3 Brewers Prospects Set To Move Up Prospect Lists Soon, 2 Set To Drop Down

Brewers prospect set to move down prospects lists #1: OF Hedbert Perez

It pains me to write this as I've been as big of a Hedbert Perez fan as anyone ever since he signed, but Perez just hasn't shown it one the field yet. His struggles last year dropped him down a little bit in prospect rankings coming in at 16 on MLB Pipeline and 20 on Baseball America, but a second straight season of struggles is going to drop him down a lot further.

Perez reached Low-A Carolina as just an 18 year old back in 2021. It was the final two weeks of the season, but it got him a little taste of it. When he started 2022 in Carolina, it was thought he could move up quickly from there. However, Perez struggled in Low-A last year. While he slugged 15 homers and 23 doubles, he also hit just .216 with a .665 OPS and had 132 strikeouts in 407 ABs.

Being a 19 year old in Low-A is still an aggressive assignment, prospect hype or not. Some hitters can handle it right away, and some can't. Perez struggled in his first year in full season ball and he's not the first to do that and won't be the last. Many who have struggled in it still go on to have great careers.

The Brewers are having Perez repeat Low-A in 2023, and the results have not improved. He's hitting just .161 with a .513 OPS, and 40 strikeouts in 112 ABs. He has just one homer so far (although it was of the walkoff variety).

Perez needs a bounce-back season to help save his prospect status and he just isn't having one. The swing is beautiful, the talent is there, the results just haven't been. Perez's struggles have befuddled the Brewers. They aren't even sure why he's struggling this bad.

At this point, the results are the results and prospect rankings can only rely so much on swing path and potential. With a second straight down season, Hedbert Perez is set to fall down Brewers prospects lists when they're re-ranked.