6. Lucas Erceg, 3B
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 5/1/1995 (22)
2017 teams/levels played for: high-A Carolina Mudcats, AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2017 Stats: .259/.310/.421, 549 PA, 15 HR, 2 SB, 36/96 BB/K
Info: Non-baseball reasons led to Erceg leaving Cal for small-school Menlo, so when he put up enormous numbers at Menlo, many debated whether the numbers were real and his true draft value was in debate. The Milwaukee Brewers were very pleased to get im in the 2nd round.
After an impressive pro debut, Erceg struggled in 2017 in his first full season, pushed up to high-A. Seemingly everything took a step back in 2017, but more than anything, he simply couldn’t hold onto the good moments and continually fell into long slumps.
Defensively, Erceg is a premier third sacker. He has tremendous quick feet and good hands at the position, with an arm that could be graded as a 70 or higher due to its strength, allowing him to make any throw he needs at the position.
With the bat, Erceg has a bright future. His raw power is impressive, with incredible power to his pull side but an ability to put powerful contact on the ball throughout the field. He is able to make consistent contact, and while he seemed to get by a bit of a BABIP bugaboo in 2017, he still did not chase heavily with swing and miss.
The biggest growth area for Erceg is simply patience. He often presses to make things happen rather than letting the game come to him, and that shows up in his plate discipline. If he can begin to take pitches to the point of a 10% walk rate, he could rocket up the system, and with Travis Shaw first-time arbitration eligible after 2018, he could claim a spot for himself with a big season in the upper minors for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018.
5. Brett Phillips, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 5/30/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox, MLB Milwaukee Brewers
2017 Stats: Minors: .305/.377/.567, 432 PA, 19 HR, 9 SB, 45/129 BB/K; Majors: .276/.351/.448, 98 PA, 4 HR, 5 SB, 9/34 BB/K
Info: Owner of one of the most legendary laughs in the minor leagues, Phillips had little to laugh about in 2016 in a rough season in AA. The Milwaukee Brewers stuck by him and bumped him up to AAA, and he responded about as well as could be expected.
Phillips is an exciting player on the field, both with the bat and in the outfield
Phillips is an exciting player on the field, both with the bat and in the outfield. He is a dynamic athlete, with power and speed to his game, though his swing can get long at times, leading to fairly high strikeout numbers. Phillips has speed that’s just above-average, but he’s extremely smart on the bases and in the field with how he uses that speed, making it appear more like plus speed.
Defensively, Phillips is able to handle any outfield position well, with the instincts and range to handle center field but the arm to handle right field. In fact, that arm is one of the best in all of baseball, setting a record when he threw a 104 MPH strike to the plate in September, the highest velocity ever recorded by Statcast.
With the new acquisitions in the outfield, there appears no place for Phillips, though he’d likely bring the most back in trade if the Milwaukee Brewers were to make him available. He will compete for a bench spot in 2018 and then spend time in AAA if he does not win a bench role.
Next: #3 and #4