MILWAUKEE -- You only get one Major League debut, they say. But the relative calm that came with Day 2 was just as rewarding for Brewers rookie Cooper Pratt.
The 21-year-old shortstop logged his first MLB hits, his first run scored and RBI and his first stolen base in Wednesday night’s 9-4 win over the Guardians at American Family Field, a much better representation than Tuesday’s debut of what the organization expects to get from its most highly anticipated position player callup since Jackson Chourio in 2024.
“A lot calmer,” Pratt said. “It was like, ‘OK, you had your day. Now it’s time to play.’”
Pratt, ranked as Milwaukee's No. 4 prospect and No. 63 overall by MLB Pipeline, spent Tuesday making sure he was at the right place at the right time, and that the 50 family members and friends on hand were all taken care of. He spent Wednesday singularly focused on baseball and reaped the rewards.
That started in the second inning, when Pratt punched a 2-2 sinker from Guardians starter Gavin Williams through the right side for a single and his first Major League hit.
“It was predicted by some great Swammy that his first hit would be between the 3-4 hole,” manager Pat Murphy said. “That was a prediction that was told to him by the Swammy. Then, it came true and he realized he didn’t have to do too much. I’m really proud of him.”
Pratt willed the hit through.
“It would have been nice to have it yesterday, but it feels fantastic,” Pratt said. “I was running and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, go, go, go, go go, get through.' I was afraid [second baseman Travis Bazzana] was going to dive or something, and throw me out. Once I saw it go through, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ I heard the crowd. It was sick.”
The crowd’s calls of “Cooop!” are reminiscent of former Brewer Cecil Cooper, the sweet-swinging first baseman who collected 1,815 Brewers hits and represented Milwaukee at five All-Star Games from 1977-87. Credit to Pratt, he knew about that history.
But still, he did a double take.
“It almost sounded like a boo,” Pratt said. “I was like, ‘Dang, man, I’ve been here a day.’ But I noticed it’s ‘Coop.’ I like it.”
Pratt went that direction again in the eighth for an RBI single, then he stole second base to cap a night the Brewers (45-26) secured a series victory against the Guardians, a winning homestand and pushed a season-high 19 games over .500.
The individual firsts are great. But winning trumps them all.
“It’s a whole lot different than Minor League baseball, that’s for sure,” Pratt said. “I could care less -- like, obviously, I want to do everything I can to help the team, but in the Minor Leagues, you want to get a hit really bad. [In the big leagues], I just want to do anything to help. It’s like the playoffs, almost. You don’t care as long as you win.”