Brewers prospect Brock Wilken dealt devastating injury news

It had been a dream start to the 2025 season for Milwaukee Brewers No. 18 prospect Brock Wilken. After an up-and-down first full season of professional baseball in 2024 in which Wilken suffered a scary hit-by-pitch in the face, welcomed his first child into the world, and persisted through a tough season in the pitcher-friendly Southern League, his hot start this season must have been extra rewarding.

Wilken quieted the noise that arose last season — when he posted a .199 batting average and finished fifth in the Southern League in strikeouts — in emphatic fashion. All he's done in his impressive bounce-back campaign is post a league-leading .942 OPS while also setting the Southern League pace in both home runs and walks. Though his batting average still sits at a pedestrian .230 this season, his .550 slugging percentage (which is also the best in the league) signifies that Wilken has become the player that the Brewers front office knew he could be when they took him with the 18th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft: a player with big league power.

Wilken was never expected to be a high batting average hitter, as evidenced by his below-average hit tool assigned by MLB Pipeline, but the power that he's displayed this season, and even last year during his down season, suggests that Wilken is ready for the next level of the minor leagues. However, as his promotion seemingly sat just right around the corner, the 23-year-old slugger sustained a devastating injury.

Brock Wilken to miss 8-10 weeks with dislocated left patella, according to Brewers insider

Last weekend, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed on the social media platform X that Wilken had suffered a knee injury while celebrating the Biloxi Shuckers’ First Half South Division title, an honor that they clinched with a win over the Knoxville Smokies, the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A affiliate, last Wednesday. At the time, the severity of Wilken's injury was unknown, but it was clear that he was going to miss at least a few weeks. Now, with Rosiak's most recent update, a few weeks has unfortunately turned into a few months.

It's a heartbreaking injury for Wilken, who has now suffered freak injuries in back-to-back seasons. For a player who had seemingly found his way in Double-A, having to now undergo a lengthy rehab process just feels unfair, especially because the injury didn't even occur during a game.

If there is a silver lining, it's that Wilken avoided surgery and still has a chance to return to the diamond before the end of the 2025 season. 8-10 weeks puts his return right around the end of August, which means that Wilken will hopefully be back in the Shuckers' lineup before their playoff series, which they already clinched by winning the First Half title.

Should Wilken log a few weeks of games at the end of the season, and maybe make another appearance in the offseason Arizona Fall League, there's a chance that he can start the 2026 season in Triple-A, putting him just one step away from the big leagues, with a good chance of debuting before the end of next year. However, the timing of Wilken's MLB debut isn't important right now. What matters more is that he has a positive recovery process and comes back stronger, hopefully rejoining the exciting 2025 Shuckers roster before the season's end.