The Brewers thought they were getting a headliner when they landed Jett Williams in the offseason blockbuster with the Mets. Instead, his first year in Milwaukee’s system has turned into a steep slide.
Williams, who was ranked 30th overall on MLB Pipeline’s list of the 100 best minor leaguers and third in the Brewers’ farm system at the time of the deal, has now fallen off the big list entirely. In Milwaukee’s top 30, he checks in at No. 11.
The reasons are easy to spot. A run of wrist injuries knocked him out for a month between July 7 and August 8, and his return didn’t last long - he left after one at-bat when he hurt his elbow.
But the injuries weren’t the whole story. Even before the latest setback, Williams wasn’t producing at the level the Brewers expected.
In 81 games with Nashville, the 22-year-old hit .233/.340/.384 with a 94 wRC+, nine homers and 21 steals. That’s a clear step back from what he did with the Mets a year ago.
He still shows a disciplined approach at the plate, with walk, whiff and chase rates all better than the Triple-A average, but the damage just hasn’t been there. His hard-hit rate and average exit velocity both sit near the 40th percentile at his level.
Defensively, Williams has mostly been used at third base this season, with some time sprinkled in at shortstop and center field. That kind of flexibility matters, but it may not open many doors in Milwaukee.
The middle infield is crowded, and Luis Lara looks like the favorite in center. If Williams is going to carve out a regular job, the hot corner may be his clearest path.
He still has time to turn this around, but the Brewers’ system doesn’t leave much room for passengers. Williams will need to get healthy and start producing soon if he wants to avoid getting leapfrogged at each of his main positions.
In Other News...
Brice Turang Just Gave Brewers Fans Reason To Exhale
Jacob Misiorowski kept the Brewers rolling with another strong outing, working six innings and allowing one run as Milwaukee knocked off the Dodgers 4-1. The bigger takeaway for the Brewers, though, came before first pitch, when Brice Turang continued moving in the right direction after his knee injury. He did not play, but he was out for pregame work and remained around the team as Milwaukee checked another important box in a season where every healthy regular matters.
Pat Murphy and reports around the club both pointed to encouraging progress, and the early read is that Turang should be able to avoid a stint on the Injured List. For a Brewers lineup that leans heavily on his steadiness at second base, that is the kind of update that can quiet a worried dugout, even if his return date is still something the club will handle carefully. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Could Put Several Young Contributors On The Trade Block
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What makes the situation worth watching is that it is not tied to a single October outcome. Milwaukees planning appears headed in the same direction regardless of how the postseason unfolds, and that leaves a few recent pieces of the roster in a more uncertain spot than their age or upside might suggest. For a team that has long balanced contention with constant turnover, the question now is which young players fit the next version of the Brewers and which ones might be used to help build it. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Missed On Tarik Skubal But Logan Henderson Just Raised The Stakes
The Brewers spent the trade deadline working on a Tarik Skubal deal, but the chase ended with Detroit sending the left-hander to the Dodgers instead. It was the kind of near miss that lingers around a contender, especially when the player at the center of it is one of the most sought-after arms in the market. Skubal has already made two starts for Los Angeles since the trade, and the Brewers are left to watch from afar as the move that got away starts to take shape.
Logan Henderson has become part of the story too, offering his thoughts on the upcoming matchup with Skubal after being mentioned as a pitcher Milwaukee viewed as a key piece of its long-term picture. The Brewers are always balancing the present against the future, and the Skubal pursuit showed how aggressive they were willing to be without crossing every line. Hendersons comments only add another layer to the situation, because the trade that never happened now sits beside a young arm trying to establish just how high his own value really is. [Read more 🡒]