3 Brewers prospects who have made themselves untouchable at this year's deadline

Baseball's trade deadline tends to be one of the most exciting in all of sports. As teams look to build their roster for a postseason push, contenders will deal top-end prospects in exchange for immediate contributors. It is a great chance for contenders to get short-term help, while allowing teams that are down in the dumps to add for the future, while getting something back for guys who were soon to be leaving in free agency.

After a rough start to the season, chalked full of injuries, the Milwaukee Brewers find themselves firmly in the postseason picture. The Brewers are 17 games above .500, and sit just one game back of the best record in the National League. After a number of first-round exits, the Brewers could certainly stand to add to their roster.

Of course, no team will just give up top-tier talent for nothing. Adding at the deadline always has its cost. And while there are a number of guys that would be great additions to the Brewers’ roster, it goes without saying that there are likely some trade chips in the Brewers' farm system who are untouchable.

Guys like Jesús Made, Cooper Pratt, and Logan Henderson aren't going anywhere, and won't be on the list. However, there are some "under the radar" prospects that Milwaukee can't move on from either.

1. Blake Burke

Blake Burke checks in as the Brewers’ 17th-ranked prospect, and is tearing it up for the Brewers' High-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Burke plays first base, a position that is currently a logjam within the organization, but his performance this season stands out among his fellow first-base prospects. Currently, he is slashing .311/.401/.439 with five homers and 43 RBI, collecting numerous Player of the Game awards as he has gone along.

Despite the number of prospects sprinkled throughout the Brewers organization at the corner infield spots, Blake Burke is the most untouchable of the group. Mike Boeve, Luke Adams, Tyler Black, and Eric Bitonti all rank above him in the Brewers Top 30 prospect rankings, but Burke’s play this year makes him stand out among the rest. None of them hit for average like Burke, and while the power is still developing in Appleton, his track record indicates it will come around. More importantly though, as they say in Moneyball, "he gets on base."

2. Josh Adamczewski

A 15th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Adamczewski burst onto the scene in a major way last season. Splitting time between Rookie Ball and Low-A, the then-18-year-old Adamczewski slashed an impressive .322/.459/.486 with 18 extra-base hits in 41 games. Unfortunately, Adamczewski's 2024 season was cut short on June 6, due to a season-ending injury, leaving Brewers fans to speculate about whether his impressive start to the season was a fluke or the real deal.

This season, the product of Lake Central HS in Indiana quickly made it clear that his 2024 season was no fluke. Playing on the talented Low-A Carolina Mudcats roster, Adamczewski has posted another impressive slash line of .370/.456/.554 with 11 extra-base hits in his first 24 games. Unfortunately, he suffered another injury and was forced to miss a large chunk of the season. In fact, he just returned to the field last night and went 2-3 with a double, failing to skip a beat.

3. Brett Wichrowski

The Brewers seem to develop pitchers as good, if not better than any other organization in baseball. Wichrowski ranks as the Brewers’ 13th-ranked prospect and the 4th-ranked pitcher. For his sake though, he might as well be the top pitching prospect in the organization, since the guys above him have already made their major league debuts.

Milwaukee drafted Wichrowski in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB draft, and he rewarded the organization by rising all the way to Double-A Biloxi in his first season. While he worked as a starter and reliever in college, the Timber Rattlers and Shuckers have used him exclusively as a starter. His fastball averaged nearly 95 MPH and has touched as high as 101 MPH, reminding scouts of Joe Kelly, given his 6'2" frame.

After missing the end of the last season with a dead arm, Wichrowski has come back on a strong note, pitching to a 2.41 ERA and 39 strikeouts across 52.1 innings. He has only given up one home run this season, and walked just 19 batters. Wichrowski is the top Brewers minor league pitcher who hasn't appeared in the majors yet, but when that happens, it should come with the Brewers, and not another organization.