There's Still a Lot of Lurking MLB Interest on the Brewers' Top Minor-League Team

Injuries Dash Hopes of Two Potential Call-Ups
Jeferson Quero tore his labrum in April and had season-ending surgery, nullifying his chances of making his MLB debut this year. As the No. 1-ranked prospect in the Brewers system, he’ll have to wait a little longer to get called up, but with an ETA of 2025, it shouldn’t be too long. With Gary Sánchez hitting free agency at the end of the year and Eric Haase hardly a long-term backup option, Quero will be a great second-string catcher behind William Contreras in the near future. 

Abner Uribe hit the 7-day injured list back in June. He is also out for the season after undergoing knee surgery in July. He was a shadow of himself from 2023, pitching to a 6.91 ERA over 14 ⅓ innings with the Brewers this year. He did, however, manage a 1.04 ERA over 8 ⅔ innings with the Nashville Sounds. Uribe is one of the underdiscussed losses of this season, on a pitching staff filled with them. Hopefully, he'll be back with a vengeance in 2025.

Who Should Get Added to the 28-Man?
Other than "What is my favorite craft beer?", this is the most-asked question by Brewers fans. With a farm system as rich in talent as Milwaukee’s, it can be hard to pick just two names. The most popular choice would undoubtedly be pitching phenom Jacob Misiorowski. The third-ranked prospect in the system and 66th overall prospect in baseball, his sheer potential has made fans clamor for him to be added to the active roster. With a four-seam fastball that topped out at 100.7 mph this year and a curveball with 46.6 inches of vertical drop, it’s no surprise. After posting a 3.50 ERA over 19 starts in Double-A, he has gone on to post a 1.69 ERA over 10 ⅔ innings coming out of the bullpen. He could be a great X-factor for the Crew's October bullpen. At the very least, he'd be a fun sight to see in the final month of the summer.

Along the theme of pitchers, my fellow Indiana University graduate Craig Yoho seems poised to break out, himself. He doesn’t quite get the same amount of attention as Misiorowski, but don’t get it twisted: he’s a ballplayer. His 1.09 ERA and 17.0 K/9 across 49 ⅔ innings of minor-league ball this year speak for themselves. He has only pitched 6 ⅓ innings in Nashville, but has shown that he can compete at the higher levels of the sport.

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For more on the showdown between Yoho and Misiorowski for a September call-up, see Jake McKibbin's recent piece on that very subject.

Tyler Black is another potential name to add, although he already debuted earlier this year. He seemed to struggle at the major-league level with an OPS of just .561 but he only received 57 plate appearances, not enough time to find his footing. He’s got an .842 OPS with Nashville this year over a much more robust sample size of 386 plate appearances.

What about the aptly named Brewer Hicklen? He has been great in right field and he might be an offensive upgrade over Sal Frelick who is currently one of the team’s weakest bats. Hicklen has slashed .250/.367/.484 with 20 home runs, 16 doubles, and five triples. He may not provide the defensive prowess of Frelick, but adding Hicklen would give Pat Murphy more optionality and the team a player with literally the perfect name.

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Check out Matthew Trueblood's article this week on Hicklen and Black for more on that roster battle.

Can Mequon’s Favorite Son Return to His Hometown Team?
After starting the season with Nashville, Owen Miller was called up to replace Christian Yelich in April. He had a disappointing stretch of just 27 plate appearances before being designated for assignment and outrighted in July. He has been okay at the plate for the Sounds, keeping strikeouts low and his average high, but he still lacks impactful power. He has just four home runs over 326 plate appearances and a .115 ISO. 

So what can he do to get back to Milwaukee? For now, it seems like an uphill battle, but perhaps the most straightforward path is to play backup to Brice Turang, who has been floundering after a stellar start to the year. Even then, he’ll have to find himself in a situation where Joey Ortiz is also unavailable to fill in at second base, but Ortiz is very much needed at third right now. Overall, the outlook isn’t good, if his production doesn’t take a big step forward.

Carlos Rodriguez vs. Carlos Rodríguez
Did you know there are two people named Carlos Rodriguez on the team? Separated solely by their middle initial (also handedness, position, country of origin, general appearance, and a bunch of other things), it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between the two. Luckily, I’m here to help you tell them apart.

Carlos Fernando Rodríguez is the 21st-ranked prospect in Milwaukee’s system, and is a right-handed pitcher who actually debuted earlier this year, making three lukewarm starts at the height of the Brewers' starting pitcher injury crisis. With Nashville, he has a 4.56 ERA over 18 starts, but he's had a great August, posting a 2.31 ERA over 23 ⅓ innings. He’s still struggling to minimize hard contact against his fastball, but it’s coming along. I doubt that he’ll make it back to the majors this year over the aforementioned Misiorowski and Yoho, but he’s talented nonetheless.

Carlos David Rodriguez is an outfielder who spent most of the season with Double-A Biloxi before joining his name twin in Triple-A. He has slashed .273/.365/.382 with two doubles and two triples over 63 plate appearances. Yet to hit his first home run with the Sounds, he’s still got a long way to go before being a potential call-up candidate, especially with an already crowded outfield in Milwaukee.

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!