The Brewers’ farm system keeps finding new ways to show off its power.
Andrew Fischer, Milwaukee’s 2025 first-round pick, is sitting atop the minor leagues with 42 home runs after going deep three times in the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers’ win over the Knoxville Smokies last night. Braylon Payne, the Brewers’ 2024 first-round pick, set the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ single-season home run record three weeks ago. Blake Burke, taken 34th overall in the 2024 draft, also grabbed that same distinction with the Shuckers earlier this month.
That trio - Fischer, Payne and Burke - has plenty of attention for good reason. Each was picked in the first 34 selections of their draft, and all three sit inside MLB Pipeline’s latest Brewers top 12: Fischer at No.
5, Payne at No. 6 and Burke at No. 12.
They’ve also all reached promotions at some point during the 2026 season.
But another Brewers prospect is making his own noise in a quieter way.
Eric Bitonti, the 20-year-old corner infielder Milwaukee took in the third round of the 2023 draft, has been piling up production with the Timber Rattlers all season. On Thursday night, he hit his 24th homer of the year and passed Payne for the franchise’s single-season home run mark just three weeks after Payne had set it.
New HR king in town 🤩👑 @ericbitonti10 #tratnation pic.twitter.com/PUbcN1dDu9
- Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (@TimberRattlers) August 28, 2026
Bitonti’s bat has been loud for a while. He played 75 games at first base and 28 at third base this year, and his power has shown up at every stop in the system.
In his first full pro season in 2024, he hit 16 homers in 79 games. He added 19 more in 118 games last year.
This season has been his best yet: 24 home runs, 21 doubles and 80 RBI in 102 games, along with a .271/.391/.532 line and 22 steals in 23 tries.
The swing-and-miss is still part of the package. Bitonti’s strikeout rate is 34.1% this season, higher than Fischer’s, whose strikeout issues have been a major talking point. Still, Bitonti’s 16.4% walk rate helps balance out the risk.
Milwaukee has also taken the patient route with him. The Brewers didn’t push him from Low-A to High-A late last season, and they haven’t sent him to Double-A this year despite the record-setting numbers in Wisconsin. A crowded corner-infield mix in the organization hasn’t helped his path, but at just 20, there’s no need for the Brewers to rush him.
Bitonti is currently No. 26 on MLB Pipeline’s Brewers top 30, though he was as high as No. 8 on the list last year. After a season that ended with a place in the Timber Rattlers record book, he’s become another name Brewers fans have plenty of reason to track.
In Other News...
Brewers Fans May Not Like What September Means For Top Prospects
September brings the usual roster squeeze relief, with MLB clubs able to expand from 26 to 28 players for the final month. For Brewers fans, that always sparks the same hope: a chance to see some of the organizations most intriguing young talent in Milwaukee before the season ends. Shortstop Jess Made and corner infielder Andrew Fischer are among the names that get people talking, especially with the Brewers carrying a farm system that has given the front office plenty to think about.
The problem is that a September call-up is not always a true preview of what is coming next. Milwaukee is expected to be cautious with both players, and the more likely path is to keep their development on track rather than push them toward the majors too early. With roster rules also capping teams at 14 pitchers, the Brewers will have some flexibility in how they use the extra spots, but not enough to turn the month into a full-on prospect showcase. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphys Toughest Brewers Standard Is Sparking A Fan Debate
Pat Murphy has spent the past two seasons showing that success in Milwaukee is not just about talent, but about earning every inning and every roster spot. The Brewers manager has been praised for guiding a young group to back-to-back Manager of the Year awards, and his way of handling that group has been just as notable as the results. When Murphy has benched or demoted players such as Sal Frelick, Caleb Durbin, and Brandon Sproat, it has been less about punishment than about reinforcing the standards he wants from a team built to play clean, disciplined baseball.
Still, the approach can cut both ways, which is where the fan debate starts to get louder. Murphy has leaned into those tough calls because he believes they sharpen the roster and keep the Brewers competitive, but every move like that also tests how much patience a clubhouse and its supporters have for a manager who is willing to make an example out of even young, promising players. For a team trying to stay sharp over the long haul, the question is whether that edge becomes a strength or a source of friction. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Could Be Pulled Into MLBs Biggest Spending Debate
Milwaukees payroll picture has quietly become part of one of baseballs loudest arguments. At roughly $143.6 million, the Brewers sit below the proposed MLB salary floor of $171.2 million, a number that would matter a whole lot more if owners and players ever turned the current spending debate into an actual cap-and-floor system. For a franchise that has long made a habit of competing without spending like a big-market juggernaut, it is another reminder that its operating model could look very different in a new labor landscape.
The Brewers have built real success around efficiency, not brute-force payroll, and that is exactly why they keep showing up in these conversations. A floor would force Milwaukee to spend more just to stay in compliance, even as the larger fight around salary caps remains far from settled. For now, the club is still playing by the old rules, but the broader debate has a way of putting teams like the Brewers right in the middle of baseballs next big financial test. [Read more 🡒]