Lewis Brinson

The expected jewel acquired in the Christian Yelich trade needs to pick it up as Brinson will be 26 years old for the majority of the 2020 campaign and Miami is stockpiling other options. He began 2019 as the Marlins' starting centerfielder, but a .197/.247/.263 line with a 34.1 K% in 27 games sent him to Triple-A New Orleans. Brinson slashed .270/.361/.510 in 81 games for the Baby Cakes, earning an early-August promotion. Brinson's .160/.230/.200 finish to the season was even worse than his start. Contact remains an issue. With 97th percentile sprint speed, he needs to put it in play more frequently. Despite going homerless with the Marlins, scouts grade Brinson's raw power at 65. The toolsy outfielder should get the first crack in center and could benefit from the fences being moved in at Marlins Park. Still, at best he's a reserve pick until he shows he can handle MLB pitching.

On a better team, Brinson never would have seen 406 major-league plate appearances last season. It was clear watching him that he oozes athleticism and that he has a future in the game, but it was also clear he was overmatched at the plate and needed more minor-league seasoning. His 2017 minor-league numbers were gaudy, but were also produced while playing in the very cozy Colorado Springs ballpark. In keeper or dynasty leagues, this is a buying opportunity for Brinson as he is not yet 25 and better days are probably ahead. Just know that the short term will still be a struggle until he improves his plate discpline and does not fall behind in so many counts. By falling behind, he's left at the mercy of the opposing pitcher who teases the fringes of the zone with pitches he has to try to spoil rather than attack.

Considered the Brewers' best prospect heading into last season, Brinson did nothing to tarnish that status by putting up big numbers with Triple-A Colorado Springs, which earned him his first trip to the big leagues in June. He didn't play regularly, however, and struggled mightily in a small sample with the bat, so he was sent back to the minors. Following another brief big-league stint, Brinson suffered a broken hand that cut short his campaign. Neither negative really changes his status much, but the offseason trade that sent him to the Marlins as part of a deal for Christian Yelich sure does. He brings plenty of speed and power to the table, and now that he won't face any competition for playing time, the only thing to consider is the Marlins potentially sending him to Triple-A for four or five weeks to gain an extra year of team control. Not only will he not face competition for playing time following the trade, but he could hit third or fourth in the Marlins' lineup at some point in 2018.

Brinson is one of baseball's elite athletes, listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds and with a running style that has been described as "gliding through the outfield." The 22-year-old was having a down year at Double-A Frisco before the Rangers traded him to Milwaukee as the centerpiece of the Jonathan Lucroy deal, as he mustered just a .237/.280/.431 line in 77 games, but he did show growth in his power production with 11 home runs and 31 total extra-base hits in that span. Brinson's good speed and quality arm make him an obvious choice to be Milwaukee's center fielder of the future. The bigger question will be if he can make enough contact to be an impact player at the plate as well. He has struck out 546 times in just 469 minor league games, and he'll need to make some adjustments to a fairly long swing if he wants to hit for average in the show.

Often overshadowed by fellow Rangers outfield prospect Nomar Mazara and former organizational mate Nick Williams, Brinson’s time to shine is fast approaching. At just 21 years old, he may have been the most impressive hitting prospect in the game over the final five weeks of the season, blasting seven homers with five steals while hitting .321 in 140 at-bats at Double-A and Triple-A. Brinson finished with a gaudy .332/.403/.601 line, 20 homers, and 18 steals (on 25 attempts) in 100 games across three levels. An athletic 6-foot-3 center fielder with a plus glove, Brinson brings more to the table than just his impressive offensive tools. It was a pleasantly surprising season for Delino DeShields after Leonys Martin lost his job, but DeShields is a below-average defender in center field and probably more of utility player long term. Brinson is quite clearly the up-the-middle option of the future in Texas, and his reign may begin sometime this summer.

Brinson’s tools are undeniable, which he made clear at Low-A Hickory in 2013 by hitting 21 home runs with 24 steals in 503 plate appearances. But there was a lot of swing and miss in the 20-year-old’s game, as he also had a 38.0% strikeout rate, leading to just a .237 batting average. Fast forward to 2014, and Brinson returned to Hickory with a vengeance, slashing .335/.405/.579 with 10 home runs and seven steals in 186 plate appearances while cutting his strikeout rate down to 24.7%. That performance earned the center fielder a promotion to High-A Myrtle Beach, and even though his strikeout rate remained acceptable, his other numbers tanked (.246/.307/.350 in 199 plate appearances). Brinson is still really young, and the fact that he was able to keep his strikeouts in a workable range all season speaks to the improvements he made after 2013. Look for him to make another set of adjustments heading into 2015, with a chance to finish the year at Double-A.

Brinson whiffed a massive 38 percent of the time during a full season at Low-A Hickory (.237/.322/.427 in 122 games), which doesn't exactly paint a bright picture for his future, despite a well-hyped skill set, after he was selected in the first round in 2012. He profiles well as a defensive stud in center field but still has a long way to go in his offensive development in order to pay dividends in any facet of the game. There's a ton of potential here, as he climbs the minor league ladder, but just as much risk. To begin the 2014 campaign, he'll likely receive a bump to High-A Myrtle Beach.

Brinson was selected in the first round of the June draft and showed good promise in his professional debut in the Arizona League. Comparisons to Cameron Maybin and Dexter Fowler have been thrown about, and he showed a solid power/speed approach with 36 extra-base hits (seven homers) and 14 steals in 16 attempts in just 237 at-bats. He fanned 74 times against just 21 walks, but turned 18 years old just prior to the draft and held his own in his professional debut.