Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects
Here at Legends on Deck our passion is prospects and the offseason presents an outstanding opportunity for us to showcase some of baseball’s top up and comers. Throughout the offseason, we will be bringing you the top ten prospects from all 30 organizations. We will start with the Arizona Diamondbacks and work our way alphabetically all the way through the Washington Nationals. This series is the opinion of Jake Berry, Senior Editor at Legends on Deck and does not reflect any official MLB rankings.
#10 – OF Tyrone Taylor
2019 Opening Day Age: 25 ETA: 2020 Top Future Tool: Field
2018 Stats (Triple-A): .278/.321/.504, 20 HR, 13 SB, 15.4 K%, 5.6 BB%
Taylor is a great athlete and in the past I would have projected him as a Quad-A type guy, but he has made some swing improvements and continues to get better. The former second round pick could prove to be a fourth outfielder.
#9 – RHP Trey Supak
2019 Opening Day Age: 22 ETA: 2019 Top Future Pitch: SL
2018 Stats (Single-A/Double-A): 137.2 IP, 2.48 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 123 K, 44 BB
Supak is an interesting arm. All of his pitches seem to be at least average offerings at this point and the big frame helps his overall profile. He controls his stuff well and provides a solid floor as a back of the rotation starter who can eat some innings.
#8 – OF Joe Gray
2019 Opening Day Age: 19 ETA: 2022 Top Future Tool: Power
2018 Stats (Rookie): 77 AB, 2 HR, 6 SB, 25 K, 18 BB
Gray is a strong dude with an overall power profile both with the bat and the arm. Man, I love that combo. While there isn’t a ton of excitement around this system overall, Gray is an outfielder with some high upside to keep and eye on.
#7 – INF Mauricio Dubon
2019 Opening Day Age: 24 ETA: 2020 Top Future Tool: Hit
2018 Stats (Triple-A): 108 AB, 4 HR, 6 SB, 19 K, 2 BB
I am admittedly the low man on Dubon. He will be a decent hitter and a fine fielder up the middle, I just don’t get excited about the overall profile. There is virtually no power projection to his game and he will be a station to station guy as an average runner. A torn ACL ended his 2018 campaign early.
#6 – LHP Aaron Ashby
2019 Opening Day Age: 20 ETA: 2021 Top Future Pitch: CB
2018 Stats (Rookie/Single-A): 57.2 IP, 3.59 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 66 K, 17 BB
A high spin guy, Ashby lives in the low 90’s with the fastball, but has a consistently difficult to hit curve. The changeup is developing and as that comes along, so will he. The lefty profiles as a back half starter and has the stuff to be a contributor in the show.
#5 – RHP Zack Brown
2019 Opening Day Age: 24 ETA: 2019 Top Future Pitch: CB
2018 Stats (Double-A): 127.2 IP, 2.40 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 119 SO, 37 BB
An outstanding Double-A campaign in 2018 really put Brown on the map. The 6’1 righty did an outstanding job of limiting base runners last year and while he won’t set any strikeout records, his stuff leads to weak contact from opposing hitters. He has a great fastball, curveball combo with a developing changeup, but the intangibles are what set him apart. Scouts say he does a great job adjusting and has an impressive makeup. I like the floor on Brown and think he will be a solid mid-rotation guy or a top reliever.
#4 – SS Brice Turang
2019 Opening Day Age: 19 ETA: 2022 Top Future Tool: Run
2018 Stats (Rookie): .283/.396/.352, 1 HR, 14 SB, 17.7 K%, 16.1 BB%
Turang was taken in the first round of the 2018 draft and he probably fell a little bit further than most expected. To me, the California native doesn’t have one standout tool, but he has the potential to be a pretty good all around player. He will never hit for much power, but if he can continue to put the ball in play, draw walks, and swipe bags, there is a decent leadoff hitter, second baseman, profile here.
#3 – OF Tristen Lutz
2019 Opening Day Age: 20 ETA: 2022 Top Future Tool: Power
2018 Stats (Double-A): .245/.321/.421, 13 HR, 9 SB, 27.6 K%, 9.1 BB%
I went back and forth on Lutz and Turang at three and four and ultimately went with the established tools over projection. Of course we would like to see the strikeout rate drop and the hit tool has plenty of time to get better, but we pretty much know what Lutz’s carrying tool will be, plus power. He also has a great arm and profiles well in right field although he has played all three outfield spots.
#2 – OF Corey Ray
2019 Opening Day Age: 24 ETA: 2019 Top Future Tool: Run
2018 Stats (Double-A): .239/.323/.477, 27 HR, 37 SB, 29.3 K%, 10 BB%
The top two in this system were easy for me which is something I can’t say for the first 80% of this list. There are concerns over Ray’s hit tool and high strikeout percentage, but I’m a sucker for a good power/speed combination and Ray has just that. I’m not blown away by the bat speed or the swing mechanics in general, I think a lot of the power just comes from his pure strength. The former Louisville standout won’t win any gold gloves, but should be a serviceable outfielder. The real determining factor for the 24 year old will be whether or not he can improve the hit tool.
#1 – 2B Keston Hiura
2019 Opening Day Age: 22 ETA: 2019 Top Future Tool: Hit
2018 Stats (High-A/Double-A): .293/.357/.464, 13 HR, 15 SB, 19.3 K%, 6.7 BB%
Hands down, the clear cut favorite in this system and one of the best offensive profiles for a prospect in all of baseball. If you name a skill at the plate, Hiura owns it. The UC Irvine product has arguably the best hit tool of any prospect not named Vlad Jr, he possesses plus power, and an advanced plate approach with great pitch recognition ability. The swing itself is a thing of beauty with plus bat speed and barrel to ball skills. In the field, the 2018 AFL MVP is an average second basemen and it could be due to an elbow injury in college that limited him to DH through the end of his stint at Irvine. With that being said, he is back in the field in pro ball and certainly proving he won’t be a liability defensively. His arm will probably limit him to the keystone. The 2017 number nine overall pick has flown through the system and I wouldn’t be surprised with a 2019 call up.
Featured Image: Trey Supak (Courtesy of Mathew Carper/Legends On Deck)
