Top prospect evaluator offers bold 2026 Jesús Made prediction

The Milwaukee Brewers have the best farm system in baseball, bolstered by a group of infield prospects that appear destined to become MLB regulars in the near future. Concurrently, the Brewers have a need for infielders on their current major league roster after parting ways with Caleb Durbin earlier this week.

It would seem like the two issues cancel each other out -- can't the Brewers just tap into their swath of infield prospects to fill the hole that was created on the left side of the infield by Durbin's departure? Eventually, they absolutely can, and it's part of the reason why Matt Arnold and the Brewers' front office were comfortable parting ways with a controllable asset like Durbin. At some point in the not-so-distant future, the Brewers' infield prospects will join the big-league roster, and Durbin may have been forced into a utility infielder role.

The problem, however, is that none of these prospects are quite ready for the big leagues. Top prospect Jesús Made played the final two weeks of the 2025 season in Double-A. Luis Peña has yet to log an inning above the High-A level. 2025 first-round pick Andrew Fischer is gaining plenty of hype this offseason, but he has just 19 games of professional baseball to his name. Cooper Pratt and Brock Wilken each played the entirety of the 2025 season in Double-A with the Biloxi Shuckers, but the former had an up-and-down season at the plate, and the latter missed a considerable amount of time with a knee injury. The closest prospect to being big-league ready is recent acquisition Jett Williams, who the Brewers acquired in the Freddy Peralta trade, but he hasn't played a single inning at third base throughout his professional career.

Outside of Williams, who is almost certain to have a role on the big-league roster at some point in 2026, the Brewers' swath of infield prospects are roughly one year away from playing a significant amount of games at the big-league level -- Pratt, Wilken, and even Fischer for that matter could see their introductions to MLB at some point in 2026, but it likely won't be until the later months of the season.

However, while Brewers fans are trying to temper their expectations, particularly for the arrival of Made, who has received similar hype to Jackson Chourio when he was a rising prospect a few years ago, one highly regarded prospect evaluator is stoking the fire with his latest bold prediction.

MLB Pipeline prospect expert Jim Callis predicts Jesús Made will debut in MLB before the end of the 2026 season

Over at MLB Pipeline, one of the most respected groups of prospect evaluators in the game, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo assigned percentage chances to each of the top prospects in MLB appearing on their respective teams' Opening Day rosters. For example, top MLB prospect Konnor Griffin was given a 50% chance of making the Pittsburgh Pirates' Opening Day roster by Mayo and a 40% chance by Callis. The article is well worth the read over at MiLB.com and linked below for your convenience.

Which prospects will make Opening Day rosters? Here are the odds on the top 20

When it came to Made, both Mayo and Callis agreed that the Brewers' top prospect has a 0% chance of making Milwaukee's Opening Day roster. However, Callis' analysis of the situation offered a prediction that is bound to excite Brewers fans, writing about Made, "He's supremely talented. I can't envision a scenario where he makes the team. Quick aside, does he make his big league debut this year at 19? I think so."

Callis expects to see the 19-year-old Made in MLB by the end of the 2026 campaign, which is certainly a bold prediction, but not necessarily a far-fetched one. It would certainly require an otherworldly season from Made in Double-A to start the season, which would likely be followed by a promotion to Triple-A before his eventual MLB debut. His performance would have to be so strong that he leapfrogs Pratt, Wilken, and Williams on the organizational depth chart, while assuming that the Brewers have an open spot for him on the big-league roster.

Made is a unique talent; if any current Brewers prospect can accomplish this incredible feat of debuting in MLB before his 20th birthday, it's him. However, more likely, even if the Brewers don't elect to fill their infield vacancy with an external addition, is that Made stays on Chourio's path, which would see him compete in Double-A and Triple-A this year before making his MLB debut at the beginning of the 2027 season. Hopefully, that debut follows Made signing a team-friendly contract extension like the one Chourio agreed to prior to his rookie season.