The numbers Andrew Fischer has put up this season are the kind that grab attention fast. The Milwaukee Brewers prospect has launched 44 home runs and driven in 106 runs in 117 games, first at High-A and now at Double-A. On paper, that looks like a bat the organization should be rushing.
But the other side of the ledger is impossible to ignore. Fischer has struck out 177 times in 518 plate appearances, a 34.2% strikeout rate. That’s the reason Milwaukee has stayed patient, and the reason the Brewers are right to stick with their process.
Fischer’s production line still pops: .270/.402/.647 with all that power. No one is questioning the juice in the bat. The concern is whether that kind of swing-and-miss can survive when the competition gets better, because Major League pitchers are going to be a much tougher test than what he’s seen in the minors.
That skepticism has also shown up in how evaluators view him. Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy recently asked the analysts and experts who handle mlb.com’s top-100 prospects list why Fischer has remained off it this year despite the home run barrage.
“I know a certain amount of strikeouts is perfectly acceptable, especially in today’s game,” of the them responded. “His power is impressive, but with a strikeout rate over 33% in the Minors this year, I’m a little concerned about him getting to it once he’s facing big league pitching.
Our list isn’t about who is performing well right now, though that obviously is taken into account. It’s about who we think are going to be the best big leaguers down the road.”
Some fans have pointed to hitters like Kyle Schwarber and Munetaka Murakami as examples of sluggers who can live with strikeouts because one swing can change everything. That’s the dream case for Fischer.
Still, the Brewers’ caution makes sense. If he’s whiffing at a 34% clip in Double-A, there’s a real chance that number would climb against big league arms, with fewer balls leaving the yard.
The power is real. The question is how much of it will translate when the pitching gets sharper.
In Other News...
Josh Hader Just Reopened A Brewers Debate Fans Never Forgot
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Even after moving on from him and several other star arms in recent years, the Brewers have kept building around a bullpen that remains one of the clubs strengths. Haders comments do not change the present-day reality, but they do reopen a familiar debate for fans who still remember what he meant to the team before the trade. For now, the path back is anything but simple, but the possibility alone is enough to stir a little nostalgia in Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]
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Logan Henderson Is Forcing A Brewers Playoff Rotation Decision
Logan Henderson was already a name worth tracking around the trade deadline, when his place in the Brewers future came up in discussions and he ultimately stayed put. Since then, he has given Milwaukee plenty of reason to be glad he did, putting together a 2.29 ERA across six starts and looking increasingly comfortable as a starter in a rotation that has started to take shape for October.
What makes Henderson so interesting now is not just the recent results, but the way they have changed the conversation around him. He has said he appreciates remaining with the Brewers, and the performance has backed that up, to the point that the postseason question is no longer whether he belongs on the roster but where he fits if Milwaukee has to line up its best arms for a short series. The possibility of him climbing all the way to the No. 2 spot is no longer far-fetched, which is about as strong a pressure test as a young starter can get in September. [Read more 🡒]