The Brewers' shortstop prospect that nobody is talking about

When you think of the future of the Milwaukee Brewers at the shortstop position, you probably think of one of the organization's highly ranked prospects.

Jesús Made is the No. 1 prospect in the organization and the No. 20 prospect in all of baseball. Cooper Pratt is the No. 3 prospect in the organization and the No. 47 ranked prospect in baseball right now. Then there's Luis Peña, Milwaukee's No. 5 prospect that recently cracked the Top 100 as the No. 99 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.

All three prospects can play shortstop; the Brewers have an embarrassment of riches and must have a future star somewhere among the three. But there's another shortstop in the organization that isn't getting enough credit or attention for the impressive start to his professional career.

18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Juan Ortuno is the Brewers shortstop prospect that nobody is talking about.

Juan Ortuno

Ortuno signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers when he was just 16 years old in January 2024. He then spent his first professional season playing in the Dominican Summer League, which is a good way to acclimate young prospects to affiliated baseball.

Ortuno had multi-hit performances in 14 of his 49 games in the DSL a season ago. He finished the season with a .344 batting average and an impressive .464 on-base percentage. Additionally, Ortuno stole 22 bases, flashing both impressive speed and bat-to-ball skills for a 17-year-old kid.

The Brewers brought Ortuno to the United States for the 2025 season, assigning him to the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Brewers. The ACL is the modern replacement for rookie ball, with most rookie leagues being dissolved over the last five years.

Ortuno debuted for the ACL Brewers just a few days after his 18th birthday. In 20 games this season, he has maintained his impressive OBP while channeling a bit more of his power as he matures.

Even with a batting average of .250, Ortuno is getting on base at a .467 clip thanks to 21 walks in 92 plate appearances. Ortuno has an OPS of .889 for the year.

There's definitely a reason nobody is talking about Ortuno...yet; he has a long way to go before any evaluators will project him to be a future big league talent. But there's certainly a lot to like in his profile. He runs well, takes his walks, and has good bat-to-ball skills. His approach at the plate is incredibly advanced for a guy that just turned 18. If Milwaukee is able to nurture his skillset, I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing him fly up some prospect rankings.

All it will take is Ortuno to replicate his current success in Low-A ball with the Carolina Mudcats, and he'll certainly be in the organization's Top 30 prospects.