Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects List: #7 OF Tristen Lutz

Our Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects List heading into the 2019 season continues. We’re now over halfway through our list of the top 15 prospects in the Brewers system as we’ve reached the No. 7 spot on the countdown.

Coming in at number seven on Reviewing the Brew’s Top 15 Milwaukee Brewers prospects list is the 34th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, outfielder Tristen Lutz.

It’s a pretty well known fact by this point that President of Baseball Operations David Stearns and the rest of his front office love stockpiling outfielders in the organization. So when they selected Lutz, a prep outfielder, with a Day 1 selection, it didn’t surprise many people.

#7. OF Tristen Lutz

Lutz, 20, spent the 2018 season with the Low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. In 119 games, Lutz knocked 33 doubles, three triples, and 13 homers, drove in 63 runs, and stole nine bases. He also struck out 139 times in 444 at-bats, enough for a 31.3% strikeout rate.

He finished the season with a .245/.321/.421 slash line. His .742 OPS is average. It’s not spectacular, but it’s also not cause for alarm. Lutz was just 19 years old for most of the season.

In 2017, when he made his pro debut, Lutz hit .311/.398/.559 with nine home runs in 40 games in Rookie ball.

Scouts rate Lutz as a potential five-tool player when all is said and done. While power is his carrying tool, Lutz is also a strong hitter that can go the opposite way and has advanced pitch recognition ability.

More from Brewers Prospects

• Brewers Farm System Finally Back into MLB Pipeline’s Top 20
• Brewers: Ranking The Crew’s Top 3 September Call Up Candidates
• Should the Brewers Promote Hot Hitting Prospect Sal Frelick?
• Brewers: Where does 2022 Draft class sit in Pipeline mid-season rankings?
• Milwaukee Brewers: Minor League Affiliate Recap for 8/2 to 8/7

He also has some decent speed, although he isn’t a burner on the basepaths. Lutz is a strong defender, with a cannon for an arm, and he’s accurate with it too.

Lutz has the speed to stay in centerfield in the big leagues, but if he’s forced to move off the position, right field is the natural spot for him due to his strong arm and power at the plate.

When Could We See Lutz In Milwaukee?

Entering his age-20 season, Lutz is pegged for the High-A Carolina Mudcats in 2019. Assuming the one lever-per-year development plan as is the case with most high school draft prospects, Lutz will reach Triple-A in 2021, and would be an injury away from seeing time in Milwaukee.

He could be ready to compete for a full time job in the Milwaukee Brewers outfield in 2022. That year is also the final year in the current contracts for Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. Ryan Braun‘s contract is guaranteed through 2020, but has a mutual option for 2021. Should that get declined, we could see Tristen Lutz a lot more in 2021 than originally anticipated.

It depends on his development. If Lutz explodes onto the scene and breaks out either in 2019 or 2020, then his timeline could get moved up from a late 2021 debut to an early 2021 debut.

Lutz is definitely a key prospect to keep an eye on this year for the Carolina Mudcats. Although his numbers took a dip in 2018 which caused his slight fall in our prospect rankings, he has the power and the tools to quickly move back up. For now, he ranks on our list as the Brewers No. 7 prospect heading into 2019.

The Milwaukee Brewers still have a very solid farm system, despite lacking the high-end blue chip talent it once did. Lutz is a key piece of that farm system.