Every year, a handful of players ranked outside the top 10 in their respective farm systems take meaningful steps forward to improve their stock and vault up prospect rankings. Part of the fun is trying to identify those breakouts before it happens. So today, we’re identifying Brewers prospects who have the potential to make a jump in 2026.

To qualify, a player must rank outside the organization’s preseason Top 10 prospects. All scouting reports are from Baseball America’s 2026 Prospect handbook, which you can purchase here.

You can find Top 30 prospect rankings for all teams here and all breakout candidates here.

Breakout Prospects

Brady Ebel, SS

BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
Adjusted Grade: 40

Track Record: Ebel grew up around big leaguers. His father Dino is the third base coach for the Dodgers, and Brady has the mechanics and instincts of someone raised by a major league coach. After playing for a Corona (Calif.) High team that had two players selected ahead of him in the first round of the 2025 draft, Ebel went No. 32 overall to the Brewers and signed for $2.75 million.

Scouting Report: At 17, Ebel was one of the youngest players drafted in 2025. His baseball IQ is advanced beyond his years, evident in how he manages his at-bats and controls the strike zone. He has a calm, balanced swing with quiet hands, taking a compact turn into the hitting zone with an approach geared for line drives. Ebel doesn’t have big bat speed, but he’s young with a lot of physical upside left in his 6-foot-3 frame and could grow into bigger power once he fills out. Ebel played third base in high school in 2025 because he was teammates with White Sox first-round shortstop Billy Carlson, but he otherwise has been a shortstop. He’s a below-average runner whose first-step quickness and range might be better suited at third base, where he could be an above-average defender. The Brewers will start Ebel’s development at shortstop, where his instincts, internal clock and plus-plus arm stand out.

The Future: After debuting in Low-A in 2025, Ebel should return to the level in 2026. He has the upside to be a high on-base threat somewhere on the left side of the infield.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Field: 50 | Arm: 70

Ethan Dorchies, RHP

BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
Adjusted Grade: 40

Track Record: Dorchies was lightly recruited when he committed to Illinois-Chicago. Extremely young for his 2024 class—he turned 18 in October after his draft year—Dorchies signed with the Brewers as a 10th-round pick for $162,500, which could prove an incredible bargain. Dorchies’ stuff ticked up in 2025 during an impressive debut in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, then continued to pitch well after a promotion to Low-A Carolina.

Scouting Report: Dorchies has a lot of projection arrows pointing up. He’s a young, 6-foot-6 righthander who gets great extension into a relatively lower release height for a pitcher his size. His raw stuff isn’t overpowering, but it has already trended up with the projection for more. After touching the low 90s in high school, Dorchies in 2025 was sitting in the low 90s and touched 96 mph with a mix of four- and two-seam fastballs and could have another gear in the tank. It’s a diverse arsenal with nothing plus now but feel for everything, including a low-80s slider with tight rotation, good sweep and two-plane depth at times. He throws a spin-killing splitter—less than 700 rpm—with heavy tumble that can be a bat-missing pitch to both lefties and righties. His upper-80s cutter gives hitters another look with shorter break off his slider that he uses to hitters from both sides. Dorchies has a longer arm action but has better body control than most long-limbed teenage pitchers, so he throws a lot of strikes with his fastball, though his walk rate did tick up once he got to Low-A.

The Future: Dorchies has starter traits with the look of a pitcher who is just scratching the surface of his potential, making him a breakout candidate heading into 2026.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 45 | Split: 55 | Control: 55