Milwaukee Brewers’ Prospects: #2 Brett Phillips

The Brewers are self-admit tingly going through a rebuild, and part of that process includes trading away solid veterans for prospects. One such trade saw Carlos Gomez go to the Astros for a quartet of prospects, of which included OF Brett Phillips. Phillips was the prize return that Brewers had sought to get out in trading away Gomez. Regarded as one of the top prospects in MiLB, at the time of the trade he ranked 39^th and had a solid 2014 season that only solidified the notion that he’s a five-tool talent. Given that, just what does he have to give to the Brewers?

Hitting

Between High-A ball and Double-A ball Phillips posted a line of .297/.371/.479/.858 with 16 HR, 77 RBIs and 17 SB. Phillips is a solid hitter and his numbers back that up, even in four seasons in the Astros farm system he posted a .296 batting average. To knock it off his OBF of .479 make him an excellent candidate for the top-of-the-order position.

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Defense

At 6-ft, 197 Pounds Phillips is built to be a center fielder. His defense isn’t that of Carlos Gomez’s (no one could ever be that great IMHO), but given what has been said about him around various outlets (including Baseball America) he has good reads and fast one off of at-bats, and the speed to chase balls down. His arm-strength seems to be his greatest weakness, as noted by many, and many believe he’s better suited for right field, but it’s his ability to make reads and take charge that put him in CF.

Conclusion

Phillips has all the right tools to continuously move along in the organization and be a more than capable center fielder. He was the kind of value the Brewers were looking for in trading away Carlos Gomez and while there can only be only Caros Gomez, Phillips is about the best person to try and fill in his shoes, and many others have noted that and put him in place to overtake Arcia as the Brewer’s top Prospect, however we think he’s only #2