Minor League Baseball

Milwaukee Brewers' Prospect Earns Huge Compliments in Latest Rankings

The newest rankings from Baseball America are out, and Luis Pena is the biggest riser.
Brady Farkas|
General view of a commemorative 9/11 emblem on the side of a Milwaukee Brewers hat during the game against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field in 2023.
General view of a commemorative 9/11 emblem on the side of a Milwaukee Brewers hat during the game against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field in 2023. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers' top prospect Luis Pena was the biggest riser in Baseball America's updated prospect rankings for the month of June. The rankings came out Wednesday.

He went up 45 spots from No. 76 to No. 31.

Fellow Brewers infielder Jesús Made surged into the top 10 earlier this season, and now Peña is on a similar ascension. He collects hits in bunches, is hitting the ball with more authority this year and is a plus-plus runner on the bases. If his defense takes a similar step forward, watch out.

Still just 18 years old, Pena is playing with Made on the Single-A Carolina Mudcats. The duo are both hoping to become just the latest successes of a Milwaukee player development system that has seen Sal Frelick, Freddy Peralta, Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio matriculate to the big-league level and become big contributors.

Pena is hitting .333 with a .403 on-base percentage thus far this season. He's got five homers, 29 RBIs and 23 stolen bases as well.

This is the first season in the United States for Pena, who played last year in the Dominican Sumer League. He hit .393 against that competition.

At the big-league level, the Brewers are finishing out a series with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday

They'll be off on Thursday before coming home on Friday against the San Diego Padres. One of the top teams in the National League, the Padres will present a slew of challenges for Milwaukee.

The Brewers are 33-29 entering play on Wednesday. They had won eight straight before losing on Tuesday.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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