Brewers' Draft picks add intrigue to prospect rankings

August 16th, 2022

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy's Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s a big week for prospect enthusiasts. MLB Pipeline is rolling out its midseason update for all 30 teams’ Top 30 prospects lists on Tuesday night to incorporate changes in performance or projection and include prospects added via the Trade Deadline or the Draft.

The Brewers’ list, headed by my MLB.com colleague Sam Dykstra, has already seen some changes since the initial 2022 Top 30 was unveiled during Spring Training, most notably the shot to the top for outfielder Jackson Chourio. He was ranked No. 10 on the Brewers’ list coming into the season; now he’s No. 1 in Milwaukee’s system and all the way up to No. 11 overall in baseball. Things change fast when a prospect breaks out.

So, keep an eye out for more changes on Tuesday. Here are some of the names I’ll be looking for in the revamped Top 30:

The Brewers’ first-round Draft pick, Brown has wasted little time showing off his speed in pro ball, stealing eight bases in his first eight professional baseball games going into the weekend. He got his feet wet in the Arizona Complex League before moving up to Single-A Carolina last week, and is the kind of advanced college hitter the Brewers have pushed through the system quickly in the past.

Drafted from the same junior college that sent Aaron Ashby to the Brewers and signed for $2.35 million -- almost double the slot value of that pick in the second round -- Misiorowski has generated huge buzz inside the offices at American Family Field, where the club’s scouts and analysts absolutely love the stuff. It’s a two-pitch mix right now, a 100-mph fastball paired with a power slider, so that could be a factor in where he fits into the Top 30. But considering how hitter-heavy the top of the list looks at this particular point in time, I’d say there is a non-zero chance that Misiorowski jumps over organizational newcomer Robert Gasser and lefty Ethan Small as the Brewers’ top-rated pitching prospect. We’ll see.

Moore is another advanced college bat coming off a somewhat disappointing junior season at Arkansas, but he’s young for the class after graduating high school at 17, and the Brewers love his tools and makeup. Like Brown, he’s already playing at Single-A Carolina after a short stint in the ACL.

I’m really curious to see how Sam and the MLB Pipeline folks handle O’Rae, who went to the Brewers with the 102nd pick in the third round. A 5-foot-9 left-handed hitter from Sarnia, Ontario, who played for the Canadian Junior National Team, O’Rae was the first Canadian drafted this year.

And one more name to know …

There’s some good buzz on 17-year-old Lara, a 2021 seven-figure international signee who jumped into the Top 30 after the Brewers traded Tristan Peters to the Giants. Here’s some of what Sam wrote in Lara’s bio:

"Standing at just 5-foot-9, Lara won’t wow many with his physicality on the diamond, but he certainly finds ways to shine with his athleticism. He’s a switch-hitter with promising bat speed that helps him keep down the strikeouts, notable given his age at just 17. While he’s a natural right-handed thrower, his best early results have been from the left side of the plate, both in terms of power and overall production. Barring a late growth spurt and significant added muscle, Lara will need to rely on that bat speed to generate his power -- not an impossibility given how much development runway he has remaining.

The 17-year-old already draws raves for his speed, and he’s made the center field position his own in the DSL. Decent arm strength should give him another defensive asset. The Brewers already have shown success in developing one twitchy center fielder in Jackson Chourio over the last two seasons, and Lara could become their next project."

Lara and those 2022 Draft picks are just some of the names I’ll be looking for when I get eyes on the updated list. As for players who could fall, it will be interesting to see where highly-regarded Hedbert Perez checks in given his tough season at Carolina, and how injuries will impact the ranking of players like Tyler Black, Freddy Zamora, Hendry Mendez, Abner Uribe and Logan Henderson.