A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about Brewers prospects Luke Adams & Brock Wilken, who were, at that time, the top two hitters in the Double-A Southern League. Both hitters have since dealt with injuries, with their prolonged absences guaranteeing they remained at the top of the Southern League leaderboards. Since the writing of that article in June, a third corner infielder and Brewers prospect has joined them at the top of the league’s offensive standings.
A 6’3” lefty, Blake Burke was drafted by the Brewers in the 1st round of the 2024 draft, at 34 overall. This was the Competitive Balance Round A pick the Brewers received in the Corbin Burnes trade. The first baseman was viewed at that time as an advanced college bat who chased too many pitches and lacked positional versatility. Burke then played just five minor league games in 2024, and he returned to High-A in 2025.
Coming into the season, he ranked 29th in the MLB.com top 30 Brewers prospect list, surprisingly low for a highly-drafted prospect. Still, with just his bat to carry him in a stacked system, he also wasn’t likely to be among the team’s most touted prospects. Additionally, in pre-draft coverage, Burke had been ranked closer to the 60th-best draft prospect by Baseball America & MLB.com, despite a strong college career.
At the University of Tennessee, Burke mashed for his entire career, finishing with a slash of .332/.421/.652 with 50 HRs in 725 career PA, including hitting .379 with a 1.151 OPS in his final season.
This season with High-A Wisconsin, Burke slashed .289/.380/.403 with five home runs in 408 PA, leading to his promotion to Double-A in early August. While not elite production, his was enough for a 124 wRC+ in the Midwest League, which, even a month later, ranks him 11th out of 56 qualified Midwest League hitters in that category.
It wasn’t all positive for Burke, however, as he had the third-highest ground ball/fly ball ratio in the Midwest League at a 2:1 rate, which limited him to just a .114 ISO. Admittedly, these could be concerning marks for a first baseman if they continued.
Burke’s bat had also begun to fade late in his time in High-A, and he earned just a .537 OPS in his final 20 games with the Timber Rattlers. Burke also owns a .372 BABIP this year. While his strong exit velocities must be playing a part, this is the second-highest BABIP in the system, and almost certainly is not a sustainable rate for the lumbering lefty.
Still, Burke had shown significant promise, and backed by his experience in college ball, he was promoted to Biloxi. All he has done since then is crush the ball. After hitting five home runs in 408 High-A plate appearances, he has hit 10 in just 151 PAs in Double A. During that time, he has slashed .311/.391/.583, with both his .311 batting average and .583 SLG representing the top spot in the Southern League, albeit only if you drop the minimum PAs to just 150.
For additional context, Burke went from a home park that suppresses home runs in High-A to one that allows them in bunches in Double A. In fact, data compiled by Baseball America shows the Timber Rattler’s stadium as the 9th-worst stadium in High-A for lefty HRs in 2022-23, while the stadium in Biloxi was third-best in AA with those same parameters.
At the same time, both parks are fairly neutral on total hits, as the Shuckers stadium is very heavy on home runs but lighter on doubles, while the T-Rats’ stadium is the opposite.
Even while admitting that Burke’s game is better suited for his home field in Biloxi than in Appleton, there is evidence that more has changed for the lefty than just the scenery. He has seriously cut back on his ground balls in Biloxi, posting a 43.2% GB rate after a 52.4% GB rate in High-A. While these are small samples in Double A, Burke now has over 550 PAs this season, and his wRC+ across both teams is now 140, the highest in the Brewers system among hitters with at least 350 PA.
I said this about Wilken and Adams two months ago, but I suspect Burke will see his rank among Brewers prospects improve significantly going into 2026. FanGraphs (who released their list on May 15) similarly ranked Burke the Brewers’ 32nd best prospect. Their scouting team gave Burke a 70 grade for raw power, but at that time, made note that Burke was “still piling up grounders at a clip well above 50%.”
Now that Burke is elevating the ball, he faces stiff competition from his peers at the Double-A or Triple-A level. Going into 2026, the Brewers will now have three hitters with Double-A success who could end up as first basemen eventually, with the aforementioned Adams and Wilken rounding out the trio.
This is a trio that, if you drop the minimum PAs to 150, owns the top three spots in wRC+ in the Southern League in 2025 out of 100 hitters, with Burke at #1, Adams at #2, and Wilken at #3.
Given that none of the three played a full season in Double-A in 2025, it will be interesting to see where the Brewers place them to begin their 2026 campaigns.
Interested in learning more about the Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!