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Milwaukee Brewers infield prospects Josh Adamczewski and Brady Ebel walk off the field during spring training workouts Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The second half of the minor league season is officially underway, which means it’s time for my first-half awards for each Brewers affiliate. As a result, this week’s roundup looks a little different.
Instead of briefly touching on nearly every notable prospect, I’m taking a (slightly) deeper look at the standout performers from each Brewers affiliate. Below are my picks for MVP, Cy Young, and Most Improved, along with a couple of news items from the past week.
Triple-A Nashville Sounds
Current record: 42-34
Record this week: 3-3
This week: vs. Gwinnett Stripers
Next week: vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Standout performances:
Jeferson Quero: 8-for-19, 2 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K
Luis Lara: 10-for-21, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K
Tyler Black: 5-for-19, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K
Reiss Knehr: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Craig Yoho: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
News this week: RHP Logan Henderson made a rehab start in Nashville this week, throwing three scoreless innings while striking out seven. Per Curt Hogg, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Henderson will make one more rehab start before rejoining the Brewers prior to the All-Star break.
MVP: No player has been more valuable to Nashville this season than Luis Lara. He leads the Sounds in hits, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. His .326 batting average as a 21-year-old in Triple-A is impressive on its own, but what’s been even more remarkable is his ability to reach base. While the home runs have slowed since his torrid start to the season, Lara’s .438 on-base percentage leads the International League. Add in his elite defense in center field, and it’s hard to argue anyone has had a bigger impact on the Sounds this season.
Luis Lara keeps finding the grass in Triple-A Nashville, lining extra-base hits in the gap and robbing them on defense
Lara in May: .491 OBP / .500 SLG / .991 OPS#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/PshJXSxSM5
— Brewers Player Development (@BrewersPD) June 4, 2026
Cy Young: After struggling to begin the year in Double-A, Tyson Hardin has posted a 3.20 ERA in eight starts since joining Nashville. He’s the latest in a long line of Brewers pitching prospects who don’t light up the radar gun but still miss bats and consistently get outs. With Milwaukee’s pitching staff finally getting healthier, Hardin probably won’t get a chance in the majors anytime soon — he’s also not on the 40-man roster — but if an opportunity does come, don’t be surprised if he looks like he belongs.
Most Improved: It’s cheating a little bit because he’s only played thirty-two games, but Luke Adams has the highest OPS (.956) and slugging percentage (.574) of his career. He needs one more home run to reach his career high of eleven. Adams doesn’t get talked about as much because the Brewers have five other highly-regarded infield prospects, but he’s the Brewers No. 12 prospect and would be higher than that in a lot of organizations.
Double-A Biloxi Shuckers
Current record: 41-33
Record this week: 4-2
This week: @ Montgomery Biscuits (away, Jun 23-Jun 28)
Next week: vs. Chattanooga Lookouts (home, Jun 30-Jul 5)
Standout performances:
Mike Boeve: 9-for-20, 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 3 K
Jacob Hurtubise: 9-for-21, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K
Josh Adamczewski: 9-for-22, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Blake Burke: 7-for-21, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K
Dylan O’Rae: 5-for-19, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 1 K
Tanner Gillis: 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Bishop Letson: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Jaron DeBerry: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
News this week: Technically last week, but the Shuckers won the first-half title in the Southern League, guaranteeing them a playoff spot.
MVP: Late last season, Blake Burke made mechanical adjustments designed to get the ball in the air more consistently. The results have more than validated the experiment. Burke leads Biloxi in OPS (.874), home runs (18), and RBIs (54), answering one of the biggest questions originally surrounding his prospect profile.
There was never much doubt that Burke could hit, but his newfound power has taken him from being a solid prospect to one worth prioritizing a spot for. With Luke Adams in Triple-A and Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn on the major league roster, Burke may not have a clear path to Milwaukee just yet, but he probably won’t be in Biloxi much longer.
Cy Young: The Brewers challenged Bishop Letson by assigning him to Double-A for his age-20 season, and the transition was far from seamless. Over the past month, though, he’s looked much more like the organization’s No. 10 prospect. Letson has posted a 2.35 ERA over his last four starts (23 IP) while continuing to miss bats at a solid rate, and — more importantly — he’s been limiting the big innings that plagued him earlier in the season.
Most Improved: Mike Boeve. Injuries derailed much of his 2024 season, and he entered this year with plenty to prove after posting a .630 OPS in Triple-A. Since returning to Biloxi, Boeve has looked much more like the hitter who reached Double-A in the first place, pairing his usual plate discipline with considerably more extra-base impact compared to last year.
As I mentioned with Burke, the Brewers have a ton of quality infield prospects. Boeve doesn’t have the upside of a lot of them, and a lot of those guys are also better defenders, so he might end up as an odd man out. Still, he’s quietly put together an excellent first half and showing that he belongs at the Double-A level.
High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Current record: 41-29
Record this week: 5-1
This week: vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels
Next week: @ Peoria Chiefs
Standout performances:
Josiah Ragsdale: 10-for-24, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K
Eric Bitonti: 10-for-25, 1 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K
Marco Dinges: 7-for-20, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K
Daniel Dickinson: 5-for-15, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K
Garrett Hodges: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Ethan Dorchies: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Wande Torres: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Braylon Owens: 10.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
Josh Knoth: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
MVP: Andrew Fischer outgrew High-A immediately, slashing .298/.443/.675 with 20 home runs before earning his promotion to Biloxi. In his first ten games in Double-A, he has a 1.150 OPS with four home runs. If he keeps hitting like this, it won’t matter much how often he strikes out. Fischer was widely viewed as one of the most pro-ready bats in the 2025 draft, and so far, he’s looked exactly like that.
Cy Young: Josh Knoth hasn’t thrown as many innings as some of the other candidates, but when he’s been healthy, he’s looked like the best pitcher on the staff. Per MLB Pipeline, the Brewers’ No. 22 prospect has a 55-grade fastball and a 60-grade curveball and slider. If he hadn’t missed all of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, he’d probably be ranked higher than No. 22.
Most Improved: Braylon Payne
Few players in the Brewers’ system this year have raised their stock more than Braylon Payne. After posting a .736 OPS in his first full professional season, Payne’s hitting .288 with a .982 OPS and 15 home runs — already almost double last year’s mark (eight) The strikeout rate (29.6%) is still higher than you’d like, but the overall offensive profile looks dramatically different than it did a year ago. Payne was drafted for his speed and defense with the idea that he would hopefully grow into power. If he’s hitting like this at 19 years old, watch out.
Single-A Wilson Warbirds
Current record: 40-35
Record this week: 3-4
This week: @ Fredericksburg Nationals
Next week: vs. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
Standout performances:
Handelfry Encarnacion: 12-for-27, 4 2B, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K
Brady Ebel: 7-for-18, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 9 BB, 2 K
José Anderson: 7-for-21, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K
Alexander Frias: 8-for-24, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Juan Ortuno: 6-for-20, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K
Hayden Robinson: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Andrew Healy: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
News this week: Alexander Frias was promoted from the Arizona Complex League on June 22 after dominating the ACL. The 18-year-old outfielder slashed .441/.518/.678 with 18 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases in 32 games before earning a spot in Wilson.
MVP: Handelfry Encarnacion has put together the best all-around offensive season on the Warbirds. He leads the club in OPS while ranking second in both batting average and home runs, all while playing nearly every day. Encarnacion doesn’t get talked about as much as some of the Brewers’ higher-ranked prospects, but he’s been Wilson’s most consistent hitter and is someone to keep an eye on moving forward.
Cy Young: José Meneses gets the nod despite not making a single start this season. Instead, the Warbirds have deployed him as a multi-inning reliever, and they’ve been rewarded with by far the best numbers on the pitching staff. Meneses owns a 1.95 ERA with 11.92 strikeouts per nine innings over 22 appearances, covering an inning or two at a time while consistently shutting down opposing lineups. As someone who spent far too much time arguing that Josh Hader deserved serious Cy Young consideration, I have no problem giving this award to a reliever.
Most Improved: José Anderson’s stat line is one of the strangest in the Brewers’ farm system. He’s batting below the Mendoza Line and owns an astronomical 38.9% strikeout rate. The case for Anderson can be distilled into one sentence: he’s 19 years old and has already hit 17 home runs in just 251 at-bats.
You can’t teach power like that.
Anderson has also added 11 doubles, and while his batting average and on-base percentage leave plenty to be desired, his .442 slugging percentage pushes his OPS to a respectable .732. He’s a fascinating player because the massive raw power is tantalizing, but he’s clearly still a project. Like Encarnacion, he’s worth keeping an eye on. If he can trim the strikeouts and improve his on-base ability — easier said than done, I know — he’ll quickly become a prospect that people are talking about as a player with big-league potential.
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