Brewers’ excellent draft ability on clear display after latest 2026 prospect rankings

The Milwaukee Brewers' farm system currently ranks among the best in baseball. Not only do prospect evaluators believe so, but rival MLB front offices have given high marks to the Brewers' minor league system as well. In a recent poll of MLB executives, conducted by one of the industry's leading prospect evaluators, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline, the Brewers earned the third most votes when respondents were asked, "Who has the best farm system in baseball?" Mayo's executives poll includes tons of great insights from some of the best minds in the game, is free to read over at MLB.com, and is linked below for your convenience.

Execs poll: Top system? Best at drafting? Best at trading for prospects?

The Brewers' place among the best farm systems in baseball is in large part due to their unparalleled success on the international free agent market, as reinforced by the results of Mayo's poll. In recent years, Milwaukee has found and developed players like Jackson Chourio, Abner Uribe, Jeferson Quero, Jesús Made, Luis Peña, and Luis Lara on the international free agent market. The first two are already impacting the major league roster in a significant way, and the following four names will almost certainly be productive big leaguers in the near future.

However, what shouldn't be overshadowed by Milwaukee's excellence when it comes to identifying talent in the international free agent market is the success that they've had in the MLB Draft in recent years. Not only has Milwaukee drafted and developed homegrown stars like Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes in their starting rotation with rising stars such as Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson ready to carry the baton next, but they've recently found success with position player draftees, especially in the early rounds of the amateur draft.

After drafting Ryan Braun with the 5th overall pick of the 2005 draft, the Brewers went through a dry spell when it came to the position players that they selected in the first round. Names like Brett Lawrie and Mitch Haniger, who Milwaukee drafted in 2008 and 2012, respectively, had a few productive MLB seasons, but neither ended up playing for the Brewers. Fast forward to 2017, and Keston Hiura looked like the one who would break the embarrassing streak, but his career fizzled out after his head-turning rookie season in 2019.

However, since the 2018 draft, the Brewers are on a hot streak when it comes to selecting position players in the first round of the draft, and MLB Pipeline's recent release of the top third-base prospects in baseball for the 2026 season shows that the trend is not stopping anytime soon.

Andrew Fischer tops MLB Pipeline's list of the best 3B prospects in baseball, Brock Wilken checks in at No. 9 on the list

In 2018, the Brewers selected high school shortstop Brice Turang with their first-round pick in the MLB Draft. Three years into his MLB career, Turang is not only a Platinum Glove Award recipient, but he's narrowly missed out on the All-Star Game in each of the last two seasons.

Two years after drafting Turang, Milwaukee took Garrett Mitchell with their first-round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft. Despite being plagued with injuries during the beginning of his MLB career, Mitchell has been a productive big leaguer when healthy and has already produced a memorable postseason home run in a Brewers uniform. If Mitchell can stay healthy, he too looks like a savvy selection from the Brewers' front office.

A year later, in 2021, the Brewers selected outfielder Sal Frelick out of Boston College. Frelick has quickly become an everyday major leaguer, who blends a consistently improving offensive profile with Gold Glove defense in right field.

In 2023, the Brewers once again went with a college bat as their first-round pick, selecting slugging third-baseman Brock Wilken out of Wake Forest University. Though Wilken has faced plenty of obstacles in his first two full seasons in the minor leagues, with a few freak injuries holding him back, the power he displayed for the Biloxi Shuckers last year was undeniable. Confidence is high that Wilken will impact the big league roster in some capacity in the near future.

Then, in 2025, Milwaukee added to their corner infield depth by selecting Andrew Fischer out of the University of Tennessee, who some believe is one of the best bats in the 2025 class. Fischer has quickly ascended to the top of both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America's list of the top 3B prospects in all of baseball despite having just 19 games of experience at the High-A level to his name. Expectations are justifiably high for 21-year-old first-rounder, and given his already polished approach at the plate, his ascension through the minor leagues could be rapid.

Yes, there are a few misses sprinkled in throughout the last seven years, but no team is going to hit on all of their first-round picks. The fact that Milwaukee has found three lineup staples and two highly-ranked prospects in their last seven first-round selections is an impressive feat. Though the present is bright in Milwaukee with Turang, Frelick, and Mitchell all settling into the big leagues, the future is just as bright with talents like Wilken and Fischer waiting in the wings.