Brewers Announce Minor League Rosters, Top Prospect Assignments

After a long wait, we finally have the Opening Day rosters for each of the Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates.

The minor league season has been delayed a month, so the shorter season means a little less development time in real games. But the Brewers have had their prospects at either the alternate training site or in minor league spring training in Arizona.

Other minor league teams have been releasing their rosters over the past few days and now, we finally have the rosters for the Brewers minor league affiliates.

Let’s go through each one and look at the key prospects on each team.

The Low-A Carolina Mudcats will begin the season with three draftees from 2020.

In case you forgot, the formerly High-A Carolina Mudcats are now the Low-A Carolina Mudcats after an overhaul of the minor league system this past offseason. Now a look at the roster.

Three of the Brewers five draft picks in 2020 will start their minor league careers in Zebulon, North Carolina. Shortstop Freddy Zamora, catcher Zavier Warren, and outfielder Joey Wiemer will all get plenty of playing time opportunities in Low-A as they get acclimated to pro ball.

The outfield has a couple more good players with Joe Gray, Jr. and 2020 Instructional League MVP Micah Bello on the Mudcats. Both were early picks out of high school in 2018 and struggled in their time in Rookie ball but have reportedly made great strides in the last year.

Other Interesting Names To Follow: RHP Abner Uribe throws pure heat, hitting triple digits regularly on the radar gun. His stock has been rising as much as anyone’s over the past few months. The same goes for Michele Vassalotti.

A couple of early 2017 draft picks out of high school are also on this roster. RHP Caden Lemons missed all of 2019 with an injury and hasn’t played a professional game since 2018. LHP Brendan Murphy, a 4th round pick, hasn’t been seen in a professional game since finishing the season in his draft year of 2017. Both were high draft picks for a reason and could pick their prospect stock back up with a strong 2021 season in Low-A.

Ernesto Martinez is one of the only first base prospects in this farm system and has big time power from the left side. Now 21 years old, Martinez could move quickly if he can tap into that power and post some good numbers.

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.