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In recent seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers have tinkered around the margins, without ever really pushing their chips in. A part of that is down to the farm system, where Milwaukee needs to have a steady stream of talent coming through to remain competitive with the bigger-market teams in baseball. Although they've had a highly ranked system in recent seasons, one thing they lacked was strong depth in the upper minors. A lot of that strength came from the upper end of their system, with Jackson Chourio, Jacob Misiorowski and Jeferson Quero carrying the rankings. In 2025, that's all changed.
From top to bottom, the Brewers have a plethora of options to trade from: young, controllable pitching that's ready to impact the big leagues, as well as a logjam's worth of bats capable of playing both corner infield spots. In some ways, they would be suppressing the talent they have not to trade some of their higher-value chips at the deadline.
The Depth of Corner Infield Assets Is Staggering
The logjam at third base presents three high-upside bats, all of whom possess trade intrigue. Between Luke Adams and Brock Wilken, the Brewers have two players in the difficult offensive environment of the Southern League with a weighted runs created plus (WRC+) at 170 or higher, where 100 is average and higher is better. Wilken has garnered the bulk of playing time at third base, and has shown enough improvement in mobility to be a fringe defender there, while Adams showcases better athleticism but more inconsistent actions.
Both have prodigious raw power and approaches bordering on passive, with high walk rates (and in the case of Adams, hit-by-pitch rates). Adams swings and misses less than Wilken, but also taps into the long ball less often (Wilken leads the Southern league with 18 home runs by a full five homers, despite missing the last few weeks). Adams has perhaps the greater upside of the two, but if not for injuries, Wilken would be the closer to the big leagues. While both are currently on the injured list, they would both have a chance to make an impact in 2026 in the major leagues, and both would be prized assets in a trade.
As an even higher-upside player (although one with considerably higher variance), Eric Bitonti could flow into the conversation, as well. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with more raw power anywhere in the minor leagues, and Bitonti is still just 19 years old. He entered the system as a shortstop, before moving over to third and then (predominantly) first base amidst the other athletic infield options on the Carolina Mudcats roster. There are swing-and-miss concerns, and his stock has come down because of them, but it's too early to write off the chance that his hit tool progresses and everything takes off.
Whether he can find more consistent plate coverage and adjustability in the strike zone remains to be seen as Bitonti matures and develops, and if not, he'd rate as much less valuable than Adams or Wilken, but the giant first baseman fields his position well and would create some serious intrigue around the league, were he on the table.
The reason the Brewers can afford to trade from these positions is the volume of depth they possess. Retaining one of Wilken, Bitonti or Adams alongside Blake Burke should be enough, with Jesus Made and Luis Peña looking to progress to High A Wisconsin on the left side of the infield, while they also have a plethora of first-base options in Triple A. The system is chock-full of talent, to the point where Wilken and Adams were unable to force promotions earlier in the season, and they can use that logjam to their advantage come the deadline. In fact, in a sense, they need to. Room must be made for their incoming draft class.
Who Doesn't Love MLB-Ready Starting Pitching?
The other area of surplus from which they can make a splash is their starting pitching depth, most of which is ready to make an impact at the major-league level. The rotation of Jacob Misiorowski, Brandon Woodruff, Jose Quintana, Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester looks well-poised to perform going into the dog days of summer, but the return of Nestor Cortes after the All-Star break (alongside the controllable contracts of Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson and Tobias Myers) ensures there's room for movement.
The Brewers will look at this from the (cue groans) bites-of-the-apple angle, seeing what their rotation depth looks like in future seasons as well as this one. With Peralta under control on an affordable club option for one more season and pre-arbitration team control in effect for Misiorowski, Priester, Henderson, Patrick and Myers (on top of some burgeoning depth in Triple A in the form of Coleman Crow and (potentially) Tyson Hardin), the Brewers could enter next season with as many as eight players they would feel comfortable pitching big-league innings as a starter.
Even then, we're excluding the opportunities for DL Hall and Aaron Ashby to move back into starting roles, something both pitchers were expected to do in 2025 before injury setbacks pushed them into long relief. With those two stretched out, you could have a double-digit number of arms capable of starting games in 2026.
Priester and Henderson are expected to stay, but Myers has begun to showcase some improvements lately, including a 97.8 mph fastball and a returning feel for his changeup—culminating in winning the International League Pitcher of the Week last week. Patrick's cutter is one of the best in baseball. His slider actually grades out favorably in stuff models. If he can gain some command for it, or even feel for a changeup (as a supinator, is he a prime kick-change candidate?), then his profile goes from back-end starter to a mid-rotation arm. Even Hall, whose fastball appears to be slowly returning after working to clean up the mechanical deficiencies caused by his knee issues in 2024, may be attractive to other teams in a starting role. If that fastball shape continues to showcase in July, his value will grow.
In short, the Brewers could use one of their controllable arms to make a big move, as well. Teams like the Diamondbacks (with Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez on the block), the Texas Rangers (Adolís García) and the Boston Red Sox (Alex Bregman) all have high-value assets, and all of them would enjoy some controllable, effective starting pitching.
Were the Brewers to package Adams, Wilken or Bitonti with an MLB-proven arm with years of team control remaining, they could provide a hefty offer for any of the assets named above. It leaves them with options without compromising their future and that is exactly where the Milwaukee Brewers need to be.
The team is firing. They have a strong rotation and a lights-out bullpen. They have guts and grit and bat-to-ball skills coming out of their oxsters. When you have a stack of "chips" as large as the Brewers', you can certainly afford to take a risk. The time to move is now.
What would you think of the Brewers trading the above assets to get a big trade deadline boost in the form of a bat with thump? Would you consider it fair, even if the bat was a rental (or rental plus one for Garcia)? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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