Pressure is on this Brewers prospect to perform with expected loss of Willy Adames

The Milwaukee Brewers are getting to the point where it's time to accept that life in 2025 and beyond without Willy Adames is quickly approaching. The star shortstop had pretty much as solid of a walk year as one can have, setting career-highs in doubles, home runs, RBI, runs and stolen bases.

Since Milwaukee doesn't exactly have a payroll that's in the top-half of the league, the odds of them bringing back one of their most popular players are, well, low.

This means that internal pieces are going to need to step up to try and fill that void as quickly as possible. With Adames essentially a lock to move on, a player like Joey Ortiz could always shift over to shortstop to fill a hole.

Looking (quite) a bit further down the depth chart, there's Cooper Pratt, whose name is one you'll need to know moving forward.

Cooper Pratt facing crucial year after Willy Adames departure

Pratt, 19, landed in the No. 4 spot in Reviewing the Brew's latest top-50 prospects list. He's also made it up to No. 2 in MLB Pipeline's latest update. The kid is legit, and he's going to see time at the big league level before you know it.

Selected in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, Pratt's first full season as a pro came this year, and he did a solid job. In a total of 96 games plit between Low-A and High-A, he recorded 26 extra-base hits, while driving in 45 runs, scoring 56 of his own and stealing 27 bases in 30 attempts.

Pratt is an extremely toolsy player who possesses the ability to change the game in a bunch of different ways. His power is still needs some work, but eight home runs as a 19-year-old is something the Brewers will gladly take. Pratt's still so young and there's plenty of time to add some muscle and fill out his frame a bit more.

While the power isn't there just yet, but Pratt's speed is and he showed it off on the bases and on defense. Pratt solely calls shortstop his defensive home and he played well at the position this year with no real questions about a future position change.

All reports are coming back positive on Pratt. He is already looking like a solid offensive contributor who can change the game at the plate and on the bases. He looks to develop into an on-base machine and if he can continue to play solid defense at one of the premier positions on the diamond, he's going to capitalize on all of this potential and then some.

Maybe losing Adames won't hurt so bad when the Brewers are able to quickly plug in a new long-term face at the position. Don't trick yourself into thinking Pratt will debut in 2025, but sometime in 2026 is not completely out of the question.

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