Latest Top 100 rankings update highlight Brewers top prospect's continued fall from grace

The New York Mets already gave up on the headliner from their end of an offseason blockbuster with the Milwaukee Brewers, shipping Freddy Peralta off to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline for three prospects. Tobias Myers, meanwhile, is down in Triple-A after completely imploding (6.26 ERA, -0.1 fWAR) in 46 big-league innings this season.

One would think that all but guarantees that the Brewers will walk away as winners of the deal, and their history with player development probably assures that case. However, Milwaukee's early returns haven't been terribly promising for them, either.

Brandon Sproat has had some nice moments in his rookie campaign, but the numbers don't lie. He racked up a 5.27 ERA and 5.09 FIP over his first 95.2 innings with the Brewers, too frequently getting punished for the gobs of baserunners he was offering free passes to. That ultimately got him pushed off the 26-man roster once the team had to make room for their trade deadline acquisitions.

And then there's the curious case of Jett Williams, who is one of few prospects in recent memory to actually get worse upon joining the organization.

Jett Williams' stock has fallen considerably after a disappointing inaugural season in the Brewers' farm system

Williams was the more highly regarded prospect at the time of the Peralta trade, ranking 30th overall on MLB Pipeline's list of the 100 best minor leaguers in the game and third in the Brewers' loaded farm system. Now? He's fallen off the big list entirely, and you'll have to scroll down to No. 11 to find him on the organization's top 30.

What's gone wrong? Well, a recent series of wrist injuries certainly hasn't helped matters; he was out for a month between July 7 and August 8 and then he left his not-so-triumphant return game after just one at-bat after hurting his elbow.

Still, it's not like he was impressing any onlookers before hitting the shelf. Through 81 games in Nashville, the 22-year-old hit .233/.340/.384 (94 wRC+) with just nine homers and 21 steals, a steep drop-off from his production with the Mets one year ago. He's still impressively mature in matters of his plate approach, with walk, whiff, and chase rates all well-above the Triple-A average, but he's just not making much impact upon contact; his hard-hit rate and average exit velocity figures both rank near the 40th percentile at his level.

He's primarily played third base this year, only moonlighting as a shortstop and center fielder. That versatility is a key piece of his profile, but the middle infield is so crowded in the organization (and Luis Lara looks primed to be the man in center). If Williams wants any sort of regular role in Milwaukee, it'll likely have to come at the hot corner.

To earn that role, though, he'll have to get healthy and start performing better right away. He's still young enough to make this gap year fade into memory, but the depth of prospects in the Brewers' system demands urgency from Williams, lest he be passed up at each one of his primary positions.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow