Milwaukee Brewers Top 5 Minor League Trade Chips

Brewers minor league trade chip #4: RHP Victor Castaneda

The Milwaukee Brewers have a pretty full starting rotation for the near future. With the established guys in the big leagues already along with Aaron Ashby and Ethan Small, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to crack that group.

Victor Castaneda was signed by the Brewers out of Mexico in 2017. The 23 year old righty had a solid season in 2021, spending most of it in High-A Wisconsin, but earning a late-season call up to Triple-A.

Castaneda was one of the few pitchers in the Brewers minor league system that threw over 100 innings last year. He made all his starts, staying healthy and productive.

If he gets the right opportunity, Castaneda could make his big league debut in 2022. In Milwaukee, his role would likely be limited to a bullpen one, but he’s capable as a starter and should get an opportunity to prove he can remain one. That opportunity may have to come outside the organization.

Pitching has formed the foundation for the Brewers at the big league level, but they don’t have too many pitching prospects in the pipeline right now. There’s Ashby and Small, along with Antoine Kelly a little further behind, but other than that there isn’t much for high value pitching prospects. While Ashby and Small are more valuable and would technically be bigger “trade chips”, it’s extremely unlikely Milwaukee would be willing to part with either of those guys.

One pitching prospect they may be willing to part with if another team desires pitching back in a potential trade is Victor Castaneda. He has a starter’s arsenal and could be ready relatively soon.

On his own, Castaneda won’t bring back a huge return, but in a package with some other prospects, possibly some others from this list, they could bring back something solid.

Brewers minor league trade chip #3: OF Carlos Rodriguez

The Milwaukee Brewers have a very crowded group of outfield prospects. David Stearns has invested heavily in that position group in recent years, and everyone is jostling for position in a future Milwaukee outfield.

As things stand currently, Carlos Rodriguez appears to be on the outside looking in. Rodriguez did receive an aggressive assignment to High-A as a 20 year old in 2021, skipping Low-A entirely. He put up some solid numbers, hitting .267 with 15 stolen bases.

Rodriguez doesn’t possess much power, hitting just one home run all season, but he has a great ability to make contact and put the ball in play, generally hitting for a high average. The hit tool is legit and the speed is helpful.

Rodriguez will make for a great top of the order threat at full potential, and that’s going to be attractive to other teams in trade talks. Rodriguez is a top 20 Brewers prospect, so he’s not just a low-level throw in, he’s a legitimate prospect with value.

The Brewers, though, have a couple of outfielders who also possess Rodriguez’s speed and hitting ability, but also possess home run power as well. Joey Wiemer has surpassed Rodriguez on the depth chart, as has Garrett Mitchell. 2021 first round pick Sal Frelick has already caught up to Rodriguez in High-A.

While Milwaukee doesn’t need to move Rodriguez, if a deal comes along where another team is looking for an outfield prospect and they want someone that’s good that the Brewers may be willing to part with, Rodriguez makes sense.

It’s likely Rodriguez will start 2022 in Double-A and if he performs well there, his stock could continue to rise, but unless home run power develops, and with Rodriguez standing at 5’10” and 150 pounds being built for speed, it’s unlikely his stock will rise to the level of Mitchell or Wiemer to put himself in the picture to be in the Brewers outfield of the future.

His stock is solid right now, and another team could see his talent and the roadblocks ahead of him and target Rodriguez in a trade.

Brewers minor league trade chip #2: OF Joe Gray

Joe Gray‘s prospect stock was revived in 2021. Gray was a 2nd round pick of the Brewers in 2018 out of high school, and he struggled to begin his pro career. He played in Rookie ball in 2018 and 2019 and put up poor numbers both seasons as he was dealing with injuries. Then the cancelled 2020 season didn’t help the perception of his prospect value.

But Gray worked on some things and most importantly was healthy in 2021. As such, he dominated Low-A with the Carolina Mudcats for the first half of the season. He was looking unstoppable and finally showing the potential that led the Brewers to select him so high in that 2018 draft.

He earned a promotion to High-A Wisconsin and struggled a bit there, but his value is way up and other teams have now gotten a real look at what Gray can do when healthy and they’re likely to target him in trade discussions.

Even with that fantastic start to the season with Carolina, Gray also appears to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the outfield pipeline. His struggles in a half-season in High-A shows that there’s still a lot of development to go to consistently tap into his raw talent. Meanwhile, other outfield prospects have shown more polish and are going to be big league ready before Gray is.

That might make the Brewers more willing to part with Gray, even though they believe in his upside. Although patience can pay off, by the time Gray is likely to be ready, there may not be a job available for him, making him a possible trade chip. Gray’s value right now is as high as it’s ever been since he was drafted, and the Brewers can cash in if the right deal presents itself.

If an inquiring team wants an outfield prospect in a potential trade, Gray is likely the highest rated one the Brewers have that they would potentially be willing to part with.

Brewers minor league trade chip #1: SS Brice Turang

The Brewers had gone 31 years since they last drafted a shortstop in the first round of the MLB Draft. They broke that drought when they selected Brice Turang 21st overall in 2018.

Since then, Turang was seen as Milwaukee’s shortstop of the future. He was a high school hitter, but a pretty advanced one, with a strong hit tool, and the defensive chops to stick at shortstop. Turang has met or exceeded expectations every step of the way.

Turang made it up to Triple-A in 2021 as a 21 year old, and was incredibly young for the level. His stats dipped a little from his production in Double-A earlier in the year, but he held his own. He showed great plate discipline, drawing walks, not striking out much, and playing a very strong shortstop. When he was drafted, some evaluators had concerns he might not be able to stay at short. But he has clearly proven he can.

The problem with all of this, is that the starting shortstop job in Milwaukee isn’t really open to new applicants. While Turang was lighting it up in the minors, David Stearns swung a trade for Willy Adames to fix the Brewers big league shortstop problem. Adames is under team control for the next three seasons. Turang is going to be ready for the big leagues at some point in 2022.

Secondary positions, such as second base and third base aren’t really available as Kolten Wong is under contract for another year, possibly two, and Luis Urias is coming into his own at the hot corner. Turang isn’t going to be called up to ride the bench or be a utility guy. He’s capable and deserving of being a starter, but will it be with Milwaukee?

Turang staying at shortstop is immensely more valuable to both him and the Brewers. Teams will pay much more for a shortstop than they will for a second baseman.

If the Brewers are going to make a blockbuster trade, if they’re going to trade for anyone big, a true impact player, Turang is likely to be in that return package.

Of the top tier of Brewers prospects, Turang is the most expendable based on his position and how the big league roster is currently constructed. The outfield prospects they’ll keep as that group will be in flux in each of the next two years and jobs will be open. The pitching prospects the Brewers will hoard because they know how good they can make them. But Turang is blocked, and the Brewers love Adames.

Barring something happening to Adames, a trade of Turang may be in the near future, whether it be once the lockout ends and the Brewers make a big trade to kick off the season, or even at the trade deadline as Stearns pushes the roster all-in once again in July.

Turang has a bright future and will be deserving of a big league shortstop job soon. It’s just not looking like the Brewers will have that opportunity for him.

For nearly all of the players on this list, they appear to be blocked one way or another. They’re good prospects and good players, but their brightest futures may not be in Milwaukee, and the Brewers can get good value for them to improve other areas of the roster.