Cory Sparks

Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Abner Uribe is one of the most dynamic closers in modern day baseball, and this lightning rod of energy belongs to the Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching staff. Whether it’s his electric sinker or the mannerisms that follow a key out, this is someone who has the baseball world’s attention. But if you look into his advanced analytics, you’ll find something even more notable. Let’s dive in. Background Uribe is a 25-year-old, hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who is originally from the Dominican Republic. The Brewers’ reliever has four seasons of major league experience under his belt, amounting to over 140 innings of work and north of 160 strikeouts in his big league career. He’s not only someone who has been quite productive for Milwaukee over his first few years, but this is somebody who logged a sub-2 earned run average over the course of 75 appearances. Think about that; the Brewers utilized him every other night and he proved to be one of the most impactful hurlers in the game. Let’s take a further look at what makes Uribe so dominant and how he’s at the heart of plenty of wins for a ball club that continues to prove the naysayers wrong. Strengths In 2026, you need to throw hard. There are a few, finesse-driven examples out there, but the name of the game, especially for relievers, is having top-end velocity that speeds up the clock of a hitter and makes their job that much more difficult. The flame-throwing closer passes that test with flying colors, as he clocks in with an average fastball velocity of 98.3 miles per hour (95th percentile). While harder-thrown pitches can come right back and have more zip on them when they come off the bat, Uribe has been an expert at avoiding quality contact. His 3.2% barrel percentage (93rd percentile) is one of the best rates among MLB pitchers, directly correlating to a 33.3% hard-hit percentage (77th percentile). Above all else, this is someone who can consistently force opposing hitters to beat the ball into the ground. Look no further than his 49.2% ground ball rate, a mark well above average at the 78th percentile. Pitch Mix Unlike starting pitchers, the quality of pitches really outweighs the variance of a relief pitcher’s arsenal. In Uribe’s case, his bread and butter has been a 1-2 punch that has worked for the last four seasons. His sinker, which he utilizes 65% of the time, can saw off the swing of opposing right-handed hitters or chase away from lefties at that 98.3 mph average. Uribe’s slider, which he uses on 35% of pitches, couldn’t be more stark in its differences from the sinker. Not only does it buzz in at 86.6 mph, almost a 12 mph difference, but it bites gloveside in the exact opposite direction. Opposing batters are hitting just .200 at it through the first third of the season. Weakness One fallback to lock in on is the righty’s wavering command. While both of his options can bend between 12-18 inches in opposite directions, his 9.5% walk rate (40th percentile) is below the league average. He’s relying more on the sinker now than in years past, as its faring better (.236 BAA vs. .248 BAA last year), but if one of his pitches isn’t on, he’s essentially pigeon-holed between sticking it out or pivoting to his only other option. Outlook Can Abner Uribe keep a firm hold on the team’s closer role? With Trevor McGill serving as the squad’s main form of competition for the spot, the hurler’s arsenal and velocity plays well with arbitration taking effect starting in 2028. View full article

Jackson Chourio was the Milwaukee Brewers' top prospect just a couple of years ago. Now, in his third season as a big leaguer, he's unlocking a level of his game that could make him worth far more than the team-friendly contract extension he signed a pair of seasons ago. View full video

Abner Uribe is an electric, high-leverage reliever for the Milwaukee Brewers. A season removed from a run where he logged 75 appearances and a sub-2 earned run average in 2025, his sinker/slider combo makes up one of the deadliest arsenals in MLB. In this video, we'll break down what truly makes Uribe so lethal. View full video

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Milwaukee Brewers have a cornucopia of prospect talent across their infield, and Luis Peña is one of the exceptionally impressive names who could climb up to the big leagues in the next couple of years. However, this is someone with a skill in his back pocket that few others possess, and it could give him enough of an advantage to rise faster than even his fellow Brewers prospects. Background Peña is the second-ranked prospect in a loaded Brewers farm system that was named the best in baseball (via MLB Pipeline) entering the 2026 season. Peña is only 19 years old, and he won’t turn 20 until November. Milwaukee signed him in January 2024 as part of a pretty notable international class. The Brewers shelled out an $800,000 signing bonus to get the speedster out of the Dominican Republic. In his first crack at the Dominican Summer League, he gave the organization a glimpse of what he could turn into, swiping 39 bases in just 44 contests with a .393 batting average. Game-Wrecking Speed Peña’s best attribute is a 70-grade speed tool, and he’s earned that rating with some jaw-dropping numbers. Through 159 games in professional baseball, he has 92 stolen bases. He swiped 44 bags over 96 games in 2025, in a campaign that ended in High-A Wisconsin. He’s shown off more of the same to start 2026, stealing nine bases in 19 games. On the defensive end, his speed allows him to be one of the more rangy shortstop prospects in the game. He hasn’t been perfect over there, but he’s getting far more reps at the position now that Jesús Made is lighting the world on fire in Double-A Biloxi. An On-Base Machine As a result of his speed and a 55-grade hit tool, Peña has quickly gained a reputation as an on-base machine. Currently sporting a career .312 batting average and .383 on-base percentage, this is someone who plays the Brewers' brand of baseball perfectly. The also has projectable power, producing exit velocities as high as 113 miles per hour at just 185 pounds. The next step for him will be staying away from offspeed pitches that bend out of the zone. It got to a point last year where pitchers were peppering him with offspeed offerings 60 percent of the time once he got to High-A. That scouting report is public information and will keep being his kryptonite until he learns how to handle it. Stinginess Even with the offspeed struggles, Peña has still drawn his fair share of walks. We’re looking at somebody who has drawn 63 walks in just over 650 plate appearances, and he’s only struck out 97 times. The low strikeout rate and high-quality contact profile fit the mold that Pat Murphy has built at the big-league level perfectly. This is a pure hitter who’s developing a great eye at the plate as he gets more reps as a professional. Versatility is the Best Ability The could-be bad news for Peña is that the Brewers’ top four prospects each have the ability to play the shortstop position or have planted their feet somewhere close. Made is the top prospect in baseball, Jett Williams (acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade) has shortstop in his profile, and Cooper Pratt (60-grade fielding tool) is also primarily used on the left side of the infield. What makes Peña different? Much like Williams, he can play multiple positions. Versatility is a valuable trait, and this is someone who could slot in around the infield if needed. I think that makes more room for him up in Milwaukee when those conversations start to form. Peña is even viewed as a plus potential outfielder, thanks to that speed. He doesn't have the limitations of the diminutive Williams, the very tall Pratt or the likely-to-thicken Made. He's the guy who might play anywhere—and that makes it much more likely that he'll play somewhere in the majors on a regular basis, fairly soon. View full article

Luis Peña is the Milwaukee Brewers' second-ranked prospect and is currently getting reps with the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Brewers are loaded with prospect talent, but in this video, we'll discuss the attributes Peña has that could separate him from the pack and even help him reach the big leagues ahead of his projected arrival time in 2028. View full video

Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Jake Bauers’ 2026 season is off to a promising start. The Brewers’ first baseman has looked calm, cool, and collected up there and is on pace for some career power numbers while being one of the better overall hitters on Pat Murphy’s squad. Today, we’ll dive into what Bauers is doing differently, if anything, to make for a more productive run this time around. Jake Bauers Background For starters, Jake Bauers is a 30-year-old lefty; the first baseman has seven years of major league baseball experience, as he was originally a 7th-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, when the San Diego Padres selected him. Since that point, he’s been in and out of starting lineups and has had major league service time with the Rays, Guardians, Mariners, and Yankees before joining the Brewers in 2024. He has been with Cream City ever since. Bauers is a career .218 hitter, yet this year, he’s hitting .281 with a .355 on-base percentage. His career-best home run total is 12 in a season, yet the guy has eight this year, well before the halfway point of the season. What’s contributing to this breakout season at 30 years old? Before getting into advanced analytics, I have to think there’s some value in stability. This is someone on his fifth big league squad since 2018, and it’s the first time ever that Bauers has suited up for the same ball club three years in a row. Getting into the same routine, working with the same development staff, and other factors don’t hurt. Bauers Is Hitting The Ball Harder Than Ever Diving into his advanced metrics, this is somebody who is hitting the ball extremely hard. 30 might be the new 24 for Bauers, because his hard-hit percentage of 52.8%, or the percentage of times he pieces up a ball at 95 MPH off the bat or more, is one of the best rates in all of baseball. Bauers is in the 95th percentile. How does the veteran first baseman make such pure contact? It starts with a wicked fast bat speed, a metric where he falls in the 96th percentile. Other indicators like his barrel percentage (77th percentile) and squared-up percentage (80th percentile) fall right in line, showing the Crew’s corner infielder is catching the ball as clean as anyone. Bauers has been a part-time player for most of his career, and here are his three most recent qualified years in Baseball Savant: Bauers' Discipline Much like a lot of Brewers hitters, Bauers has the mindset down, too. His plate discipline has been remarkable early on, as he’s chasing just 19.7% of the time, nestling him into the 95th percentile as one of the stingiest batters in the bigs. Bauers does whiff around the league average, and his strikeout and walk rates sit in that same vein, but his ability to lay off of baseballs outside of the zone has bought him more trips on base and a much better slash line overall. A Slight Tweak Bauers has routinely been someone who skies the baseball, as he registered a career-high 22.6 degree launch angle back in 2024. He cut into that mark significantly, lowering the average launch angle off of contact to 16.6 degrees in 2025. This year, it’s at a career low of 8.8 degrees. Bauers is hitting line drives, and combined with an average exit velocity that’s well above league average, that’s a great trend for someone who is on pace to blow his career-high home run total out of the water. Overall, this is somebody who has been with the same team long enough that they can finally start to make some significant strides with their attack at the plate. The result? It could be a career year on a variety of fronts for a 30-year-old making some of his best contact yet. View full article

Jake Bauers is on pace to blow his single-season home run career-high (12) out of the water, as he has eight to start the season. What's contributing to the 30-year-old first baseman's breakout campaign? In this video, we dive into Bauers' exit velocity, hard-hit rate, adjusted launch angle, and more. View full video

Milwaukee Brewers starter Logan Henderson just made history, becoming the first starting pitcher since 1898 to allow two earned runs or fewer in the first 10 starts of his career. How does the righty do it? In this video, we'll break down how he overcomes a below-average fastball velocity, leverages arm-side ride, and generates one of the better strikeout rates in baseball this season. View full video