Harold Hutchison

Makes me miss Wes Clarke...

Over his last three games, Rengifo's had four hits in 15 at-bats - all of them doubles. I think some of it has been bad luck, but from what I've seen to date, he's getting some good contact. Hamilton's been an OBP/speed machine for the team. If there is someone who should be the "odd guy out," I'd say it's Ortiz. He's not been horrible, but his OPS (.591) is lower than Rengifo's.

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images The regular season is not the ideal time to have a roster battle. For one thing, the games count in the standings, and when you don’t have a roster spot sorted out in the regular season, it can put some games in the 'L' column that may not have needed to be there. That said, in the wake of an injury to Jackson Chourio and a lack of collective faith in Blake Perkins, the Brewers have created an in-season roster battle for the fourth outfielder spot. As has been the case with some of their other roster battles, it’s hard to see how the team could go wrong. They have Perkins, who seems to have fallen out of favor but has a high floor; Brandon Lockridge, about whom the organization is more excited; and a newcomer, in ex-Giants outfielder Luis Matos. The Current Situation The Brewers found out shortly before Opening Day that Jackson Chourio had a fractured finger, suffered during a March 4 game in the World Baseball Classic. Remembering how the decision by William Contreras to tough out a similar injury had affected his offense, the team put Chourio on the injured list to recover, calling up Perkins from Triple-A Nashville to backfill the spot. The Brewers had planned to roll with Brandon Lockridge as the fourth outfielder before Chourio’s injury. Lockridge is now, of course, splitting time with Jake Bauers in left. So, how does this competition shake out? Let’s look over the three players. Blake Perkins Perkins, in one sense, is the most proven commodity. He was an elite defensive center fielder in 2023 and 2024, and his defense has been his calling card. Offensively, he's been at least intermittently competent, with his primary offensive asset being his speed. His pesky style at the plate can often draw his at-bats out, even when they end in outs. That can have an effect on the field, even if the box score doesn’t look pretty. Don’t take my word for it; just ask White Sox Opening Day starter Shane Smith what happens when a pitch count runs up. Perkins is a valuable complementary piece for the team, and while his offensive stats are weak and worsening, he sometimes enables Brice Turang, William Contreras, Christian Yelich, and Chourio to do the real damage against a pitcher he’s helped to wear down. Brandon Lockridge During spring training, Lockridge looked very impressive, powering four home runs en route to a 1.059 OPS. Not bad for a player who was picked up in a late-season rush for outfield depth after Chourio went on the injured list with a hamstring injury, in exchange for Nestor Cortes and minor-league prospect Jorge Quintana (who had been bypassed by Jesus Made and Luis Pena). Lockridge is someone manager Pat Murphy has been high on, and on teams with far less outfield depth, he’d probably be a solid starter. He’s got more speed and plays excellent defense, but it remains to be seen if he can translate his spring training breakout into regular-season results. His numbers (.348/.423/.391) so far reinforce the spring success and a big increase in bat speed hints that it's sustainable, but it's been all of 27 plate appearances. Luis Matos Matos was an intriguing pickup for the Brewers, partially because they already had a lot of outfield depth on the 40-man roster. In addition to Chourio, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Perkins, and Lockridge, there’s also Akil Baddoo, Christian Yelich, Bauers and Tyler Black, and only after they brought in Matos and made Cooper Pratt's extension official did they jettison Steward Berroa. However, Matos is only 24, and his bat could be quite dynamic. He's shown the capacity to play above-average defense in the corner spots, too. The issue with Matos, of course, is roster flexibility. The Brewers were able to pick him up for some cash because Matos was designated for assignment and is out of minor-league options. In essence, hitting coach Daniel Vogelbach and his team will have to develop Matos in Milwaukee. That said, Matos is much younger (24) than Perkins and Lockridge (both of whom are 29), so the upside could be longer-lasting if they can hold onto him and tap into his talent. Overview It’s hard to see how the Brewers could go wrong with any of these players when Chourio returns from the injured list. With minor-league options, Perkins and Lockridge could go down to Nashville. Matos may have an edge, simply because he can't similarly be shuttled down, but he'll have to quickly prove he can make the changes the team wants to see from him. For now, Lockridge remains the obvious leader of the pack. View full article

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images With baseball season just underway, hope abounds for the fans of all 30 Major League Baseball franchises. We don’t really know much else, beyond the fact that 29 of those fanbases will be somewhere between bitter and heartbroken by the end of the World Series, but there is more to professional baseball than the major-league squad. There’s the farm system. Milwaukee, of course, has the best farm system in MLB. But what will happen? There’s a lot of good chaos in the system, which makes it tough to predict what will happen in 2026. That said, here are seven predictions. 1. Cooper Pratt Will Not Be The Only Top 20 Prospect To Sign A Long-Term Deal Brewers fans were stunned to hear about Pratt’s eight-year, $50.75-million contract, which could become a 10-year, $81-million deal if two team options are exercised. Pratt was the fourth-ranked prospect in the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 and MLB.com Pipeline’s Top 30 for the Brewers, and many expected top prospect Jesus Made to be the one the team signed. However, the fact that Pratt signed an extension doesn’t rule out the Brewers also working something out with Made. If anything, this move may make it more likely that Made will agree to a deal, although his would be closer to the deal Jackson Chourio got before the 2024 season. The organization may also want to lock down Luis Pena, with his elite exit velocities. With all of the uncertainty about 2027, the Brewers may want to put themselves in a position where they can shed payroll and stock the system in the event of a lengthy labor dispute. Meanwhile, Made and Peña could have interest in what's becoming a league-wide trend: Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson joined Pratt in signing pre-debut deals a day after news of Pratt's signing leaked. 2. Brock Wilken Will Make His MLB Debut—with a Different Franchise It might seem unheard of for the Brewers to trade a first-round pick who has a plus power tool, given their desire for pop, but they’ve done it before—in 2008, for instance. Power-hitting prospect Matt LaPorta was the key piece Milwaukee sent to the Cleveland Indians to bring in CC Sabathia. Why might Wilken meet the same fate? LaPorta was limited to left field and first base, which were well and truly locked down by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, respectively, and at the time, the National League did not have the designated hitter. In 2026, Wilken is in a similar position. On the Brewer Fanatic Top 20, he's behind Andrew Fischer and Luke Adams at third base. That’s before factoring in the likelihood that Made, Jett Williams, or Peña could end up at the hot corner. If the Brewers need a game-changer for the stretch run, Wilken would be a good choice to center a package on. 3. At Least Seven Members of the Top 20 Will Appear in Milwaukee The players on the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 aren’t just high-ceiling prospects in the lower levels of the minors. Brewers fans should expect to see a number of these prospects show up at Uecker Field for at least a cup of coffee, if not more. Brandon Sproat and Jeferson Quero are already on the 26-man roster, while Craig Yoho and Logan Henderson made some appearances in 2025 for the Brewers. Williams will fit in somewhere, sometime, if his season goes to plan. Pratt just signed a massive contract, while Luis Lara is already tearing up Triple-A with the Nashville Sounds. Others could also make the leap, including Wilken, Made, and Adams, two of whom are with the Sounds, while Made will begin the 2026 season with Double-A Biloxi. 4. Melvin Hernandez Will Finally Get His Top 20 Spot Logan Henderson and Jacob Misiorowski have been widely recognized as potential aces, with both hitting the MLB Top 100. However, in 2025, both of them were beaten out for the Brewer Fanatic 2025 Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year award by Melvin Hernandez. Hernandez hasn’t seemed like much, but in 2025, he made his full-season debut at the age of 18 with the Carolina Mudcats and dominated all season, posting a 2.00 ERA, a 4.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and allowing just three home runs in 121 2/3 innings pitched. Hernandez could find himself at Double-A Biloxi if he keeps pitching as he did in 2025. If that happens, he may get the recognition as a top prospect that has eluded him to date. 5. Tyler Black Will Stick with Milwaukee At first glance, Black would appear to be blocked, given the presence of Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers in Milwaukee and the team’s decision to use Gary Sánchez to replace Vaughn as the right half of a platoon as Vaughn recovers from a hamate injury. Black, though, isn’t one to be easily denied. His offensive skill set has always been one of the best in the organization, with outstanding OBP skills and baserunning. Black recently seemed to level up his power in spring training, and the Brewers haven’t yet been able to count on health from Garrett Mitchell. While Bauers has made strides, he is a free agent after 2026, and Milwaukee may decide to flip him and go with the cost-controlled former top-100 prospect. 6. At Least Three Top 20 Prospects Will Force the Brewers to Trade Current MLB Players It isn’t just prospects who could end up being traded by Aug. 3, when the deadline comes. In some cases, a major-league club will move a veteran player to make way for a prospect. At least three Brewers currently on the 26-man roster may not finish the season in Milwaukee. Joey Ortiz, who’s had an inconsistent bat during his tenure with the Crew, could be displaced by one of Pratt, Williams, or Made by the end of 2026. The team could also flip one of their lower-leverage relievers to make way for Yoho, who could team up with Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe to make late innings unwatchable for the fans of Brewers opponents. Williams or Luis Lara could also usher Mitchell out of Milwaukee, though at the moment, the team's outfield depth seems more likely to result in someone being DFAed than in Mitchell being traded. 7. At Least One Player Nobody Expects Will Be on the Top 20 List By the End of 2026 Brewers fans should expect some significant churn in the Top 20. Some of these players will graduatem by virtue of ending their rookie status with 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the bigs. Others could be dealt. But the real story will be talent acquired over the course of the 2026 season. The amateur draft will be one such source, with some players hitting the Top 20 as soon as they sign contracts. Others will get on the list by virtue of their production. Some will be previously unheralded prospects who get their day in the sun. With a system as deep as Milwaukee’s, there are likely to be a few surprises. Hernandez isn't the only prospect who's excelled under the radar of many fans, while Jadyn Fielder flashed real offensive potential as he enters his first year of full-season professional baseball. The Brewers have some exciting young international prospects, as well. What do you think might happen in the Brewers' farm system for 2026? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Every development over the last month or so has pushed the Brewers further toward infield chaos. Come 2027, Milwaukee will have a lot of very hard decisions to make around the horn—mostly because they have a stockpile of talent, including four prospects in the MLB Pipeline Top 100 among their infield prospects. It’s daunting in a good way, because it seems almost impossible for the Brewers to go wrong. Let’s look over all four infield spots and see how they break down. First Base Blake Burke is the team’s best prospect at first base. Selected with the 2024 Competitive Balance A acquired in the Corbin Burnes trade, Burke has a powerful bat. In the pitching-friendly Southern League, he cranked out 11 homers in 140 at-bats, a marked improvement from what he did at High-A Wisconsin. Lefty power hitters have put up eye-popping numbers at Uecker Field, so Burke’s potential is exciting on that front. Luke Adams has been pushed to first base from across the diamond, even though he was not an untenable third baseman. While he lacks the raw power of Burke and bats right-handed, he’s been a clear threat on the basepaths and he has proven to be an OBP machine. Andrew Fischer is a natural first baseman performing pretty well at third, while Brock Wilken could find himself at first to make way for other prospects. Tyler Black is also an option, and is hitting the ball harder this spring. Of course, these players are all crowding into the top two levels of the minors, with Andrew Vaughn and Jake Bauers in place in the majors. Second Base Ethan Murray and Josh Adamczewski are two of the top organizational prospects at second base, but neither is likely to be a starter there. The big reason? Milwaukee’s shortstop surplus, which could include one of Jesus Made or Luis Pena taking a lot of playing time at second—a move similar to the one Brice Turang made in the majors. Turang is slated to be a free agent after the 2029 season, unless the Brewers can work out an extension. With Made, Peña, Jett Williams and Cooper Pratt in the pipeline, trading Turang feels more probable. Third Base Will it be Wilken or Fischer? It may end up being neither, with Made, Peña, and Pratt all in the mix. Wilken and Fischer, though, are potential offensive monsters, with Wilken channeling Brewers three-true-outcome legend Gorman Thomas, while Fischer flashed signs of being a left-handed Ryan Braun with his performance during the World Baseball Classic. Adams is also no slouch at the hot corner, even if his destiny appears to be closer to a Bauers-like role. Shortstop As with first and second base, the incumbents will have their say. Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton carry promise of their own. The upward pressure applied by Pratt (newly extended, and thus guaranteed some kind of role), Made and Peña seems like it will be irresistible, but which player will claim the spot—or will they all scatter to other positions, amid a resurgent offensive season by one of the more experienced, sterling defenders already in the majors? It's impossible to predict. Overview The depth around the infield for Milwaukee might be the best any team has had in the last 15 years. At every position, they have multiple players with a chance to be above-average, and not in four or five years. By this time next spring, there will be a somewhat confused Battle Royale going on, or a couple of these players will have been traded—but either way, the Brewers should be sitting pretty all the way around the dirt. View full article

Or Freddy Zamora, or Ethan Murray, or Eduardo Garcia, or Filippo di Turi...

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On the face of it, the Brewers might appear to have a problem. The top four prospects on the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 (Jesús Made, Luis Peña, Jett Williams, and Cooper Pratt) are all shortstops, and there’s only one shortstop in the lineup. The logical assumption might be that the Brewers would have to trade one (and possibly two) of these four players, all of whom are top-100 prospects in the game. Well, the Brewers sent a three-word message to fans thinking along those lines with the March 20 lineup card for their first Spring Breakout game: Not so fast. All four shortstops were in the starting lineup. The Brewers put Williams at third base, Made at second base, Peña at designated hitter, and Pratt at shortstop. In other words, Milwaukee has demonstrated that they are perfectly capable of fitting all four of their top prospects into a lineup. So, how might they fit all four onto a 26-man roster, perhaps as soon as 2027? Let’s look at each of them. Jesús Made The most exciting position-player prospect the Brewers have landed since Jackson Chourio, Made is making the same rapid rise. He got a taste of Cactus League action and was not overmatched. He also put on some serious weight, which could signal an increase in power production that could go along with his speed and defense. Made could stick at short, but the Brewers may want to slide him over to third base or second base (where he appeared on the Spring Breakout lineup card), partially to have the power normally associated with the position, but also because Made’s glove is not quite the best at shortstop among the prospects. He looked rough at second in early action this spring, but it's just a matter of acclimation; he has all the tools to thrive there. Luis Peña The Brewers signed Peña in the same international free agent class as Made, and Peña’s proven a capable player at short, second base, and the hot corner. While Made is a switch-hitter, Peña only hits right-handed. He also appears to have more raw power. There is talk of moving Pena to the outfield, but he could also serve as a super-sub, filling in across the diamond and still racking up plenty of plate appearances. Jett Williams Williams, acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade, mostly has played shortstop, second base, and center field. The Brewers gave him reps at third base in Maryvale, and he’s heading to Triple-A Nashville, likely to get more of those reps. His hit tool is the big question; he has ample speed to play well in center and his approach generates plenty of pull-side contact in the air. Like Peña, he appears to be a versatile option with an above-average bat, though of these four, he's easily the least likely to actually stay at shortstop. He's also the most experienced and comfortable of the set in the difficult task of moving between positions from day to day and week to week. Cooper Pratt Pratt was a sixth-round selection whom the Brewers roped in with an above-slot signing bonus that cracked seven figures. That investment has worked out well for Milwaukee. Pratt picked up a Minor League Gold Glove, but he’s also displayed some very good OBP skills and speed on the basepaths, and he’s got the frame for some extra pop. That said, even if he ends up more of a Jeff Cirillo-plus type of offensive player, he becomes an excellent option at shortstop. The Brewers have given Pratt some work at second base, but he is probably the best defensive option at shortstop of the four top names the Brewers have. If they do choose to keep all of them, Pratt is the most likely to unseat Joey Ortiz and take over at short in the majors. Overview Depth is the name of the game in Milwaukee. It's why Pat Murphy thinks his team got better this winter, not worse. It's how they can stay ahead of the pack even when they have to trade key players or watch them leave as free agents. The team did run out of steam offensively in the 2025 playoffs, and building a deeper bench with more offensive punch would make that outcome less likely in 2026 and beyond. Keeping all four of these so-called shortstops, while perhaps not the conventional wisdom, could be the route they choose—and rightfully so. View full article

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images How deep are the Brewers in center field? Put it this way: In 2025, they set a team record for wins in the regular season despite their top two center fielders from 2024 missing substantial time, and turning to what was arguably a worst-case scenario at the position. What is their center field situation like in 2026? Let’s take a look. The Starter: Garrett Mitchell Mitchell was Milwaukee’s first-round pick in the truncated 2020 draft. His offensive profile is tied to his high-end speed and power, and he has a strong arm and plays excellent overall defense in the middle of the outfield. When he’s been on the field, Mitchell’s been productive. In 141 career games, he’s posted a 112 OPS+ and 3.6 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference. That WAR total would have been third on the team among position players in 2025. The problem is that these 141 games have been scattered across four seasons, from his 2022 debut to 2025. Mitchell has also shown vulnerability to high heat when he does play. He’s good at forcing pitchers to pitch to spots where he can crush the ball, though. He just has to keep himself on the field, and not the injured list. The Backups Brandon Lockridge Jackson Chourio Sal Frelick In addition to Lockridge, who has flashed some serious potential of his own in spring training, both Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick would be very capable starters in center field if needed. Chourio, of course, spent most of his time there in 2025. Lockridge unlocked more offensive potential over the offseason and could end up being an excellent secondary return on the Devin Williams trade. He was acquired for Nestor Cortes, who came over from the Yankees. Chourio and Frelick are slated to be the starters in left field and right field, respectively, but both came up through the farm system primarily as center fielders, and most major-league teams would love to have them in center. Other 40-Man Roster Options Blake Perkins Steward Berroa Akil Baddoo In 2024, Blake Perkins was a Gold Glove finalist and arguably the team’s primary center fielder. He’s now going to be at Triple-A Nashville, partially because of Lockridge’s spring breakout. Baddoo and Berroa are more likely to get their center field starts in Nashville, if they aren’t released. Both players hover close enough to the fringe of the 40-man roster that if the team makes an external addition, it could come at their expense. Prospects Luis Lara Braylon Payne Jose Anderson Kenny Fenelon Eduardo Garcia Lara is an intriguing mix of Perkins and Frelick, likely to start in Nashville and be knocking on the door to the majors. Payne has a potentially dynamic bat, but he will need to cut down on his strikeouts and stay healthy; he's far from the big leagues. Anderson and Fenelon are raw talents who were international free agents. Garcia, at one point, was Milwaukee’s Shortstop of the Future, but has been bypassed by Cooper Pratt, Jesús Made, and Luis Peña. Still, he's turned himself into a valuable utility player who can competently handle center field, among other positions. Overview The Brewers will have plenty of depth, and should be able to count on excellent production at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the field from whoever ends up as the primary center fielder in 2026. If it has to come from Chourio and/or Frelick, though, that production could come at the cost of value in the corner spots. View full article

Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Last season, the Brewers used Jackson Chourio in center field most of the time, and Isaac Collins emerged as the team's regular left fielder. Rather than running that back, though, they dealt Collins to Kansas City this winter, and Chourio will be back in the corner outfield mix for 2026. Who else will factor in prominently? Let's break it down. The Starters Left Field: Jackson Chourio Right Field: Sal Frelick Milwaukee prioritizes fielding an excellent defense. Nowhere is that clearer than in the corner outfield spots. Frelick and Chourio are solid center fielders, but as they've established themselves in the majors, they've moved to the corners. Chourio is a franchise cornerstone. The massive eight-year, $82-million contract (with two team options) he signed before 2024 made that abundantly clear. He’s posted two straight 20-20 seasons, and he still hasn’t hit his peak yet. Frelick is a Gold Glove-caliber right fielder who could start in center for about two dozen other major-league clubs. While he lacks the traditional power of a corner outfielder, some power did emerge in 2025. Frelick is simply a solid all-around player who can add speed and defense to his impressive bat control. The Major-League Backups Jake Bauers Brandon Lockridge Yes, you saw the header right: backups, plural. Bauers will get most of his playing time by dividing chances with Andrew Vaughn at the cold corner, but he made an offensive leap in 2025. If it holds up in 2026, he can keep Frelick and Chourio fresh, especially if his bat is on a hot streak like the one he had late in the 2025 season. Lockridge was acquired when the Brewers moved on from Nestor Cortes, making him an indirect return from the Devin Williams trade. He's beaten out Blake Perkins for an Opening Day roster spot based on a red-hot spring training. If it carries over into the regular season, it will be the second time the Brewers have generated a massive secondary return on trading a closer—the first being when Esteury Ruiz, who had been acquired in the Josh Hader trade, went to the Athletics in a three-team deal that brought William Contreras to Milwaukee—under Matt Arnold. He'll also play a good amount of center field, but he's available to slide to the corners as needed. Other 40-Man Roster Options Tyler Black Jett Williams Christian Yelich Akil Baddoo Steward Berroa The Brewers' corner outfield group is so deep that both a former MVP and a former MLB Top-100 prospect are on the outside looking in for playing time. Yelich is still an outfielder, the organization insists, and has played there twice this spring, but he went nearly two months between appearances in the outfield two different times last year. Black is a solid hitter, if his power surge this spring is for real. The rest of these options are emergency-only—not because they can't be good, but because the team has considerably better options and/or would rather play those guys elsewhere. Overview Having so many center field-capable athletes in the mix to play in the corners is an extraordinary luxury—one of several the Brewers have afforded themselves of late. The team doesn't have one or two clear-cut candidates for each position, but that just serves to insulate them against injuries and maintain opportunities for players who break out unexpectedly. View full article