball around half the time. Putting himself in a good position to get to his power. Quero ended the month with 12 extra base hits, including seven home runs, many of which left the bat at over 105 MPH. He was able to keep his strikeout rate to a very reasonable 20% which will be very important for him as he continues to move forward. Quero is not one to draw many walks, so continuing to get the bat to the ball with regularity will be critical to his offensive success. 

Quero’s month was highlighted by a huge week in Chattanooga in which he hit five of his seven home runs, including one game with three home runs and another with two. 

Quero is putting the Brewers in an interesting position. He will certainly be placed on the 40-Man roster this offseason to avoid Rule 5 eligibility. If he continues to perform, the question will become how quickly Quero makes it to MLB, and what the plan becomes with Williams Contreras and Victor Caratini. That will, however, be a good problem to have if they do run into it, and it will likely sort itself out. Hopefully Quero forces the issue and causes the organization to make that call soon.

#1 SS Eric Brown Jr  - 28 H, .344/.439/.467 (.908 OPS), 165 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 19 R, 8 RBI, 14 BB, 15 K, 13 SB, 1 CS

The Brewers first round pick in last year’s draft, Brown Jr is a premium athlete at a premium position. He plays a strong shortstop, where his arm plays well enough, especially with the quick release he uses to get his throws off. His quick twitch athleticism, good range and good hands have allowed him to make some very impressive defensive plays. At times he has seemed to lose concentration and make some errors on some of his more routine plays, but that is not uncommon of younger players. 

In college Brown had a very low strikeout rate and an even lower chase rate to go with some pretty intriguing exit velocity numbers. Brown fell a bit further than his numbers would have indicated because he had a very peculiar looking load and stance in college, as well as some concerns about elevating the ball. He was an analytical darling, but traditional scouts were less excited due to the stance. In 2023 he came in with a load that involves a lot less movement than the one he was sporting last season. The early returns on that change were not great, and it may have actually hurt him to start the year as he got off to a horrific start as he learned to adjust to his new setup. His wRC+ through April was 39. He was hit in the face by a pitch on April 26th, but luckily avoided major injury and after returning on May 3rd, he started hitting much more like one would expect a first rounder to hit.

The 39 wRC+ in April quickly turned to a 165 wRC+ in May, which has raised it all the way to 120 for the full season. Brown reached base in all but two games this past month, and was only hitless in five games. After one double in April, Brown had seven extra base hits in May including his first two home runs of the season. He did this while maintaining nearly a 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio, striking out 15 times while walking 14 times. While seven extra base hits is a solid number, it isn’t going to knock anybody’s socks off. However, Brown’s speed and baserunning abilities, helped him turn a number of his singles into extra base hits by successfully stealing 12 of 13 bases in May. This is the offensive package that the Brewers were expecting when they selected Brown last season and he showed all of it off over the last 30 or so days.

Brown will be 22 for all of the 2023 season so High-A is about right for him in terms of his age. However, as a first-round pick, it is safe to assume the Brewers will look to promote him aggressively, as they did with Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick. Another month or two similar to this one, and he may find himself in Biloxi.

Please feel free to agree or disagree with the rankings. Putting them in order was quite difficult. Age and prospect standing were the deciding factors when settling some of the closer calls. Let us know what you think! 

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