Milwaukee Brewers: Reacting To MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects List

MLB Pipeline is releasing their annual rankings of every organization’s Top 30 Prospects list. On Thursday, they released their list for the Milwaukee Brewers.

In the era of baseball we’re in right now, prospects are all the rage. Who has the best? Who has the most? Which ones can help the big league club the fastest? What tools do they have? Every team has their section of their fan base that’s devoted to following the minor league prospects, and the Milwaukee Brewers are no different.

For rebuilding clubs, this is the most exciting thing fans have to watch for. They know the big league club isn’t going to win at the moment, so they pin their hopes on the future big leaguers just a few years away.

Having gone through a rebuild recently, Milwaukee Brewers fans know what that’s all about. For a short time there, the Brewers had one of the best farm systems in baseball. Now that group has been thinned out a bit from either graduations to the big leagues or trades to improve the big league club.

But there’s still a lot of talent in this system to be excited about.

Who Tops MLB Pipeline’s List?

Keston Hiura is unsurprisingly topping the list. He placed #20 in Pipeline’s Top 100 list and was the only Brewers prospect on the list.

Here’s the Top 5 for the Milwaukee Brewers.

1. 2B Keston Hiura
2. OF Corey Ray
3. SS Brice Turang
4. OF Tristen Lutz
5. 2B/SS Mauricio Dubon

If you remember from RtB’s prospect countdown, we had a few slight variations. We placed Turang in the No. 2 spot due to his strong hitting ability and defense. But Ray does have a rare power-speed combination and Pipeline has valued that more highly. Ray is also closer to the big leagues and came out of college while Turang was just drafted out of high school.

Lutz making the Top 5 is interesting. In RtB’s list he came in at No. 7. Although he did have a higher OPS than Lucas Erceg, Lutz struck out 139 times in 119 games, which was a bit more concerning for us than it was for Pipeline. His 33 doubles last year did help his cause and his power potential as a center fielder is quite high.

Both Reviewing the Brew and MLB Pipeline have put Mauricio Dubon into the Top 5. Even though he’s coming off a major injury, he showed a lot of promise last April and everything about the way he’s approached his rehab gives us reason for optimism. He’d likely get the first chance in the middle infield this year over Keston Hiura.

Any Surprises On The List?

The new name on the list is right handed pitcher Braden Webb. He makes his debut on MLB Pipeline’s list at No. 12 this year. A 3rd round pick in 2016, Webb had a 1.80 ERA in a 20 inning cameo at Double-A Biloxi last year. He didn’t have inspiring numbers in High-A Carolina, with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP in 21 starts, but he got moved up and he found something in Double-A.

Webb could have three plus pitches when it’s all said and done, which should give him a ceiling as a quality big league starting pitcher. The problem is, he doesn’t have very good control of them. He walks a lot of hitters and has a kind of funky delivery. He may end up in the bullpen eventually, but Webb took a big step forward in 2018 with his Double-A performance and looks to do so again in 2019.

Another name that’s reappearing on this list for the first time in a long time is outfielder Tyrone Taylor, who barely makes the list at No. 29. Taylor was last seen on this list in 2016 as the No. 26 prospect in the organization. He was once the top prospect in the whole organization, topping the list in 2014. After a strong season in Triple-A in 2018, where he knocked a career high 20 homers, the 25 year old outfielder was added to the 40 man roster this offseason.

Any Newcomers To The Organization?

The Milwaukee Brewers made a couple of trades this offseason that netted them some young prospects. Bobby Wahl, the 26 year old reliever acquired in the Keon Broxton trade, comes in at the No. 26 spot on the list. He dominated at Triple-A last year, but struggled in his short stint in New York with the Mets.

Coming in at No. 27 is righty Adam Hill, also acquired in that Keon Broxton trade. Hill could end up being the prize of that return package for Broxton. The 6’6″ righty had a 2.35 ERA last year in Class-A after being selected in the 4th round of the 2018 draft.

The fact that the Brewers got two-Top 30 prospects for Keon Broxton is a miracle in and of itself. Wahl should contribute to the big league club this year and Hill could be a contributor to the rotation in the years to come.

The List As A Whole

MLB Pipeline and Reviewing the Brew share similarly high aspirations for lefty Aaron Ashby. We placed Ashby at No. 10 on our list, while MLB Pipeline bumped him from No. 18 last year up to No. 9 this year. Another strong season from him and he could move up even farther.

There are also a number of names who could graduate from this list in 2019. Infield prospects Keston Hiura and Mauricio Dubon are close to big league ready and should see some time in Milwaukee this year. Trey Supak and Troy Stokes have also been added to the 40 man roster, meaning they’re close to a call up.

In case of injury, Jacob Nottingham could be called up to see more time in Milwaukee this year, but 2019 figures to be another year of development for him in Triple-A.

The most likely names to graduate from this list in 2019 are pitchers Adrian Houser and Bobby Wahl. Both figure to play into the bullpen carousel this season and are going to see enough time to graduate from the list.

This list isn’t as star studded as it used to be and the farm system isn’t as full of blue chip talent. But there’s plenty of young, high ceiling players the Brewers have brought in that can contribute in a few years, playing into that strategy of continuing to be successful in the big leagues without having to rebuild.

With a steady stream of talent coming from the minor leagues, this team can be successful for many years to come, not just through its current championship window.

The Milwaukee Brewers won’t get the accolades on their farm system like they once did, but there’s plenty of talent here to be excited about.