Milwaukee Brewers: Ranking the top 20 prospects

Last week, MLB Pipeline released the updated top 100 prospect list. They also released an updated top 30 prospect list for the Milwaukee Brewers.

There were quite a few changes to the Milwaukee Brewers prospect list. Some players either under performed, or were traded and dropped from the list. Others have excelled to improve their standing. What follows is the official Reviewing the Brew top 20 prospects. MLB rankings are in parentheses.

20- Josh Pennington RHP (22)

Pennington was acquired as part of the Tyler Thornburg trade this past off-season with the Boston Red Sox. He has had a few different arm injuries in his career. When the Red Sox drafted him, 24th overall in 2014 out of high school, they did so knowing he needed Tommy John surgery.

According to his MLB scouting report, Pennington throws a plus-plus fastball. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite figured out how to throw strikes consistently. He throws an above average curveball, but hasn’t figured out how to throw a consistent change-up.

His fastball alone makes him an intriguing prospect. Most projections see him as a reliever in the big leagues. Either way, don’t expect to see him as a Milwaukee Brewer anytime soon.

19- Jacob Nottingham C (19)

Nottingham is a project at catcher. He will need to stay at the position to make it to the major leagues. He has struggled with the bat since joining the Brewers organization.

Never thought of as a defensive catcher, Nottingham has done his best to change that this season. He allowed a staggering 21 passed balls a year ago. This season, he has cut that number down to seven.

If he continues to improve defensively, Nottingham could prove to be a very useful player in the big leagues. At worst, he should be adequate enough defensively to be a backup. With his size, he can also help out at first base.