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6. Josh Adamczewski, OF/2B, Brewers
Team: Surprise Saguaros
Age: 20
Why He’s Here: .429/.556/1.000 (6-for-14) 3 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 SO
The Scoop: Adamczewski swung his way into the Brewers’ Top 30 prospects list this year thanks to a standout bat and consistent production. The young infielder posted an impressive .320/.420/.490 slash line, adding five home runs, 46 RBIs, and seven stolen bases across 71 games between Low-A Carolina, High-A Wisconsin and the Arizona Complex League. His hot bat has continued into the AFL, where his four homers already almost match home run total from the entire regular season (five). He’s also spending more time in the outfield to find alternative ways into the lineup, as he has played at the same level as infielders Jesús Made and Luis Peña. (JC)

7. Luke Adams, 3B, Brewers
Team: Surprise Saguaros
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: .462/.526/.769 (6-for-13), 4 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0-for-0 SB
The Scoop: Adams owns one of the more unorthodox swings in the minors at the moment, but he’s consistently put up strong stat lines with underlying data to match. It should be no shock, then, that Adams has continued to produce in Surprise, as he’s hit .317/.455/.537 over 13 Fall League games. He collected hits in four of the five games last week, capping off the week with a three-hit game on Saturday. He also added a home run in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Surprise. Adams reached Double-A this year, hitting .232/.409/.450 with 11 home runs over 64 games. He possesses elite on-base skills and good underlying power metrics, giving him a chance to become an everyday regular if he continues to produce at the plate. (GP)

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What allowed DeBerry to so quickly climb the minor league ladder and finish his debut season in Double-A? To answer that question, let’s take a dive into his unique combination of traits.

DeBerry has a preternatural feel for spin, placing him into the bucket of pitchers classified as supinators. This lean toward supination instead of pronation allows pitchers to more naturally generate spin. This is a primary factor helping to drive DeBerry’s success. When these natural spin generation skills are paired with outlier extension, a low release height and a deep arsenal, the results are traits that portend future success.

DeBerry’s ability to generate spin might be the best in the minors when comparing him to the general population of MiLB pitchers, as he ranks within the top three in raw spin rates across multiple pitch types. He ranks second in cutter spin, third in slider spin and third in curveball spin:

No other pitcher in the minors generates as much spin across their arsenal as DeBerry does. And these natural traits allow him to throw a better breaking ball despite a lack of average velocity across his mix.

The cutter is DeBerry’s primary pitch, as it sees more usage than his sinker or four-seam fastball. The cutter sits 87-89 mph with slight ride and heavy cut, leaning more on the breaking ball side of cutters than the fastball side.

His sinker is his primary fastball. It sits just 90-92 mph, touching 96 at peak.

His sweeper slider is also a primary part of his mix, seeing similar usage to his cutter and sinker. The sweeper sits 81-83 mph with an average of 13-14 inches of sweep and 4-6 inches of ride. The offering is DeBerry’s best bat-missing pitch, as it drove whiffs at a rate of 41% this season.

He also mixes in a low-90s four-seam fastball with a flatter plane of approach, a changeup with good vertical separation off the rest of his arsenal and a low-80s two-plane curveball.

Beyond the impressive ability to create spin, it’s his ability to do so from a deceptive arm action and release point that really drives DeBerry’s profile. Unique looks and release points keep hitters off balance, and the unusual look DeBerry presents forces opposing hitters to adjust.

In addition to his spin traits, DeBerry’s release point on his fastball is one of the 20 lowest in the minors. This is a product of a lower three-quarters arm slot and plus extension, as DeBerry averages 6.8 feet of extension. This, in turn, creates a flat plane of approach on all of his pitches. That’s particularly so for his two fastball variations, which allows them to play above their below-average velocity. These traits hint at improved fastball quality with added power and strength, as his fastball traits with a velo bump to 92-94 mph would likely allow him to make another jump in the coming years.

Armed with unique release traits, outlier feel for spin and a deep arsenal of pitch shapes, DeBerry is yet another Brewers prospect worthy of attention this offseason. If he can add strength and velocity, we could see the intriguing righthander’s prospect stock could explode in the coming years.