Brewers: 4 Prospects We Could See Called Up Down The Stretch

With the Trade Deadline passed, the only reinforcements teams can get the rest of the year will have to be from their farm system. The Brewers are loaded with prospects, especially in the upper levels of the minors and have several players they could call upon.

Last year, the Brewers called up Garrett Mitchell late in the year to help provide a spark to a stagnant team. While the Crew is still in first place later than they were last year and aren't sputtering like that, they're having their share of issues on this year's team.

Whether it be injuries or poor performance from players on the roster, the Brewers could look to call upon some of their prospects to help out this team. Roster expansion in September may also be an opportunity for these players.

The Brewers could look to call upon any of these four prospects to help the team during the playoff push.

Brewers prospect we could see called up #1: LHP Robert Gasser

You can never have enough starting pitching, especially in a playoff race. The Brewers have had really good starting pitching all year but they've had issues keeping everybody healthy. Now most of the arms are healthy and the Brewers are operating at full strength.

Still, Milwaukee could look for opportunities to go with a six man rotation down the stretch or, God forbid another injury arises, Robert Gasser would be an excellent option.

Gasser has a 2.99 ERA since June 18th and has been racking up quality starts for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. He has 61 Ks in 45.1 IP in that time. Gasser appears ready for the big leagues.

Now, it's merely a matter of there being an opportunity. The Brewers could look to put Gasser in the bullpen before moving him to the rotation long-term, which is what they've done with a lot of their previous pitching prospects with a lot of success. But if they're going to do that, they may want to move him to the bullpen in Nashville soon to help get him acclimated to that kind of role.

Another complication is that Gasser isn't currently on the 40 man roster while Colin Rea, Janson Junk, and Eric Lauer are and all three of them have big league starting experience under their belt. It could be argued that Gasser has a higher ceiling than any of those three, making him a better option for the Brewers to go with. Time will tell, but if an opportunity opens up, Gasser will be among the names at least considered for a promotion.

Brewers prospect we could see called up #2: IF Tyler Black

The Brewers 2021 first round pick in Sal Frelick is already up in Milwaukee and making noise. That year's Comp A round pick Tyler Black isn't far behind. Black was putting up monster numbers in Double-A, earning himself a recent promotion to Triple-A Nashville.

This season, Black is hitting .265 with a .408 OBP, a .906 OPS, 16 doubles, nine triples, 14 homers, and 48 stolen bases.

Black has an exceptional eye at the plate, similar to Frelick, drawing a ton of walks, not striking out much, and making a lot of quality contact. Black has been developing some solid power as well and his speed has been tremendous. He could be a valuable weapon on the basepaths down the stretch for Milwaukee and he gets on base quite a bit.

Black can play second base or third base, but has also been gaining some experience at first base, which could be an easier way to get him into the lineup in Milwaukee sooner. Brice Turang is spending most of his time at second base while Andruw Monasterio and Brian Anderson have third base covered lately. First base has been a question mark since Rowdy Tellez's struggles this year. Carlos Santana was added at the deadline to help there and Tellez is on the mend from a finger injury, but there are available at bats.

The way he's hitting this year, it's absolutely a possibility the Brewers call him up to help out their offense down the stretch, even just as a bench bat or a pinch runner.

Since he was one of the first from that group of top prospects down in Biloxi to get promoted to Triple-A, it seems clear the Brewers view him as closest to the big leagues and therefore closest to a potential call up before the 2023 season is over.

Brewers prospect who could be called up #4: OF Jackson Chourio

The chances may be slim, but there's still a chance the Brewers call upon top prospect Jackson Chourio towards the end of the 2023 season.

Chourio has been lighting up Double-A over the last month, hitting .388 in the month of July. Frankly, a promotion to Triple-A seems overdue. Still, once he does get there, and the Brewers are going to send him to Nashville before Milwaukee, it's only a matter of time until he gets the call.

The Brewers are loaded in the outfield, and the position group has stabilized with the additions of Sal Frelick and Mark Canha. With those two, plus Christian Yelich, Joey Wiemer, and Tyrone Taylor, Milwaukee shouldn't "need" Chourio this year.

However, if the team gets into September, and one or more of the outfield group is struggling and the Brewers need to provide another spark and Chourio is continuing to light it up in the minors, there's going to be a lot of pressure internally and externally to call upon arguably the top prospect in all of baseball.

Even at just 19 years old, Chourio's advanced approach and five tool ability would make him a clear upgrade at whatever position they put him at in the big leagues. The Brewers may elect to take it easy with Chourio and plan on him arriving next season, but in the thrill of a pennant chase, that may go out the window.

It's also possible we could see a Shane McClanahan/Alex Kiriloff situation where he makes his MLB debut in the postseason. The Brewers are in a good spot to make the postseason, and they could add Chourio to the postseason roster in order to add whatever spark they need to make it through October. That would sure be a fun way to introduce Brewers fans and the rest of the league to Chourio.

The Brewers could call upon any of these four prospects down the stretch, or they could call none of them. Bringing up any of them would likely improve this roster and the Crew's chances to win the World Series.