Under-appreciated Brewers prospect is showing promising signs of growth in AFL

With so many high profile promotions lately including rising star Jackson Chourio, the Milwaukee Brewres' farm system has a reputation as somewhat depleted. After entering the 2024 season with a consensus top 3 farm system, MLB Pipeline downgraded the Brewers' farm to just 17th in baseball. There is no doubt that there is "less" talent in the minor leagues right now, that does not at all mean that Milwaukee is completely devoid of young talent.

Take the example of Luis Lara who Milwaukee signed for $1.1 million as an international free agent back in 2022. Lara's numbers in the minor leagues haven't jumped off the page just yet and he is a long ways from contributing in the majors, but his progress down in the AFL should have Brewers fans rather excited.

Lusi Lara's unique player profile looks right up the Brewers' alley

There is a lot to like about Lara as a prospect. Despite being just 19 years old, his bat-to-ball skills and ability to avoid strikeouts has been impressive early on in his pro career. On top of that, he is quite fast which has made him an asset on the base paths as well as in center field where he projects to be a plus defender. It is that promise that has prospect evaluators high on Lara despite how raw he currently is.

That said, Lara's profile lends itself to a lot of variance. He is a small guy at 5'7 and as a result, there are real questions as to whether or not he will impact the ball enough in majors. However, his recent homer in the AFL shows that despite his size, there is some pop in his bat that hopefully he will be able to tap into more often as he develops.

We have seen position prospects like Lara before whose ability to make contact drastically outpaces his ability to do damage when he does. At the top end of Lara's ceiling, he could be a Luis Arraez-type hitter except who can actually draw walks and has real defensive value. However, there is also a chance that Lara won't be able to maintain his minuscule strikeout rate as he faces more advanced pitching and ends up flaming out.

Fortunately for Lara and the Brewers, he has a while to figure things out as there isn't a pressing need to rush him through the minor leagues at the moment. However, if he can parlay these improvements down at the AFL into sustained ability to impact the ball and tack up extra base hits in 2025, don't be shocked if he starts moving up the minor league ladder in a hurry.

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