Milwaukee Brewers: 2 exciting pitchers named among 5 MLB prospects who have impressed so far in Spring Training

In a recent article in which he listed the five prospects throughout baseball that are impressing early, MLB insider/analyst Sam Dykstra included two Brewers pitchers: Logan Henderson and Bishop Letson.

Fans in Milwaukee are already familiar with Henderson, who was 3-0 with a 1.79 ERA in five Major League starts before an elbow injury ended his season. He is healthy now and has added a curve ball to his arsenal over the winter.

Of Henderson, Dykstra writes:

“It was just one pitch. Henderson flipped in a 77.4 mph curveball against Kyle Teel — the first lefty hitter he’d faced in Cactus League play — for a first-pitch strike in his start Sunday against the White Sox in Glendale. What was notable was that Henderson didn’t throw a single curve in Triple-A or the Majors last year.

“In fact, 88.8 percent of his pitches in the bigs were either fastballs or changeups. That lack of diversity in his pitch mix — though he does have a subpar cutter and slider too — kept him out of our Top 100 this round, along with his injury history. Spring Training is a time for experimentation, and it’s possible Henderson is giving this curveball a shot before pocketing it again if the feel isn’t right for the big time.

“But for now, he’s 1-for-1 on landing it in the zone, and increased confidence/usage would make him less predictable in his battle to win the Crew’s fifth rotation spot out of spring.

The pitcher that Dystra mentioned was Bishop Letson, who was 2-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) in the minors last season. There are many who think that Letson could end up being the pitcher with the highest ceiling in the Brewers system.

Dykstra had high praise for him as well:

“The 2023 11th-rounder was sitting 91-95 mph last season with his four-seamer while working around a shoulder injury that held him out for three months at High-A. He threw four fastballs Sunday against the Royals, and the range on those was 95-97.7 mph with up to 2,653 rpm of spin.

“What’s more, Letson continued to show his trademark extension of around 7 1/2 feet that already puts him right on top of hitters. Added velocity makes the fastball an even bigger weapon.”

Letson’s career high in innings for a season is 63.1, so he is going to need to prove he can pitch with a high velocity for longer into a season. But he has all the tools and potential to be an absolute star.