Harold Hutchison

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images With just 2.5 games separating the Brewers from the first-place Chicago Cubs, the Crew will be buyers before the upcoming trade deadline. However, the trade market might not be their best bet for stretch-run improvement. Almost three months ago, injuries in the rotation and the late signing of Jose Quintana led to a deal that cost the Brewers prospects Yophery Rodriguez and John Holobetz (plus the No. 33 overall pick in this month's draft) for Quinn Priester. In essence, the rotation already saw its worst-case scenario happen, though the team has survived it admirably. Will a similar crisis creep up on them in the bullpen this summer? There’s a very good chance that the Brewers can avoid the worst-case scenario. In fact, it would be surprisingly easy. All Matt Arnold has to do is pick up the phone and dial a phone number in the 615 area code and give Nashville Sounds manager Rick Sweet some bad news. It's time, once again, for him to do without his relief ace. Craig Yoho had a lot of buzz around him this spring. Seen as a future anchor of the bullpen in the preseason, his first time around in Milwaukee was rough (9.53 ERA in 5 2/3 innings pitched). But in Nashville, he’s dominated to the tune of a 1.01 ERA in 26 2/3 innings, notching five saves and a 3-1 record. Yoho has nothing left to prove in Nashville. His next ticket to Milwaukee ought to come sooner, rather than later. The best part of all that is that, unlike an outside hire, Yoho will not cost the Brewers anything other than sending someone else down to Nashville (or placing someone on the injured list, or making a separate deal). Yoho, Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, and Trevor Megill could easily be the pitchers the Crew relies on in the late innings to hold a lead down. Yoho is not the only option for the Crew in Music City. Joel Payamps has also dominated in Nashville since being outrighted, and could be ready to return to Milwaukee for at least the short term; he would also be a candidate for the Crew to flip if he goes on a hot streak. Elvis Peguero hasn’t been as dominating, but he could be optioned back down to Nashville after giving Uribe a 15-day break. Then there are starters Logan Henderson, Carlos Rodriguez, and Tobias Myers, all of whom have seen time in Milwaukee in 2025. If they’re not able to fit in the rotation, they could become multi-inning relievers and bolster the bullpen that way. Henderson, who may need his workload monitored, might be a good choice for a relief role after dominating in three starts earlier this season, following in the 2018 footsteps of Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff. Rodriguez and Myers might also fare better going through the opposing team’s lineup only once, as opposed to two or three times. The Brewers could use some bullpen help, but the best choice to get that help will not be calling another MLB executive—it’s placing a call to Nashville. They should keep their powder dry, and spend any prospect capital on a deal for a hitter instead of a relief arm. View full article

I'd rather get a left-handed Misiorowski. The good news is Schoolcraft appears to have a smoother delivery and more control. https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/draft/kruz-schoolcraft-828244 If he's at 20, he'd be my pick, and it's a no-brainer.

I'd like the Crew to get Schoolcraft at 20. From what I've read, he seems like a left-handed Misiorowski, and the Crew does very well at developing pitchers.

I see Martinez as an upgrade over Bauers. He's heated up in the second half before. He's got a more well-rounded offensive profile (he's a baserunning threat) and he's been able to handle center field, plus he has Gold Glove-caliber defense.

Crow, Martinez, and Garcia should all be retained with spots on the 40-man. Let Bauers walk, DFA Dunn, and I'm sure a free-agent pitcher will also walk.

Image courtesy of © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Brewers have heated up and are closing in on the Cubs at the top of the National League Central. But even in the midst of a playoff chase in 2025, should the Brewers look for chances to bolster the team for the long haul? We’ve looked at starting pitchers and prospects the team should consider selling. Now, let’s look at the position player group on the 40-man roster and see whom the Brewers should consider dealing. UT/DH Tyler Black .083/.250/.167 at Triple-A Nashville .387/.513/.613 at Rookie-Level ACL Brewers Black was a one-time top-100 prospect, showing speed, excellent plate discipline and very good bat-to-ball skills. After a breakout 2023 season, he seemed poised to be a candidate to handle the hot corner for the Crew, making his debut alongside Jackson Chourio. While he made his debut, he ended up making multiple trips on the Milwaukee-Nashville shuttle. The 2025 season saw him injure his hamate, and even though he is back on the field, that injury has sapped his power. Now, he’s decidedly behind Caleb Durbin at the hot corner, with Brock Wilken, Luke Adams, and Mike Boeve all at Double-A Biloxi making their cases. Adams and Boeve made MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 list at third base. At first base, he’s behind Ernesto Martinez and Andrew Vaughn (not to mention Jake Bauers and Rhys Hoskins). The outfield remains crowded, as always. SS Joey Ortiz .214/.272/.294 in Milwaukee Ortiz is arguably the hottest Brewer right now, so why put him on the block? He put up decent numbers in 2024 after being acquired in the Corbin Burnes trade, but had an atrocious slump in 2025. He is under club control through 2029, and cheap through 2026. So why put him on the market? Two words: Cooper Pratt. The way Pratt is hitting in Double-A Biloxi, it’s hard not to imagine him catching a plane to Nashville soon, and equally hard to not envision him being a contender at shortstop for the Crew in 2026. So, the Brewers may want to try to move Ortiz now, before he swings back to being ice-cold at the plate; he could still fetch a decent return. The catch, of course, is that they can't deal Ortiz unless they also acquire a solid infielder on a short-term deal before the deadline. It's unlikely they'll risk creating a need for themselves just to capitalize on an opportunity to acquire farm depth, especially when the main impetus for doing so might be a player not yet even in Triple A. 1B Jake Bauers .230/.339/.430 in Milwaukee 0-0, 3.60 ERA in 5.0 IP in Milwaukee Bauers has been a decent platoon option for Rhys Hoskins and is a capable corner outfielder in a pinch. He's done what the team needs him to do, up to and including soaking up the odd inning in a blowout to preserve the pitching staff. Why, then, would they trade him? In this case, it’s to make way for what could be the next Brewers platoon at the cold corner: Andrew Vaughn and Ernesto Martinez. Bauers could net the Crew a lottery ticket or two, similar to the Adam Lind trade after the 2015 season. The package Lind fetched in that deal included some guy named Freddy Peralta. 1B Andrew Vaughn .189/.218.314 with the Chicago White Sox .211/.328/.315 with Triple-A Charlotte (White Sox) .290/.371/.613 with Triple-A Nashville (Milwaukee) Could Vaughn perform well as part of a platoon with Ernesto Martinez? That’s a distinct possibility. Might it be better to instead see what he might fetch in a trade? Maybe so. Vaughn was acquired after Aaron Civale demanded a trade, at a moment when the White Sox were eager to get their former first-round pick a change of scenery, too. On one hand, Vaughn would certainly be a decent complement to Martinez at first base. Such platoons have worked well before (see Eric Thames and Jesús Aguilar in 2017-2018). But on the other hand, perhaps the Brewers might decide to allow Christian Yelich to play the cold corner next year. Certainly, for the balance of 2025, Hoskins stands in the way of Vaughn and leaves the team without an urgent need at first. Like Bauers, Vaughn won’t bring home a massive package, but it could be another way to re-enact the Lind trade. If Vaughn's stellar numbers (not just the results, but an average exit velocity up about 3 mph and a whiff rate that's down, relative to his time with the White Sox's Triple-A affiliate) catch the eye of any needier teams throughout the league, this could be a very quick transition from buying low to selling high. OF Garrett Mitchell .206/.286/.294 in Milwaukee .000/.000/.000 with Rookie-League ACL Brewers .556/.636/.556 with Triple-A Nashville Mitchell is a superb player when he is on the field, averaging 4.1 Wins Above Replacement per 162 games, per Baseball Reference. The problem is keeping him on the field: Over his major-league career, spanning 2022 to the present, he’s played only 141 games total, for 3.6 career Wins Above Replacement. Mitchell is arbitration-eligible after 2025, and the Brewers may be selling low—but if he’s missing most of the last three seasons, is he really that irreplaceable? He may not net much at all, but clearing a roster spot and gaining clarity on who will (and who won't) be part of their future in the outfield would have a little bit of value. Which position players do you think the Brewers should try to move? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-Imagn Images With much less money to spend on star players outside the organization, the Brewers have to think twice any time they consider a trade that would surrender talented players under long-term team control. Yet, they can't afford to miss opportunities to lock up playoff spots by clinging too tightly to prospects. Let’s review some of the prospects on either the MLB.com Pipeline Top 30 or the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 lists whom the Brewers should consider dealing this summer, if the right trade presents itself. 3B Brock Wilken #11 in Brewer Fanatic Top 20, #18 MLB.com Pipeline .230/.392/.550 at Double-A Biloxi Why should the Brewers consider dealing Wilken? For starters, Wilken may be the third-best prospect at third base in the Brewers farm system, behind Luke Adams and Mike Boeve—both of whom are listed among MLB.com Pipeline’s Top 10 prospects at third base. Wilken’s not a bad option, but it is clear he’s also not the top prospect. Wilken’s 74 strikeouts in his 222 at-bats are a red flag. His three-true-outcomes offensive profile is arguably duplicated by Adams, who also is flashing some serious baserunning ability, while Boeve is a pure hitter who is having a rough go repeating at Biloxi. SS Jorge Quintana #19 MLB Pipeline in 2024 .254/.345/.373 at Rookie-Level ACL Brewers Like Wilken, Quintana is not necessarily a bad option at shortstop, but he has been overshadowed by fellow prospects Jesus Made and Luis Pena, both of whom went to Single-A Carolina while Quintana is laboring at the Arizona Complex League. In this case, the performance disparity is also obvious. Quintana’s .718 OPS at the hitter-friendly ACL is substantially below the performances of Made (.803 OPS) and Pena (.868 OPS) in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League, one level higher. A trade might be the best way for the Brewers to cash in on Quintana’s $1.7 million signing bonus. RHP Carlos Rodriguez #22 MLB Pipeline 3-2, 2.64 ERA, 1.26 WHIP at Triple-A Nashville 1-0, 8.10 ERA, 2.70 WHIP with Brewers Like Wilken and Quintana, Rodriguez isn’t a bad prospect; he’s just behind a lot of other young options. In this case, it’s not just fellow prospects Jacob Misiorwoski and Logan Henderson, it’s also Chad Patrick, Quinn Priester, and Tobias Myers. Misiorowski and Henderson have much higher ceilings, while Patrick and Myers have better MLB track records. Rodriguez is likely to be a Colin Rea type: a back-end starter in the majors. The problem is that a back-end starter in Milwaukee tends to be at a much higher level than it is for about 90% of MLB teams. UT/DH Tyler Black #9 MLB Pipeline .097/.282/.194 at Triple-A Nashville .387/.513/.613 at Rookie-Level ACL Brewers Black has arguably been mishandled by the Brewers since his 2023 breakout season. He never was going to put up the eye-popping numbers that Jackson Chourio is capable of, but he did appear to have what it took to be a left-handed matchup infielder, with bat-to-ball skills, plate discipline, and speed. But trades for Joey Ortiz and Oliver Dunn in the 2023-2024 offseason and Black's failure to either hit big-league pitching or make progress as a defender made 2024 a lost season. A hamate injury has thrown a wrench into 2025 for him, and he may not recover. At this point, at third base, Black is behind Caleb Durbin and possibly Anthony Seigler in Nashville. At first base, Ernesto Martinez and Andrew Vaughn are the front-runners to handle first base in Milwaukee in 2026. The Brewers outfield is crowded when everyone is healthy. Black needs a change of scenery. 1B Blake Burke #17 MLB Pipeline, #20 Brewer Fanatic Top 20 .303/.394/.427 at Advanced-A Wisconsin The Brewers thought they were getting a power hitter with iffy defense in Burke. Instead, they seem to have discovered a left-handed Jeff Cirillo, who can play excellent defense. This is not a horrible outcome; Lyle Overbay and Mark Grace (among many others) carved out excellent careers as pure hitters at the cold corner. That said, the Brewers may want to sell high on Burke, who came over as part of the package the Orioles sent Milwaukee to rent Corbin Burnes for the 2024 season. With four options in the upper minors in Adams, Boeve, Martinez, and Vaughn, and potential low-minors options like Eric Bitonti and (eventually) Jaden Fielder, the Brewers may want to consider dealing Burke to clear up potential congestion—just as they dealt Wes Clarke earlier this season. RHP Coleman Crow #19 Brewer Fanatic Top 20 4-0, 2.51 ERA, 0.907 WHIP at Double-A Biloxi Crow came to Milwaukee at a steep cost: outfielder Tyrone Taylor and right-handed starting pitcher Adrian Houser, both of whom were solid contributors on Brewers teams that made four playoff appearances and won two division titles from 2019-2023. With the team looking to clear salary, they were in no position to command much for the fringy contributors Taylor and Houser generally are. Crow dominated at Biloxi after spending 2024 recovering from an arm injury, and recently earned a promotion to Triple-A Nashville, where he has yet to make his debut. Crow’s ceiling appears undeniable, but his arm injury is something to keep in mind. With a plethora of other starting options like K.C. Hunt, Alexander Cornielle, Brett Wichrowski, and Tate Kuehner in Biloxi alone—not to mention the many pitchers in Nashville—the Crew may want to see what Crow could bring in return. Which prospects do you think the Crew should consider dealing? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

With Woodruff around, I'd probably look to deal Peralta at the deadline this year. The haul he would net from a playoff buyer would be impressive. Use Woodruff (pass the option, but work out a 2-3 year deal) and Quintana to be the "veterans" (with his time on the IL, Quintana may come back at a bargainish rate) to mentor Patrick, Henderson, Myers, and Misiorowski. Add in Hall and Aaron Ashby as long guys.

I see a platoon partner for Martinez in 2026/2027. Maybe an asset to flip if he does well in that role.

I did note that the D-Backs need a starter a few days ago when I suggested Civale could be a starter the Brewers move. Perhaps something can be worked out there.

At this point, I'll be happy to get two Single-A prospects for Civale.

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images The Brewers’ starting pitching situation has changed in the space of two months. Injuries and the late signing of Jose Quintana led to a panic deal that cost the Brewers dearly, but now, the Crew contemplates a “happier” (arguably not the right word) conundrum for their rotation: Too many capable bodies. There has been some talk of using a “piggyback” approach to help alleviate the crunch, and in some ways, it can be beneficial. However, it may also be time for the Brewers to consider entering the market as sellers with some of their starting surplus. But who should they be offering? Here’s a look at five candidates for the Brew Crew to sell among their starters. Aaron Civale 1-1, 5.19 ERA in 17.1 IP Civale has missed a significant amount of time due to injuries, which was one of the reasons behind the trade for Quinn Priester. That said, should he rebound, he could be an asset for some teams. Currently, Arizona needs a starter due to the fact that old friend Corbin Burnes is undergoing Tommy John surgery. Civale might be a good stopgap for the D-Backs, especially since his rough start and his time on the injured list make converting on the conditional pick a lot less of a sure thing than it seemed. Who might the Brewers ask for in this case? How about LHP Yu-Min Lin? It would give the Brewers some added roster flexibility, not to mention Lin is the kind of pitcher who the Brewers have maximized in recent years. Carlos F. Rodriguez 1-0, 8.10 ERA in 3.1 IP (Milwaukee) 3-2, 2.64 ERA in 47.2 IP (Triple-A Nashville) Currently on the 7-day injured list, Rodriguez is one of a substantial crop of young pitchers at Triple-A Nashville. While his combined arsenal is an outlier, he hasn’t translated that into success at the MLB level in two small samples. Still, though, he’s done well in his rise through the system, and with the crowded Brewers’ rotation, the best option might be to find a place where he can get an extended opportunity. One possible place? Colorado. The Rockies need some starting pitching talent, and if the Brewers decide Ryan McMahon is worth the risk to handle the hot corner, then Rodriguez could be part of a package to secure McMahon’s services for the Crew (let’s call the rest of the package Oliver Dunn and Jorge Quintana). Tobias Myers 1-1, 4.95 ERA in 20 IP (Milwaukee) 0-2, 3.38 ERA in 29.1 IP (Triple-A Nashville) Myers was a surprise hero in 2024, posting solid top-of-the-rotation numbers for the Crew all season and adding a solid outing against the Mets in the Wild Card series. In 2025, injuries and some initial struggles sent him back to Triple-A. With the Brewers looking at a breakout from Chad Patrick, top prospects Logan Henderson and Jacob Misiorowski knocking on the door of MLB rotation spots, the steep price paid for Priester, and the presence of DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Robert Gasser, and Coleman Crow, among others, Myers could be a trade asset. Myers might be an option to send to a team looking to sell an asset for long-term help, or he could be used to help the Brewers increase their options in the farm system. One option could be Baltimore, with the Crew sending Myers for infielder Aron Estrada and catcher/first baseman Ethan Anderson. Jose Quintana 4-1, 2.77 ERA in 39 IP Quintana has been a steal for the Brewers in the offseason, but he is going to be a free agent at year’s end. That said, securing some return for him may be an option, especially if he pitches like he did early in the season. One possible option might be to send Quintana to the Blue Jays in return for a prospect. The Crew will ultimately have to gamble, either with a couple of Rookie-level prospects or talent with some tarnish. In this case, the Crew could consider Ricky Tiedemann, a left-handed pitcher with dominant stuff, but coming off Tommy John surgery. Freddy Peralta 5-4, 2.92 ERA in 71 IP Dealing Peralta might be controversial, especially if the team is in the middle of a pennant race, but given his control through 2026 and the relatively cheap price ($8 million salary for 2026), Peralta could net the Brewers a significant haul – one exceeding that obtained in the Josh Hader deal of 2022. Here, the Cleveland Guardians could make for an intriguing partner for Peralta and reliever Nick Mears. Who could the Crew get in return? Consider that Peralta is an ace pitcher with a year of extra control and coming at a relatively low price; they could ask for and get the moon. How about a prospect package starting with OF Jaison Chourio, IF Welbyn Francisca, and catcher Cooper Ingle, along with reliever Hunter Gaddis? It's a short-term hit, but there could be some real long-term gains for the Crew - and with the way Logan Henderson has pitched, the team might not miss a beat. The need to clear out some starting rotation space is becoming clear for Milwaukee. Perhaps the best route might be to be a seller before the trade deadline. Which starters would you deal, and what would you want in return? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Is it time to turn Hudson into a starter?

The 2025 season has not gone as well as many Brewers fan have hoped it would. That’s arguably an understatement, especially given what many of the players showed in the 2024 season, where the team outperformed many projections to win the National League Central. There is some question about whether the Brewers should look to bolster the left side of their infield in the trade market, which has been badly underperforming all season. In fact, shortstop and third base have gone from positions of strength in 2024 to offensive black holes in 2025, and it appears the team could be on the verge of a panic-driven deal to save a season that is not likely to look good. That could make a bad season even worse for the Brewers. How could that be possible when the team is currently in fourth place in the NL Central? Simple: The team could make more deals like that April 7 trade with Boston. Yes, there is a decent shot Quinn Priester could become a Derek Lowe clone, or at least a Dollar General version of the Giants ace. But the price the Brewers paid was high: Yophery Rodriguez, a pretty good outfield prospect; pitcher John Holobetz, who looked like a fifth-round steal from the 2024 draft; and worst of all, their 2025 Competitive Balance A pick at #33 overall. Here's how bad losing that pick was: That draft pool money could very well be the difference between the Crew being able to get another Cooper Pratt, Josh Adamczewski, or Luke Adams in the system or watching them go to the NCAA for three years, especially with the colleges able to put together name/image/likeness deals for prospects. The fact the Brewers don’t have that money (and the pick) is bad enough. The fact the big-market Boston Red Sox do get the pick and the draft pool money is even worse. The Priester deal is the type of trade the Brewers need to avoid making at almost all costs. That deal, while probably a net negative for the team’s long-term prospects, is survivable, especially if Priester develops the way the Brewers hope he does. Multiple deals of that nature to try to salvage the 2025 season could jeopardize the team’s future, even if it brings quality players in return. Is this being a Debbie Downer? Maybe, but with a media market that is one of the smallest, if not the smallest in Major League Baseball combined with declining attendance due to the team’s on-field struggles, the Brewers need to load up their farm system as much as possible. That is the key to the team’s ability to compete year-in and year-out. There is help on the horizon for 2026 in the form of Cooper Pratt and Brock Wilken, and Tyler Black and Ernesto Martinez could also be offensive assets as early as the All-Star Break, if not sooner. It is tempting to deal from the deep farm system to bolster the 2025 team, it comes at a risk: The talented prospects that would need to be dealt to acquire the short-to-medium-term solutions to salvage this season could come to bite the Brewers down the road, for starters. It also thins out the depth of the farm system down the road. That depth is helping keep the Crew afloat in 2025. The Brewers have already had one elite starter come up from their farm system (Logan Henderson), as well as a more-than-serviceable back-end rotation asset (Chad Patrick) in 2025. Jacob Misiorowski’s major-league debut is just a matter of time. That’s three out of five spots in the rotation, before one considers Tobias Myers (who could still be a fourth or fifth starter), Priester, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall. This is without the return of Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes, and Brandon Woodruff from the injured list along with continued performance from Freddy Peralta. The Brewers are at risk of panicking at this point. When people – and teams – panic, they end up making decisions they regret down the road. The front office needs to take a deep breath, and be willing to use 2025 for talent on the farm to make adjustments to major-league baseball - not trade that talent for a playoff run that may or may not bear fruit. View full article

Image courtesy of © Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Content Services, LLC The truncated 2020 draft has been a reasonably productive one for the Milwaukee Brewers, given they had only five picks. Garrett Mitchell has been a solid option in the outfield when he’s healthy. At the same time, Joey Wiemer was a great stopgap in center field in 2023 before he landed the Brewers some pitching help in a 2024 trade, and Hayden Cantrelle landed the Brewers' emergency catching depth in 2022. Zavier Warren is looking to be putting things together as a utility player, finally. But the Brewers’ 2020 second-round pick, Freddy Zamora, may be the stopgap answer the Crew needs at shortstop. He was an MLB Pipeline Top-30 prospect as late as 2023, having struggled with injuries while displaying excellent defense and a contact/OBP-oriented offensive profile. The injuries allowed Andruw Monasterio to bypass Zamora in 2022 en route to becoming one of the 2023 NL Central Champion team’s unsung heroes. As of May 25, Zamora is posting a .840 OPS in 80 at-bats in Triple-A Nashville, highlighted by 11 walks to only 14 strikeouts in that sample, while adding two stolen bases. He has six extra-base hits in that sample, and is hitting .325. Given the struggles of Joey Ortiz at shortstop, Zamora may be the answer to their current conundrum – how do the Brewers field a respectable team in 2025 without mortgaging the club’s future, especially with trades that could dip into the team’s deep farm system? During his time in Milwaukee, Monasterio has demonstrated his ability to get on base and shown that he is not a horrible option at third base, holding the position acceptably well in 2023. Zamora could offer something similar at shortstop, succeeding where Vinny Capra played his way to being designated for assignment and claimed by the White Sox. Zemora doesn’t have some of the “sunk cost” that Oliver Dunn, who has not impressed in two short stints with the Brewers, despite costing the Crew two solid prospects and blocking Tyler Black at the hot corner. He certainly lacks the ceiling of Cooper Pratt or Jesus Made at shortstop, but those matter less than the fact that he is an internal option for the Brewers. With his demonstrated on-base ability and the fact that he controls his strikeouts, Zamora’s floor is reasonably high, and his defense has been solid. He’s also flashed some skill on the basepaths. In one sense, he would be a valuable lineup-extender at the bottom of the order or a superb backup infielder, the same niche capably filled by Monasterio in recent seasons. A solid stopgap season at shortstop for Zamora could also help the Brewers in the long term. By proving himself in a somewhat extended 2025 MLB stint, there could be the chance the Crew could flip Zamora (or Monasterio) over the 2025-2026 MLB offseason to help re-stock their farm system and to create space at shortstop for Pratt on Opening Day 2026. The Brewers have invested much into building up their farm system and improving their scouting over the last decade – an effort that has been very fruitful for the team. It is time for them to place their trust in that investment, make a call to Nashville, and see if Freddy Zamora can help the big-league club win both in the present and in the future. View full article

There was a guy who also had about 114 games at the hot corner in `07... had a very good career with the Crew (NL Rookie of the Year), led the league in slugging in `07. Was MVP in 2011... put together a lot of very good year at the plate. Might have been the long-term answer Brewers fans were seeking...

Image courtesy of © William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Brewers fans are impressed with Luis Pena and Jesus Made, and for good reason. Both players seem poised to follow the rapid-ascent trail that Jackson Chourio blazed up the mountainside of the Brewers’ farm system—particularly since the two play on the left side of the infield, a real area of doubt for the current team. But not all prospects rise so quickly. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Eduardo Garcia and Hedbert Perez were two of the more exciting international free-agent prospects the Brewers had picked up. Both had plus tools (power for Perez, defense for Garcia) and looked like high-upside prospects. For each, though, the journey has been less like a blitz up the cliff face and more like a zigzagging, boulder-strewn corniche. Hedbert Perez The Brewers signed Perez in July 2019. He didn’t see action until 2021, when he had a strong debut in the Arizona Complex League—but one marred by a stint on the 60-day injured list. After that, he went to Low-A Carolina in 2022, where he flashed power, but also had trouble making contact. In 2023, he returned to Carolina, where another injured list stint kept him out of action. In 2024, he again missed a lot of time due to injury, playing only 19 games for the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. By this point, he was arguably bypassed by Yophery Rodriguez, part of the Brewers’ 2023 international free agent class, and both players were assigned to the Timber Rattlers for the 2025 season. However, the Brewers traded Rodriguez to Boston as part of the package for Quinn Priester. Perez seems to be making something of this second chance stemming from the trade. The strikeout total is still high (39 in 125 at-bats), but he’s taken a big step up in plate discipline, with 20 walks in 25 games. That's just two short of his 2023 total, which he took 63 games to accumulate. It means Perez could end up as a version of Jake Bauers who could play center field: not a superstar, but a solid asset off the bench. Eduardo Garcia Garcia arrived with the international free agent class of 2018. In 2019, he saw all of 10 games for the DSL Brewers before a horrible injury wiped out the rest of that season. In 2021, he went to the Arizona Complex League, where he posted a solid offensive season before a brief stint with the Carolina Mudcats. In 2022, he split time between Carolina and Wisconsin. He’d spend 2023 repeating in Appleton, where he also missed some time with injuries in addition to struggling offensively. The one thing that remained solid, though, was his defense. In 2024, Garcia missed a lot of time with an injury after starting at Double-A Biloxi. Over the course of the season, 2023 draftee Cooper Pratt bypassed Garcia due to Garcia missing time with his injury. Garcia began to see significant time at other positions, and has now shown defensive versatility at third base, second base, and center field in addition to playing shortstop. In 2025, though, Garcia is putting together a decent offensive season, and like Perez, he’s made a big improvement in his OBP skills, drawing 13 walks in 36 games. In 2024, he drew nine walks in 80 games. He may not be the shortstop of the future, but he could be a bench asset who provides excellent defense, along with some power and speed. Overview Despite their lengthy tenures in the Brewers farm system, Perez and Garcia still have time to become solid assets. Both players are still in their age-22 seasons, only a year younger than top pitching prospects Carlos Rodriguez and Logan Henderson. As Ernesto Martinez has demonstrated, sometimes the path to being major league-ready is a longer, more winding one for some prospects. Garcia will be a minor-league free agent this offseason, while Perez will be Rule 5-eligible. While they may not be cornerstones, there is a very good chance they could become assets for the Brewers in the 2027/2028 timeframe, if the team can keep them around. View full article

And he's gotta be adding muscle mass and getting a little taller, too.