Milwaukee Brewers 2020 Top 25 Prospects List: Nos. 6-10

Here at Reviewing the Brew, we’ve been unveiling our 2020 Top 25 Milwaukee Brewers Prospects list over the last week.

After revealing the prospects from 21-25, 16-20, and most recently 11-15, we have now reached the Top 10 on our Brewers prospects list.

To begin the final 10 players on our list, is one of the Crew’s former first round picks.

10. OF Corey Ray

Corey Ray is one of the most difficult players to rank and predict in the entire farm system. Selected with the 5th overall pick in 2016, Ray was an experienced college center fielder out of Louisville and there was a ton of hype surrounding his potential. Ray possesses the rare combination of both power and speed. He can steal bases and hit bombs, which is what makes fellow Brewer Christian Yelich so valuable.

They can get that same thing out of Corey Ray, when he’s healthy. However, the big caveat with Ray, is that he’s often not healthy. He had a solid debut in 2016 right after getting drafted, especially with an aggressive assignment to High-A out of the gate. He was projected to move quickly through the system.

But then injuries hit in 2017, sapping him of his power and hit tools, hitting just .238 with seven homers back in High-A. In 2018, Ray had a fully healthy season, and we saw a glimpse of his full potential. His batting average stayed low at .239, but he slugged 27 homers with 37 stolen bases in 2018 with Double-A Biloxi.

Everything is back on track, right? His prospect value is up, he could be in Milwaukee shortly, right? Wrong.

Hand and finger injuries derailed Ray’s 2019 season, getting only 262 ABs, while hitting just .218/.291/.363 with eight home runs and six stolen bases. In Triple-A San Antonio, Ray hit an abysmal .188 in 207 ABs.

When healthy, the power is there, the speed is there, and Ray is a key player when he’s on the field. But he’s not out there often enough, and even when healthy, his hit tool has not developed as hoped. Ray strikes out too much (106 Ks in 262 ABs in 2019) and isn’t healthy enough for him to be ranked higher on this list.

Ray was added to the 40 man roster this winter, so there’s a solid chance he could be called up in case of an injury at the big league level this year, but he needs to stay healthy himself. He’s tried to play through his injuries, but that’s made his stats look terrible. It’d be better for him to just take the IL stint when an injury comes up instead of playing through it. Playing through a hand injury as a hitter is nearly impossible.

Until Ray has a healthy season and can improve his hit tool, he will continue to fall down prospect lists. For us, he drops to No. 10 in the 2020 edition.

8. OF Hedbert Perez

This is a player that few fans know of right now, but one that they will know soon enough. Hedbert Perez was just signed by the Brewers a few months ago, during the July 2nd International signing period, and early signs are showing that he could be among the best of that class.

He hasn’t played in a game yet, likely spending this year in the DSL, but the native Venezuelan is the latest in a virtual pipeline of Venezuelan players to the Brewers. The Crew has a very strong presence in the Venezuelan baseball scene, which helped them land such an elite athlete.

Scouting reports on Perez peg him a future five-tool player in center field. A left-handed hitter, Perez has a smooth swing, especially for someone at his age. His power will continue to increase as he grows and gets stronger. He already stands at 5’11” and 180 pounds with solid power to begin with, giving him a very strong base to work from. Story has it that Perez has already hit 2nd deck home runs at Miller Park.

Defensively, Perez has a strong arm and has the speed to stick in center field.

Hedbert’s father, Robert Perez, had a short stint with the 2001 Brewers at the end of a six year big league career.

We don’t have a track record of statistics to go off of with Perez, as he hasn’t played as a professional yet, but will likely spend the year in the DSL and spending time in the Brewers baseball academy.

Athletically, Perez is quite gifted and he has a very, very high ceiling. At his age, the floor is still quite low and the odds are still against him reaching the big leagues at the moment, but if there is a guy from that signing period to bet on, it’s probably Hedbert Perez. Keep an eye on him.

7. RHP Trey Supak

Now we’ve reached the next group of pitching prospects in this farm system. Trey Supak was acquired by the Brewers, seemingly forever ago, back in December 2015. He was acquired with Keon Broxton from the Pirates in exchange for Jason Rogers. While Broxton made an immediate impact at the big league level, was traded, and since signed back with the team, Supak has methodically worked his way through the farm system.

Supak was brought onto the 40 man roster after the 2018 season, and burned one of his option years last year. He dominated in Double-A, pitching to a stellar 2.20 ERA in 20 starts for Biloxi, which earned him a mid-season promotion to Triple-A.

In Triple-A, things went haywire for Supak. In seven starts, Supak had a 9.30 ERA over 30 innings, giving up as many home runs in those innings as he did in 122.2 IP in Biloxi. Part of that could have been the juiced baseball that cause most Triple-A pitchers to struggle all year, but it’s still a troubling development. A 9.30 ERA is ridiculous.

Supak has a solid 4-pitch mix and he doesn’t walk many. His fastball sits in the low-90s and can hit 95 MPH, but is not a power pitcher. He succeeds with mixing his pitches and pitching to weak contact, instead of strikeouts.

When he gets to the big leagues, Supak could be a solid No. 4 starting pitcher. He’s big at 6’5″ and 240 pounds, and has a good mix of pitches to work with.

While he won’t earn a rotation spot out of spring training, unless a lot of things go wrong, Supak is likely ticketed for a return trip to Triple-A San Antonio, this time hoping for a better experience than last year.

He’s further down on the starting pitcher depth chart, but if the Brewers need to dip into the minors for a spot starter on short notice, Supak could be the guy. In the meantime, he comes in at No. 7 on our list.

6. RHP Drew Rasmussen

Drew Rasmussen was a first round draft pick in 2017, but didn’t sign because his drafting team, the Rays, were concerned over an elbow issue and that he would need Tommy John. He did end up needing Tommy John surgery that year, his second such operation, as he returned to Oregon State.

The Brewers then drafted Rasmussen in the 6th round as a college senior, taking a flyer on a high level talent when healthy, coming off a major injury. There was pretty much no risk in taking Rasmussen where they did, and the potential reward is quite high. So far, things are looking good.

Rasmussen was fully healthy in 2019, and he rewarded the Brewers. He earned promotions twice throughout the season, starting in Low-A Wisconsin, and earning a promotion to High-A Carolina after just one start. He started four games for Carolina, posting a 1.59 ERA in those games. Then he earned another promotion to Double-A Biloxi and spent the rest of the season there.

In Biloxi, Rasmussen had a 3.54 ERA in 22 games, 18 of them starts. Overall in his first full professional season, Rasmussen had a 3.15 ERA in 74.1 IP with 96 strikeouts.

There’s a good chance Rasmussen will start the year in Triple-A. He’s already received an invite to big league camp, and he’s really not far away from contributing at the big league level.

On the mound, Rasmussen has the best fastball in the entire Brewers farm system, regularly hitting 99 MPH, and pairs it with a plus slider that sits in the low-90s. He has a changeup as well and a sturdy delivery that will give him the necessary ingredients to stick as a starter down the road.

With two elbow surgeries already, the Brewers are going to be careful with his workload and will try not to have him throw too many innings right off the bat. There’s also a good chance Rasmussen ends up in the bullpen as a big leaguer.

One possible scenario, is that Rasmussen gets a call up during the middle of the season to the big leagues and moving to the bullpen in order to have a quicker impact, and then in 2021, he could emerge as a rotation option, two full seasons from his initial recovery from his TJS, with almost no restrictions.

With his fastball-slider combo, Rasmussen could be a future closer, and a trio of Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, and Rasmussen would make for an incredibly powerful bullpen group.

The Brewers will end up finding the best future role for Rasmussen, whether that’s as a starter or a reliever. He’s on an upward trend, and could be in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.