Whatever it was that was haunting Milwaukee Brewers top pitching prospect Bishop Letson for the first half of the season, it’s been pushed aside.
After his May 16 start for Class AA Biloxi, the 21-year-old drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 draft had a scary 6.66 ERA, with 24 strikeouts and 17 walks in 25⅔ innings.
But the 6-foot-4 right-hander’s season has take a turn for the better, starting with 5⅓ innings at Columbus on May 30, when he allowed one earned run on two hits. Including his career-high seven-inning outing June 27 at Montgomery, Letson has been dazzling in his past five outings, allowing seven earned runs in 28⅓ innings, with 31 strikeouts. The walks (13) have still been a little elevated, but he’s allowed only 20 hits in that stretch.
Letson gave up six hits and two walks in his seven innings June 27, but he permitted three runs (two earned) and struck out eight to match a season high as Biloxi prevailed, 10-3.
His ERA stands at a manageable 4.33 over 13 starts. Though it’s arguable that Tyson Hardin has passed him on the depth chart of “top pitching prospect in the organization,” if for no other reason than Hardin being closer to the big leagues, Letson remains at No. 8 on MLB Pipeline’s list of Brewers top 30 prospects, the only pitcher in the top 13.
Here’s what happened last week
Standout performance among Brewers on the 40-man roster
Best performance by a Brewers top prospect
Josiah Ragsdale reached based in 32 consecutive games for Wisconsin, and now the 22-year-old outfielder is reportedly off to Biloxi. Ragsdale is in the midst of a season that has catapulted him from “interesting” to “legit prospect,” now ranked No. 30 on MLB Pipeline. This week, he went 10-for-24, with five doubles, two homers, seven RBIs, five walks and two stolen bases. He has 24 steals, seven homers and a crisp .975 OPS this season. The Brewers selected him in the seventh round of the 2025 draft out of Boston College.
How did No. 1 Brewers prospect Jesús Made do last week?
Made, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, went 3-for-4 with a triple June 27, and has a .796 OPS at Biloxi, with seven homers, 51 RBIs and a solid .355 on-base percentage.
How did No. 2 Brewers prospect Luis Peña do last week?
The 19-year-old returned to action for Wisconsin three games after a balky hamstring had sidelined him since June 9 and had a two-run double among his three hits in 11 at-bats. He also showed us not to be too worried about that hammy; he stole four bases June 26 and has 18 steals this season. Peña, the No. 2 prospect in the organization, has an .863 OPS this season.
How did No. 3 Brewers prospect Jett Williams do last week?
Williams played in just three games for Nashville last week and got hits in all three, including a double June 24 and again upon his return June 29. He also stole two bases. The 22-year-old has nine homers, 17 steals and a .715 OPS.
How did No. 5 Brewers prospect Luis Lara do last week?
Lara had a 5-for-5 game June 23 for Nashville, with a double and two RBIs, and he added five more hits over the rest of the week, including a double, and four more RBIs. The 21-year-old outfielder has an .895 OPS with 20 steals and seven homers.
How did No. 6 Brewers top prospect Andrew Fischer do last week?
Double-A is not slowing down Andrew Fischer, who has four homers in two weeks with Biloxi. The left-handed masher also had a double, with two homers, among his four hits last week, with five walks and two steals. Over two levels this year, the 22-year-old has a 1.123 OPS, including a 1.150 OPS in his 10 games at the new level. One of his blasts landed on a right-field roof.
How did Brewers No. 7 prospect Jeferson Quero do last week?
Including a 4-for-5 game June 23 (where he finished a double shy of the cycle), Quero had a productive week, with a triple among his other four hits during the week. He has an .802 OPS at Nashville, with nine homers.
How did Brewers No. 10 prospect Josh Adamczewski do last week?
Much like Fischer, Double-A has suited the newly promoted outfielder just fine, and he has a hit in all 10 of his games with Biloxi, with a .911 OPS at the level and 1.015 OPS for the season. He belted three doubles this week and went 9-for-23, with four RBIs and a steal.
How did Brewers No. 12 prospect Braylon Payne do last week?
It was a huge week from Payne, and you’ll especially appreciate his turbo-speed trot around the bases after he homered June 27 adorned in Wisconsin’s “Udder Tuggers” alternate jerseys. He had two homers on the week and at least one hit in all six games (8-for-28), with a double and five RBIs, plus two walks. The first-round pick in 2024 is still just 19 years old and has a .982 OPS with 15 homers and 14 steals.
A Brewers name you might want to learn
Biloxi 25-year-old right-handed pitcher Tanner Gillis has a 3.32 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 57 innings. He appeared twice last week, allowing just two hits with no runs in six innings June 23 (with two walks and four strikeouts), followed by three hitless innings June 28, with two walks and two punchouts.
Brewers minor-league highlights June 22-28
Brewers minor-league games June 29-July 5
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers minor league report; pitcher Bishop Letson has fully rebounded
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
