Milwaukee Brewers have 5 prospects ranked in new MLB Pipeline top-100; top-30 list updated

MLB Pipeline finally released its mid-season prospect rankings late last night, a week ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline. The Brewers actually saw a decrease in Top 100 prospects, mostly due to Josh Hader graduating off the list, but a couple names did fall off completely.

The current Brewers on the Top 100 list are (with prior ranking in parenthesis):

15. Lewis Brinson (18)
70. Corey Ray (30)
83. Luis Ortiz (62)
96. Brandon Woodruff (nr)
97. Keston Hiura (nr)

Falling off the MLB Top 100 are the previously mentioned Hader and Isan Diaz. Diaz has had a rough year at the plate and it is no surprise to see his stock dip a tad.

The Pipeline site also released a new Top 30 for the organization. There is plenty of movement and eight new names coming the list:

1. Lewis Brinson (1)
2. Corey Ray (2)
3. Luis Ortiz (4)
4. Brandon Woodruff (8)
5. Keston Hiura (nr)
6. Isan Diaz (5)
7. Corbin Burnes (20)
8. Tristen Lutz (nr)
9. Mauricio Dubon (9)
10. Lucas Erceg (7)
11. Freddy Peralta (19)
12. Brett Phillips (10)
13. Trent Clark (6)
14. Monte Harrison (23)
15. Marcos Diplan (11)
16. Trey Supak (29)
17. Ryan Cordell (16)
18. KJ Harrison (nr)
19. Jake Gatewood (26)
20. Jacob Nottingham (14)
21. Caden Lemons (nr)
22. Cody Ponce (15)
23. Josh Pennington (22)
24. Kodi Medeiros (19)
25. Phil Bickford (12)
26. Mario Feliciano (23)
27. Larry Ernesto (nr)
28. Brendan Murphy (nr)
29. Carlos Rodriguez (nr)
30. Je’Von Ward (nr)

First thing I would like to note: the little bumps you see in player’s positioning is due to new draftees or big performers moving up. Players like Phillips, Cordell, Pennington, aren’t actually seeing drops in how the scouts view their Overall Future Potential (OFP), the farm is just getting more stacked.

The Brewers’ first five draft picks make the list, but the sixth was actually 12th rounder Je’Von Ward. Surprising that MLB considers him more valuable that the players in rounds five through eleven.

Also, two of the newcomers are 2017 international signees. Ernesto Martinez, the late signee the Brewers obtained in May was not one of the two. Instead, it’s the top two signees from the 2017-18 class.

The players falling off the top prospect list are: Josh Hader (no longer eligible), Jorge Lopez, Gilbert Lara, Michael Reed, Nathan Kirby, Devin Williams, Demi Orimoloye and Chad McClanahan. Kirby and Williams haven’t pitched this year due to injury. Kirby is recovering from Tommy John and a second elbow injury, while Williams went through a TJ procedure of his own early in the year. Reed has dealt with injuries this year, but joins a cast of disappointing performers that bump them from the list in Lopez and Lara. McClanahan was #30 and was expected to go after a rough start to rookie ball and being overshadowed by new talent.

On top position lists, the Brewers did see several players. Keston Hiura and Isan Diaz were 5 and 6 on the top second baseman. Lewis Brinson was the #5 outfielder in the minors according to the Pipeline writers.