Former Brewers' first-round pick continues impressive season after promotion to Double-A

After a quiet trade deadline drew the ire of Milwaukee Brewers fans everywhere, the team has continued winning, silencing the doubters. The offense, which was the largest area of concern for fans ahead of last week's deadline, has been rolling and breaking records left and right. Rather than add a splashy impact bat at the deadline, Milwaukee chose to improve around the margins of their roster, adding bullpen arm Shelby Miller, backup catcher Danny Jansen, and outfield depth piece Brandon Lockridge.

One of the benefits of a quiet deadline is that the Brewers didn't have to move on from many prospects. Jadher Areinamo, who was at risk of being selected in this year's minor league Rule 5 Draft, and Jorge Quintana, an 18-year-old lottery ticket infield prospect, were the only two minor leaguers that the Brewers parted ways with. The Brewers then doubled down on their confidence in their top prospects by promoting Jesús Made and Luis Peña from Single-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin just five days after the deadline passed.

However, while Made and Peña dominated the headlines over the last week, another Brewers prospect advanced through Milwaukee's farm system in recent days, which may be even more impressive considering his position. Milwaukee has one of the deepest farm systems, and a considerable log jam for its infield spots, especially first base. Yet this hard-hitting prospect was able to break through.

Blake Burke shines in first week with Biloxi Shuckers

Blake Burke, Milwaukee's 27th-ranked prospect, was promoted from High-A Wisconsin to Double-A Biloxi last weekend, and his hot bat came with him. After 95 games with the Timber Rattlers, Burke was batting .289 on the season, with five home runs and 21 doubles. He also managed to work 49 walks, which increased his on-base percentage to a staggering .380 for the season.

Since joining the Biloxi Shuckers, Burke has continued his impressive hitting ways, registering a .286 average through four games. He has four hits and three walks in his first week of Double-A ball, registering an impressive on-base percentage of .412. Burke collected his first Double-A extra-base hit on Wednesday night against the Knoxville Smokies, a bullet to the opposite field gap.

Despite Burke's power numbers not being quite what you would expect from a prospect who was drafted with 70-grade power, the 34th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft continues to hit the ball hard. In fact, as pointed out by the Brewers Player Development account on X, Burke already has 16 extra-base hits with an exit velocity of 105 mph or higher this season.

If he starts to elevate the ball a bit more, Burke could turn some of those hard-hit balls into homers, but in the meantime, he remains one of the most consistent hitters in the Brewers' farm system. MLB Pipeline estimates that Burke could be arriving in the majors by 2027, but if he keeps hitting the way he has been, he may work his way up through the system even faster.