From Jacob Misiorowski to Jackson Chourio, who has the best tools in the Brewers' farm system?
This off-season hasn't been a quiet one for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Between a managerial change, trades, signings and having to non-tender one of the best pitchers in franchise history, there's been no shortage of news surrounding the team.
With many of the off-season's biggest questions for the Brewers in the rearview mirror, we can shift our attention to what will be one of the largest storylines for Milwaukee in 2024: the farm system.
To kick off the Journal Sentinel's off-season prospect coverage, which will include top-10 rankings later this week, here's a skill-by-skill look at who has the best tools in the Brewers' system.
Best fastball: Jacob Misiorowski
We start with maybe the most obvious category of any. Misiorowski’s four-seamer is a definite plus pitch (60 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale) and is borderline plus-plus (70), though it’s tough to go that high for now, at least, given the command questions.
From a pure stuff standpoint, the choice is clearly Misiorowski. He tops out at 102 mph and sits 97-99. Not only does the pitch have incredible velocity, but Misiorowski also generates elite extension coming down the mound to make his pitch “jump” on hitters, similar to what Freddy Peralta’s fastball does.
Honorable mention: Josh Knoth, Justin Yeager, Bradley Blalock
Best slider: Jacob Misiorowski
The heater may be Misiorowski’s bread and butter, but the slider is his best pitch. It’s a real wipeout offering with immense amounts of movement given its velocity in the low-90s. Misiorowski showed good feel for the pitch, as well, often going to the slider when he didn’t quite have the command of his fastball during starts this past season. It has serious 70-grade potential.
Honorable mention: Robert Gasser, Joseph Hernandez, Carlos Rodriguez, Patricio Aquino
Best curveball: Josh Knoth
Knoth, taken by the Brewers with the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Patchogue-Medford (New York) High School, has yet to pitch in an official minor-league game (he did pitch in fall instructional league games) but will have a filthy Uncle Charlie at his disposal when he first does. Fangraphs prospect evaluator Eric Longenhagen rated it as the best curveball in the draft this past summer.
Knoth’s curveball is a sharp vertical breaker between 77-79 mph that tunnels well with his fastball.
Knoth is one of the most exciting young arms to watch in the system next year. The key for him will be developing secondary pitches that can work in concert with his curve, but that singular pitch gives him a real chance of being an impact starter down the road.
Honorable mention: Harold Chirino
Best changeup: Logan Henderson
Let’s chat about Logan Henderson for a second. The right-hander was taken in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of McLennan Community College in Texas in large part as a darling of teams with analytical and pitch-design focuses. Because of injuries, including one that kept him out of a scheduled Arizona Fall League stint, however, he had thrown only 13⅔ innings entering 2023.
Given that history, the Brewers took it relatively easy with the 21-year-old this year and he threw fewer than 80 innings across 21 starts at Class A Carolina.
From a results perspective, few, if any, were better in the Brewers system this year – and Henderson has the arsenal to match it, too.
His changeup is his best pitch, a real tumbler with arm-side fade that is effective for whiffs against both righties and lefties. Henderson has shown an ability to attack lefties almost exclusively with his changeup and fastball at the lower levels, but would benefit greatly from an improved slider as he progresses through the system.
If you’re looking for a prospect to shoot up the league-wide rankings in 2024 from the Brewers system, it might be Henderson.
Honorable mention: Carlos Rodriguez, Ethan Small, Evan McKendry
Best command: Logan Henderson and Janson Junk
Henderson also has had plus command dating to his college days, when he struck out 169 to just 23 walks before being drafted. He walked 6.0% of batters over his final 12 starts of 2023, which is quite impressive for the level, which has an average walk rate of 11.2%.
Junk’s command, meanwhile, is his calling. It’s tough to think of the righty, who will be 28 in January and has pitched in parts of three big-league seasons, as a prospect but given he’s only pitched in nine MLB games we will still consider him for this exercise. Junk walked 7.4% of batters at Class AAA Nashville this season a year after walking 5.8% at Class AAA Sacramento in the Angels organization. In addition to limiting walks, Junk’s ability to locate within the zone is the primary reason he’s able to be in fringe big-league consideration given his more pedestrian arsenal.
Honorable mention: Robert Gasser, Will Rudy, James Meeker, Enniel Cortez
Most power: Brock Wilken
Shocker, the guy who hit 71 home runs in three years at Wake Forest (and then had an extra-base hit once every 9.7 at bats in the minors post-draft) gets the nod here. Wilken gets the most out of his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame with an easy swing that comes from immense power generated by his lower half. His legs simply explode toward the baseball while his upper half remains steady and quiet – which also helps to give him generally good pitch selection.
Honorable mention: Wes Clarke, Jackson Chourio, Luke Adams, Eric Bitonti
Best hit tool: Luis Lara
The Brewers' system is stocked full of bat-to-ball aficionados. Lara getting the selection here over all of them after just one year of full-season ball just goes to show just how impressive this part of his game is.
Lara had a miniscule 7.4% swinging strike percentage over nearly 400 plate appearances across Class A Carolina and Wisconsin…as an 18-year-old. That was the fourth-best mark in the Brewers' farm system, minimum 300 PA.
Of course, hit tool measurement is more than just how often a batter swings and misses, and there are many other components that go into it. Lara has many of these other qualities, as well, such as athleticism and looseness to his body and hands with the swing; a decent feel for the barrel; and solid bat speed. There’s room to grow in attacking the proper pitches, but you don’t hit .286 at that age in full-season ball without a top-flight hit tool.
Honorable mention: Eric Brown Jr., Dylan O’Rae, Matt Wood, Cooper Pratt, Tyler Black, Mike Boeve
Fastest runner: Jackson Chourio
There hasn’t been a reason to be this excited about tools in Milwaukee. Chourio’s loudest (and most impactful) tools involve his bat, but his best tool on the scouting scale is his running. His speed keys his defense in center field and gives him the upside of stealing 30 or 40 bases in the majors. Chourio has been clocked at a 4.0-second home-to-first time, which from the right-handed batter’s box is a truly elite mark.
Honorable mention: Eric Brown Jr., Luis Lara, Dylan O’Rae, Gregory Barrios
Best eye: Tyler Black
It’s not sexy, but Black’s plate discipline could prove to be a great foundation for his career as a big-league hitter. The 2021 33rd pick rarely chases outside the strike zone, which has resulted in a walk rate of 18.3% in the minor leagues. He chased just 18% of the time at Class AAA Nashville over two months to end the 2023 season, which would rank among the league leaders if transferred over to the majors.
Honorable mention: Isaac Collins, Tayden Hall, Yophery Rodriguez
Best defender: Jeferson Quero
Quero is the real deal behind the plate, lauded for his defense by everyone who has watched him or worked with him. He has an advanced feel for the game at 21 years old and pairs it with smooth receiving skills and a great throwing arm. His defense alone should be enough to make him a viable everyday catcher down the road.
Honorable mention: Luis Lara, Eduardo Garcia, Carlos D. Rodriguez, Jackson Chourio
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jackson Chourio, Jacob Misiorowski and Brewers prospects' best tools
