Friday, September 25

PHILADELPHIA -- Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan has been in baseball operations with the Crew for 30 years, and he has a hard time remembering a team as packed with prospects as the 2026 Double-A Biloxi Shuckers. 

They came within one game -- maybe one fly ball -- of winning the Southern League Championship Series on Wednesday night. 

“It was probably the greatest collection of high-upside talent that I’ve seen clustered on any one club,” said Flanagan, whose formal title is Senior Vice President of Player Operations and Baseball Administration.

With MLB Pipeline’s No. 3-ranked farm system, the Brewers had such a hard time choosing their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year that they opted to name finalists instead, pushing final decisions until early next week. Of the seven position player finalists, only Brady Ebel did not play for the Shuckers this season.

Five of the other six -- outfielder Josh Adamczewski, corner infielders Eric Bitonti and Andrew Fischer, shortstop Jesús Made and outfielder Braylon Payne -- did not just play for the Shuckers in 2026, but were in the lineup for Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at Rocket City in the decisive Game 3 of the Southern League Finals. The sixth -- first baseman Blake Burke -- was promoted to Triple-A Nashville on Aug. 10, but not before doing enough damage for the Shuckers to be named Southern League MVP. 

Additionally, all four finalists for Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Year -- Tyson Hardin, Josh Knoth, Manuel Rodríguez and Wande Torres -- pitched for the Shuckers at some point this season.

Like I said, prospect-packed. 

But it didn’t come easy. Biloxi qualified for the playoffs by winning the first half by one game, then finished in last place in the second half.

“The hitters weren’t scuffling, and the starting pitchers weren’t scuffling, but somewhere along the line, maybe one guy would have a rough night and the game went south,” Flanagan said. “But they weathered the storm. By the time I came to see them in the first round of the playoffs, they were really gelling as a team.”

Fischer’s season was particularly remarkable. Between 54 games with High-A Wisconsin, 72 with Biloxi and five playoff appearances, he hit 50 home runs. Fischer also led qualified hitters across full-season Minor League teams in slugging percentage (.654) and OPS (1.067) and ranked second in wRC+ (162).

“[Fischer] did it a little bit differently,” Flanagan said. “I know people talk about the strikeout totals, but he also walked 100 times. He’s going to get better. And then the fact that he really didn’t miss a day -- he answered the bell and was the guy pulling guys together down the stretch to go as far as they could during the postseason. It was a tremendous year for him.”

That was true of all of the Brewers’ nominees. Adamczewski was one of six qualified players in Milwaukee’s system to bat .300 -- a rarity in today’s game. Bitonti was one of two players (with Burke) in the system with at least 25 doubles and 25 homers. Burke hit 34 home runs, stole 29 bases, and his .889 OPS was highest of any qualified hitter in the system who touched the Triple-A level. Ebel reached base at a .413 clip and stole 40 bases in his first full season of pro ball. Payne was one of nine hitters in the system with an OPS north of .900. 

And then there was Made, who began the season as the only 18-year-old in the Southern League and soon ascended to baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect. He responded by slashing .271/.344/.430 with 44 extra-base hits and 37 steals in 122 games while manning shortstop. 

“It was one of those situations where the sky-high expectations were met,” Flanagan said. “You look at the numbers, and if you know the kid’s age versus the competition, it’s incredible what he’s doing.”

Made & Co. very nearly finished as Southern League champs, but they were denied in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s decisive game. With Made and Fischer aboard and right fielder Damon Keith representing the go-ahead run, Keith hit a deep fly ball that was caught at the warning track.

There’s always next year.

Brewers prospect Luis Peña underwent surgery on Thursday in Milwaukee with Dr. William Raasch to address the fractured left fibula he suffered on a stolen base attempt with Biloxi on Sept. 5. 

That play ended a star-crossed season for Peña, who missed time early in the year after collapsing in the dugout while playing for High-A Wisconsin, and he also suffered a hamstring injury. The Brewers believe he can improve his hydration moving forward, but the ankle injury was a different matter. Peña’s specific timeline is to be determined, though it’s typically 6-9 months. The Brewers’ medical staff expects a full recovery. 

There was better news for infield prospect Jett Williams, who almost certainly would have found his way to Milwaukee in 2026 if not for a left hand injury that sidelined him for all but one at-bat over the final three months of the season. Williams has resumed activities in Arizona and the Brewers will try to find ways this fall to get him some at-bats.

After five weeks of throwing on flat ground, it’s nearing decision time for Brandon Woodruff and the Brewers. He expects to undergo another round of imaging of his right shoulder on Friday before conferring with his surgeon, Dr, Keith Meister, and the Brewers’ medical staff about attempting to throw off a mound in a long-shot bid to pitch at some point in this postseason. 

“I haven’t thrown hard enough to really hurt anything, so it’s just kind of a check-in,” Woodruff said of the plan to have another round of tests. 

Woodruff has been throwing from 105 feet and will go to 120 feet next.

Have things been going well?

“Yeah, it’s going decent,” Woodruff said. “The first couple of weeks were hit and miss, but it’s kind of steadily gotten better, and I’m coming to a spot where we will have those conversations.”

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