Cooper Pratt reminds Brewers fans of exciting contract reality at World Series championship rally

Cooper Pratt made his MLB debut on June 16. Less than five months later, he is a World Series champion.

Not only is the Milwaukee Brewers' 22-year-old shortstop officially a World Champion before playing in his 100th game in the big leagues, but Pratt played an integral role in delivering the franchise their first World Series title. Following an encouraging introduction to the majors during the final three-and-a-half months of the regular season, during which he posted a .281 batting average and a .718 OPS with 19 stolen bases, Pratt took his game to another level in October.

In the postseason, Pratt maintained a .354 batting average and an .852 OPS while crushing four extra-base hits in 48 at-bats. His defense, which was excellent throughout the regular season, was certainly a bit shaky in the postseason, but Pratt always responded to his defensive miscues with key hits on the other side of the ball, demonstrating impressive resilience at such a young age.

All in all, Pratt really couldn't have asked for a better start to his MLB career, and the young shortstop said as much during the Brewers' World Series championship rally on Friday afternoon.

Cooper Pratt's rookie season should have Brewers feeling excellent about long-term contract extension

After noting the sugar rush he was experiencing due to his consumption of Fanta on parade day -- for religious reasons, Pratt abstains from alcohol consumption and can therefore often be seen with a soda in hand during team celebrations -- the Brewers' rookie shortstop reflected on how special his inaugural campaign was and acknowledged the many upcoming years he will spend in Milwaukee. Said Pratt, as seen in the post above, "Not a bad rookie year, and I think I got like eight more years here."

Technically, should the Brewers exercise both of the club options on the end of the long-term contract extension they agreed to with Pratt back in early April, the young shortstop will be a member of the Brew Crew for the next nine years, not eight. Regardless, the Brewers should feel very confident in their decision to give Pratt a long-term deal at the start of the season.

The Brewers gave Pratt the long-term extension before he even played a single inning at the big-league level, something they previously did with Jackson Chourio and have since done again with Luis Lara. It's undoubtedly a risk, as many a player has dominated the minor leagues before hitting a wall in the big leagues, but with one year of that contract in the books, Pratt has already validated the Brewers' decision.

Not only did Pratt play a pivotal role in the Brewers' postseason run, but he also racked up 1.7 Wins Above Replacement in 74 games during the regular season. That already puts the young shortstop on pace to be a 3.5-4.0-win player over the course of a full season, and that's without his game developing as the Brewers expect it to. Considering the fact that Pratt will make less than $6 million for the next five seasons before his salary jumps to $11.125 million in 2032, the contract extension could end up looking like a steal for the Brewers.

Full year-by-year breakdown of Cooper Pratt’s contract ahead of his MLB debut

Pratt has noted on multiple occasions in recent weeks how agreeing to the long-term deal gave him the freedom to focus on just baseball, rather than having to worry about the business side of the game during his first few seasons in MLB. In that regard, Pratt's contract extension is something of a win-win for the young infielder and his team.

With a World Series title in his debut season, and nine more years of team control, Pratt will be a key piece of the next phase of Brewers baseball. With obvious all-around value and clutch postseason moments already to Pratt's name, it's clear the Brewers made the right decision by extending their 2023 sixth-round pick to a long-term contract before his big-league career began.

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