Touted SS prospect Pratt near 8-year deal with Brewers (report)

MILWAUKEE -- Two and a half years after they broke records and reaped benefits with a long-term extension for Jackson Chourio before he’d spent a single day in the Major Leagues, the Brewers are reportedly on the cusp of locking up another top prospect to a long-term deal.

This time it’s an infielder, 21-year-old Cooper Pratt, the Brewers’ No. 4-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline and No. 62 on the overall Top 100. Pratt is closing in on an eight-year contract worth just north of $50 million with two option years for an additional $15 million or so per season, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

The Brewers have not confirmed the report. Club policy is to never discuss player or staff extension talks with the media.

If those terms sound familiar, it’s because Chourio’s pact, sealed during the 2023 Winter Meetings in Nashville, was also for eight years plus two club options. It guaranteed Chourio $82 million, which was a record for a player with zero MLB experience, and was inked at a time he had played only six games above the Double-A level.

Pratt, meanwhile, had never played north of Double-A before being assigned to Triple-A Nashville to begin this season. Last year in the Southern League, he hit .238/.343/.348 while playing Major League-caliber defense. The Brewers drafted him out of high school in the sixth round in 2023 as part of a shrewd strategy of shifting Draft pool dollars to high-upside players in the middle rounds.

Pratt was in his second big league camp this spring, and he was with the Major League club as recently as last week for a pair of exhibitions against the Reds.

“I feel like I prepared well enough to get ready for the season, and hopefully I’ll get going early and then I’ll be here some time soon,” Pratt said while packing his bags for the Minors. “I want to say I’m really confident, but it’s all God’s plan. I feel like I can play in the big leagues, so when that time comes, I’ll be ready.”