Friday, December 05

MILWAUKEE -- While the big league Brewers were setting a franchise record with 97 victories, their future was looking bright in the Minor Leagues. 

The .517 winning percentage of Milwaukee's affiliates in 2025 was the eighth highest among the 30 organizations. Leading the way was top Brewers prospect Jesús Made, MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 overall prospect, who joined Taylor Green (2007, 2011) and Jackson Chourio (2022-23) as the only Milwaukee farmhands to win the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year Award multiple times. 

But Made wasn’t the only player in the system who made big strides. Here are some other, perhaps lesser-known, names that you should know.

3 players who forced their way onto the radar this year

RHP Tyson Hardin (Brewers No. 20)

A 12th round Draft pick in 2024 out of Mississippi State, where he pitched in relief, Hardin converted to starting in his first full season as a professional and made it all the way to Double-A Biloxi, capturing the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year honor. He was 6-5 with a 2.72 ERA in 21 starts between High-A Wisconsin -- where he was a Midwest League All-Star -- and Biloxi, totaling 96 strikeouts in 96 innings with only 17 walks. 

"I’ve changed a lot,” Hardin told the Appleton Post-Crescent earlier this season. “At Mississippi State, I was a bullpen arm. I’d come out and close or come in in late situations. I was more sinker-heavy. I didn’t really throw the four-seam at all. I threw the two-seam.

“I like to think of myself as a strike-thrower of multiple pitches. I like to attack the zone. Make them beat me by hitting it.”

He turns 24 on Nov. 19.

IF/OF Josh Adamczewski (Brewers No. 13)

The Brewers got Adamczewski in the 15th round of the 2023 Draft and were able to sign him thanks to some shrewd bonus pool management. If the 20-year-old Indianan wasn’t already on the radar, he is now. 

He hit .320/.420/.490 during the Minor League season with five home runs, 46 RBIs, seven stolen bases and nearly as many walks (43) as strikeouts (53) in 71 games between Single-A Carolina, High-A Wisconsin and the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, where he spent some time rehabbing a back injury. He then went to the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost at-bats and to continue working on a transition from second base to left field. 

That may prove to be Adamczewski’s future as he rises through the ranks alongside middle-infield prospects like Made and Luis Peña (Brewers No. 2, MLB No. 18). 

The bat sure hasn’t suffered. Adamczewski went into Wednesday’s action with four home runs in his first 17 games in the AFL, and a .977 OPS that ranked 11th in the prospect-rich circuit. 

"It's different,” Adamczewski said last month. “It's a learning moment for sure. I feel I've gotten a lot more comfortable out there since the end of the season, so it's going well. I mean, every day I’m just trying little things out and seeing what works.” 

RHP Jaron DeBerry

Like Hardin, DeBerry made it all the way to Double-A in his first full season as a professional. Milwaukee’s third-round Draft pick last year out of Dallas Baptist, DeBerry posted a 4.38 ERA in 22 games, 19 starts between Class A Carolina, High-A Wisconsin and Biloxi, with 102 strikeouts versus 31 walks. He works with a six-pitch mix, impressive for a pitcher who just turned 23 at the end of August. 

"He really has a feel for what he is trying to do,” Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said. “He pitched better each time he moved up last season.” 

Two possible breakout players for 2026

RHP Manuel Rodriguez

Signed out of Mexico in 2022, Rodriguez made 13 of his 19 starts as a 19-year-old in 2025 and touched the Double-A level by year’s end, setting him up for a breakout in ‘26 if he can stay on that trajectory.

Flanagan called Rodriguez a “big-time competitor” who challenges hitters, evidenced by a ratio of 88 strikeouts to 15 walks in his 89 2/3 innings.  

RHP Ethan Dorchies 

Another of the Brewers’ recent Midwest finds, Dorchies was Milwaukee’s 10th round Draft pick in 2024 from Cary-Grove High School in northern Illinois, the same school that produced Brewers righty Quinn Priester. Dorchies just turned 19 last month. 

“He got a little ink this year, but has an excellent foundation to build upon,” Flanagan said. "His velo spiked up at tail end of season, so along with his great mix of secondary pitches there is a lot to like.”

No. 3 prospect Cooper Pratt racked up 104 hits in 120 games with Double-A Biloxi in 2025.

1 big question

Which Top 100 prospect is next? 

Chourio made a splash in 2024 and Jacob Misiorowski did the same in ‘25, so who’s next? With Made and Peña still working their way up the ladder, there are two possibilities to make the leap in ‘26 in shortstop Cooper Pratt (Brewers No. 3, overall No. 56) and catcher Jeferson Quero (Brewers No. 4, overall No. 84). Quero is best positioned with backup catcher Danny Jansen’s exit into free agency, but will probably begin the year as William Contreras’ backup. That would put Quero back on track after he missed all of 2024 with a shoulder injury and was limited to 69 regular season games in ‘25 because of a hamstring issue that delayed his comeback.

Pratt, meanwhile, is likely to begin next season at Triple-A Nashville after hitting .238/.343/.348 in 120 games at Biloxi. He’s Major League-ready as a defender and came on at the plate last season, delivering his best offensive month in August with an .842 OPS.

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