The Milwaukee Brewers deployed a fun lineup during a spring training game on Tuesday, February 25. Against the Cleveland Guardians, manager Pat Murphy placed rising prospect Cooper Pratt at shortstop while batting him second in the lineup. Pratt went on to have a great day at the plate and overall he is off to a hot start this spring.
The Milwaukee Brewers deployed a fun lineup against the Cleveland Guardians
Along with Pratt at shortstop and second in the lineup, Murphy placed rising star Jackson Chourio in center field while batting third overall. This may not be the last time you see a Pratt-Chourio combination on top of the lineup.
As for Chourio playing center field, Murphy joked “We couldn’t let him play center field last year because he couldn’t catch a fly ball. So, we decided that he’s taking that step forward. Yeah, this year we’ll let him player center.”
Cooper Pratt is off to a hot start this spring
In Tuesday’s game, Pratt finished with three hits, two doubles, and three runs batted in. He cleared the bases with one of his doubles, in which both of his extra base hits came in the form of line drives down the line in left field. This spring, Pratt is 4-7 with three doubles.
Cooper Pratt has 4 hits in 7 at-bats this spring. 3 of them are doubles.
Of his 2 doubles today, 1 came off 26 y/o Luis Ortiz (3.32 ERA in the Majors last year) and the other Luis Velasquez (23 y/o prospect)
Pratt is just 20 years old
— Tyler Koerth (@TylerKoerth) February 26, 2025
20 year old Cooper Pratt is hitting against older players
Pratt, a former sixth round pick out of Magnolia Heights in 2023, is facing players this spring that are much older than him. Against the Guardians he doubled off Luis Ortiz, in which he is a 26 year old that had a 3.32 ERA in the big leagues last year. His second extra base hit also came off an experienced 23 year old prospect by the name of Luis Velasquez.
Pratt has already established himself as a great defensive shortstop, evidenced by winning a minor league gold glove award last year. It’s nice to see him having success at the plate early on in spring, but regardless of how he performs, he will be in the minor leagues to begin the year. Double-A seems like a likely starting spot for him, however, if he continues to impress then it’s possible that reaching Triple-A in 2025 could be a realistic goal.
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