This prospect will continue position change in Arizona Fall League

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Outfielder Josh Adamczewski? When the Brewers’ prospects tabbed for the Arizona Fall League were unveiled this week, that’s the development that stood out.

Adamczewski (MLB Pipeline’s No. 13 Brewers prospect) was drafted in 2023 as an infielder out of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., and played second base in the Brewers’ Minor League system as part of a middle infield triumvirate of top prospects Jesús Made and Luis Peña.

But after a promotion to High-A Wisconsin, where he joined Made and Peña once again, Adamczewski saw action in left field. You can’t blame the Brewers for doing whatever it takes to get him in the lineup; he finished the Minor League season with a .320/.420/.490 slash line, with five home runs, 46 RBIs, seven stolen bases and nearly as many walks (43) as strikeouts (53) in 71 games between Single-A Carolina, High-A Wisconsin and the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League, where he spent some time rehabbing a back injury.

“We hope to have Josh play the bulk of the time in left field in the AFL. This is going to be a big position for him moving forward,” Brewers senior VP of player operations and baseball administration Tom Flanagan said. “Not eliminating second base entirely, but he has a special bat and with his athleticism, he is capable of moving around the field a bit. The early returns have been very positive in terms of how he has looked in left field.”

The AFL offers Adamczewski a chance to catch up on some at-bats lost to injury, which is also part of the strategy for catcher Marco Dinges (left hamstring) and infielder Luke Adams (left shoulder).

Together, they represent three of the most intriguing bats in the Brewers’ system. Dinges (Brewers No. 10) finished with an even .300 batting average and a .930 OPS between Carolina and Wisconsin this season while making strides defensively at catcher, and Adams (Brewers No. 8), an on-base machine who plays both infield corners, has a .421 on-base percentage between Wisconsin and Double-A Biloxi, and, like Adamczewski, nearly as many walks as strikeouts.

The Brewers’ other AFL picks were pitchers: left-handers Jesus Broca and Anthony Flores and right-handers Michael Fowler, Edwin Jimenez and Brett Wichrowski.

Jimenez is like the hitters in that the AFL is a chance to make up time list to injury; he had Tommy John surgery last year and missed some of ‘24 and all of ‘25. Wichrowski, who’d previously ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Brewers prospects, has a 3.44 ERA in 99 1/3 innings this season at Biloxi.

“He is in a good spot in terms of workload so we feel he can benefit from the AFL starts,” Flanagan said.

Broca, 21, is an intriguing pick, a left-hander who jumped from Carolina at the start of 2025 all the way to Biloxi to finish the year. All told, he has a 3.68 ERA in 39 relief outings.

“Has been an under-the-radar guy for the most part and has thrown very well at each level,” Flanagan said.

They will all play for the Surprise Saguaros in northwest Phoenix, along with prospects from the Guardians, Phillies, Rangers and Royals. All told the initial rosters for the AFL featured 13 of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects and 97 organizational Top 30 prospects.

The season begins with AFL Opening Night on Monday, Oct. 6, as the Peoria Javelinas take on the Scottsdale Scorpions at Scottsdale Stadium. The Saguaros open the following day at Mesa, Ariz.