2018 Brew Crew Ball community top prospects in review: Tristen Lutz

We’re sticking in Wisconsin for the next Brew Crew Ball community top prospects in review, looking at #11 prospect Tristen Lutz.

Tristen Lutz, OF

A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: .245/.321/.421, 13 HR, 9 SB

Lutz was one of the Milwaukee Brewers’ top draft picks in 2017. He quickly hit his way out of Rookie league in his first half of a pro season, sticking in Wisconsin for the entire 2018 campaign. At 19, the organization challenged Lutz to really show what he’s made of, and after some adjustment, he answered the call.

Truly, Lutz had two bad months, April and August. April is generally a struggle for any Midwest League player due to the winter-like conditions players have to face. This makes it difficult to barrel up the ball. August is harder to excuse, but it’s not uncommon for high school players to struggle in the last month because they’re exhausted from a full season’s work load.

In between those two months, Lutz hit .272/.348/.477 with 9 homers from May 1 to July 31. Lutz also showed great potential in the field, where he could be a plus defender in right field. He’ll gain power and lose speed as time goes on, but his arm is strong and he should still be an average runner.

The Brewers see Lutz as a true five-tool player. The youngster showed glimpses of everything at Wisconsin. Now we’ll need to see if he can grow from where he is. It wouldn’t shock me to see him get a second stint at Wisconsin, but the most likely situation is seeing him at Carolina, where it’s even harder to hit the ball hard.