Prospect Guru Hints Brewers Found Hidden Gem in Red Sox Blockbuster

Major League Baseball fans can continue to doubt the Milwaukee Brewers' front office at their own risk.

When the Brewers traded starting third baseman Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox on Feb. 9, plenty of folks were scratching their heads. But before the regular season has even begun, we've found out that Milwaukee believes all three players they got in that six-player blockbuster can exceed expectations.

Left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison has attracted the most attention of anyone in that deal on the Brewers' side thus far, but on Sunday, one prospect expert shifted the attention to his fellow southpaw.

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Shane Drohan making believers with spring performance

According to Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline, left-hander Shane Drohan has been turning heads since arriving at Brewers camp, and could be a factor in the Milwaukee rotation this year despite not yet debuting in the majors.

"Don't overlook Shane Drohan as another starting contributor in '26," wrote Dykstra. "His 93-96 mph fastball and low-80s slider both have whiff rates above 45 percent through his first two Cactus League outings.

"The southpaw had some of the best swing-and-miss on the four-seamer in Triple-A last year (37.7 percent) because of stellar deception that makes it play above its velo and movement profile, and it's been promising that the results have carried over in his first spring as a Brewer, albeit in a small sample."

Drohan was someone who took major steps forward last season, and the Red Sox likely were sad to see him go. He struck out 77 batters in only 54 minor-league innings, and made major steps forward with his command, resulting in a 3.00 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.

Many likely saw Drohan as the third piece in the Durbin trade, which also sent infielders Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler to Boston and saw the Brewers pick up David Hamilton, a speedy infielder with a healthy amount of major league experience.

But already this spring, Drohan is making a lot of believers out of the observers who have seen him in Brewers camp. And even if he's not particularly likely to be in the opening day rotation, he's a name to watch throughout the year as a potential impact addition to the pitching staff.