Brewers: 5 Prospects That Should Be Untouchable This Offseason

The Hot Stove season is about to get underway, which means plenty of player movement for all teams including the Milwaukee Brewers. But some players better not move.

As we move into trading season, rumors will start to fly about targets teams, such as the Brewers, are looking for, and minor league prospects selling teams are seeking in return. Throughout the offseason, we hear about various “untouchable” players for teams, which won’t be traded no matter who you offer in return.

For the Milwaukee Brewers, the big league roster untouchables are fairly obvious. It doesn’t take much in-depth analysis to say guys like Christian Yelich, Brandon Woodruff, and Josh Hader won’t be available in trade talks this winter.

With the Brewers looking to supplement their big league roster, they’re more likely to trade from their minor league depth or the fringes of their 40 man roster. We discussed a few of those trade candidates in a previous post.

Now let’s take a look at some of the minor league prospects who shouldn’t be going anywhere this offseason.

LHP Ethan Small

Ethan Small, the Crew’s 2019 first round pick and 5th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, should be staying put within the organization. A 4-year senior, Small was drafted as a pitcher that could move his way up the farm system very quickly and help out the Brewers big league staff sooner rather than later.

With Small’s ability to start and pitch with his left arm, he provides something the Brewers have severely lacked over the past several years. Sure they have Brent Suter, but the Crew has been short on left handed starters in the big leagues and the minors for too long, and it’s too soon to trade away a good one such as Small.

Selected 28th overall, Small made seven starts in the minor leagues in 2019, and performed extremely well. In two starts in Rookie ball, Small didn’t allow a run over three innings and was quickly moved up to Low-A Wisconsin. In five starts there covering 18 innings, Small had a miniscule 1.00 ERA with only four walks and 31(!) strikeouts.

Small has a good chance to make a big impact (I couldn’t resist) in the big leagues in the near future. The Brewers shouldn’t give him away to someone else this offseason.

LHP Aaron Ashby

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Aaron Ashby in the 4th round of the 2018 Draft and he’s done nothing but dominate since then.

In seven starts at Low-A Wisconsin in 2018, Ashby posted a 2.17 ERA in 37.1 innings, striking out 47 while walking only nine. That was just the first glimpse of the Crowder JC product could do as he was already looking like a big piece from that 2018 draft class that also had shortstop Brice Turang in it.

Then, in 2019, Ashby started again in Low-A Wisconsin and pitched well, posting a 3.54 ERA in 11 appearances, including a complete game. Ashby struck out 80 batters in just 60.1 innings pitched and opponents were hitting just .216 against him.

His performance with the Timber Rattlers earned him a mid-season promotion to the High-A Carolina Mudcats.

In Carolina, Ashby continued to put up strong numbers, with a 3.46 ERA in 13 starts covering 65 innings. His strikeout numbers took a little dip though, with only 55 K’s in a similar amount of innings to what he had in Wisconsin.

Ashby is a good strikeout pitcher, but when he does allow contact, for the most part he keeps it on the ground, which is very important when considering he’ll be pitching in Miller Park one day.

His best pitch is his curveball, which he can throw a couple of different ways, and pairs it with his fastball that can touch 96 MPH. But the key to Ashby’s success will be his changeup, and it’s developed nicely and has turned into a solid third pitch, which makes him a viable starting pitcher at the big league level instead of just being a reliever.

Ashby fits the profile of a lot of the left-handed pitchers the Brewers currently have, operating with a deceptive, funky delivery, that gets by more on craftiness than pure power. That’s the same style as Brent Suter and Alex Claudio. Josh Hader also possesses that deceptive delivery, but can pair it with pure power, which is what makes him so dominant.

Once again, left handed pitching is something the Brewers mostly lack in their system, especially when it comes to lefties who can start. Trading away guys like that is not the best way to build a strong, deep rotation. The Brewers should turn down any requests for Ashby this winter and make him untouchable.

LHP Antoine Kelly

Are you sensing a theme here? Three straight left handed pitchers are on our untouchable prospects list, and all with good reason, beyond the general lack of left handed depth throughout the organization.

During the 2019 MLB Draft, it was clear the Brewers made a priority out of adding left handed pitching, selecting seven lefties in the first 17 rounds. The first selection was Ethan Small, a lefty also appearing on this list, and the second selection was Antoine Kelly, who also should be staying put within the organization.

Kelly was drafted out of Wabash Valley CC in Illinois where he had 19.1 K/9 his freshman year. His fastball is electric, sitting 94-97 MPH while topping out around 98 MPH, for now. With a big frame to fill out, (6’6″ tall) and an easy, smooth delivery, he could easily reach triple digits in the future.

According to reports, a lot of scouts have compared him to a young David Price, who had a similar physical build and big time stuff.

After being drafted, Kelly went to the Arizona Rookie League and dominated. In nine starts covering 28.2 innings, he had a 1.26 ERA with 41 strikeouts and only five walks.

While his secondary pitches will need some work, if they can get his slider to be respectable, he can be a dominant reliever. If he can get both his slider and his changeup to become quality pitches, he can be a dominant starter. If he can’t get his secondary stuff to be much better, he’ll be a reliever with a lot of potential that he just can’t reach.

Kelly is practically the definition of a “boom-or-bust” prospect. If he booms, he can be a dominant force for years to come and the Brewers will look like geniuses. If he busts, it was a worthy gamble that just didn’t pay off.

After his first few outings in pro ball, everything’s still looking like he’s trending towards the “boom” category, so there’s zero reason to give him away now. The Brewers need to make him untouchable and continue to develop him.

C Mario Feliciano

Ok, so the trend of left handed starting pitchers is over. After all, there really aren’t that many in the system, but those three are the big ones to protect. One of their potential future batterymates is Mario Feliciano, who also should be untouchable this offseason.

With Yasmani Grandal heading into free agency once again this winter, the Brewers will have question marks about the future at the catcher position once again. Manny Pina is a good player and is serviceable, but his offensive shortcomings are well known.

Jacob Nottingham was once thought of as the catcher of the future, but his bat has inexplicably gone missing since joining the Brewers organization and he’s now an afterthought. With no immediate known “catcher of the future” or even “catcher for 2020”, it’s time to look further down in the minor leagues for what the Brewers have, and you’ll quickly find Feliciano.

With the Carolina Mudcats in 2019, Feliciano hit .273 with 25 doubles, 19 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a .801 OPS. He has a strong bat, can hit to all fields, and is finally tapping into his power.

While he’s known as a bat-first catcher, he’s made great strides defensively behind the plate and is a great pitch framer and will be solid defensively by the time he reaches the big leagues. He’s ranked as the Crew’s 8th best prospect.

By receiving positive marks both offensively and defensively, Feliciano is a rare breed of catcher in today’s game. There are very few catchers that are successful at both offense and defense. Most are either one or the other, and more often than not, it’s the defensive ability that takes priority.

Catcher and shortstop are the two positions where teams are willing to sacrifice offense for defense. But if teams can get both out of those positions, they don’t take that opportunity lightly. That’s why the Brewers pursued Yasmani Grandal last winter and will try to re-sign him again this offseason.

Should Grandal leave, or even if Grandal should stay, the Brewers need to keep Feliciano around. He could be their best homegrown catcher since Jonathan Lucroy and once he reaches the big leagues, anything can happen. Feliciano will be in Double-A in 2020 and from there, you’re a phone call away from the big leagues.

It’s very important the Brewers don’t trade away Feliciano this offseason and make him untouchable.