The Top 20 Milwaukee Brewers Player Assets of 2024: Part 2 (11-15)

 For a more through explanation on these rankings and how they are developed, check out Sunday's Part 1 introduction post. The short version: Which players currently in the Brewers organization are most crucial toward developing a championship-caliber team? To rank the Brewers players and prospects, we consider things like age, contract status, years of control, ceiling/potential, and more. 

Here is who ranked 16-20 in Part 1: 
20. Brice Turang, 2B
19. Luis Lara, OF
18. Wade Miley, LHP
17. Garrett Mitchell, OF
16. Brock Wilken, 3B 

Now, let's get to our choices for numbers 11 through 15 on this year's list. 

15. OF Joey Wiemer (24) 
Joey Wiemer has been a top prospect for the Brewers for the past couple of years and has been in the second half of the Top 100 prospect rankings. He was the Brewers fourth-round pick in 2020 out of the University of Cincinnati. The 6-4, 220-pound outfielder has big-time power potential, has plus speed, and plays tremendous defense wherever he is placed in the outfield. His best tool might be his powerful arm. Through his years in the minor leagues, his stats support his tools. He hit a ton of doubles and had over 20 homers in 2021 and 2022. He had 30 or more steals in both of those seasons. 

The one tool that Wiemer struggled with the most is the “Hit” tool, and that has been a more significant issue as he has moved up the ladder. In two levels of A-ball in 2021, he struck out 22%. In 2022, he played 84 games at Double-A and 43 at Triple-A. He struck out 27% of the time. In 132 games with the Brewers in 2023, he struck out 28% of the time. The big difference is in his walk rate. He walked well over 10% of the time in the minor leagues. He walked 8.8% of his plate appearances with the Brewers, but many of his at-bats were quick and lacked strike-zone control. 

It was a rough first season in the big leagues, but now Wiemer has a chance to work through it. Don’t forget, he still has power. He still has speed. He still plays excellent defense and has a strong arm. There is value in all of that. However, based on his minor-league track record, there is no reason to believe he can’t at least push his on-base percentage above .320 or even higher. 

14. C Jeferson Quero (21)
In the summer of 2019, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Venezuelan catching prospect Jeferson Quero to a $200,000 signing bonus. With the lost 2020 season, he didn’t make his professional debut until 2021, when he played 23 games in the Arizona Complex League. In 2022, he started the season by playing 75 games at Low-A Carolina and ended with 20 strong games at High-A Wisconsin. He added 15 more games in the Arizona Fall League.  

As a 20-year-old, in 2023, he hit .262/.339/.441 (.779) with 12 doubles and 16 home runs. After the season, he was added to the Brewers 40-man roster. Since then, the Brewers added Eric Haase to a major-league contract and veteran Austin Nola to a minor-league deal. Quero has been a Top 100 prospect the past couple of offseasons and is a consensus Top 50 prospect. As we know, catching is such an important position and can certainly be a position of attrition. So, having depth at the position is good. William Contreras is the starter and a perennial All-Star and team MVP candidate. Quero should get the bulk of playing time at Triple-A Nashville this season. Signing the veterans allows the front office to be patient with a very young backstop with a bright future.  Quero is currently the #2 prospect per Brewer Fanatic. 

13. RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (22)  
Carlos Rodriguez, the pitcher, was the Brewers sixth-round draft pick in 2021 after a season of junior college at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers. In 2022, he posted a 3.53 ERA in 19 games (13 starts) for Carolina. In 71 1/3 innings, he walked 27 and struck out 84 batters. He moved to High-A Wisconsin, where he made seven starts and went 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA. In 36 1/3 innings, he walked 13 and struck out 45 batters. The Brewers named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2022. 

In 2023, he began the season early and was the #1 starter for Team Nicaragua in the WBC. Rodriguez was born in Nicaragua, but his family moved to Miami when he was eight. He went to Miami Christian High School. When the regular season began, Rodriguez went to Double-A Biloxi, where he went 9-6 in 25 starts. He had a 2.77 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 152 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings despite being more than three years younger than the average player in the Southern League. He ended the season with one start in Triple-A. He was named the Brewer Fanatic Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row, and again the Brewers choice for minor-league co-pitcher of the year with #12 on this list, Robert Gasser.  

Rodriguez is an interesting pitcher. He generally sits in the low 90s with his fastball, but he has hit 96 mph at times as well. He also throws a sinker and a cutter. He mixes and matches well with different speeds and movements on his pitches. Rodriguez is Brewer Fanatic's #7-ranked prospect. 

12. LHP Robert Gasser (24) 
After a strong 2021 season at the University of Houston in which he posted a 2.63 ERA and had 105 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings, Gasser was the Padres second-round pick. He began the 2022 season at High-A Fort Wayne and was 4-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 18 starts. However, he had 115 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings. At that time, the Brewers traded Josh Hader to the Padres, and Gasser was a big piece in the return. Milwaukee has been very aggressive with him. They sent him to Double-A Biloxi, where he made four starts. His season ended with five starts for Triple-A Nashville. 

In 2023, he made 25 starts and one relief appearance, all for Nashville. He went 9-1 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. And with those numbers, he was named the Brewers co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year. The southpaw throws a four-seam fastball in the low 90s and a two-seamer from a lower angle. He’s got a good cutter and has a sweeper and a changeup. He certainly profiles well as a starter. He will head to spring training with an opportunity to be in the starting rotation on Opening Day. We all know how important pitching is. Brewers fans have seen how valuable strong starting pitching can be in carrying a team. With Brandon Woodruff a free agent and no resolution to the Corbin Burnes situation, pitchers like Carlos Rodriguez and Robert Gasser are very important to the organization’s future.  

Gasser is Brewer Fanatic's #5-ranked prospect right now.  

11. RH RP Abner Uribe (23)  
The Brewers signed Abner Uribe out of the Dominican Republic in July 2018 for a signing bonus of just $85,000. Blessed with a big arm, the Brewers have often been cautious with him. He pitched in just 12 games in 2018 and seven games in 2019. After the lost 2020 season, he worked in 17 games for Carolina in 2021. In 33 2/3 innings, he had 52 strikeouts but 25 walks. He then pitched in eight games in Arizona. In 2022, he pitched in just two games before injuring his knee. He had a torn meniscus and had surgery, which cost him the rest of his season. He did pitch in nine games in the Fall League and then was added to the 40-man roster. 

In 2023, he began at Biloxi. In 15 games, he was 1-0 with seven saves and a 1.80 ERA. In 15 innings, he struck out 28 and walked nine batters. In mid-June, he was moved to Triple-A Nashville and worked eight innings over seven games. He had 13 strikeouts and seven walks. Three weeks later, Uribe was called up to the Brewers. He worked in 32 games for the Brewers and had a 1.76 ERA. In 30 2/3 innings, he gave up just 16 hits, walked 20 batters, and struck out 39 batters. He gave up runs in just three of his first 30 appearances. 

Blessed with a fastball that touches 102-103, Uribe has some of the most electric stuff in baseball. His sinker averaged 99.5 mph in the big leagues. He also has a devastating slider. As you can see, he can rack up strikeouts in a hurry. However, he also can put guys on base via walk quite often. He doesn't give up many hits, so he can be very effective. Indeed, he will need to throw more strikes. If that can happen, he has the potential to be among the best closers in the league. Until then, he can set up Devin Williams.    

That’s all for today’s installment of five players. In the coming days, I will return and continue the countdown with our picks for numbers 6 to 10. For now, let me know what you think of the choices for 11-20. Would you rearrange any of them? Do any of them jump out to you? 

To recap, here is the first installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists: 
20. Brice Turang, 2B
19. Luis Lara, OF
18. Wade Miley, LHP
17. Garrett Mitchell, OF
16. Brock Wilken, 3B
15. Joey Wiemer, OF
14. Jeferson Quero, C 
13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP
12. Robert Gasser, LHP 
11. Abner Uribe, RH RP