Spencer Michaelis

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Brewers have a history of drafting infielders with good gloves, strong baseball IQ to set a high floor, and offensive traits that need patience and development, but if they come together, they can provide a high ceiling. Brice Turang has evolved into one of the best examples of that model, turning elite defensive ability, speed, and contact skills into major league value early on, and then growing into impactful power at the plate, which has elevated him into a different tier. More recently, Cooper Pratt made his big league debut and is already showing similar traits. Brady Ebel may be the latest player attempting to follow a similar path. In fact, the parallels to Turang go pretty deep. They went to different high schools, but both are from the same city (Corona, CA), both are left-handed-hitting shortstops, and both were drafted, and signed, away from LSU commitments out of high school. While Ebel has not received quite the same level of attention or prospect status as Turang and Pratt did at similar stages, there are enough similarities in their profiles to make the comparison worth looking at. He brings a solid defensive floor, a high baseball IQ (Ebel grew up around MLB players, with his father being a coach for the Angels and now the third-base coach for the Dodgers since 2019), and budding offensive ability. Unlike the two before him, there's less certainty that he will stick at an up-the-middle defensive position, though if he winds up at third base, he will likely be above-average or better at the spot. Looking first at a surface level, Ebel has 287 plate appearances this season. How does his production compare to Turang and Pratt through the same sample size in Low-A? Player Season Age PA H 2B 3B HR K% BB% AVG OBP SLG OPS wRC+ SB CS Brice Turang 2019 18.5 288 71 9 3 1 15.60% 14.90% .295 .399 .369 .769 129 15 4 Cooper Pratt 2024 19.7 288 72 10 3 3 19.10% 12.50% .298 .394 .401 .795 133 23 2 Brady Ebel 2026 18.9 287 53 11 2 4 22.60% 18.50% .236 .394 .356 .749 111 21 2 Ebel has gotten off to a slower start than his predecessors, especially when normalized for the offensive environment (wRC+). However, Ebel got off to an especially slow start to the season. He posted a 68 wRC+ through the end of April but has taken off since then. What if we compare the same numbers from Pratt and Turang with the numbers Ebel's been putting up since the start of May? Player Season Age PA H 2B 3B HR K% BB% AVG OBP SLG OPS wRC+ SB CS Brice Turang 2019 18.5 288 71 9 3 1 15.60% 14.90% .295 .399 .369 .769 129 15 4 Cooper Pratt 2024 19.7 288 72 10 3 3 19.10% 12.50% .298 .394 .401 .795 133 23 2 Brady Ebel (since 5/1) 2026 18.9 187 40 9 1 4 23.50% 18.70% .272 .422 .429 .851 134 16 2 He compares much more favorably when you take the April results out of the equation. It should be noted that Ebel is doing it a little differently from those two. Since May 1st, Ebel has a .157 ISO, compared to the .074 Turang was posting in Low-A and the .103 Pratt was showing. He's also walking at a higher clip than those two were, while they were striking out less and had a higher batting average. Turang's power gains came in MLB, and the hope is that Pratt will be able to do the same. Ebel, meanwhile, already seems to be adding legitimate power compared to what he showed in high school. One adjustment he's made has been to the finish of his swing. Ebel looks to be extending through his swing more consistently now, and also finishing higher, which can be a cue that helps the bat path have more loft to it for some hitters. Video from his debut in 2025, compared to a swing from 2026, shows the difference pretty clearly. eycme4.mp4 The other thing that stands out in the comparison video above is that he seems to have already added some good weight to his frame. Brice Turang is listed at 190 pounds now, but he was only 170 pounds when he debuted in MLB, and even that seemed generous. Ebel is already listed at 195 pounds, and that was his weight at draft time. Looking at the difference in his lower half from last season to this season, he is likely over 200 pounds already. Another way to illustrate the power Ebel shows compared to the other two is in his exit-velocity data. According to Baseball America, thus far Ebel has a "102 mph 90th percentile exit velocity along with a league-average hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and air-pull percentage." Pratt's 2025 90th percentile exit velocity in Double-A was 100.7 MPH, and Turang's was 100.8 in MLB, as recently as 2024. While they were facing tougher competition, they were also multiple years older than Ebel at that time. As mentioned earlier, Turang and Pratt had lower strikeout rates than Ebel does at the same level. However, his swing decisions and contact skills are still well above average. There's a strong argument that Ebel is actually further ahead of those two offensively at the same stages of their career. If you look only at the power part of the equation, there's not much of an argument for the other two. Defense is where it's a bit of a different story. Ebel is no slouch with the glove. He's grading out well at shortstop this season, and in a lot of organizations, he'd likely have a chance to stick at the position in the long term. In fact, he likely will remain there as he continues to climb the ladder. To continue the comparison with the other two, Ebel has a .970 fielding percentage this season, while Turang had a .949 fielding percentage at shortstop in Low-A, and Pratt was at .973. Fielding percentage is a bit of a misleading stat, however, and the other two showed better range and more fluid actions, which are extremely important traits for middle infielders and tend to translate into better defensive metrics at the big-league level. Ebel has a cannon of an arm, garnering a 70 on the scouting scale from Baseball America, which would play extremely well at third base if that is where he eventually winds up. That arm helped make up for a couple of bobbles in the Spring Breakout game earlier this year. Jesse Borek of MLB Pipeline wrote that, "All three assists came with a throw that exceeded 88 mph, including the final out of the frame, which clocked in at 91.8 mph." ivqlte.mp4 Pratt is probably the best comparison for Ebel when it comes to running the bases. It's more about instincts and IQ than pure speed for both of them. They have both shown an ability to steal bases at a very efficient clip, and both show a good ability to read balls off the bat, go first to third on singles, and take advantage of defensive mistakes or laziness. Turang is a good baserunner, but he relies a bit more on his pure speed than on the intangibles that Pratt and Ebel have. Ebel seems to be paving a slightly different path than Turang and Pratt, or perhaps he's just ahead of schedule in the power development portion of the blueprint. Either way, there are still two recent, shining examples of high school infielders for him to look to when envisioning his path to an MLB debut in the future. Given his background, his advanced profile, and his early power gains, Ebel has the looks of a player who could rise through the system pretty quickly, much like Cooper Pratt did. What are your thoughts on Ebel? Do you think he's the next in line? View full article

Jesus MadeLuis PenaCooper PrattJett WilliamsJosh AdamczewskiAndrew FischerJeferson QueroLuis LaraBraylon PayneBishop LetsonTyson HardinMarco DingesBlake BurkeLuke AdamsJD ThompsonJaron DeBerryBrady EbelColeman CrowJayden DubanewiczAlexander Frias

Jesus MadeLuis PenaCooper PrattJett WilliamsJosh AdamczewskiAndrew FischerJeferson QueroLuis LaraBraylon PayneBishop LetsonTyson HardinMarco DingesBlake BurkeLuke AdamsJD ThompsonJaron DeBerryBrady EbelColeman CrowJayden DubanewiczAlexander Frias

Matos definitely grabbing some attention. Exit velocities are strong from what I’ve seen and heard, seems like he gets to good angles too. Think there’s a little whiff so far, so that’ll be one thing to watch. Looking like a very interesting signing for sure.

Sort of late now, but the Gold game is being streamed again by the Orioles:

Fair point, I think they're still going to be able to get some guys in those rounds, but I'm just saying I'd be surprised if it's close to what we've seen these last three drafts. Somewhere between the two extremes, would be my guess. Maybe somewhere between $750-900k of the pool? Of course, they could also go heavy on senior signs in 5-10 and give themselves some more room for 11-20, so who really knows.

He was definitely grabbing at his leg after reaching on a dropped third strike last week. Looked like it was around the hamstring area but couldn't say for sure.

Think it is probably worth pointing out that this is the smallest pool the Brewers will have had in quite a while, so I could see it being a little more difficult for them to go as heavy on the HS types in 11-20 as they have been of late. It's a bigger pool than they had in 2022, when they only gave one player more than the $150,000 (Luke Adams), but the slot values have also moved up quite a bit in that time. Including the 5% overage (signings over the $150,000 mark post round 10): 2026: $8,445,045 2025: $13,795,005 (CJ Hughes, Luke Roupe, Rylan Mills, Chase Bentley, Ma'Kale Holden -- $1.59 mil of pool) 2024: $12,345,480 (Joey Broughton, Travis Smith, Jayden Dubanewicz, Tyler Renz -- $1.91 mil) 2023: $11,498,130 (Bishop Letson, Bjorn Johnson, Hayden Robinson, Josh Adamczewski, Justin Chambers -- $1.3 mil) 2022: $7,424,865 (Luke Adams -- $132,500 toward pool) 2021: $10,571,925 (Caden Vire, Quinton Low, Jace Avina -- $353,400 toward pool)

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Cooper Pratt signed an eight-year, $50.75-million contract extension in April, and he got the call to the big leagues over the weekend. A lot happened between then and now, with many fans wondering when Pratt would come up—mainly due to the lack of production from the trio who have been patrolling the left side of the infield since Opening Day, in David Hamilton, Joey Ortiz, and Luis Rengifo. All of that is in the past now, though. Pratt is on his way to Milwaukee, and is expected to debut on Tuesday, June 16. As of this writing, a follow-up move on the 26-man roster has not been announced. Now, though, a new question arises. What should fans (realistically) expect from a rookie Cooper Pratt at the big-league level? On the field, one of the more reasonable expectations for any player is that good defense will translate at any level. Pratt was a 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop, awarded to the best defensive player at each position in all of Minor League Baseball. While there is reasonable skepticism about these awards and how they are decided, the prevailing opinion on Pratt is that he is an above-average shortstop, or better. Baseball America gives him a 55 grade on the 20-80 scale, as does FanGraphs, while MLB Pipeline labels him as a 60-grade defender (considered "plus"). At Pratt's height of 6-foot-4, he can appear to be a bit slower going after groundballs than many smaller shortstops do, but his range is strong, due in part to his tremendous ability to read swings and read the ball off the bat. His arm garners 60s from all three sites as well, and he has shown a strong ability to make "off-platform" throws while on the run, or even airborne. Pratt Throw 2.mp4 Another tool that should translate well at the big-league level will be Pratt's baserunning. In terms of straight-line speed, he's an average runner, maybe a bit above average. However, he shows great instincts on the bases, and will pick pitchers apart if they don't pay close enough attention to him. He has successfully stolen nearly 90% of the bases he has attempted in his minor-league career (79/88), including 17 of 18 in Triple-A this season. Pratt 2 SBs - 1 Inning.mp4 At the plate, there will be more questions for Pratt in the immediate future. After a very slow start to the season, with a 41 wRC+ in his first 70 plate appearances, Pratt posted a 125 wRC+ in his next 188 plate appearances. The chart below, courtesy of TJStats, shows the difference in some of the peripherals during those same two time periods. The contact quality still does not indicate much game power, even during the much better stretch, but he does show tremendous bat-to-ball skills, and the angles at which the ball leaves the bat have improved over the course of the season. Pratt will probably not hit for much power in MLB this season, except on the rare occasions when he gets an opportunity to pull his hands in and pull a pitch, but his bat-to-ball skills have the potential to translate pretty well. Pratt HR.mp4 One thing to keep an eye on with Pratt will be how he handles the better breaking balls he will see in MLB. Handling fastball velocity has not been an issue for him this season, despite that being a concern of some evaluators heading into the season. When facing fastballs, in general, he posted a .358 xwOBA and only whiffed on 10.8% of his swings. To further emphasize the lack of struggle with velocity, he has seen 132 fastballs thrown at least 95 MPH, and against those offerings, he has posted an even better .393 xwOBA, while only whiffing on 9.8% of his swings. Breaking balls, on the other hand, have been a different story. When thrown a breaking ball, he's posted a .270 xwOBA, with a whiff rate of 26.3% in 325 pitches seen. Big-league teams will look to expose that more often than Triple-A pitchers did, and teams will have more pitchers equipped to do so. The Brewers believe there is power to come down the line, and Brice Turang could provide a blueprint for eventually realizing it. The Brewers believe Pratt can follow a similar path in that regard, but Turang also provides a crystal ball for how Pratt's inaugural season could go. Turang finished his rookie season with a 61 wRC+, 12 Defensive Runs Saved, and he went 24 of 30 on stolen base attempts. He did that over 137 games, meaning Pratt's first campaign will need to be scaled down for comparison, as the Brewers will only have 93 games remaining when he debuts. The general scope of the production, though, is most likely going to look similar to Turang's rookie year. Pratt's value will be derived from his defense and his baserunning, and the Brewers will hope that they get a bit more out of the bat than Turang gave them. That said, even the Brewers' internal projections probably project Pratt as a below-average hitter in 2026. The good news for Pratt is that he won't have a very high bar to clear at the position. A 59 wRC+ is all the Brewers have received from the shortstop position in 2026. Pratt is capable of clearing that mark, and could still be a relatively significant upgrade, even if he only winds up posting a 75-80 wRC+ line in 2026. That's what the Brewers are hoping for here. Patience could prove to be challenging for fans and the Brewers alike. Struggles at the plate should not come as a surprise when they crop up. As Turang has shown, though, patience can be rewarded in a major way. The former surprise sixth-round pick, Cooper Pratt, is officially a big leaguer. He earned the opportunity. Now, it's all about how he continues to grow while at the highest level, and how quickly he can show that growth. View full article

I do believe Trey Ebel is flying up boards FWIW. I wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't make it to the 66th pick. Not sure I'd go round 1 on him personally though.

This week's Mock Draft Monday is free on my Patreon if people would like to read the write-ups for the players below. The tool makes it a little difficult for me to draft as many prep players as I'd like to. Nobody signs for the money that guys like Dorchies, Tobias, Vucinovich have signed for, but I think the Brewers will at least take a couple more prep guys in lieu of all the college players I have in there from rounds 6-10. I really like Schaffner the more I have looked into him. He has a ton of Brewers traits too.

I think the range is solid, but it’d just be hard to make that arm work. Agreed that it’s tough if he’s in left only.

He’s played center before and looked solid out there. He’s a good defender at second but the arm probably limits him to that spot if he’s on the infield.