2025 Brewers Minors/Prospects thread - Andrew Fischer - FRP

[ReasonablySober]

Or not!

Blake Burke, Tennessee 1B.

[ReasonablySober]

Beefy first base-only power-hitting prospect with plus all-fields juice. Sandwiched a down sophomore season between stellar freshman and junior campaigns. Led Division-I in doubles and had a 31-game hit streak as a junior. Pretty good plate coverage; tends to hit the ball where it's pitched. Hits some epic golf shot pull-side homers, can also flatten his path and bang stuff on the outer half to the opposite field gap. Plate discipline is an issue. Poor secondary pitch recognition leads to some in-zone whiffs versus hittable pitches. Your profile has to be iron clad to project as an average first baseman, and Burke's chase rates are a body blow to his. His power and barrel feel should still allow him to play a big league role for as long as he can maintain his current level of athleticism, ranking in the 25-40 range when you line up all the first basemen.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 30 | Arm: 40 | Field: 40 | Overall: 50

Burke tied Tennessee's freshman home run record with 14 in just 95 at-bats in 2022 but slumped a bit despite going deep 16 times last spring. He has been a more polished hitter as a junior, leading NCAA Division I with 30 doubles and setting another Volunteers mark with a 31-game hitting streak. He mashed his way into the top two rounds of the Draft while winning Southeastern Conference tournament MVP honors and helping Tennessee win its first College World Series championship.

Burke has an impressive combination of bat speed and strength and leverage in his 6-foot-3, 236-pound frame, which generate plus-plus raw power and consistently high exit velocities. His left-handed pop plays to all parts of the ballpark, and he has grown to realize that he can hit home runs without swinging for the fences. After striking out in 31 percent of his plate appearances as a freshman, he has increased his contact rates by becoming less pull-happy, though he's still prone to chasing pitches out of the strike zone.

While Burke has become more reliable at first base, he's still a below-average defender with limited range. With well-below-average speed and subpar arm strength, he has no other defensive options. Despite his lack of quickness, he's an opportunistic basestealer who will take advantage if opponents forget about him.

Honestly couldn't think of a more unlikely Brewers pick.

[Thunder Muscle]

Sounds like a power hitting lefty 1B. Intriguing. May be another underslot as saw him with a 60 rank I think.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Seems like the bat/power is pretty legit with Burke. Could be someone who they move pretty aggressively through the system. He'll get docked for being stuck at 1B defensively but given our struggles to find anyone to stick there I don't particularly care about that.

[Matches Malone]

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[Turk Nowitzki]

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[ReasonablySober]

Burke is a physical, 6-foot-4, 230-pound first baseman who has some of the most impressive raw power in the country. In his first two seasons with Tennessee he hit a combined .293/.398/.610 with 30 home runs. Burke’s slugging and batting average were better during his 2022 freshman season than his 2023 sophomore campaign, but he did cut his strikeout rate from 30.8% to 17.4% year over year—a significant improvement. Burke is a definite first base profile who will need to hit for power and mash to provide value at the next level, but he has all-fields juice, put up a 107.2-mph 90th percentile exit velocity in 2023 and is a surprisingly nimble defender at first base considering his size.

[ReasonablySober]

Bryce Meccage - prep RHP

Ht: 6'4" | Wt: 190 | B-T: B-R

Age: null

School: The Pennington (N.J.) HS Commit/Drafted: Virginia
Age At Draft: 18.3
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Tools: Fastball: 55. Slider: 60. Curveball: 55. Changeup: 40. Control: 50.

Meccage is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound righthander who gained prominence after dominating his prep competition in New Jersey during his 2023 spring season. He didn’t quite dominate in the same fashion that summer on the showcase circuit but continued to show excellent tools with a great pitcher’s frame, arm speed, a fastball tracking in the right direction and a pair of high-spin breaking pitches. This spring, Meccage was up to 96 mph and was typically in the low-to-mid 90s with a high-spin heater. He throws a pair of breaking pitches that both have above-average potential and big spin rates north of 2,800 rpm. The first is a low-80s slider which has consistent two-plane break and late, biting action and the second is a slower curveball in the upper 70s with more 11-to-5 shape and downer action. The velocity of his slider might make it the better breaking ball in the long run, though both pitches stand out for their consistent biting action. Meccage will also mix in a mid-to-upper-80s changeup at times but it’s a distant fourth offering for now. He’s a solid athlete on the mound with a loose arm and three-quarters slot. Meccage is committed to Virginia but fits as a top-three rounds talent. His father Jeremiah pitched for Iowa and was drafted by the Dodgers in 1998.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50

The Pennington School is a private high school in New Jersey that has had just one player ever drafted in its history: Don Anderson, taken in Round 33 by the Pirates way back in 1967 (Frankie Hayes spent 14 years in the big leagues in the 1930s and 40s.) Meccage certainly has the talent to break that dry spell after showing off an intriguing combination of stuff, size and projection at summer showcase events like the PDP League and Perfect Game National.

As the weather has warmed up in New Jersey, Meccage has continued to perform well. He has a big league body at 6-foot-4 and the potential repertoire to go with it. He was up to 95 mph over the summer and he continues to show he can consistently get to the mid-90s. He combines it with a hard slider, now in the 84-86 mph range, that could be plus in time. He’s also working on a slower curve that could be a solid average offering, and both pitches are thrown with really high spin rates. He does have some feel for a changeup, but doesn’t use it much at this level.

There is some effort in Meccage’s delivery and he’s struggled at times with his command, but with two plus power pitches and a potential four-pitch mix, there’s a lot to like. Add in some bloodlines -- his father was drafted and his uncle is the current bullpen coach for the Pirates -- and there are bound to be teams interested in finding out what it might take to sign him away from his commitment to Virginia.

Fairly polished 6-foot-4 righty who had increased arm strength during the 2024 spring. Ended his 2023 sitting 90-93, was more 92-96 and touching 98 in 2024. Fastball lacks life to a degree. Breaking ball velocity also increased, power low-80s curveball. Plus arm speed, requires some effort to get there but still has the look of a prospect who'll experience changeup growth. Looks like potential backend starter, ceiling is higher if a team can figure out how to help his fastball play a little better.

[Thunder Muscle]

Feel like high school pitchers are wild cards. The tools seem there.

[Matches Malone]

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[ReasonablySober]

Yea, there was your first overslot pick.

[Thunder Muscle]

Can teams talk to the guys before the draft to see if they will sign? Or is there risk he sticks with commitment to Virginia?

[MVP2110]

Seems like two higher upside high school pitchers which is interesting

[ReasonablySober]

Can teams talk to the guys before the draft to see if they will sign? Or is there risk he sticks with commitment to Virginia?

They 100% know he'll be signing. They all talk.

[ReasonablySober]

Chris Levonas

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50

In 2021, the New Jersey high school ranks were teeming with pitching talent, with Chase Petty going in the first round and Anthony Solomento and Shane Panzini getting over-slot deals in the second and fourth. There’s an intriguing trifecta of arms this year too, and while maybe not quite as high-profile as that 2021 trio, William Kirk, Bryce Meccage and Levonas, who showed off good stuff in the PDP League and Area Code Games, are all garnering a ton of interest.

Thin and wiry strong in a Joe Kelly or Walker Buehler way, Levonas has big stuff despite his smaller frame. He was up to 96-97 mph over the summer and has continued that this spring, throwing the fastball in the 91-96 range. He can really spin two different breaking balls and depending on when he’s been seen, both the low-80s slider and upper-70s curve have appeared better, flashing rpm north of 3,000. There’s some feel for an upper-80s changeup as well that could be average.

Over the summer, Levonas was a little inconsistent results-wise, but that has improved this spring with better control. He has tried to overthrow in the past, hurting his command. The Wake Forest recruit has high energy and intensity on the mound at all times and his raw tools could be enough for teams to strongly consider him in the top few rounds.

Ht: 6'2" | Wt: 170 | B-T: L-R

Age: null

School: Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, N.J. Commit/Drafted: Wake Forest
Age At Draft: 18.4
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Tools: Fastball: 60. Slider: 60. Curveball: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 45.

Levonas is an athletic New Jersey high school righthander with long limbs, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame and a fast, whippy arm that gives him exciting future projection. During the 2023 summer, he pitched with plenty of effort, including an aggressive head whack and fall-off to the first base side of the mound. Since then he has done a nice job adding strength and removing some of the violence in his delivery. Levonas throws a fastball in the 90-95 mph range and has been up to 97 this spring and could easily touch triple digits in the future as he adds more mass to his still-lean frame. In addition to a plus fastball, Levonas has a trio of quality secondary pitches, including a high-spin slider in the low 80s and a 12-to-6 hammer curveball in the upper 80s that also features plenty of spin and biting action. Both the breaking pitches could be above-average or plus, and Levonas will also mix in a firm upper-80s changeup that will flash significant armside fading life and looks like a quality offering against lefties. Levonas carries reliever risk thanks to his scattered control and the effort still in his delivery, but he has huge upside and has been scouted like a top-three rounds pick this spring. He’s committed to Wake Forest.

The rare fella from New Jersey who can pump gas, Levonas was sitting in the 93-96 mph range this spring. His fastball plays way down due to a lack of movement and downhill angle, but both of Levonas' secondary pitches have promise. He also throws a breaking ball in the 77-81 mph range that flashes plus when located, as well as a low-80s changeup that is probably his best and most consistent offering right now. It has bat-missing, tailing action, sold well by Levonas' arm speed and effort. Levonas' control and command are pretty comfortably below average. He's one of the more raw upper-echelon high school arms in the draft, but if you think you can help his fastball play, he has one of the better three-pitch mixes.

[ReasonablySober]

Like what they did with their 2nd rounders.

[MVP2110]

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[Matches Malone]

Brewers got a good one to mold if he's already touching 98 on his FB.

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[Matches Malone]

Wilken and Burke could be a nice power hitting corner infield duo in coming years.