Brewers: Three Top 30 Prospects Who Could See Playing Time In 2021

The Brewers don’t have many prospects expected to contribute in 2021, but these three have a chance at seeing some playing time next year.

As the Milwaukee Brewers have made moves to be competitive over the last few years, many of their top-ranked, MLB-ready prospects have either graduated to the big leagues or moved on to other teams via trade.

As a result, a majority of the players on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 prospects list for the Brewers aren’t particularly close to seeing time in the majors any time soon.

But you can never predict exactly how a season will play out and unforeseen opportunities generally pop up for prospects here and there. Here are a few prospects on the list who have a chance at seeing some time in a Brewers uniform in 2021.

OF Tyrone Taylor

This is by far the most obvious name on this list seeing as Tyrone Taylor received a small amount of playing time in both 2019 and 2020. But some may not realize that he remains on the team’s Top 30 prospect list, currently sitting at No. 21.

Taylor played in 22 games for the Brewers in 2020, starting eight of them. He wound up slashing .237/.293/.500 in those games and hit the first two homers of his career. He also struck out in 8 of 41 plate appearances, which wasn’t terrible compared to some of his teammates.

The Brewers may need Taylor’s presence in the outfield if players like Ben Gamel and Jace Peterson end up getting non-tendered this week. Luckily, Taylor has the ability to play all outfield spots, defensively, so he could have a relatively easy shot at finding playing time in 2021.

OF Corey Ray

Like Taylor, No. 10 prospect Corey Ray could also be the beneficiary of some newly available playing time in the outfield. But unlike Taylor, Ray may need to spend a bit more time showing Brewers brass that he’s ready to contribute in The Show.

Ray busted out in 2018 with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, slugging 27 homers and swiping 37 bags on his way to being named the organization’s minor league player of the year. Injuries in 2019 caused a step back, however, as he slashed .218/.291/.363 playing mostly in Biloxi and Triple-A San Antonio.

The 2016 first-rounder has some of the best speed in the organization and is a good defensive asset in the outfield. If he can start 2021 by showing that he has moved past his 2019 injuries, he could earn a midseason call-up in the event the Brewers need some outfield help.

RHP Dylan File

Honestly, past Taylor and Ray, there aren’t really a lot of sure fire options from the Top 30 prospects list to see time in the big leagues in 2021 since most prospects are early on in their development. So we’ll dig a little deeper to look at a player who was just recently added to the 40-man.

No. 25 prospect Dylan File was added to the 40-man roster on Nov. 20th to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He hasn’t pitched any higher than Double-A, which was back in 2019, but has some of the best control in the system, a quality that plays well in the upper leagues, and has the potential to be a future back end starter.

File likely would have been slotted to start the season at San Antonio in 2020 had there actually been a season so he’s not as far away as one might think. His chance at playing time would probably be dependent on injuries knocking out starters at the major league level. But if that were to happen and the Brewers needed a spot starter, there wouldn’t be many other options.

There may not be much playing time that goes to prospects in 2021, but if any does, these three have as good a chance of claiming it as anybody.