Making moves: Brewers prospect Cooper Pratt gets his first taste of the big leagues

PHOENIX – Never did a ceremonial first pitch cause so much trepidation.

And not for the person throwing it, mind you.

For the player catching it.

Cooper Pratt was the one tapped for the honors on Wednesday at American Family Fields of Phoenix prior to the Milwaukee Brewers’ game against the Chicago Cubs. He passed the test with flying colors, even when presented with a less-than-perfect toss.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking,” Pratt said. “They said, ‘Hey, Coop, you want to do it?’ and I was like, ‘I’m in.’ I’m just glad he threw something that was catchable. I just didn’t want to drop it and embarrass myself.”

Pratt, 19, had every reason to be experiencing butterflies. After all, he was wearing a major-league uniform for the first time.

Pratt had been informed a day earlier by minor-league field coordinator and outfield instructor Spencer Allen that he’d have the privilege barely seven months after being drafted in the sixth round out of Magnolia Heights High School in Senatobia, Miss.

“He told me, ‘Hey, are you ready to dress out tomorrow?’ and I was like, ‘Heck yeah, man,’” Pratt said moments after a 6-1 loss. “It was really cool just to be in the stadium, to see all the fans and to see what it’s like to be a big-leaguer.”

Pratt ultimately didn’t play – which was actually part of the plan – and that was fine by him.

“I just kind of cheered them on,” he said. “But it was pretty awesome.”

Cooper Pratt was a sixth-round pick of the Brewers in 2023

Pratt and the Brewers came together last July when he was taken with the 182nd pick overall. He had been projected to be as high as a second-round pick, but Pratt dropped as teams shied away from him due to a firm commitment to the University of Mississippi.

Milwaukee rolled the dice and, armed with extra cash thanks to under-slot signings of first-rounders Brock Wilken and Josh Knoth, convinced Pratt to sign for $1.35 million – more than four times the recommended $309,900 value allotted to that spot.

The Brewers used the same strategy to sign another precocious high-school infielder, third-rounder Eric Bitonti, and earned raves from observers in the process.

Pratt, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound shortstop, was quickly dispatched to Arizona where he logged 12 games in the rookie Complex League. He hit .356, logged an .870 OPS and drove in eight runs.

'I made the right decision for sure'

Any doubts Pratt might have had about passing on a college career were quickly allayed.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “At first, when I first got drafted, the first week I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t know. Ole Miss…’ But after the first ACL season and being here during spring training so far, I made the right decision for sure.

“The goal at the end of the day is to make the big leagues, and I feel like the extra 2-3 years will help me do that rather than going to college. It was still really hard to skip college, but I think I made the right move.”

Pratt put the wraps on his introduction to professional baseball with his first taste of the organization’s fall instructionals.

“I was super-lucky to have (the ACL) right after my high-school season,” Pratt said. “We played 40-something games in high school, went from high school to two weeks later being in the ACL. I hit well. I played well. Then after that it was instructs and strength camp and then I got to go home.

“I was pumped to go home and then I got so bored and was ready to come back. So, when they told me to come back on Feb. 19, I was pumped.”

Pratt’s performance and makeup earned rave reviews, according to vice president of player operations and baseball administration Tom Flanagan.

“All positive stuff,” he said. “A good compliment for him is a lot of the guys felt the way he plays the game now, if you wouldn’t have known where he came from you’d almost be like, ‘Hey, that’s a college player.’ A little bit older, more mature player. Physically looks the part. A big, 6-4 shortstop.

“Our guys feel like he’s got a good internal clock defensively – gets the ball, knows how to get rid of it. He’s got all the tools. Just a really exciting guy.

“The scouts did a nice job on him.”

Pratt's family ties include link to Pat Murphy

Pratt comes from an athletic and baseball-centric family.

His father, Russell, played baseball at Utah and his mother was an all-American softball player. One uncle, Trent Pratt, played collegiately at Arizona State for new Brewers manager Pat Murphy and is currently the head coach at BYU.

Another uncle, Scott Pratt, played at Auburn and Pratt’s older brother, Ozzie, is an infielder at Southern Mississippi.

“I remember when he (Murphy) got the job (as Milwaukee’s manager) my grandparents and uncle and my dad said, ‘Hey, he coached Trent at ASU,’ and I was like, ‘Cool. Small world.’” Pratt said. “I’m still learning all (the connections).”

Murphy, for his part, smiles when he recounts the ties.

“I was excited when we drafted him, and I know what kind of family he's from. I know what kind of people they are,” he said. “I’ve watched him on the back fields the last few days. He looks great. I’ve got a couple old-time players that he looks like. I see Alan Trammell in there a little bit. You just kind of look at him like that.

“I don’t want to put that on the poor kid. That’s a lot. But he’s got a great look to him, a great body language. You guys will see it.”

'I want to get a plate appearance so bad'

Pratt was in the early crop of minor-leaguers to arrive in Maryvale this spring, with the rest of the crop reporting on March 1 and full-squad workouts kicking off on March 3.

“Obviously, it’s early. Trying to get back to normal,” Pratt said of his initial work. “Still a little bit rusty from the offseason. But a lot of ground balls, trying to get my feet under me. A lot of hitting. Drills to increase my bat speed.

“It’s nice. The practice is nice. It gives you something to do during the day.”

What Pratt got to do Wednesday was rub elbows with the players he grew up watching.

“It’s cool to see the Christian Yeliches, the Rhys Hoskins – all the stars that you see on TV,” he said. “You kind of have to blink twice to say, ‘Oh, they’re real.’ I thought these guys were fake because I see them on TV all the time.”

Issued No. 88, Pratt took everything in from the dugout railing.

“Didn’t say a word,” Murphy said when asked if he spoke to Pratt. “He knows that we know each other. We had a conversation the other day. I just wanted him to just to feel what it was like.

“He’ll be over again. He’s a good kid.”

Considering the sheer number of prospects that have already seen action this spring for the Brewers, Pratt’s wait isn’t likely to be long.

“I want to hit so bad,” he said. “I want to get a plate appearance so bad.”

It wasn’t too long ago – five years ago, to be exact – that another 19-year-old named Brice Turang got into his first Cactus League game and actually singled in his first at-bat.

Informed of that, Pratt grew excited.

“Dude, I hope it happens,” he said. “If I get a hit my first at-bat, I’m going to be pretty pumped, I’m not going to lie. My smile won’t leave my face. But we’ll see how it goes if I get an at-bat. If I don’t, we start games up in March for the minor leagues.”

As it turned out, Pratt received that first plate appearance in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Texas Rangers. He went up to the plate aggressively and swung at the first pitch, ultimately lining out to center.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers sixth-round pick Cooper Pratt is already turning heads at camp