Brewers Minor League Observations: Braylon Payne Has Made a Change and Don't Forget About Tate Kuehner

We're back for another week of farm system observations. This week, we cover a change to Braylon Payne’s stance, a left-handed pitcher from the famous 2023 draft class who may be flying under the radar, and a rejuvenated utility player quietly performing exceptionally well in Biloxi.

All statistics are season-long unless otherwise noted
Braylon Payne - OF - Carolina Mudcats: 222 PA, 115 wRC+, 28.4 K%, 14.4 BB%, 5 HR
The Brewers surprised a lot of people when they selected Payne with the 17th pick in the 2024 draft, though Curt Hogg recently reported that the Dodgers were going to choose him if the Brewers didn’t. After a hot start in Carolina to begin the year, Payne struggled mightily in May, posting a 69 wRC+ with zero extra-base hits. 

Though he had a better start to June, he still only posted an 80 wRC+ and ended up sitting out the final two weeks of the month. He returned on the first of July and had what I believe was the best four-game stretch of his career to this point.

Payne was seen as a slash-and-dash type of player at draft time, but he’s flashed more power in pro ball than most people expected, already posting exit velocities upward of 110 MPH. Payne had a power outage in May, but despite his continued struggles in June, he had an ISO of .216, with five of his 11 hits being of the extra-base variety. 

He showed his power ability this past week with the above home run, as well as a double, but he also flashed contact skills that had been severely lacking for much of the season—as evidenced by his 35.5% whiff rate.

It was a minuscule sample, but in 20 plate appearances this past week, he only whiffed at a 17.6% rate, and he only struck out one time. Unsurprisingly, given his speed and athleticism, getting the ball in play led to a considerable amount of success. It was a nice glimpse at the potential that he possesses. He is capable of hitting the ball hard in the air. He’s also capable of beating out infield hits on balls on the ground. The profile is currently very similar to Garrett Mitchell’s at the plate, both in the batted-ball profile and Payne’s ability to draw walks at a strong rate, and on the negative side: the issues with whiffs.

What stood out to me this week was that Payne has also made some changes to his stance and load pattern since the beginning of the year. Now in a more upright, straight-legged stance, he sinks into his hip a bit more during his load, but his head appears to stay a bit more still with this adjustment, which could potentially help him curtail some of those whiff concerns. There also seems to be less drift in his backside with the new setup. See the swing from early in the season below, and compare it to the home run he hit this week.

As one of the younger players in full-season ball, Payne’s up-and-down season is unsurprising. Despite the months' worth of struggles, he’s still been 15% better than league average at the plate and has shown his offensive tools all season. I think the new stance and load could help him become more consistent as he moves forward. There’s still room to grow in terms of the optimization of his swing, but I think he's taken a step in the right direction.

Tate Kuehner - LHP - Biloxi Shuckers: 76.2 IP, 2.82 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 27.1 K%, 13.5 BB%, 32 Whiff%
The Brewers' seventh-round selection in the 2023 draft, Kuehner signed for a below-slot $72,500 signing bonus and spent the majority of his time at Louisville in a relief role. Only 12 of his appearances out of 64 total were starts. Since being drafted, 36 of his 41 have been starts. This season, all 16 appearances have been starts in Double-A. He’s been at his best the last 10 starts, and I’ve watched most of them, including his most recent.

Kuehner was sitting in the upper 80s as a junior in college but made a jump into the 92-94 range as a senior. He has ticked that up another mile per hour or so since entering pro ball as well, now sitting 93-95 and touching 97. He holds his velocity late into his starts. Throwing from a low slot—nearly sidearm—he started generating more run on the pitch during his senior year. That slot allows the pitch to play well up in the zone due to the vertical approach angle, and the run helps it play low, too, as evidenced by his 48.1% groundball rate.

Building around his interesting fastball, Kuehner yields a secondary mix of upper-80s sliders, mid-80s changeups, as well as an upper-70s curveball. The changeup has evolved from a pitch he rarely used in college (due to an inability to command it) to one of his most effective weapons against right-handed hitters, generating up to 18 inches of armside movement on the pitch.

The curveball and slider were more of a slurve-type pitch for him at Louisville, but he has been able to separate it into these two distinct offerings. He shows a comfort level in throwing both of the breaking balls against righties and lefties, which goes a long way. The curve has been a good swing-and-miss pitch for him, while Kuehner uses the slider more like a cutter early in counts, attacking the zone with the pitch.

The issue for Kuehner has largely been tied to his struggles to throw strikes, but when I watch him pitch, he seems like a rare pitcher who has better command than control. He seems to throw the ball in the vicinity of where he wants it to go, but his misses are often out of the zone rather than missing in hittable spots. If he attempts to throw a pitch on the outside corner, he’s much more likely to miss outside than over the plate.

Having watched Brandon Woodruff on Sunday, constantly on the attack, I couldn’t help but wonder if Kuehner’s walk issues could dissipate with a simple change in mindset. His current approach is closer to that of Jose Quintana, but Kuehner has better stuff than the 2025 version of Quintana. Kuehner generates whiffs at a well above-average clip and is racking up strikeouts. Could a change in mindset and approach improve his command to the point where he can stick as a starter? If not, Kuehner has the type of stuff and delivery that could very easily translate to a bullpen role, where walks can be forgiven a bit more easily. Either way, I view Kuehner as a likely future big-league pitcher, which would be an impressive outcome for a senior-sign, below-slot pick.

Ethan Murray - UTIL - Biloxi Shuckers: 170 PA, 161 wRC+, 24.7 K%, 13.5 BB%, 7 HR
Murray was the Brewers' fifth-round pick out of Duke in 2021. He climbed the ladder to Double-A rather quickly, but has stalled out there over the last three seasons. Some of this was due to injury, but even after recovering from an injury, there was also a significant drop-off in his performance in 2024. His 61 wRC+ last year (after a 100 mark in 2023) was a bit of a surprise for me, as I had started to view him as someone who could fill an Andruw Monasterio-esque platoon role at some point. His impressive performance this year has me considering that a legitimate possibility again.

A high walk rate and average bat-to-ball skills have primarily driven Murray’s offensive profile. Neither of those skills has declined in any way in 2025, but the quality of contact has improved tremendously. Murray hit his seventh home run of the season this week, a career high for him, which he accomplished in only 170 plate appearances. There has been a lot of hard contact this year, after showing very few signs of power in 2024. Last season, he put up an ISO of only .076, mustering only 16 extra-base hits. He’s matched that tally so far in 2025, and he’s done so in 147 fewer plate appearances. He doesn’t quite reach the plate appearance threshold, but Murray’s 161 wRC+ would be fourth among all qualified Southern League hitters.

I genuinely believe that Murray’s bat has taken a step forward, beyond the raw stats. If it has, it could unlock a higher level for him, considering defense was always going to be his primary tool. He’s spent the majority of his time this year at second base, letting Cooper Pratt handle shortstop and Brock Wilken handle third before his injury, but he has experience at both spots, including this season. He can handle himself well with the glove at any of the three positions, and his solid-average throwing arm is capable of performing at any infield spot. He’s even added a little outfield versatility to his game this year, making five starts in left field.

Murray is 25 years old and probably deserves a shot in Triple-A right now. He's another victim of the infield depth throughout the system. His defensive versatility, improved bat, and all-around baseball acumen—which are regularly on display when you watch him play—make him a prime candidate to be a future MLB utility player. Now, he just needs to stay healthy and get the chance to showcase his abilities at the Triple-A level. 

That’s all I’ve got for this week; let us know what you think in the replies!

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