Brewers: 5 Prospects To Keep An Eye On At Spring Training

In less than two weeks, the Milwaukee Brewers will be playing a baseball game. The Crew’s first matchup of Spring Training is against the new-look Chicago White Sox on February 28th at 2:05 CST.

Spring Training is a great time to get a feel for who will be on the Opening Day roster, but who are some under-the-radar players to keep an eye on that probably aren’t major league ready quite yet?

Brewers Prospect To Watch At Spring Training: Garrett Mitchell

Milwaukee’s most recent first-round draft pick won’t make this year’s major league squad, but this doesn’t mean we can’t be excited to watch all those tools that make Garrett Mitchell so special on full display. MLB Pipeline had the UCLA product ranked as the sixth-best 2020 Draft prospect and the Brewers snagged him with the 20th-overall pick.

Simply put, the Brewers’ best prospect can do it all. He has tremendous speed, a cannon for an arm and a bat that is continually getting better. In his three years as a Bruin, Mitchell slashed .327/.391/.478 with six home runs, 15 triples, 24 doubles and 94 runs scored. His junior season was cut short due to COVID-19, but he was on track to have another stellar season in Los Angeles. Mitchell closed the year on a 10-game hitting streak and was struck out only three times in 62 at-bats, making him the 12th hardest batter to strike out in the NCAA.

We don’t like to speculate, but it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that he’s ready to get back on the diamond. It will be Mitchell’s first professional game action come Spring as the Brewers opted not to add any of their five draftees from last year to the team’s Alternate Training Site roster last year.

He was also limited at the Fall Instructional League as he sustained a quad injury while there. Garrett Mitchell is beyond ready to get back in action and fans should be equally as eager to see him play.

Brewers Prospect To Watch At Spring Training: Tristen Lutz

Tristen Lutz finished his 2019 campaign in Zebulon, North Carolina with the Mudcats in Advanced Class A ball. With each year that Lutz has been in the Brewers system, he has climbed the minor league ranks.

He’s a raw player with the ability to be an everyday outfielder in the majors after more polishing of his skills in the Crew’s farm system. Scouts say he could have four average or better tools when he gets to the MLB but needs to sharpen up his hitting mechanics.

It might be a stretch to say that Lutz will ever be a .300 hitter in the majors, but he makes his hay in the power department and more specifically in the extra base hits department. He has a career minor league average of .260 with 89 extra base hits in his last two seasons between the Timber Rattlers and Mudcats.

He does have a bit of a strikeout problem, logging 276 strikeouts the last two seasons, but hitting coaches believe him moving closer to the plate may help him make more consistent contact. In the outfield, he doesn’t have blazing speed, but his strong and accurate arm makes him more than likely to be in right field if and when he reaches the MLB.

I would expect Lutz to start his 2021 season with the Brewers Double-A affiliate, the Biloxi Shuckers as he’s shown enough in A ball to warrant a promotion. MLB.com projects him to arrive in the MLB in 2022, but if he has a strong camp and a strong minor league season, he might be in a position for a call up later in the year.

Don’t be shocked if you see Lutz flexing his muscle in Spring Training, establishing himself as one of the most promising non-roster invitees.

Brewers Prospect To Watch At Spring Training: Aaron Ashby

A one-time Class A Wisconsin All-Star, Aaron Ashby is one of the best southpaw hurlers in the Brewers farm system. With a shortage of lefties at the major league level right now, Ashby could become a name that fans become familiar with sooner than later.

One of five LHP non-roster invitees, Ashby possesses something the rest don’t have the luxury of owning – “perhaps the best breaking ball in the organization”. His slider is graded as a 65 out of 80 on the scouting grade report, a number that’s abnormally high for a guy that hasn’t even reached AA.

Reviewing the Brew talked with Ashby on the Cold Brew Podcast about his offseason work, his goals for spring training after his invite, and where he hopes to start the 2021 season.

Ashby owns a career 3.53 minor league ERA, but that number is partly skewed due to a rough start in rookie ball with the Helena Brewers where he had a 6.20 ERA and 14 ER in just over 20 innings pitched. Since he was promoted to Class A, he hasn’t had an earned run average higher than 3.60.

Along with his downward trend of runs given up, he’s greatly increased his strikeout numbers. In 2019, Ashby finished among the best in the system leaders with 135 punchouts and a 25.5% strikeout rate. A nice blend of a 92-95 mph fastball, a complex delivery with the ability to change it as he pleases, and an electric slider, he looks to be a reliable option when called upon.

Scouts believe that Ashby could very well be a mid-rotation starter, as he’s started 89% of his games in the farm system, but his stuff would translate to the bullpen as well. Making his curveball MLB-ready might be the key to his success and the climbing of the farm system ranks rather quickly as his fastball, changeup and slider are all big league quality.

Hopefully the sixth-ranked Brewers prospect can continue to improve and show Brewers staff and fans that he’s got the stuff to be a valuable arm in the majors someday.

Brewers Prospect To Watch At Spring Training: LHP Quintin Torres-Costa

The longest tenured minor leaguer out of the group with five years of experience, Quintin Torres-Costa is one of the most intriguing players to watch come spring training.

He pitched just 4.1 IP in 2019 as he was recovering from TJS, and had a 2.08 ERA in a very small sample size. He has a career minor league ERA of 3.25 with a 11.6 K/9 mark in over 220 innings of work.

The lefty last pitched in the Arizona Fall League in 2019 with the Glendale Desert Dogs appearing in nine games as a relief pitcher. In those nine innings of work he struck out an impressive 15 batters and only gave up two earned runs, so he finished his last game action on a high note.

Just over two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Quintin Torres-Costa is looking to get back to the good form that he was in prior to the major injury. Prior to the 2020 campaign, many thought he would make the major league squad at some point, but the chaos that was COVID-19 derailed those plans. I would bank on seeing QTC in 2021, and if he gives a good performance in Spring, it may be sooner than later for the Hawaii native.

“I’ve been drafted with them since 2015 and kind of went up through their whole entire ranks and entire system. It’s just an honor to be invited to the big league camp and get the opportunity to show what I can do and how I can contribute to the team.” Torres-Costa told KHON2 sports director Rob DeMello.

He’s not currently on the 40 man roster, but he’ll battle for a bullpen job and could earn one at some point.