Brewers Updates
By Morgan Davis · Sat Feb 28 2026
The Kuehner Moment Quality organizations can take lesser known prospects or later unheralded draft picks and turn them into meaningful Major League contributors. Tate Kuehner isn't flashy. He's not a top-five prospect. He doesn't blow hitters away with triple-digit velocity. But on February 26th, the 25-year-old left-hander from Louisville threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and picked up the save in Milwaukee's spring victory over Texas. It quietly reinforced what the Brewers have known for months: this is a pitcher ready to contribute at the major league level right now. Here's the thing about Kuehner that separates him from the pack of crafty lefties clogging prospect lists everywhere: he understands his strengths and leans into them without apology. His fastball sits in the 89-91 mph range. This hardly registers on radar guns. Ignore that and watch the shape. Watch the movement profile. His slider is genuinely sharp with real swing-and-miss potential, and his changeup grades out as average. As a 2023 seventh-round pick out of Louisville, Kuehner has moved with deliberate precision through the Brewers system, posting a 2.77 ERA across 110.1 innings last season after improving from a 3.17 ERA in 2024. The Brewers invited him to spring training as a non-roster invitee, a signal that they're genuinely considering whether he factors into their 2026 rotation puzzle. Given Milwaukee's depth at starting pitcher, finding a rotation spot might be a game of musical chairs. But Kuehner has quietly been making the case that he deserves a seat. The organization has been patient with him, letting him develop in their system without premature expectations, and his recent performance suggests that patience is paying dividends. If he gets an opportunity in the majors this year, it wouldn't shock anyone paying attention. The lefty profiles as a back-end starter with enough pitchability to succeed if given a real shot, and the Brewers' track record with player development suggests they know how to maximize his skill set. Made's Spring Canvas At 18 years old, just 11 days removed from his birthday, Jesús Made stepped into the batter's box at spring training and reminded everyone why he sits atop prospect lists everywhere. The Brewers' top talent, regarded as one of the five best prospects in all of baseball, is performing exactly as expected: like a supremely talented teenager navigating a landscape filled with grown men trying to hit curveballs for a living. Against the Giants on February 25th, Made went 2-for-2 with a triple that he didn't see coming. A changeup from José Buttó, a pitcher with 95 major league games on his resume and a 3.90 ERA from last season, caught Made off guard, yet the ball still rocketed off his bat at 98 mph. The foul ball that preceded it? That came off at 110.9 mph, the kind of reading that reminds you this is not an ordinary teenager swinging a bat. His single in the eighth inning came against Nick Margevicius , a journeyman with 32 more major league appearances than Made has professional games to his name. Through a handful of spring at-bats, Made has posted a .900 OPS, a figure that undersells his raw talent but accurately reflects the quality of competition. Made carries a rare combination of qualities that makes him destined for stardom: he's got the contact skills (78.6% contact rate at age 17), the hit tool to all fields, the baseball intelligence that speaks to his ability to make mid-at-bat adjustments, and the athleticism that projects 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases at maturity. The Brewers pushed him aggressively through their system in 2025, going from DSL to Single-A to High-A to Double-A. This mirrors the Jackson Chourio treatment from a few years back. Made is unlikely to make the Opening Day roster at 18 years old, but there's genuine buzz that if everything breaks right, a late-season MLB debut in 2026 is not out of the question. More likely is the full 2027 breakout, where he'll have a legitimate shot at being the Opening Day shortstop after a full season in Triple-A. Either way, the future is now with this kid. Quick Hits Coleman Crow , the 25-year-old right-hander acquired from the Mets for the salary-relief trade of Tyrone Taylor and Adrian Houser , has quietly turned into one of the more interesting late-season call-up possibilities. The former 28th-round pick returned from Tommy John surgery last year and dominated High-A with a 3.24 ERA and 64 strikeouts over 50 innings. His mid-70s curveball is his true out pitch spinning at nearly 3,000 RPMs. He threw it more often than his fastball in 2025, suggesting a confidence in his secondary stuff that's rare at this level. Health remains the biggest wild card, but if Crow can stay on the field, a midseason rotation spot is very much in play. Blake Burke 's power trajectory has quietly shifted into another gear. The 34th overall pick in 2024 out of Tennessee spent much of his first full season grinding through High-A Wisconsin, hitting .289 with just five home runs over 95 games. Then he was promoted to Double-A Biloxi, and suddenly the stroke looked different. Over 37 games in the Southern League, Burke hit .300 with 11 home runs and legitimate 579 slugging percentage. The raw power has always been there. He hit 20 homers for Tennessee in 2024 and won a National Championship. The translational power to professional baseball finally clicked in the second half. The strikeout rate remains slightly concerning at 23.8% for the season, but if Burke keeps developing his approach and continues hitting for average while tapping into his raw strength, he profiles as a long-term first baseman for Milwaukee. Luis Lara , the Biloxi MVP and Gold Glove center fielder, is set for his promotion to Triple-A this season at just 20 years old. Lara is a different prospect than the sluggers dominating discussions: he's a switch-hitter with elite defensive prowess, plus-plus speed (he stole 44 bases last year), and the plate discipline that suggests a high floor. His power isn't a calling card. His frame at 5'10" and 167 pounds won't produce 20-homer seasons. Instead, it will likely be his ability to get on base, steal bags, and play premium defense that makes him a future center fielder for the franchise. The Brewers are betting on his blend of speed, contact skills, and defensive wizardry to create value in an age where stolen bases and run prevention matter more than ever. Andrew Fischer , the Brewers' 2025 first-round pick (18th overall) out of Tennessee, is learning on the job in High-A after posting a .311/.402/.446 line over 19 games last season. The left-handed hitter impressed as a college player. He was considered the best college hitter available by many in the Brewers' draft room. The organization has him pegged for third base long-term, which might seem like an odd defensive home given his offensive profile, but it keeps him away from a crowded outfield and puts premium emphasis on his bat. He's represented Italy in the World Baseball Classic and absorbed knowledge from Brewers veterans during big league camp. At 21, Fischer is still years away, but the offensive ceiling is as high as anyone in the system. Brock Wilken 's injury issues continue to complicate what should be a straightforward power-bat trajectory. The 2023 first-round pick (18th overall) hit 18 home runs in 270 at-bats last season but also missed significant time with a knee injury that required rehab assignments. Wilken doesn't hit for average (.226 last year) but he draws walks (39 OBP in that limited sample) and he's a thunder-stick when healthy. At 23 years old, a promotion to Triple-A could be on the horizon if he can play a full season. The power is legit; the question is durability. Stat of the Day Here's the number that matters: across seven levels of competition in 2025, Luis Peña accumulated a 16.3% strikeout rate and an 8.1% walk rate. For a second-ranked prospect who doesn't get nearly the hype of Jesús Made, those numbers are extraordinary. Peña hit .270 in Low-A and High-A combined and stole 44 bases all while being one of the youngest players at his level. The Brewers signed him out of the Dominican Republic for $800,000 in 2024, less than Made but still recognizing elite international talent when they saw it. He won the Dominican Summer League batting title with a .393 average in his debut season. What's remarkable about Peña is the combination of elite contact skills, speed that's genuinely plus-plus, and the plate discipline that suggests he won't be victimized by fastballs elevated in the zone. The power hasn't fully emerged yet but with his frame, his swing plane, and the Brewers' development approach, there's legitimate potential for 15-20 homer power as he matures. Peña's path to the majors might be less celebrated than Made's, but he could end up being just as valuable if his power develops. On the Radar: Brandon Sproat's Pitching Lab Rebirth Few prospects have had a more dramatic arc in the past eight months than Brandon Sproat . The 25-year-old right-hander, acquired from the Mets in the Freddy Peralta trade, arrived in Milwaukee on the heels of a genuinely disappointing 2025. After dominating Triple-A briefly, Sproat hit a wall. He couldn't find the zone. His velocity fluctuated. His sinker got hammered. Over 22 Triple-A starts for Syracuse, he posted a 6.45 ERA—a number that made you wonder if the Mets had overvalued him as a prospect. But here's where the Brewers' pitching development apparatus becomes relevant. In spring training on February 21st, Sproat threw 35 pitches in 1.1 innings against the White Sox, striking out three and allowing just one run on three singles. More importantly, he threw with conviction and purpose. The new cutter he's been developing all offseason showed up with confidence. His four-seamer found the zone. His changeup, which had been the forgotten pitch last season, showed up as the secondary he needed. The Brewers have a proven track record of taking pitchers with raw talent and recalibrating their approach. Corbin Burnes and Quinn Priester both made cutter adjustments that transformed their trajectories. Sproat has the raw material—he can touch 99 mph, he's got a sweeper with movement, he has multiple breaking balls—but he needs organizational confidence and systematic development. That's exactly what he's getting. He's not going to immediately replace Freddy Peralta in the rotation. But if he pitches through June and July in Triple-A, a midseason promotion is realistic. And if his stuff continues clicking in Milwaukee's system, he could become the next "pitching lab" success story. The Rebound Watch: Mike Boeve's Second Chance Mike Boeve is the prospect equivalent of a stock in recovery mode. The 2023 second-round pick out of Wake Forest put up genuine offensive numbers in 2024 (.338 average, 6 home runs, excellent plate discipline) but then 2025 happened. Boeve hit .239 with just 5 home runs, and the power that was supposed to be a calling card simply didn't materialize. The culprit? Shoulder surgery after 2024 sidelined him multiple times last season, and when he did play, he didn't look like himself. His swing got long at times. His pop disappeared. Now fully recovered heading into 2026, Boeve is being given another shot at Double-A. There's genuine optimism within the organization that the injury is behind him and that his 2024 performance was more indicative of his true talent level than his 2025 struggles. He's a high-contact hitter with good baseball intelligence, but his power