PHOENIX – Jesús Made impressed the top brass of the Milwaukee Brewers during his time over on the big-league side this spring with his bat speed, raw power, maturity and baseball acumen.
But there’s one trait of Made’s that stood out above all, impossible to ignore.
“He’s a specimen,” manager Pat Murphy said.
Made’s physicality entering his second year stateside was perhaps the biggest takeaway from his time in camp, which came to an end March 9 when he was one of 12 players reassigned to the minor-league side. In 25 at-bats this spring, Made hit .320 with a .770 OPS and drove in six.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 221 pounds, Made has a frame that is not only jarring for an 18-year-old but even more so when compared to how he looked when he would sporadically appear in Cactus League games just one year ago. Made has put on 27 pounds of muscle since last spring, when he was listed at 194 pounds on Class A Carolina’s opening day roster.
And you can tell.
“I added some muscle for sure,” said the broad-shouldered teenager. “A lot of hard work. I don’t know if I can tell you an exact amount that I was able to add on, but I think we added some for sure.”
Made’s work with the same trainer he’s had in the Dominican Republic since he was 11 paid off. One of the top prospects in baseball – FanGraphs lists him as the No. 2 prospect in the league and MLB Pipeline ranks him third – is still figuring out some of the nuances of the game at the plate and in the field, but showcased his high potential to the Brewers this spring.
“He’s going to be a terrific player,” Murphy said. “He’s mature for his age as a person. He fits into the future, for sure.”
The most important lesson for Made was how to practice and prepare for games, which ratchets up to a whole new level in the majors.
“It’s different,” he said. “The game over here is a little bit quicker. Intense is the word I would use. Practice is a little more intense, more focused in everything, whether it’s batting practice or base running drills. There’s a heightened level of focus and intensity that goes into it because the game is quicker.”
Made has a defensive future up the middle on the infield but showed in Cactus League games that still needs to work on his consistency in order to get the most out of his raw tools.
“I want to work on my defense in particular,” Made said. “But really I want to work on learning about the game in general. You never know when your moment is going to come, whenever they’re going to call you up to the big leagues, so just doing everything I can to prepare myself and to be able to for that moment whenever it comes, not only with my defense but with the game is general.”
Could that time come in 2026? It’s an outside shot at this point given Made will begin at Class AA Biloxi and figures to spend a significant chunk of the season there, but don’t put anything past him.
No matter what the exact date is for Made’s debut in Milwaukee, it’s not all that far down the road.
“They told me I was going to be fortunate to be able to play this game for many years,” Made said. “And so to just keep working and continue to keep making little adjustments and little tweaks where I’m able to, and just continue to improve my game to hopefully be in the big leagues soon.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 25 pounds bigger, stronger, Brewers’ Jesús Made impressed in first MLB camp
Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
