Brewers '22 first-rounder living out dream of playing in Fall League

Eric Brown Jr. used to watch the Arizona Fall League Championship Game on MLB Network from home. Now with Surprise, he's getting a chance to play in the prospect showcase himself, but maybe the road to get there wasn't exactly what he dreamed of from the couch.

The Brewers' No. 10 prospect missed the first three games of the season with a hip issue. Later in April, he was struck in the head by a 93 mph fastball that forced him to sit out a week. A right thumb flareup in June forced him on the bench for two-and-a-half weeks. The big one came on July 1 when he suffered a hairline fracture on his left scapula and had to sit another six weeks.

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The 2022 27th overall pick's summer was limited to 72 games, 63 of which came with High-A Wisconsin.

"Going into my first full season, I really wasn't expecting to get injured as much as I did," Brown said. "I took everything as a learning process the whole full year, and I'm understanding what I need to do going into next year to prepare myself to hopefully stay healthy."

One cold comfort for Brown in that process is that the hit-by-pitch and fractured scapula were both freak injuries, unlucky turns out of his control. When he was on the diamond, there were flashes of what made the middle infielder the highest player ever taken out of Coastal Carolina. He kept the strikeouts on the reasonable side with a 16.7 percent rate at High-A, and despite limited power (four homers, .347 slugging percentage), his ability to manage the zone helped lead to a .362 OBP and above-average 107 wRC+ in the pitcher-friendly Midwest League.

Stellar hand-eye coordination helped Brown flourish in college, and the 22-year-old credited Milwaukee -- the organization that has helped lift Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero and Tyler Black to Top 100 status as hitters -- with letting him lean into his strengths when healthy.

"One of the first models they told me coming in was 'Be you,'" Brown said. "They really allow players to excel at who they are, and they just try to build around that. Being drafted by this organization, I think it was the biggest blessing because they allow you to be who you are."

One of the strongest points of Brown's game away from the plate is his 55-grade speed and aggressiveness on the basepaths. He went 39-for-44 on steal attempts during the regular season, putting him in fourth in the organization for thefts behind Black (55), Chourio (44) and Dylan O'Rae (44), and he hasn’t stopped in the Fall League either with five steals through his first six games with the Saguaros.

"My favorite guy right now is Forrest Gump," he said. "He goes, 'I was running,' so that's kind of my thing."

Brown, who opened 14-for-42 (.333) at the plate in those first 10 games, is also seeing time at both shortstop and second base in the desert. That defensive plan is just another cog in ending what could have felt like a dark first full season on a much brighter note.

"This is a dream to play in the Fall League," Brown said

Brewers hitters in the Fall League

Hendry Mendez, OF (No. 27): Mendez will only turn 20 on Nov. 7, making him one of the youngest players in this year's iteration of the AFL. The left-handed slugger was the Brewers Complex Player of the Year in 2021 but has yet to find the same level of success in full-season ball, hitting just .236/.307/.326 in 62 games with High-A Wisconsin while missing time with leg issues. He's at his best when he's making consistent contact, as his 15.6 percent K rate indicated this summer.

Wes Clarke, 1B/C: The Double-A Biloxi lineup was loaded this season with Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero and Tyler Black highlighting the roster at various points, but none of them slugged quite like Clarke. The right-handed hitter led the Southern League (a circuit that saw offense dip in the first half when a pretacked ball was used) with 26 homers in 118 games and finished fourth among qualifiers with an .889 OPS. Strikeouts (29.2 percent K rate) might be an issue in the desert, but given the AFL's hitter-friendly environment, don't be surprised if Clarke ranks among the HR leaders there, too.

Brewers pitchers in the Fall League

Joseph Hernandez, RHP: Acquired from the Mariners last offseason for Justin Topa, Hernandez missed three months this season with an arm injury and struggled with control with High-A Wisconsin, walking 30 batters in 47 innings. His best pitch is a 78-80 mph high-spin slider that can help him get whiffs, but his low-90s fastball is average at best.

Justin King, LHP: Milwaukee signed King out of independent ball in June 2022, and a year later, he owned a 2.93 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 25 walks in 30 2/3 innings for Wisconsin. The 25-year-old southpaw can run his fastball up to the mid-90s with good life up in the zone and also features a wipeout slider.

Adam Seminaris, LHP: The left-hander, who turns 25 on Thursday, was limited to only 53 2/3 innings with Double-A Biloxi in his first season with the Brewers after being picked up from the Angels in last offseason's Hunter Renfroe trade. He showed a pair of high-80s fastballs (relying more on the sinker), a low-80s slider, mid-70s curve and low-80s changeup during a brief cup of coffee with Triple-A Nashville at the end of the season.

Shane Smith, RHP: The 6-foot-4 righty was one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the system this summer as he earned two promotions as he climbed from Single-A to Double-A. His 1.96 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 37. 1 percent K rate were all tops among the 47 Brewers Minor Leaguers with at least 50 innings pitched in 2023. Smith can fire a fastball in the mid-90s, drop in a low-80s curveball and mix in a cutter to keep hitters off-balance.

Justin Yeager, RHP: Yeager was one of the lesser-known pieces acquired by the Brewers involved in the three-team deal involving Sean Murphy and William Contreras last December, and that status wasn't helped by the fact that the 25-year-old right-hander was limited to only 2 1/3 innings this season with Double-A Biloxi. He showed a mid-90s fastball and upper-80s slider before the lost time and has tossed three one-inning outings so far in the Fall League.