Milwaukee Brewers Top 5 Minor League Trade Chips

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MILWAUKEE, WI – JULY 03: A detail view of the Independence Day Milwaukee Brewers batting helmet logo before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Miller Park on July 03, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

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.

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