Brewers: Ranking the Team’s Top 15 Prospects for 2021

2. SS Brice Turang

Like Lutz, Brice Turang takes one step back in the rankings this year, but not necessarily by any fault of his own. He remains one of the most talented position players in the organization after the Brewers opted to select a middle infielder in the first round for the second year in a row.

Turang was picked 21st overall by Milwaukee in the 2018 draft out of high school and chose to forgo his commitment to Louisiana State to sign with the Crew instead and begin his pro baseball career. So far that career has looked pretty steady considering it began at the age of just 18.

In his two seasons in the Brewers’ minor league system, Turang has a career .263/.374/.343 slash line. He really started to impress at Wisconsin in 2019, slashing .287/.384/.376 with 21 steals in 82 games while being named a Midwest League All-Star.

A midseason promotion to Carolina saw a dip in production for Turang, with his batting average dropping to .200 and his strikeout rate rising. He did, however, continue to draw walks at a high enough rate to keep his on base percentage at a respectable .338 there. There are no worries about Turang’s potential as he wouldn’t be the only prospect to struggle for a bit after a jump in competition.

Though Turang likely won’t develop much pop, he is one of the top defenders in the system regardless of position, has an above average hit tool, even for his age, and has the speed to be an above-average base stealer. He should fit nicely into the Brewers infield in a couple of years.

1. OF Garrett Mitchell

It’s not often that you see a first-round pick head straight to the top of a team’s top prospects list immediately upon being drafted. But that speaks to just how special of a player the Brewers got when they drafted Garrett Mitchell.

The outfielder from UCLA was in the top 10 on many draft boards, but a Type 1 diabetes condition, which he has managed since he was nine, and questions about whether his power will show fully in games caused him to drop on draft day. Thus, the Brewers ended up getting a steal when he was still around at the 20th overall pick of the 2020 draft.

Mitchell mashed in his three years as a Bruin, slashing .327/.393/.478 with 24 doubles, 15 triples, and six homers in 121 games. He also scored 94 runs, stole 28 bases in 37 attempts, and had a respectable 15.5% strikeout rate.

Mitchell is as five-tool of an outfielder as they come, with a 60-grade arm and defense and elite 70-grade speed per MLB Pipeline. As mentioned, the only real question is whether his 50-grade power can translate to games. If it does, Milwaukee likely has their center fielder of the future.

It feels great getting to rank Brewer prospects once again, but it feels even better knowing we’ll get to see these players in games once again this season.