Brewers place 5 in MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 100

MLB Pipeline recently unveiled their mid-season updates to their MLB Top 100 prospect list as well as the updated versions of their individual Team Top 30. The Brewers personal list already looks quite a bit different from the start of the season. And they have a couple more representatives on the global Top 100.

Orlando Arcia remains the Brewers top prospect despite a somewhat uneven season at AAA Colorado Springs. He does drop a bit on the global list, from the top 5 to start the season down to 13—which is still a very nice placing.

Joining Arcia is one of the newest additions to the farm, Corey Ray. He leapfrogs several other Brewers players to place second on their list. The LHH outfielder was the Brewers top selection in the 2016 draft. The Brewers aggressively placed in in A- Brevard County where he has struggled, hitting just 227/260/278. But the Brewers aren’t the only ones that think highly of him. Pipeline placed him 37th on their global list.

Josh Hader is next on the Brewers list. He tore apart AA hitting before a mid-season promotion to AAA. Colorado Springs is a horrible, horrible place. Despite retaining his high K%, he currently owns a 6.42 ERA. Let’s hope the Brewers can find a new affiliate next year. We aren’t the only ones that realize this of course and Pipeline placed Hader 45th on the global list.

Appearing next on the Brewers list is their top selection from last year’s draft, outfielder Trent Clark. He’s only hitting .219 which might make some think he’s struggling. But he has a 17.2 BB% helping him to a .354 OBP. He also has a respectable .400 SLG. The other thing to realize is he’s battled injuries this year which have limited him to just 29 games. He’s young and still has tons of potential. He placed 76th on the global ranking.

The headliner of the Carlos Gomez/Mike Fiers trade ranks fifth on the Brewers list. Much like Orlando Arcia, OF Brett Phillips has been having something of an underwhelming season. He’s hitting 225/320/410 with 12 HR and 7 SB. But perhaps the truly alarming thing is his 31.9 K%. Despite the struggles, there’s still a lot of potential here as reflected by his placing 78th on the global ranking.

Corey Ray is not the only new face on the Brewers top 30. There are five other 2016 draftees that make an appearance. Third baseman Lucas Erceg ranks 14th, RHP Corbin Burns comes in at 16th, C Mario Feliciano was placed 25th, 3B Chad McClanahan is 26th, and finally RHP Braden Webb is 27th.

It will be very interesting to see how this list looks in just a few days with the non-waiver trade deadline being Monday. There are 4 prospects in this current version of the Brewers Top 30 that were brought to the system via David Stearns organized trades. Shortstop Isan Diaz ranks 7th, C Jacob Nottingham 12th, RHP Freddy Peralta is 18th, and 2B Wendel Rijo comes in at 28. The exciting thing to me is that none of these prospects were part of a huge trade. Just imagining what Jonathan Lucroy will net the Brewers has me in a tizzy.

The full list can be found here. The Top 100 can be found here. You should absolutely check them out. And keep in mind, it’s not the order so much or the overall ranking that’s important. What you should be reading these for are the player capsules. They provide a brief scouting report as well as scouting grades that can help inform your opinion of a player.