In Wake Of Joey Ortiz Injury, Could Cooper Pratt Have Path to October Baseball?

Joey Ortiz's injury may be a worst-case scenario for the Milwaukee Brewers. The one position where they have a very limited assortment of depth is shortstop. Every other position appears stocked with at least a capable reserve, either on their 26-man roster or with their Triple-A affiliate in Nashville.

Ortiz's bat has been polarizing, at times producing hard line drives to the opposite field and at other times becoming a pop-up machine, but his defense over the last few months has been outstanding. His first step has been more on time and his range has improved to the point where he may be one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball over the past couple of months. The way the Brewers value that infield defense, it's a critical loss, if Ortiz is sidelined for any significant length of time. Right now, that does seem possible.

Andruw Monasterio has filled in for Ortiz this season on occasion and, surprisingly, has looked capable in the six hole—although he doesn't inspire a ton of confidence defensively over a larger sample size. In all honesty, his plate appearances might be better than Ortiz's, especially in terms of his ball/strike recognition, and he should be a capable short-term solution. The team doesn't need to tap an inexperienced, low-ceiling backup like Freddy Zamora (whose bat is unlikely to play at all in the major leagues) or Ethan Murray (a capable utility infielder with great defensive showings this season, but still raw in Triple A).

Here's where Cooper Pratt comes in. If the Brewers want to succeed in October, you can bet that a strong defense will play a big role in that. It's no coincidence that the turnaround in Ortiz's defensive fortunes has coincided with the recent run of form from the Brewers, with plays like this leading the way. Andruw Monasterio, on his best day, isn't capable of this kind of play:

Just to be clear, Pratt should NOT be promoted straight to the big leagues, but he was likely to get a promotion to Triple A soon, anyway. That decision should be sped up if Ortiz is out for the rest of the season. Pratt has a minor-league Gold Glove and, by all accounts, has become one of the best shortstops in the minor leagues. It's plays like these in critical moments that can have big implications in playoff baseball:

The bat also seems to be coming around. Pratt doesn't have big bat speed, but there's more power to be tapped into from his frame. Some of that appears to be bearing fruit of late, with tweaks to his leg kick that are helping him be on time for the 93+ mph fastballs he struggled with earlier in the season. Aram Leighton of Just Baseball highlighted Pratt's struggles against any form of velocity in a pre-season podcast, and the changes below may illustrate why those happened—and why it's less of a concern now.

Back in spring training, Pratt was finding ways to get the good part of the bat on the ball, but the coil in his front hip was making him slightly late getting through the hitting zone.

Contrast that with his more recent power surges, and you can see that, although he still has the leg kick, he doesn't rotate excessively, and is finding himself out in front and pulling a lot of fly balls. The exit velocities haven't been massive, but the balls have gone a long, long way out of the park (similar to some of the changes Matt Shaw has made to unlock himself since the All-Star break). Note that one of these is Pratt turning on and crushing one of those aforementioned 93+ mph fastballs.

Pratt has also made strides in his chase rate this season, seeing considerable improvement in his rolling 120-pitch sample.

Ideally, the Brewers would like to give Pratt more time to see if the changes he's made are more than just a small-sample burst. If Ortiz is out for the season, however, they may not have that luxury, and with tangible changes on top of Pratt's improved swing decisions, they should consider pushing him aggressively to see how these stack up against Triple-A opposition. 

If the power output and improved batted-ball quality continue at the higher level, he may be primed for an opportunity in mid-September. The expanded rosters (and potentially having the division clinched by that point) allow the Brewers some luxury in testing the waters with Pratt. His defensive acumen, combined with a higher ceiling with the bat than the available alternatives at Triple A, would say the Brewers should at least give him a shot of forcing his way into the playoff picture.

At worst, Pratt gets to sample Triple-A pitching slightly earlier than intended and hits a roadblock. The best case is, he takes to it like a duck to water. For a Brewers organization who love depth and options, it seems like a no-brainer. Hopefully, Ortiz's injury is relatively mild and this will be moot, but it's good to think proactively in moments like these.

What do you think of pushing Cooper Pratt to Triple A in the wake of Joey Ortiz's injury? Do you think his simplified pre-swing mechanics are significant enough to gamble on? Do you see a route to him earning opportunities in September with the big league club? Let us know in the comments below!