Hard work, tenacity are defining traits for Brewers infield prospect Tyler Black
PHOENIX – Convincing a player to work harder is an age-old issue in baseball.
Trying to get someone to dial the effort down a notch?
Yeah, not so much.
Yet here the Milwaukee Brewers are. Two weeks into spring training, they’re already enacting strategies to get Tyler Black to scale his efforts back a bit – a conundrum if ever there were one for a highly touted prospect knocking on the door of the major leagues for the first time.
Rick Sweet, manager of Milwaukee’s Class AAA affiliate in Nashville, explains.
“We’re trying to back him off,” said Sweet, who had Black for 39 games with the Sounds last season. With 2,275 career wins in the minor leagues – fifth all-time – and major-league playing experience under his belt as well, Sweet knows a thing or two about hard work.
“They only allowed him 20 swings in the cage the other day. I've heard of this being thought about, but I've never seen it done,” he continued. “He was told, 'You've got 20 swings. That's it.' So, the next day I saw him, and I was in there while he was doing it and he was focused.
“His 20 swings – usually when he leaves the batting cage, he's soaking wet. He was loose. He'd done all his prep work. But 20 swings, and he got out.”
A day later, Sweet made sure the intent of the Brewers’ approach was crystal-clear to Black, in his first major-league camp as a non-roster invitee.
“I said, 'All right, here's the way this works. If you normally take 180 swings, and you only got 20 yesterday, don't think those 160 count today on swings plus 100.' I said, 'The idea is to back you off.'” Sweet said. “He goes, 'I know. I thought about that walking out here, and what am I going to do?' I said, 'Go back to your normal, whatever normal is for you, but don't take extra trying to make up for yesterday.
“And he goes, 'I know.' He understands what we're doing. And he understands that he probably should back off, but it's just hard for him. And part of that's trust. You've got to trust the fact that, 'OK, I'm good. I'm good for the day.'”
Brewers were drawn to Tyler Black's competitiveness and took him with 33rd pick in 2021 draft
It was that competitive fire, along with an advanced hit tool, that led the Brewers to drafting Black with the 33rd overall pick in 2021 out of Wright State.
A Toronto native, Black’s first two seasons in the organization were equal parts promising and disappointing – promising because of what he’d produced on the diamond and disappointing because of a couple serious injuries that sidelined him for lengthy periods in 2022.
First, it was a fractured left scapula, suffered while trying to make a diving catch in center field, that ended Black's season with advanced Class A Wisconsin after only 64 games. Then, after receiving the all-clear to participate in the Arizona Fall League later that year, Black fractured his left thumb sliding into second base.
Fortunately for Black, he was able to avoid the injury bug in 2023. And in 123 games split between Class AA Biloxi and Nashville he underscored why the Brewers are so high on him as he hit .284 with 18 home runs, 73 runs batted in with an OPS of .930.
Black also stole 55 bases in 67 attempts.
"That was the biggest thing and my main goal, to be honest," said Black of being healthy. "Obviously, being Canadian, I feel a little behind sometimes on the field. I haven’t played as much baseball as a lot of these guys. So, the more I can stay on the field and experience things, that’s the biggest thing at the end of the day."
A left-handed hitter, Black entered Sunday tied for the team lead in at-bats in Cactus League play with 17 and was hitting .235.
"He knows the strike zone. He's very good," Sweet said of Black, who in 39 games with the Sounds hit .310/4/25/.942.
"The challenge system, the ABS challenge system in Triple-A, he makes umpires look terrible because he knows the strike zone so well. But the No. 1 key is he doesn't chase, and the ball jumps off his bat."
Brewers are playing Tyler Black at first and third base in spring camp
But offense isn't necessarily what the Brewers are looking at with regard to Black this spring.
Defensively, they're trying him at both first and third base with hopes he can function ably at both. And while he's logged much more time at first (team-leading 25 inning) than third (three innings), Black has made several outstanding plays at each spot – particularly while on the move.
"First is coming along good," said Black, a college second baseman. "The more I can experience things, the more I’m going to get better at them. So, that’s definitely key.
"Obviously, the more positions I can play the more it’s going to open up for me. I’ve kind of kept that mind set through the whole minor leagues, to be honest – I played center field a little bit, played second as well. Wherever I may be, I’ll be ready."
Sweet sees no issues moving forward for Black with the glove.
"I put him at either corner position easily, first and third," Sweet said. "He's adjusting to them quickly and he's improving every year. When we first started last year, him at first base, he was a little rough. But it really cleaned up fast. And this year, coming into spring training he really has been impressive.
"He's still got more to learn, of course. He's still got further to go. But defense will not hinder him. He's an offensive-type player, but his defense will be plenty good enough."
At first base, Black's main challenges will be getting up to speed with positioning, cutoffs and holding runners on. At third base, Black's reactions and throwing arm will be tested the most.
"I think one thing they worried about was accuracy, and he worked really, really hard," Sweet said. "(Former minor-league infield coordinator) Bob Miscik did a great job with him, setting up a throwing program for him. But the key is he followed through on it.
"There's only so much you can do with a kid. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. With him, Bob led him to the waterhole, showed him how to drink and said, 'You're on your own,' and the kid's drank it dry. He's got it down."
Tyler Black spent lots of time around Toronto Blue Jays growing up
Black certainly is at home at the ballpark; his father, Rod, was a longtime sports broadcaster in Canada who also served as Blue Jays TV play-by-play announcer. Not surprisingly, Tyler spent all kinds of time at Rogers Centre growing up, with one of his fondest memories a long one-on-one conversation with Aaron Hill (who played for the Brewers in 2016) when he was around seven years old.
"It was huge for me, honestly," Black said. "The biggest thing I’d say was just seeing how guys worked and coached in their day-to-day life. People on the outside think you get to the field at 5 or 6 and show up and play, but it’s not like that at all. It gave me the foundation of what it takes at a really young age and I’m thankful for that, for sure."
Manager Pat Murphy is on record as saying Black will impact the Brewers at some point this season.
When that will be is the question. Much will be told over the next three weeks or so. But even if Black doesn't break camp with Milwaukee, it probably won't be very long until he receives his opportunity and joins his fellow prospects in the majors.
"Very focused," Sweet said of Black. "And everything is directed at playing in the big leagues, doing what he loves to do. That's the passion. I love that about him. But he's a great guy. He's a really good teammate. He's well-liked by his by his teammates, in the clubhouse in the dugout and on the field.
"There's three different areas to a guy, and he's good in all three areas."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hard work, tenacity are defining traits for Brewers prospect Tyler Black
