The Top 20 Milwaukee Brewers Player Assets of 2024: Part 3 (6-10)

For a more thorough 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. 

To catch you up, here are the first two installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists. If you missed either of the first two parts, you can click into Part 1 (16-20) and Part 2 (11-15):

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

With that reminder, let’s see who we have in the sixth through tenth spots:

10. RHP Jacob Misiorowski, RHP 
Jacob Misiorowski grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri, a small city just east of Kansas City on Highway 70. He became a star at Grain Valley High School. He wanted to mature and grow somewhere close to home, so he headed  south down highway 49 to Neosho, Missouri, where he went to Crowder College. He was immediately being recruited by most of the top college baseball programs, hoping to have him join their team for the next two years. Ultimately, Misiorowski committed to LSU. However, plans change. 

With their second-round pick in the 2022 draft, the Brewers selected the 6-7, lanky righty from the junior college. That summer, he pitched in just two games for Carolina. The Brewers were remarkably patient with Misiorowski early in the season. Obviously they want to protect such a huge arm, but he also has a big-time history of issuing a lot of walks. He made nine starts for Carolina to start the 2023 season and managed just 26 2/3 innings. He gave up just 10 hits, walked 12 and struck out 46 batters. He moved up to High-A Wisconsin where he made six starts and posted a 1.90 ERA. In 23 2/3 innings, he gave up 15 hits, walked 14 and struck out 28 batters. He was then pushed up to Double-A Biloxi for five more starts. In 21 innings, he gave up 17 hits, walked 16 (hit 11!) and struck out 36. Overall, he had a remarkable 110 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings (13.9%), but he also walked 42 batters (5.3 BB/9). However, from level-to-level, his walk rate jumped from 4.1 to 5.3 to 6.9. 

Based solely on his arm and his youth and those strikeout numbers, Misiorowski should be much higher on this list. But there remain several questions. First and foremost, can he gain enough control and command of the strike zone to be effective? Can he gain enough strength and stamina to consistently provide five or six innings most times out? That doesn’t have to happen right away, not even in 2024, but probably by 2025. Misiorowski throws gas, frequently hitting triple digits. He’s got a slider and a curveball that can be wipe out pitches with more consistency. If he’s able to develop those things, and a more consistent changeup too, he could eventually be a top-of-rotation starter. If not, he can still be a very valuable and potentially dominant bullpen arm, but even those guys can’t issue a ton of walks. One year from now, there is a chance that Misiorowski sits in the top three on this list, or he could fall 10 or more spots. 

9. OF Christian Yelich (32)  
Christian Yelich joined the Brewers after a massive trade six years ago in a trade that sent four minor-leaguers to the Marlins. In 2018, Yelich hit .326/.402/.598 (1.000) with 35 doubles, seven triples, 36 home runs, 110 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. He made his first All-Star team, won a Silver Slugger, and was named the National League MVP. The next season, he was even better. He hit .329/.429/.671 (1.100) with 29 doubles, three triples, 44 homers, 97 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. He was an All Star, won his third total Silver Slugger and finished second (to Cody Bellinger) in MVP voting. He signed a nine-year, $215 million contract with an option for 2029. 

Since then, things just have not gone well for Yelich. He had somewhat of a comeback season in 2023. He hit .278/.370/.447 (.818) with 34 doubles, 19 homers, 76 RBI and 28 stolen bases. It was the first time his OPS was over .790 for the first time since 2019. That’s not to say that he’s not valuable. He plays solid defense in left field. He takes a ton of walks. He really no longer is a middle-of-the-lineup hitter, but he can be a good guy at the top of the lineup, setting up those thumpers. He won’t turn 33 until December. And he had some extended stretches of really strong play in 2023. Yelich has five years and $136.5 million remaining on the contract. Yes, there is a no-trade clause, but it’s hard to imagine that the Brewers could get a team to take on that contract, much less get any prospect capital for him. 

8. IF Tyler Black (23)
Is it just me, or does it seem that there are more and more Canadians in the upper levels of the minor leagues and reaching the big leagues. In 2024, Tyler Black is likely to make his debut with the Brewers, maybe as early as Opening Day. Black grew up in Aurora, Ontario, a city about 49 km north of Toronto. After high school, Black went to Wright State University in Ohio, a small Division I school. In his two non-Covid seasons there, he posted OPS over 1.070. In 2021, the Brewers had the 15th overall pick and selected Sal Frelick out of Boston College. With a Competitive Balance A selection, Milwaukee drafted Tyler Black.  He finished that season with 23 games in Low-A Carolina. 

In 2022, he played 64 games for Wisconsin and hit .281/.406/.424 (.831) with 13 doubles, four triples, and four home runs. He missed half the season with injury, so he was sent to the Arizona Fall League where he got 76 more plate appearances. That brings us to 2023. He began the year with 84 games at Double-A Biloxi. He hit .273/.412/.513 (.925) with 16 doubles, eight triples, and 14 home runs. He ended the season with 39 games at Triple-A Nashville where he hit .310/.428/.514 (.942) with nine doubles, four triples, and four home runs. He filled the stat line! 25 doubles, 12 triples. 18 home runs. He had started to show some power, and many believe there is more potential. Sure, he struck out 100 times (17.9%), but he also walked 88 times (15.8%). A new skill? He had 55 stolen bases in 67 attempts. 

There are varying reports on his defense. In 2023, he made 97 starts at third base with just 16 at first base. He had a .938 fielding percentage, which isn’t great, but he isn’t a butcher. Black is a Top 5 third base prospect, easily in all Top 100 prospect rankings. He’s got patience and power and speed, so if the defense can be just adequate, he could become a star. He is not on the team’s 40-man roster yet, but he will head to spring training with an opportunity to win a starting job.

7. SS Willy Adames (28) 
After spending three-plus seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Adames was traded to the Brewers in 2021 and then put up the best stretch of his career. Over the final 99 games of that season, he hit .285/.366/.521 (.886) with 26 doubles and 20 home runs and was instrumental in leading the Brewers to the playoffs. His numbers have declined the last two seasons. Still, in 2022, he hit .238/.298/.458 (.756) with 31 doubles, 31 home runs and 98 RBI. 2023 was rough. In 149 games, he hit .217/.310/.407 (.717) with 29 doubles and 24 homers. 

Adames remains valuable for several reasons. First, even with his disappointing numbers, he provided good power numbers and drove in a lot of runs. Second, he is also a very good defensive shortstop, and he is a leader in the infield and in the clubhouse. His 2024 contract is reasonable enough that most teams would be willing to trade for him before the deadline. 

That said, earlier in the offseason, there were a lot of Corbin Burnes trade rumors. Have we heard any rumors about the Brewers looking to move Adames? If not, is it because the Brewers hope he gets off to a great start so they can deal him, or is it because they just really want to keep him around and potentially sign him to a long term deal?

6. RH RP Devin Williams (29) 
Devin Williams, aka The Airbender, has been as dominant as any late-inning reliever going back to 2020 when he won the NL Rookie of the Year award. Looking back at his numbers, he was 4-1 with a 0.33 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP. He also had 53 strikeouts in 27 innings! However, it took a long journey for Williams to become an overnight success. He was the Brewers second-round pick in 2013 out of high school in Hazelwood, Missouri, a northwest suburb of St. Louis. 

Williams made his first All Star game in 2022, and soon after, Josh Hader was traded. Williams became the team’s closer and kept getting better. He ended the season with a 1.93 ERA. He was an All Star again in 2023 and went 8-3 with 36 saves and a 1.53 ERA. I am sorry for so many numbers, but what Williams has done in parts of five seasons is astonishing. In 219 games, he is 26-10 with 54 saves, an ERA of 1.89 and a WHIP of 1.03. He keeps the ball in the ballpark. 

Now, how long will he be with the organization? There was some concern earlier in the offseason that maybe he could be traded. He is in his second arbitration and recently signed a one year, $7.25 million contract with an option for 2025. He will make $7 million in 2024. After the season, he has an option for 2025 worth $10.5 million with just a $250,000 buyout. For one of the best relievers in all of baseball, those are very reasonable numbers, and could actually increase his trade value. 

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 the top five Brewers player assets heading into the 2024 season. For now, let me know what you think of the choices for 6-20. 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
10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP
9. Christian Yelich, OF 
8. Tyler Black, 3B/1B
7. Willy Adames, SS
6. Devin Williams, RH RP