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.
ATLANTA – When Jesús Made and Luis Peña make their debuts for High-A Wisconsin on Tuesday, it won’t be the first time that the Brewers' top two prospects are on the move together.
More than two decades ago, the Brewers had a similar pairing in Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks, whose brotherhood and friendly rivalry deepened at each step of the Minor Leagues on the way to Milwaukee, where, in a touch of poetry, they hit their first career home runs on the same night in a June 25, 2005 win over the Twins.
If everything goes right, Made (Brewers No. 1, overall No. 7) and Peña (Brewers No. 2, overall No. 32) could make similar memories some day. The 18-year-olds are taking another step this week with a promotion from Single-A Carolina to Wisconsin, and are set to play for the Timber Rattlers on Tuesday night at Peoria.
“This has been the plan with those two since we decided to send them over to the States early this year in January,” said Brewers senior special assistant to the GM Carlos Villanueva. “The plan was to keep them together as they go, not only because they’re so young and they keep each other company and they get along so well, but because they both merit it as well.”
That’s key, because the front office can plan all winter, then see those plans dashed when a player doesn’t perform. But that hasn’t been a problem for either Made or Peña, who earned the bump to the next level.
Made was hitting .267/.373/.388 with 21 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 46 RBIs and 40 stolen bases for the Mudcats, but Peña’s numbers were even flashier, leading the Carolina League in batting average (.307), slugging percentage (.470) and OPS (.844) at the time of his promotion, while ranking in the league’s Top 10 in triples (tied for third, 6), RBIs (tied for fifth, 52), extra-base hits (tied for seventh, 26), total bases (eighth, 127) and runs (eighth, 57). Peña also had 40 steals, and is one of only four players in all of Minor League Baseball with 40-plus steals and an OPS of .820 or better in 2025.
They’re both shortstops by trade, so they’ve split the position while moving between shortstop, second base and third this season with fellow top prospect Josh Adamczewski (Brewers No. 14).
“To me, the biggest thing that stands out is that they are doing this at such a young age, and at times I think that gets overlooked,” Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said. “How they are different, it really depends on when you see them. One week, one may be doing something a little better than the other, and if you see them two weeks later it could be the other way around. They both bring a lot to the ballpark.”
Villanueva has been asked that question a lot: Who’s the better prospect? He thought he had the answer, but sometimes he wavers.
“There’s always going to be a Jordan and a Pippen, right?” Villanueva said. “So when we talk about them in the office, we always play these games like if you had to trade one and keep one, who do you like best? It’s incredible how nobody wants to make that decision, because as soon as you go with one of them one day, the next day you decide you can’t.
“So who is better? It depends who you ask. I know Peña’s got the traditional numbers, hitting over .300 and all that, but if you take a deep dive into the numbers, Made is doing a little bit better in some of the things that predict success. And what stood out to me was that Peña received the most breaking balls in all of A-ball the last time I looked, and Made, as a left-handed hitter, had faced the most changeups in the league. [Opponents] know they can hit the fastball.
“And so now, I think it’s a good thing that they get to see different types of pitchers and different types of stuff at the next level, and see if they can make the adjustments.”
Part of the job gets easier at Wisconsin, where the amenities are much closer to Major League caliber than the current facilities at Carolina, where the Brewers are preparing to move into a new stadium next year in Wilson, N.C. The duo will play for a familiar manager in Victor Estevez, who also hails from the Dominican Republic.
“Having them room together at Wisconsin is a nice bonus. It adds a level of familiarity for each of them that can hopefully make the adjustment to a new level and city a bit easier,” Flanagan said. “And they can continue to challenge each other at the new level as well.”