5 prospect trade chips the Brewers could sell for pitching help at MLB Trade Deadline

2. SS Eric Brown Jr

The Brewers drafted Eric Brown Jr out of Coastal Carolina in the first round of the 2022 Draft. A talented, speedy shortstop with a solid glove, Brown could be a sparkplug at the big league level. He's currently ranked as the Brewers 10th best prospect.

What's hampered Brown since being drafted has largely been injuries. Last year, in his first full season in the minors, Brown played well for High-A Wisconsin, hitting .265/.362/.347 with eight doubles, four homers, and a whopping 37 stolen bases. But his season was cut short by several weeks due to an injury.

This year, Brown has also missed some time on the IL, but not as much. The larger concern is the lack of production. For Double-A Biloxi, Brown is hitting just .173/.266/.234 with two homers, 14 stolen bases, and just a .500 OPS.

Still, the first round pedigree carries weight and perhaps injuries are still hampering him even though he's active. Another team could view this as an opportunity to bring in a former first round talent to their organization. The Brewers generally aren't willing to part with their first round picks as most of them have become big contributors for them in recent years (after a long stretch without that). Brown may be the rare case where he could be available for some sorely needed pitching help.

Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz are expected to be battling for that starting shortstop of the future job, which will likely leave Brown on the outside looking in and a logical trade candidate.

3. RHP Alexander Cornielle

The Brewers pitching lab has a reputation for churning out talented pitchers seemingly out of nowhere and Alexander Cornielle is one of these pop up pitching prospects having a great season that the Brewers front office could sell high on.

Cornielle is pitching in High-A Wisconsin and has a 3.10 ERA in 12 starts. In 61 IP, he's struck out 50 batters while walking 23. His walk rate has steadily improved the last few years and while his strikeout rate has dropped, the overall results have gotten better.

The 22 year old righty is going to be Rule 5 eligible this winter as well.

He's missed a little bit of time this year on the injured list, but Cornielle is back healthy and is out on the mound. He has stayed as a starter, which is important. He started 18 of 20 games last year and 22 of 25 games back in 2022.

It shouldn't be long until Cornielle earns a promotion to Double-A based on his performance this year. The Brewers though may opt to keep Cornielle in High-A and performing well to keep boosting his prospect stock in the eyes of other teams while trade talks are ongoing.

Most teams would prefer to get a pitcher back in return when they're trading away a pitcher. Cornielle could very well be one of those pitchers another team covets as trade talks unfold.

4. RHP Shane Smith

Another pop up, seemingly out of nowhere pitching prospect success story for the Brewers in 2024 is Shane Smith. Smith started the year in the bullpen for Double-A Biloxi but has transitioned seamlessly to the starting rotation.

Smith made 38 appearances out of the bullpen last year with no starts, tallying 10 saves with a stellar 1.96 ERA, making it all the way up to Double-A. He appeared to be on the fast track to the majors as a reliever based on his performance.

Back in Double-A, Smith still has had great results with a 3.06 ERA in 53 IP with 68 Ks and just 15 walks. He's made 17 appearances, the last eight of which have been starts.

In those eight starts, Smith has a 2.75 ERA with 40 Ks in 36 IP. He's rapidly rising up the prospect ranks because of this success in his transition to the rotation. The Brewers may be willing to look to sell high on Smith, an undrafted free agent signed back in 2021.

Like many of the other trade chips on this list, Smith is going to be Rule 5 eligible this winter and given his breakout success this season, Smith could warrant a selection or perhaps even 40 man roster protection.

Smith could help bring back a pretty solid pitcher to help out Milwaukee's beleaguered staff. The track record in the rotation may be short, and Smith may ultimately be a reliever at the big league level, but he's looking more and more like a surefire big leaguer and that's going to be highly valuable to teams at the trade deadline.

5. 2B/3B Jadher Areinamo

Jadher Areinamo might be one of the more underrated Brewers prospects. The 20 year old infielder has put up a stellar .317/.365/.457 slash line with 18 doubles, seven homers, and 27 stolen bases. Contact ability, some power, speed to burn, Areinamo is one of better performing offensive prospects in this system.

Areinamo's .822 OPS for High-A Wisconsin is the best output of his career. An international signee in 2021, Areinamo has been steadily improving every year, adding more power, more speed, and more base hits.

This all sounds like a player the Brewers should be wanting to keep though, right? While his numbers are quite good and getting better, Gregory Barrios was also putting up great numbers and continually improving and the Brewers traded him away. In order to get something of quality, you have to give up something of quality.

Areinamo is the 21st ranked prospect on the Brewers top 30 list and he's the only one among this group to be on that list. Smith and Rodriguez could find themselves on it shortly, though when the midseason updates happen. By and large, the Brewers prefer to hold onto their top prospects, parting with players close to Rule 5 eligibility or not slated to be key parts of their future plans.

Areinamo is far enough away that they could be covered at second base and third base and can pivot in a different direction to answer those spots before he was slated to be ready. The Brewers have a ton of infield depth in the minors to deal from.

In all likelihood the Brewers aren't done making moves before the deadline. They'll part with a few more prospect trade chips before this month is over and these five players are among the most likely options to be included.