By this time in the year, most major publications – with the exception of Baseball Prospectus (which deserves its own article) – have released lists of the top 100 baseball prospects for the 2026 season. I’ve covered Brewers prospects on MLB Pipeline and Baseball America lists, but both ESPN and The Athletic have included Brewers who weren’t included.
You can find our coverage of the Pipeline list here and Baseball America’s coverage here . For those trying to keep track of which leads are assigned to which list:
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American Baseball: SS Jesús Made (#4), INF Luis Peña (#47), SS Cooper Pratt (#50), SS/2B/CF Jett Williams (#71), RHP Brandon Sproat (#81), RHP Logan Henderson (#96)
MLB Pipeline: Mader(#3), Pena(#26), Williams(#51), Pratt(#64), Sprott(#100)
Movement (Keith Law): Mudd (#3), Pena (#27), Williams (#45), C. Jefferson Cuero (#74), Sproat (#75), Platt (#99)
ESPN: Mudd (#3), Pena (#26), Williams (#32), Henderson (#64), Platt (#70), Sproat (#73), Cuero (#75), RHP Bishop Lathan (#91)
Mudd, Pena, Williams, Pratt and Sprott are considered the consensus top prospects. However, ESPN expanded the list to include Quero (also included in Law), Henderson (also included in Baseball America) and Letson. Let’s take a look at why some outlets think these players should be included and others don’t:
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C Jefferson Crow
Just last year, Cuero was the consensus top prospect (No. 43 by Baseball America, No. 47 by MLB Pipeline). He’ll likely be an above-average hitter (for a catcher) at the major league level. He was also a reliable catcher and received praise from the Brewers’ minor league coaches for his play on the field. With Cuero, the first thing mentioned in any scouting report about him is always his rocket arm. Back in 2023, his pop-up time was as low as 1.86 seconds.
Cuero’s problem isn’t his strengths, it’s his health. Crowe tore his right labrum in the first game of the 2024 season. He missed the rest of the season, the first two months of 2025, and his arm just hasn’t looked the same since returning. The 23-year-old Venezuelan produced just 18.9 percent of the snaps last season, leading to long-term concerns about his defensive ability and the reason he was left off MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rosters this year.
As I wrote last year in anticipation of Cuero’s return, labrum injuries are fickle. It’s possible that his arm is simply back to full strength and a full offseason of rehab and training will make him look more like the old Cuero before the summer. It’s also possible that his arm will never be the same, and the Brewers may need to adjust their expectations for the major league player Cuero will become.
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Milwaukee adding him to the 40-man roster could be a sign that they see him spelling out Contreras rather than the eventual everyday receiver. There’s some thought that if Milwaukee viewed him as a receiver of the future, they would give him more playing time to develop in Triple-A. Then again, the recent signing of Reese McGwire (albeit on a minor league deal and invitation to spring training) might be a sign that they do intend to give him that time.
Even if his arm isn’t what it was, or 90 percent of what it was, The Athletic’s senior baseball writer Keith Law is still more optimistic about his bat than most outlets. Law believes his bat will translate to the majors regardless of how his arm recovers, saying, “Cuero has always been a high-contact hitter who likes to swing the bat, and he maintained a 36.8 percent chase rate in Triple-A while still only striking out at a 14 percent rate because he didn’t get as many pitches in the zone and actually made more contact than most hitters on pitches outside the zone… I believe the bat will continue to come back.”
Regardless, we should have a clearer answer as to where Cuero will be at the major league level by the end of the season. If Cuero’s arm returns to above average, his bat will make him a reliable starter and potential future All-Star. If not, he may be more of a backup/rotation catcher, which is still a valuable player.
RHP Bishop Lathan
Lathan is one of my personal favorite prospects in baseball, so it’s great to see him recognized by ESPN. Lathan started only 11 games last season due to a shoulder injury. When he returned in August, he made four starts in High-A and one in Double-A Biloxi. Three of them started well, but two of them (including his only appearance in Biloxi) didn’t go so well.
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ESPN believes Lathan’s main issue “is his health,” but he also possesses “most of the metrics they look for when predicting a breakout season, so the front-line potential is still attainable.” Lathan’s command also leaves some to be desired, but that’s generally part of the natural development process — especially given his age (21). ESPN noted that ranking Wrightson as a top-100 prospect is an “aggressive stance,” but that “assuming he stays healthy in 2026,” he should justify that ranking because of his “huge extension,” “starting feel” and “above-average stuff.”
I wouldn’t even say “above average stuff”. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is excellent at times, and his pitching ability is even better thanks to his elite extension. The average extension of Jacob Misiorovski’s pitches is about 7 1/4 feet, which would rank him in the 99th percentile leaguewide. Wrightson is 3 inches shorter than Mize, but Baseball Experts’ scouting report compares his extension to Misiorowski. He doesn’t throw very hard, usually around 93-94 mph, but batters have less time to see the pitch and react because Wrightson is closer to the plate than the average pitcher. Elite extension also creates more challenging downhill angles for hitters and messes with the batter’s timing, and if he gains weight (Wrightson weighs about 170 pounds), he could increase his velocity anyway.
Lathan’s arsenal features a four-seamer and a sinker, both of which have the potential to provide above-average production at the major league level. The same goes for his low-80s slider and sharp sweep, which has proven to be a swing-and-miss product at the minor league level, and a mid-80s arm-side small-ball changeup that looked to improve last season. According to Baseball America, Wrightson has the Brewers’ best fastball and best slider. All of that pitching worked for him in the minor leagues — Lathan pitched to a 2.40 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) between High-A Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi. As ESPN noted, he’s definitely a breakout candidate if he stays healthy next season.
RHP Logan Henderson
Henderson is slightly more well-known among Brewers fans because of his stellar performance in Milwaukee last season (1.78 ERA in five games). Henderson wins because of his command, the shape of his fastball (albeit with slightly below-average velocity), and — most importantly — his changeup, which you may remember from last season.
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The concern with Henderson is that his heavy reliance on fastballs and changeups could leave him vulnerable when hitters adjust to either pitch. During his five major league appearances, Henderson threw a fastball or changeup in more than 85 percent of his pitches. His cutter and slider aren’t great (40/45 grade), but so far “his ability to throw a changeup in any situation” makes “his cutter and slider useful in small doses.” ESPN noted that this approach has worked so far, so it would be “foolish” to expect it won’t continue to work at the major league level.
The majors have the best players around, so I don’t think it’s “stupid” to question his long-term effectiveness as a starter who relies on two pitches. It’s rare, though definitely not unheard of, for a starting pitcher to have consistent success with two pitchers. I do believe the Brewers’ “pitching lab” can turn one of his other pitches into a useful product.
Worst case scenario, he’ll take a few hits next year as hitters see more major league film from him, but even in that case, he’ll likely still be very effective out of the bullpen. Still, I think he has a good chance of being a solid starting pitcher. Milwaukee probably won’t trade Freddy Peralta (and Tobias Miles) if they think Henderson doesn’t bring them anything in the rotation.
