Brewers' Peña (MLB's No. 21 prospect) continues hot start with first homer of '26
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For the first time in their young pro careers, the Brewers’ top two prospects, Jesús Made and Luis Peña, started the season at different levels. If Peña’s first nine games at High-A are any indication, that won't be the case for long.
MLB’s No. 21 prospect has burst onto the scene for the Timber Rattlers, reaching base in all nine of his games played and collecting knocks in eight of them. On Saturday, he mashed his first big fly of the year, boosting Wisconsin to an 8-7 victory over Peoria at Neuroscience Group Field.
The homer came on an outside fastball in the fifth inning against right-hander Zack Showalter (Cardinals). Peña, in a 1-2 count, barreled the offering and sent it soaring over the right-field wall. The drive raised the Dominican Republic native’s slugging percentage to .613 and brought his Midwest League-leading batting average to .419. Peña’s 1.126 OPS is fourth-best on the circuit.
After winning the Dominican Summer League batting title with a .393 average in 2024 during his first professional season, Peña was pushed aggressively and started last year at Single-A. He spent 71 games tearing up the Carolina League (.308/.375/.469 slash line) before earning a promotion to High-A to finish off the season. At the higher level, the 2024 international signee struggled with his approach, striking out 27 times in 25 games, thus prompting the Brewers to send him back to Wisconsin to start this season.
Peña has displayed a tighter approach so far in his second stint. He kicked off his season with three walks on April 4, and now has seven walks compared to six strikeouts on the year.
Peña’s bat has been red-hot, but his top tool are his 70-grade wheels. Over his first two professional seasons, the 5-foot-11 speedster stole 83 bases and was caught just 11 times. This season, he already has six swipes to his name.
At High-A, Peña will also see an uptick in defensive reps at shortstop. In 2025, he split time at the position with Made (MIL No. 1/MLB No. 3), playing just 45 games at the six. So far this year, because the two are separated, Peña has manned shortstop in all nine of his games and made zero errors across 28 chances.
In addition to Peña, Brewers No. 11 prospect Josh Adamczewski has also been a force for Wisconsin to start 2026. He launched two homers on Saturday, giving him five long balls -- his total from 71 games in 2025 -- and 11 RBIs in his past six contests.
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Adamczewski paces all of High-A with an .889 SLG.