Down on the Farm: Brewers Top Prospects Notes

The biggest focus for both teenage hitters through camp has been honing in on breaking balls. After seeing fastballs more than 60% of the time in the DSL, Made and Peña saw that figure cut by 20% stateside. Challenges against spin were to be expected in 2025, but with it being such a focal point during camp, Del Chiaro is already seeing both hitters make strides in live at bats with both their swing decisions and ability to stay back on breakers.

In addition to the mechanical gains, the physical gains Made and Peña have made have only contributed to the buzz around them at camp.

“To both of their credits, they put really hard focus, diligent work into the weight room,” Del Chiaro said. “They came into camp bigger and stronger, put on lean muscle mass and they are moving the bat faster already.”

Both hitters have seen their bat speed up more than three miles per hour in training this spring and while Del Chiaro acknowledges that that number will come down a bit in games, it’s reasonable to expect the gains to result in more raw impact for both players heading into 2026.

In addition to some swing path tweaks, swing decisions are a key point of growth for both Made and Peña in 2026, something they’re both well aware of.

“I’m excited because they know what they need to improve on. How they apply what they learned and the adjustments that [they] have made and ultimately get that to translate into in-game production and promotion is what I am most excited to see,” Del Chairo said.

Made and Peña had an average launch angle on batted balls 95+ MPH of six degrees and four degrees, respectively. Both could tap into much more game power by improving angles alone, but pair that with the increase in bat speed and physical strength and it’s easy to dream on a lot more impact.

Three Names Generating Buzz

Josh Adamczewski is a guy the Brewers are simply eager for a full season from because of what he has showed when on the field, and the general belief is that he is one of the more well-rounded hitters in the system.

Fluke injuries that were not soft-tissue related have the Brewers believing that smoother days are ahead availability wise. When Adamczewski has been on the field, he has been spectacular, sporting a 165 wRC+ in 99 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A with nearly as many free passes as strikeouts.

Adamczewski was promoted to High-A for the final 16 games of the regular season where he struggled, but he finished the year on a high note by turning in a .953 OPS in 20 Arizona Fall League games.

“Internally with some of our internal metrics, there’s been improvements in his swing path and that being in camp right now already from last year, from playing to the previous year,” Del Chiaro said.

“He was able to take those improvements to the fall league and maintain that and that’s helped with the success, but it wasn’t through intervention by us. I think it was availability, plate appearances and experience.”

A 15th-round pick out of the Indiana prep ranks, Adamczewski will get a full dose of High-A in 2026.

Blake Burke

The 34th overall selection in the 2024 class, first baseman Blake Burke‘s torrid finish to his first pro season left the Brewers excited for what 2026 could have in store, and him showing up to camp in better shape only added to that.

After hitting five homers in 95 High-A games (124 wRC+) to open up the season, Burke was promoted to Double-A for his final 37 contests, launching 11 homers on his way to a 177 wRC+.

“You saw him dial in his focus, his intent,” Del Chiaro said, “You dial up the challenge point, you dial up the tasks where he has to perform, and you saw him rise to the occasion where he drove the ball to all fields.”

It’s borderline double plus raw power from Burke, which he really started to tap into more in Double-A, cutting his groundball rate by 10%. Including the two postseason games in Biloxi, Burke registered 26 batted balls north of 105 MPH in 39 games, including a max exit velocity of 117 MPH. Only 13 MLB players registered batted balls north of 117 MPH in 2025.

Marco Dinges

Catcher Marco Dinges slipped a bit under the radar in 2025 due to sharing a team with Made and Peña. A hamstring issue that limited Dinges to just 77 games didn’t help his case either. A fourth-round pick out of Florida State in 2024, he turned in a 161 wRC+ between Low- and High-A last season with 13 home runs and a strikeout rate of just 19%.

Dinges stands out in several key internal metrics and boasts some of the best bat speed in the organization, which has the Brewers feeling like there’s even more in the tank.

“He’s gonna swing the bat 80 miles an hour. He has that in him,” Del Chiaro said. “And we’ve seen it and we’ve seen it even higher, but in-game it hovers around [75-76 MPH], which is still way above major league average.”

It’s a bat-first profile for Dinges, who threw out just 18% of base stealers in 2025 and just 14% at High-A. There’s optimism within the organization that he can continue to improve behind the dish given his athleticism and arm strength, paired with the fact that he transferred into Florida State for from Tallahassee Community College for his draft year and did not catch at all for the Seminoles.

The Brewers are bullish on the work ethic as well. If anything, the team feels like they need to slow him down sometimes.

“He’s that racehorse that you gotta pull the reins back on versus having to get him going,” Del Chiaro said. “He will react to a rollover and it’s like, oh, I gotta adjust my swing, I gotta do something. And we’re like, ‘no, you just rolled over’.”

While still productive, Dinges saw his contact rate decrease by 10% from Low- to High-A, hovering around 67% in his 51 High-A games. Missing all of July certainly did not make things easy on him and he has demonstrated better bat-to-ball skills than the High-A contact rate would imply.

That said, whiff will be something to monitor as the 22-year-old presumably reaches Double-A in 2026.

Projection and Patience With Payne

One of the youngest players in the 2024 class, the Brewers knew Braylon Payne would be more of a project when they selected him 17th overall. Payne’s 70-grade speed may be the first thing you notice, but the 6-foot, 190 pound outfielder flashed plus raw power in his age-18 season, including a max exit velocity of 114.4 MPH.

The downside is, he really struggled with whiff at Low-A, punching out 30% of the time with a contact rate of just 63%. How Payne responded to a mechanical adjustment during the season helped create some optimism

“Standing him up and making him be a little bit more athletic has freed him up to showcase more of those top end EVs,” Del Chiaro said. “When you’re tightly wound and you’re hitting from a crouch, your body wants to free itself. So he would pop up. So you would see some awkward finishes where he ends up on his heels.”

In analyzing the video, Payne’s adjustment came on June 6th. The subsequent 22 games, he hit to a .337/.433/.602 line with five homers. He still struck out 27% of the time in that span, but Payne certainly was doing more damage.

A momentum killer came in that 22nd game with a fluke injury. Payne attempted to steal third, saw his helmet fly off and was hit by the throw as he slid into the base, resulting in a concussion. He missed more than two weeks before returning for the final 18 games of the season where he struggled.

It will be fascinating to see if Payne can build on the positive stretch that followed his mechanical adjustment as there’s not many 70-grade runners in the minor leagues who flash exit velocities north of 114 MPH, especially at 18 years old.

Brewers Believe the Best is Still Ahead of Cooper Pratt

Cooper Pratt slipped off of our top 100 prospect list after turning in a .238/.343/.348 slash line in Double-A (still good for a 107 wRC+ in the pitcher-friendly Southern League), but concern around quality of contact and swing decisions were what pushed him just to the outside.

Though it was just his age-20 season, Pratt’s average exit velocity of 86.6 MPH and 90th percentile exit velocity of 101 MPH leave a bit to be desired. The contact skills are undoubtedly above average and his likelihood of providing defensive value at shortstop helps his case.

“The more that he develops his approach and gets stronger and fills out and develops some more functional strength,” Del Chiaro said. “The more we’re gonna see more power potential come out of him.“

At 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, there is room for Pratt to fill out, but with a max air exit velocity of 106 MPH in 2025, there’s definitely a bit of a way to go in terms of showcasing flashes of what can be even average game power at the highest level.

In addition to getting stronger, Del Chiaro believes being more selective with two strikes with the goal of still trying to do damage rather than not striking out can help him in the slugging department as well, citing a 50% chase rate with two strikes last season.

“When you do get two strikes, we can force them over the plate. More opportunity for on-base percentage, more opportunity to hit the ball hard and impact it,” Del Chiaro said. “Get a mistake in a two-strike count and drive it; versus sacrificing contact quality just to put the ball in play and not strike out.”

Pratt’s floor is hard to argue against. He’s going to stick at shortstop, there’s above-average contact skills and he was 31-for-36 on stolen base attempts last season. Del Chiaro is still bullish on the ceiling though.

“It’s that traditional scouting view that power comes last. He fits that mold.”

Brady Ebel Tabbed as a Potential Breakout

Brady Ebel is a name that continued to come up both with how he carries himself and his physical gains over the offseason. Just 17 years old when he heard his name called 32nd overall last July, Ebel grew up around a big league clubhouse as his father, Dino, has worked in professional baseball for 30 years and currently serves as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ third base coach.

Ebel trained with Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies in the offseason and was drafted out of Corona High School, where he was teammates with first rounders Seth Hernandez and Billy Carlson. Coming out of the draft, it looked like a hit-over-power profile, so more strength and bat speed heading into Ebel’s first pro season adds to the intrigue.