Bishop Letson has established himself as one of the Brewers' top pitching prospects -- and he saved his best professional start for his highest-stakes game yet.
Pitching with Double-A Biloxi's title hopes on the line in Game 2 of the Southern League Finals, the Brewers' No. 8 prospect struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings in the Shuckers' 7-0 win over Rocket City on Tuesday at Toyota Field.
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Heading into the playoffs, the 22-year-old had never recorded double-digit strikeouts in a game before, although he did punch out nine in each of his final two regular-season starts. Letson brought his best swing-and-miss stuff to the postseason outing.
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The 6-foot-4 righty racked up six K's through the first three innings and reached his career high after striking out the side in the fifth. This also marked just his second pro outing going seven innings as he punched out the final batter on a sweeper looking.
Letson can create a ton of spin and has a dynamic repertoire -- particularly his plus heater and low-80s sweeper, which accounted for all of his strikeouts. They play up even more because of the 7 1/2 feet of extension he gets on his whippy delivery. He leaned on his breaking ball early in the game before racking up strikeouts on his heater -- both swinging and looking, painting the corners, later in the start.
The 2023 11th-rounder was chosen on Day 3 of the Draft, an area that has been a gold mine for the Brewers. Outfielder Josh Adamczewski (MIL No. 3/MLB No. 85), right-hander Tyson Hardin (MIL No. 7), corner infielder Luke Adams (MIL No. 12) and right-hander Jayden Dubanewicz (MIL No. 22) were all taken in the 11th round or later and given over-slot bonuses.
Signing for $482,600 out of the Indiana high school ranks, Letson has fared well in all three of his pro seasons. Although his ERA (4.85) and walk rate (11.1 percent) were inflated in his first full season at Double-A, he maintained a strikeout rate above one per inning and should see it rise further if he finds the strike zone more consistently. The bigger concern has been health.
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The former Purdue commit's debut season was cut short by elbow soreness and he missed three months of 2025 with a right shoulder injury. Still, despite missing almost three weeks on the injured list in July and August, he managed a career-high 106 2/3 innings between the regular season and playoffs this year.
If he can stay on the field, Letson has mid-rotation upside, which he put on display Tuesday. The Brewers already have had success developing tall, lanky spin monsters -- just look at 24-year-old ace Jacob Misiorowski.
Letson is on track to reach Triple-A Nashville next year for his biggest test yet on what might become one of the most loaded rosters in the Minor Leagues. He could be joined by Fischer, who hit his second postseason homer after swatting 48 in the regular season, and Made, whose strong postseason has built on one of the best all-around campaigns for any teenager in pro ball.