5 Milwaukee Brewers Ranked in Baseball America’s Top 20 Carolina League Prospects

Baseball America is going around Minor League Baseball, giving its top 20 prospects for each individual league. In the Carolina League, five Milwaukee Brewers prospects made the cut on the top 20.

Leading off the pack for the Crew is Monte Harrison at number seven. Most impressive is that Harrison only played half a season there. Baseball America complimented Harrison on a number of areas, especially his ability to play center and right field exceptionally well. It didn’t stop there, praising the young outfielder for his speed and power. Harrison really is shaping up to be the whole package.

Directly behind Harrison came Corbin Burnes at number eight. There’s no shortage of praise for Burnes this season, as the righty dominated A+ and AA in just his second pro season. Baseball America’s Josh Norris pointed to Burnes above-average control of his four-pitch mix for his success. He also noted a slight mechanical tweak that increased Burnes’ velocity: going from a modified stretch to a more traditional windup delivery.

It takes a whole six spots before we get to Jake Gatewood at number 14. Gatewood’s notes mention his improved patience and demonstrable power. Norris notes that Gatewood’s power could get even better, something Brewers fans could look forward to as he looks to handle third base and first base well defensively.

After Gatewood, Lucas Erceg comes in at 15. Erceg is yet again praised for his ridiculously strong arm. Norris quotes some scouts who said its the second best arm in all of Minor League Baseball. Erceg’s power and second half performance limit a lot of the concerns after the entire season ended with a so-so line. The third base prospect’s arrow is still soaring upwards.

Freddy Peralta, the Brewers’ last top Carolina prospect, just squeaked in at number 20. Norris spends some time discussing how much deception played into Peralta’s success, making his above-average fastball/slider mix more effective, despite low velocity. Norris notes that all in all, Peralta’s “stuff” isn’t jaw dropping, but the results speak for itself.

In his Carolina League Top 20 chat, Josh Norris noted that a few Brewers prospects just missed the list. Norris pegs Troy Stokes as his 21st best Carolina League prospect. He states that a leg injury seems to be the main cause behind Isan Diaz’s poor season. Additionally, he points out that Trent Clark barely missed a 100 hit, 100 walk and 30 steal season. If Clark can limit his strikeouts, he could become a top prospect again. Neither Clark nor Corey Ray, Milwaukee’s 1st-round draft picks in 2015 and 2016, ranked in the Carolina League top 20 prospects after spending the entire season in Zebulon.