Brinson, Burnes lead solid Brewers system
This offseason, MiLB.com is taking a look at the most outstanding campaigns by players in each system across Minor League Baseball and honoring the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in their organization.The Milwaukee Brewers were a big surprise in 2017, leading
This offseason, MiLB.com is taking a look at the most outstanding campaigns by players in each system across Minor League Baseball and honoring the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in their organization.
The Milwaukee Brewers were a big surprise in 2017, leading the National League Central for much of the summer before trailing off and finishing one game short of the Wild Card. Beyond that, reinforcements are on the way in the pipeline, including five-tool outfielder Lewis Brinson and breakout right-hander Corbin Burnes.
Boasting no fewer than seven Top-100 prospects, Milwaukee affiliates finished with a collective .494 winning percentage (15th-best among the 30 farm systems), but three of the four full-season clubs finished above .500. Triple-A Colorado Springs, which fed the big club with talent like Brinson, left-hander Josh Hader and outfielder Brett Phillips, won the Pacific Coast League American Northern Division by 10 games with an 80-57 mark.
Brewers Organization All-Stars
Catcher -- Mario Feliciano, Wisconsin (104 games): Feliciano enjoyed a solid full-season debut at age 18. Ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the system, he was selected as a Midwest League All-Star and finished the year with a .251 average, four homers and 36 RBIs in 104 games. The Puerto Rico native showed his athleticism with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts as well as some solid defense, posting a .988 fielding percentage while throwing out 26 of 95 potential base stealers.

|
First baseman -- Jake Gatewood, Carolina (111 games), Biloxi (23 games): Gatewood took a major step forward at the plate in 2017. The 22-year-old improved every part of his slash line in 2017 -- .264/.333/.441 vs. .240/.268/.391 in 2016 -- and clubbed a career-high 15 homers. However, it was Gatewood's advanced plate discipline, thanks in part to wearing contacts for the first time, that really turned heads. After recording just 18 walks in 2016, the club's No. 18 prospect drew 51 free passes in 134 contests this year. The California native has always been a free swinger, and his strikeout total remained high in '17, but that's a chance the Brewers will take given his improvements in all the other areas.
Second baseman -- Keston Hiura, AZL Brewers (15 games), Wisconsin (27 games): Hiura's reputation as a hitter was so sparkling coming out of UC Irvine that an elbow injury that kept him from playing the field for most of 2017 didn't scare the Brewers when it came time for them to make their first-round pick in June. The 21-year-old repaid the club's faith by blowing through the complex-level Arizona League with a .435 average, and the Brewers' fifth-ranked prospect didn't slow down much after his promotion to Class A Wisconsin, where he posted a .333/.374/.476 slash line in 105 at-bats.
Third baseman -- Lucas Erceg, Carolina (127 games), Colorado Springs (three games): Everything about Erceg's game seems to pop. The 22-year-old hit 15 homers, a triple and 35 doubles in 130 games last year and regularly showed off his impressive arm at the hot corner -- not to mention his successful hidden-ball trick back in May. The 2016 second-rounder, ranked No. 10 in the system, ended the year with three games at Triple-A and should get the chance to man the hot corner at Miller Park sooner rather than later.
Shortstop -- Mauricio Dubón, Biloxi (71 games), Colorado Springs (58 games): Dubon is the type of player who makes things happen. Not only can the Honduras native hit -- Milwaukee's No. 9 prospect is a smooth fielder up the middle and has the speed to wreak havoc on the basepaths. In total, Dubon posted a .274/.330/.382 slash line with eight homers, 57 RBIs and 74 runs scored in 129 games between Double-A and Triple-A.
"Mauricio just needs to continue to get reps," Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said. "He has excellent instincts and really loves to play. So we feel very good about the chance of him continuing to improve."
Utility player -- Nate Orf, Colorado Springs (125 games): Orf has always shown a good feel for the strike zone and 2017 was no exception. Signed by the Brewers as a nondrafted free agent in 2013 out of Baylor University, the 27-year-old batted .320/.397/.507 with a career-high nine homers, walking in more than 10 percent of his plate appearances while 30 percent of his hits went for extra bases.
Outfielders -- Lewis Brinson, Colorado Springs (76 games), Milwaukee (21 games): Through his first five games of the season, Brinson was hitting .273. After that, his average didn't dip below .300 with the Triple-A Sky Sox. The 2012 first-round pick finished the year with a .962 OPS, 13 homers, four triples, 22 doubles and 66 runs scored in 76 games for Colorado Springs. Brinson had the type of season an organization would love from its top prospect and earned 21 games with the big club.
"Lewis is such an exciting player to watch," Flanagan added. "He is a very skilled guy and he really works hard. That combo has allowed him to put it all together."
Iván De Jesús Jr., Colorado Springs (112 games): With more than 220 Major League games under his belt, De Jesus Jr. provided a veteran presence in a Sky Sox outfield that featured two of Milwaukee's most prized prospects -- Brinson and Brett Phillips. He also produced in a big way. The Puerto Rico native finished second in the Pacific Coast League with a .345 average and added 65 RBIs in 112 games.
Monte Harrison, Wisconsin (63 games), Carolina (59 games): Like Brinson, Harrison had already shown power and raw athletic ability -- he just needed the rest of his game to catch up. In 2017, that began to happen. The 2014 second-round pick slugged his way through the first half with Wisconsin, posting an .834 OPS with 11 roundtrippers and 32 RBIs in 63 contests. A midseason promotion to Class A Advanced Carolina didn't slow the 14th-ranked prospect down. In fact, Harrison improved his average with the Mudcats, hitting .278 and adding 10 homers in 59 games.
"There are some similarities between [Brinson] and [Harrison]," Flanagan explained. "They're both extremely athletic players and they can beat you in a number of different ways. Their combo of speed and power is what you look for."
The 22-year-old has carried that momentum into the Arizona Fall League, where he's hitting .286 with five homers in 11 contests.
Honorable mention -- Brett Phillips: The Brewers' No. 12 prospect opened the year at Triple-A and quickly showed he wasn't punching above his weight. The 23-year-old finished with the fifth-highest OPS (.944) on the circuit and enjoyed more than just a cup of coffee with the big club after making his debut in June.
Right-handed starting pitcher -- Corbin Burnes, Carolina (10 games), Biloxi (16 games): Burnes' first full season of professional baseball was storybook. The 2016 fourth-round pick dominated with Carolina, going 5-0 with a 1.05 ERA and an 0.88 WHIP in 60 innings. With nothing else to prove with the Mudcats, the Brewers promoted him to Biloxi at the end of May. The club's No. 7 prospect continued to impress with the Shuckers and finished the year with a 3-3 record, a 2.10 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 16 Southern League starts.
"I never say 'surprising' as we believe in our players and want them to do very well. Corbin was locked in from Spring Training through season's end and was really someone to watch," Flanagan said.
Left-handed starting pitcher -- Kodi Medeiros, Carolina (27 games): Medeiros' season may not have gone exactly how he wanted, but the 2014 first-round pick was able to hold his own as a 21-year-old in the Carolina League. The Hawaii native, ranked No. 23 in the system, went 8-9 with a 4.98 ERA but showed his potential with 121 strikeouts in 128 1/3 frames for the Mudcats.
Relief pitcher -- Nate Griep, Carolina (45 games): For the second straight season, Griep excelled in a closing role. An eighth-round pick in 2015 out of Kansas State, the 24-year-old notched 30 saves in 33 opportunities and posted a 2.37 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 49 1/3 innings for Carolina.
Michael Leboff is a contributor to MiLB.com.
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring