What will the Milwaukee Brewers roster look like in 2025?

Prospects

The Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system is widely regarded as one of the weakest in the MLB. Much of it traded away in 2018 in an attempt to make a late-season push for a deep playoff run. Most of those moves paid off in some capacity, and it’s better to have a good major league team than a good farm system. Even with the depleted minor leagues, there are still some guys who could develop into MLB players in the next five years or sooner.

There is currently a quintet of promising pitching prospects in different levels of the minor league system. First, there is 2019 first-round pick Ethan Small who dominated in his 18 innings of work for the Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, giving up just two earned runs. Next, there’s 23-year-old Trey Supak who was phenomenal in 20 starts at Double-A last season with a 2.20 ERA including a complete game shutout but couldn’t put it all together in his limited time in Triple-A.

Then, there is Aaron Ashby who was the Brewers fourth-round pick in 2018. He put together solid numbers at both Class-A Wisconsin and High-A Carolina last year. There’s also Zack Brown, who had torn up the minors in his first three years but struggled last season in Triple-A.  Finally, there is Drew Rasmussen who took no time at all to ascend from Class-A to Double-A in 2019 and pitched well at every level.

Another position that seems to be in good hands for the foreseeable future is catcher. In addition to Nottingham, the Brewers have Mario Feliciano, their third-ranked prospect, and Payton Henry who is ranked 16th among Brewer prospects. Feliciano spent almost all of last season with Carolina where he hit .273 and slugged .477, finishing with an OPS of .801. Henry was there with him and hit .241 while slugging .395, earning an OPS of .711

The middle infield isn’t a particularly deep position in the Brewers’ minor leagues, but there are two top prospects there. Brewers #1 prospect Brice Turang and #7 prospect Eduardo Garcia make up the possible future duo.

Turang is still only 20 years old and has been a solid hitter in his professional career so far. He struggled in his 47 games with Carolina last season, but he owns a .263 career average in his 171 games and will continue to mature and improve. Garcia is only 17 years old and has already shown some potential, hitting .313 with an OPS of .919 in his 32 at-bats in rookie ball last season. He won’t see the major leagues any time soon, but he’s brimming with potential.

There are outfield prospects up and down the Brewers’ top 30, so I’ll highlight the most important ones. First, probably the most recognizable name is Corey Ray. After being a first-round pick in 2016, he has struggled at the plate, hitting only .235 in his time in the minors. While he doesn’t hit for a high average, he does things that are coveted in today’s analytics-driven game, he takes walks and hits for power. His career slugging percentage is .406 and he hit 27 home runs in 2018.

Then, there’s a pair of 17-year-old Dominican players, Luis Medina and Hedbert Perez who are the 11th and 8th ranked prospects in the system, respectively. Finally, Tristan Lutz is the highest-ranked outfielder, currently the Brewers #4 prospect. Like Ray, he can get on base with walks and hits a lot of doubles to help his slugging, 33 in 2018 and 24 in 2019.

Finally, the weakest positions for the Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system, corner infield. The only two of real note are Lucas Erceg and Chad Spanberger. Erceg has been on the doorstep of the majors for a few years now, reaching Triple-A at the end of 2017. He has stagnated, however, and he is having trouble breaking through, now at 25 years old. Spanberger was acquired in a trade for Chase Anderson this offseason and made a great impression in Spring Training, hitting two home runs before it was shut down. He has some big pop in his bat and hit 27 homers in 2018.