Illustration by Tim Czerniakowski
Milwaukee Brewers preview
Fans who come out to a game at American Family Field this season are likely to get a glimpse of the future, both for the Brewers and for the National League Central as a whole.
The Brewers’ combination of recent player development success and offseason trades has left them with one of the best-stocked farm systems in recent memory. Keith Law of The Athletic recently included six Brewers minor leaguers in his list of the sport’s top 100 prospects, and there’s a chance all of them could make their major league debuts this season: Outfielder Jackson Chourio has already signed a long-term extension, infielders Tyler Black, Joey Ortiz and Brock Wilken could be called upon to fill organizational needs, pitcher Jacob Misiorowski could likely stick in a major league bullpen right now and catcher Jeferson Quero consistently draws accolades for both his offense and defense.
These players have come from a variety of sources. Chourio and Quero are both success stories for the Brewers’ international scouting department and Dominican academy, while Black, Wilken and Misiorowski are all former high draft picks and Ortiz joined the organization in this winter’s Corbin Burnes trade. While they joined the organization in different ways, they have one thing in common: all six played at or above the AA level in 2023 and are now on the cusp of being MLB-ready.
It’s possible the Brewers could call up as many as six or seven players who turn into MLB regulars this season (pitcher Robert Gasser wasn’t included on Law’s top 100 but made MLB Pipeline’s list of the top left-handed pitching prospects and also belongs in this conversation). This would be one of the biggest youth movements in franchise history, but it also parallels the trajectory of several of the Brewers’ rivals.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Top Prospects
While the Brewers have six players on the aforementioned top 100 prospect list, the Cubs also have five of them on Law’s list and seven on MLB Pipeline’s. Both lists include outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and first baseman Michael Busch, both of whom have the opportunity to pick up regular playing time soon and keep it for the long term thereafter. The Reds have already undergone a youth movement, led by 22-year-old infield phenom Elly De La Cruz and 24-year-old flamethrower Hunter Greene, but they also have five of Law’s top 100 prospects. The Pirates have young stars Oneil Cruz and KeBryan Hayes on the left side of their infield, but they have four more prospects on Law’s list, all ranked in the top 50.
The least prospect-laden team in the division is the Cardinals, a traditionally veteran-heavy organization that may open the season with five starting pitchers age 32 or older along with 36-year-old first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, 33-year-old third baseman Nolan Arenado and 32-year-old catcher Willson Contreras. Even they, however, have prospect help on the horizon with three of the game’s top 100 minor leaguers, led by shortstop Masyn Wynn.
The average division of five MLB teams could expect to have about 16 or 17 of the game’s top 100 prospects, but Law says the NL Central has 23 and MLB Pipeline says they have 25. Their lists also don’t entirely overlap so a total of 29 players appear on one or the other, if not both.
As is often the case with teams that rely heavily on young players, it remains to be seen how this youth movement will work out for the Brewers or any of their NL Central rivals. Based on volume and random chance alone, however, it seems likely some or many of the players we see for the first time this season will become the division’s biggest stars for many years to come.
