Brewers farm system receives huge boost with the return of a top prospect

The Milwaukee Brewers received some very encouraging news from their Double-A affiliate on Tuesday afternoon. The organization's fifth-ranked prospect, Mike Boeve, is returning to action after his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery kept him off the field through the first month of the season. Boeve will begin his 2025 season where he finished last year playing in Double-A for the Biloxi Shuckers and hoping to build off of an impressive 2024 campaign.

Boeve joins a talented infield group consisting of three other top Brewers prospects: Cooper Pratt (No. 3 on MLB Pipeline's Top-30 Brewers prospects list), Luke Adams (8), and Brock Wilken (17). While Boeve profiles best as a first baseman, he will likely be asked to cover innings at both second and third base as well in order to get everyday at-bats. With a keen ability to hit for contact, expect Boeve to be towards the top of the Shuckers' talented lineup.

Mike Boeve possesses a unique skillset that has yielded impressive success in the minor leagues

Boeve differs from many of the Brewers’ other corner infield prospects, namely sluggers like Brock Wilken, Blake Burke, and Luke Adams, who all possess impressive raw power, but carry strikeout rates north of 20%. Rather, Boeve is a contact machine. He carries a career batting average of .338 in the minor leagues, highlighted by a ridiculous .553 average that he held in the 13 games he played in High-A to start the 2024 season.

As a result of his incredible ability to put the bat on the ball, Boeve hardly ever strikes out. In fact, prior to being drafted by the Brewers in the 2nd round of the 2023 MLB Draft, Boeve struck out just nine times in 211 plate appearances during his final season at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

While he does hit the ball on the ground at a high clip, Boeve displayed some impressive pull-side power when he arrived in Biloxi last year. His six home runs in the pitcher-friendly Southern League are not to be ignored.

Defensively, Boeve is restricted by both a below-average arm and limited range, which means he will likely end up at first base, as mentioned earlier. But he can hold his own at second and third base better than some of the other options on the Shuckers' roster.

It's certainly a unique profile, but Boeve's amazing contact ability is not to be ignored. He should be a very fun addition to a Shuckers team that has won nine of its last 11 games.