Last week MLB Pipeline unveiled it’s new top 100 prospect rankings. Two Milwaukee Brewers outfielders in Sal Frelick and Joey Weimer made the list. Frelick came in at number seventy and Weimer one hundred. A week later, the Brewers top 30 prospects list was unveiled.
As expected based off the top 100 list, Frelick and Weimer came in at number one and number two. Frelick was the teams first round pick last year and just got his feet wet in the minor leagues last season. Weimer was drafted in the fourth round during the 2020 draft. In his first minor league season he made an adjustment to his leg kick and ended up hitting a ton of home runs. He additionally was named one of the Brewers minor league players of the year.
Three prospects who fell in the rankings
Outfielder Garrett Mitchell was previously the top ranked prospect. The 2020 first round draft pick battled injury and sickness during his first minor league season. As a result, his numbers dipped, especially after his promotion to Double-A Biloxi. Odds are that he will get back on track this year as long as he stays healthy.
Left handed pitcher Ethan Small dropped three spots this year. He previously was ranked fifth and now is at eighth. This is quite surprising for Small posted exceptional numbers last year and was the organizations minor league pitcher of the year. He did miss some time with a finger injury but made up those innings by pitching in the Dominican Winter League. All of this has manager Craig Counsell saying that he will make starts for the Crew in 2022.
The last prospect to fall substantially in the rankings was 18 year old Hedbert Perez. The previously fourth ranked prospect dropped five spots. Towards the end of last season, he was promoted to Low-A Carolina. He appeared in just 16 games and will look to build upon that experience in 2022. He is a very young prospects, so there may be many learning curves as he continues to develop mentally, physically, and as a professional baseball player.
Conclusion
There is a lot of exciting talent in the Brewers farm system currently. They have been slowly rebuilding by drafting polished college players earlier in the draft. This explains how Sal Frelick quickly replaced Garrett Mitchell atop the prospect rankings.
Of recent top draft picks, Ethan Small stands a great chance to make his major league debut this season. Position player such as Frelick, Mitchell, and Weimer are likely still a year or two away at best. It should be another fun season of watching these players continue to grow and develop!
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