Brewers Announce Minor League Rosters, Top Prospect Assignments

The High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have a stacked roster heading into 2021.

If you live around the Appleton area, you can see a lot of talent at a Timber Rattlers game this year. Even if you don’t, they’re a great team to go and watch.

We already knew top prospect Garrett Mitchell was going to be in Appleton, but who will be joining him on that roster?

Mitchell will be joined in the outfield by contact-hitting machine Carlos Rodriguez and power/speed threat Je’Von Ward. LG Castillo is likely going to be the reserve outfielder.

The infield has another 2020 draft pick with 5th rounder Hayden Cantrelle starting in High-A. An advanced college bat, Cantrelle has been a slow starter in college, but he has great hitting skills and is a switch hitter that can stick at shortstop.

Also in the infield is David Hamilton, a speedster who gets on base and is a menace on the base-paths. This will be his minor league debut after being drafted in the 8th round in 2019 and missing the year with an injury he suffered prior to the draft.

Other interesting names to know: Yeison Coca, acquired as the PTBNL in the Travis Shaw trade in 2017, makes the jump to High-A this year as a 21, soon-to-be 22 year old. The switch hitting infielder can move around the diamond.

Chad McClanahan is the only traditional corner infielder in this group. He’s struggled offensively after being drafted in the 11th round out of high school in 2016.

Korry Howell can play both infield and outfield and has some high upside.

On the pitching staff, Nick Bennett is part of the Crew’s crop of young left handed pitchers and should be in that rotation. He was a 6th round pick in 2019. Justin Jarvis was a 5th rounder in 2018 and he’s on this staff as another intriguing arm.

Also, 2015 3rd round pick Nash Walters has finally moved beyond Rookie ball after missing all of 2017 and 2018 then returning in 2019 and pitching well. He still has some command issues and is about to turn 24, but we’ll see how he does against higher competition.

The Double-A Biloxi Shuckers have a lot of prospect star power.

There are two headlining prospects for the Brewers that will begin down in Biloxi with the Shuckers: Shortstop Brice Turang and LHP Ethan Small.

Being down in Mississippi, Biloxi having the former Mississippi State stud Ethan Small on the roster will draw plenty of people down from Starkville to see Small. An advanced college arm, Small could move quickly through the system and possibly make his big league debut this season, especially considering how many injuries the Brewers have suffered at the big league level.

Brice Turang, the Crew’s No. 2 prospect on MLB Pipeline, will also begin in Double-A. He struggled for a little bit in High-A after a promotion in 2019. But with a year at the alternate site and continued development, the Brewers feel comfortable pushing the 21 year old up another level. He should be ready for a big league opportunity early next season.

Catcher Payton Henry will be the regular backstop for the Shuckers and is the Crew’s No. 19 prospect on Pipeline. Tristen Lutz finally is able to move up to Double-A. He has big-time raw power and if he can more consistently tap into it and make more contact, Lutz has a very high ceiling.

Other Interesting Names To Know: Noah Zavolas reportedly has six pitches now in his arsenal and was the 2019 Carolina League Pitcher of the Year. He will be one to keep an eye on and his stock is going up.

LHP Leo Crawford came over in the Corey Knebel trade and will be in the rotation in Biloxi, alongside Small, Zavolas, Bowden Francis, and Luis Contreras.

Nathan Kirby was an early draft pick in 2015, but arm injuries have derailed his career. He’s in the bullpen now instead of the rotation and still has incredible talent and could be called upon if needed.

As Lucas Erceg transitions to becoming a two-way player, he drops back down to Double-A after spending the last two years in Triple-A.

This is a very strong pitching staff in Biloxi and should be a fun team to watch.

The Triple-A Nashville Sounds will have a regular shuttle with the Milwaukee Brewers and some intriguing names.

We’re finally reaching the point where the Brewers Triple-A roster has some prospects in development and not just a rotating cast of bench players to call up and send down.

This Nashville Sounds roster has four of the Crew’s top 30 prospects.

Mario Feliciano and Aaron Ashby are the headlining prospects on this team. Both are Top 10 prospects for the Brewers and Feliciano just made his major league debut the other day. With Jacob Nottingham back in the picture, Feliciano will be able to develop as the mostly everyday catcher in Nashville.

Ashby has thoroughly impressed the Brewers this spring. He completely jumps Double-A after winning the Brewers Minor League Pitcher Of The Year award in 2019. He pitched well in spring training and survived the first round of camp cuts, which was a good sign the Brewers believe Ashby is close to being ready.

The two other Top 30 prospects on this roster are outfielder Corey Ray, who just made his major league debut recently, and two-way player Clayton Andrews. Andrews is primarily a pitcher, but has gotten a few at-bats as an outfielder in recent years, but it remains to be seen how often he’ll play the field this year.

Other Interesting Names To Know: Thomas Jankins makes the move up to Triple-A in 2021 and should be in the rotation. Relievers Quintin Torres-Costa and Luke Barker have put up big numbers in the past and should do so again.

Some spring training standouts that will be in Triple-A include Zach Green, Dustin Peterson, Hoby Milner, Miguel Sanchez, and Jamie Westbrook.

First baseman Chad Spanberger came over after the 2019 season in the Chase Anderson trade, and this will be the first chance Brewers fans get to see him play. If he gets off to a hot start, the Brewers first base job is in a little turmoil.

The minor league season is finally getting underway, and we haven’t seen a lot of these prospects play since 2019. Getting stats and games against real competition is going to be huge for the development of all of them.

What’s interesting to note is that another top prospect, Hedbert Perez, was not announced as being on any of these rosters. He’s likely to start the season in Rookie-level Arizona at the Crew’s spring training complex.