Poll: Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Hitter of the Year

Brew Crew Ball wants your help deciding the Milwaukee Brewers’ MiLB Hitter of the Year! Down below we have a collection of candidates we deemed “deserving.” Read the synopsis, do your own research, and cast your vote.

Hitters needed at least 250 plate appearances to make the list. This means the likes of Eddie Silva, Mauricio Dubon and Jacob Nottingham did not make the cut due to a limited time on the field.

Keston Hiura, 2B — 535 PA, .293/.357/.464, 13 HR, 11 SB

What’s left to say about Keston Hiura? He hits like hell and was only slowed down by a hand injury that he played through for most of the last month or two of the season. He regularly gets praised as having one of the best bats in the entire minors and he showed that at Carolina and Biloxi this year.

Corey Ray, OF — 600 PA, .239/.323/.477, 27 HR, 37 SB

Ray finally impressed this year, especially with a 27/37 season that put his power and speed on full display. The crafty outfielder had been somewhat of a disappointment to fans leading up to this season. This offensive explosion grabbed local and national attention.

Tristen Lutz, OF — .245/.321/.421, 13 HR, 9 SB

Lutz got off to a frigid start in his first full season of pro baseball. After a month or two and some adjustments, he managed to come on board and grab some attention.

Tyrone Taylor, OF — 481 PA, .278/.321/.504, 20 HR, 13 SB

After a couple years of lackluster performance, Taylor finally reminded Brewers fans what the once top prospect is capable of. The plus-defensive outfielder might not have the power Colorado Springs let him put on display, but he’s a 15/15 candidate with solid contact skills.

Nate Orf, Util — 478 PA, .298/.397/.426, 6 HR, 22 SB

Orf got off to an amazing start that resulted in a short promotion to the majors. The utilityman didn’t have the presence with the Milwaukee Nine to justify staying up but continued hitting the ball hard when he got back to Colorado Springs. One of the most reliable hitters all season.

Carlos Rodriguez, OF — 252 PA, .325/.363/.414, 2 HR, 14 SB

At just 17, Rodriguez made his presence known. He led the DSL for most of the season in hits and batting average. That earned him a promotion stateside, where he still showed some of his great bat skills. Not a power hitter, but obviously great at making good, hard contact.

Christian Bethancourt, C/1B — 418 PA, .297/.328/.506, 20 HR, 6 SB

Bethancourt was once a top catching prospect and he seemed rejuvenated at Colorado Springs. The catcher ended up taking on a heavy load with recurring injuries to top prospect Jacob Nottingham. In that time he hit near .300 and smacked 20 bombs.

Dylan Moore, Util — 454 PA, .299/.363/.522, 14 HR, 23 SB

The former Braves prospect shined with Milwaukee. While manning multiple positions at multiple levels, Moore found offensive success everywhere. He may have been brought in to serve as depth, but he showed legit potential as a bottom of the barrel find.

Weston Wilson, 3B/1B — 473 PA, .270/.326/.434, 14 HR, 8 SB

Despite spending most of the season in the hitters nightmare that is the Carolina League, Wilson managed to put up a quality season. He led the team in most offensive categories by the time he was promoted to the Biloxi Shuckers.

David Fry, C/1B — 270 PA, .312/.400/.550, 12 HR, 2 SB

Fry is the only 2018 draftee to make this list, partly because he qualified for plate appearances, partly because he was hands down the most dominant. The advanced college bat punished the pitchers in the Pioneer League, leading the team in most offensive categories.