Brewers Insider Hints Milwaukee Struck Gold in 2025 Draft

Was this the perfect pick at the perfect time?

Jul 19, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers logo patch on the jersey of catcher William Contreras (24) against the Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

A breakout prospect is one of the most exciting developments of a season that won't show up in the win column for a Major League Baseball team.

The Milwaukee Brewers' farm system has developed into one of the best in the sport, partially owing its success to breakouts from young stars on top of some major trades. At this point, most would agree the pitchers in the system are a bit behind the position players.

So a breakout season from a prospect on the mound would be highly welcome, and one Brewers insider strongly believes it's coming this year from the club's second-round pick from last summer.

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Is J.D. Thompson in line for a monster year?

Vanderbilt pitcher J.D. Thompson (22) throws to a Wright State batter during the first inning of the Nashville Regional NCAA Baseball Tournament game at Hawkins Field Friday, May 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Tuesday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel named former Vanderbilt left-hander J.D. Thompson as his No. 1 breakout candidate of the season in the Brewers farm system, extolling the virtues of his new cutter, which he's yet to unleash on professional hitters.

"He’s got a great, rising fastball from a low slot that played great in college and will be his bread and butter in the pros. From there, Thompson featured a curveball, slider and changeup in college that all grade as average to slightly above average pitches. The Brewers, in typical Brewers fashion, also haven gotten him to start throwing a cutter," wrote Hogg.

"Most reports on Thompson have him solidly as a back-end rotation arm, but with a strong base consisting of his fastball and pitchability, a tick up with any of the secondary stuff suddenly raises him to a potential top-100 prospect in baseball."

It's increasingly become a trend for college pitchers to wait until the season after they're drafted to make their professional debuts, which allows their pro teams to work them out in a controlled environment for the rest of the summer.

Whatever version of Thompson that emerges from camp to make his full-season debut, then, could be a vastly different pitcher than the one the Brewers used the 59th overall pick on last July.

MLB Pipeline ranked Thompson No. 16 in its Brewers Top 30 as of Tuesday. To rise from that level to Top 100 in the entire sport would constitute a serious breakout, indeed.