Projecting how fast Andrew Fischer will reach Brewers after WBC breakout

When the Milwaukee Brewers drafted third baseman Andrew Fischer out of the University of Tennessee with the 20th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, their expectations were certainly high. However, to predict what the 21-year-old Fischer has done since draft day would have required a clairvoyance that not even the seemingly psychic Brewers' front office possesses.

Since joining the Brewers' organization last July, Fischer has been named the top third base prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, he's now widely considered the best college bat taken in the 2025 MLB Draft, and he's made a name for himself on the international stage with Team Italy during the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Following in the footsteps of Sal Frelick, the last Brewers' prospect to suit up for Team Italy in the WBC, Fischer was a key piece of Italy's undefeated run through pool play, which included a shocking win over Team USA. Though Fischer's services have been used sparingly by Team Italy's manager, Francisco Cervelli, (the Brewers' prospect has only been in the lineup for two of the team's four WBC games thus far) it will be difficult not to include the slugging third baseman in the starting lineup when the quarterfinals begin for the Italians on Saturday afternoon. In eight at-bats, Fischer has three hits -- a single, double, and solo homer -- and he's collected three RBI.

Paired with Fischer's impressive introduction to pro ball with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers last year, his performance in the WBC has Brewers fans wondering when they might see the talented third baseman in the big leagues.

Andrew Fischer could be the Brewers' Opening Day third baseman in 2027

Fischer's WBC performance understandably has Brewers fans hoping to see the former first-round pick in the big leagues before the conclusion of the 2026 season. But let's pump the brakes just a little bit. Despite Fischer looking more than comfortable against the competition in the WBC, the 21-year-old out of Tennessee has just 19 games of experience in professional baseball. Those games came at the High-A level, and though Fischer more than impressed with the Timber Rattlers, expecting him to make the leap from High-A to MLB in less than a year is aggressive.

Following the offseason hype and his performance in the WBC, it's likely that the Brewers start Fischer out in Double-A this year, where he will join a Biloxi Shuckers infield that is expected to include Jesús Made and fellow former Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke. Should Fischer continue to hit as he did in college, High-A, and now in the small WBC sample size, a promotion to Triple-A before the end of the season is not out of the question, especially if he proves that he can comfortably man the hot corner defensively.

If Fischer does ascend to Triple-A in 2026, a move that would either require him to usurp Brock Wilken, who is expected to be the Nashville Sounds' Opening Day third baseman, or replace Wilken after a major league call-up, it's certainly not out of the question that the Brewers' 2025 first-round pick is playing third base for Milwaukee on Opening Day in 2027.

Fischer's college experience is certainly working in his favor. The college game has progressed significantly in the past few years, and the best players are moving through the minor league system faster than ever. Working against Fischer is the lack of certainty regarding his defensive abilities and the logjam of infielders in the Brewers' system. However, if Fischer proves he can hold his own at third base and continues to hit like he has, that logjam matters not; the Brewers will find a way to get him to the big leagues. While that may not happen this year, don't be surprised if Fischer is up with the big-league club very early in the 2027 season.