Brewers 2025 second-round pick cited as mostly likely 2026 breakout prospect

In recent history, the Milwaukee Brewers have emerged as one of the best pitching development organizations in all of MLB. Not only did the team create homegrown stars out of Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes, but they also turned a lottery ticket prospect by the name of Freddy Peralta into a two-time All-Star and bona fide ace. Add to that the incredible amount of success they have had with more recent draft picks Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson and trade acquisitions like Robert Gasser and Chad Patrick, and Milwaukee's exceptional pitching development looks even more unique.

As a result, for a recent draft pick, especially one joining professional baseball straight out of high school, who will be molded by the organization that selects him, joining the Brewers' organization is exactly where any pitcher would want to be. Milwaukee is aware of this strength, and, as a result, used 14 of their 22 draft picks last year on pitchers.

Spanning from four-year college players like JD Thompson and Jacob Morrison, to intriguing prep arms like Hayden Vucinovich and Joshua Flores, the Brewers were able to sign 11 of the 14 pitchers they selected following the 2025 MLB Draft. One of those 11 pitchers, despite not yet making his professional baseball debut, has already caught the eyes of some of the top prospect evaluators in the game. Just yesterday, he was cited as the top breakout candidate in the Brewers' farm system for the 2026 season.

MiLB.com deems 2025 second-round pick, Frank Cairone, the Brewers' top breakout prospect candidate for the 2026 season

On the first day of the new year, the brilliant minds of Jesse Borek, Sam Dykstra, and Ben Weinrib, all of whom play integral roles in MLB Pipeline's prospect rankings, published an article detailing each organization's top breakout prospect candidate for 2026. The article is well worth the read and free to access over at MiLB.com (and linked below for your convenience). In regard to the Brewers, who hold one of the deepest farm systems in all of baseball, the trio had a number of directions that they could have gone, but Cairone, who will make his professional debut next spring, is an excellent choice.

Prospects who are primed to break out in '26 -- one for each team

Milwaukee selected Cairone in the Competitive Balance Round B of the 2025 MLB Draft, with the draft pick they were awarded after failing to sign draft selection Chris Levonas the year prior. Cairone, who turned 18 in September, attended Delsea High School in New Jersey prior to joining the Brewers organization, and offers exciting upside as a left-hander with an intriguing repertoire of pitches. As written by the MiLB team of writers, "His slider reached 2,900-3,000 rpms at the Draft Combine, and his fastball ran up to 95 mph with 7 feet of extension at the same event."

Somewhat surprisingly, luring Cairone away from a commitment to Coastal Carolina University cost the Brewers less than the slot value of the 68th overall pick that they used to select him, with the prep pitcher's signing bonus being $150,000 less than the value of the pick. However, early returns suggest that disparity had more to do with the Brewers' well-researched draft strategy than Cairone being selected "too early" in the draft.

It remains to be decided what level the Brewers will start Cairone out with in 2026, with the options either being Rookie Ball in the Arizona Complex League or Single-A with the newly-coined Wilson Warbirds. Every pitcher is different, and Cairone's age suggests there should be no rush with his development, but the Brewers' 2024 second-round pick could serve as an indication of where the team will elect to assign Cairone to begin the 2026 campaign. In 2024, the Brewers used a second-round pick on New Jersey prep pitcher Bryce Meccage. After not appearing in pro ball during the latter half of the 2024 season, just like Cairone this past summer, Meccage was immediately assigned to Single-A, where he impressed in 19 starts. Meccage's path could certainly suggest an aggressive assignment to Single-A is in the cards for Cairone as well.

Regardless of whether he begins the year in Arizona or North Carolina, Frank Cairone is a name Brewers fans should watch out for next year, not because he will impact the major league roster anytime soon, but because he could be the next big pitching prospect in Milwaukee's farm system. With recent history serving as clear evidence, homegrown starting pitching talent has quickly become a strength of the Brewers' organization.