His second major league spring training behind him, shortstop Cooper Pratt was one of several Brewers prospects who made the trip north to take part in a two-game exhibition series against the Reds at American Family Field leading into Opening Day.
A week later, Pratt agreed to an eight-year, $50.75 million contract that ensures he will take the field many more times in Milwaukee. His extension is the third-most lucrative for a pre-debut player.
Drafted in the sixth round in 2023 out of high school in Mississippi, the 21-year-old Pratt is not far off from making his MLB debut after opening the season with Triple-A Nashville.
Last season, Pratt batted .238/.343/.348 with eight home runs and 31 stolen bases in 120 games for Double-A Biloxi.
A natural shortstop, he has evoked comparisons internally to JJ Hardy, taking into account his long, lanky frame and feel for the game with the potential to grow into more of an offensive threat as his career progresses.
Pratt said his time in big league camp went as well as he could have hoped.
”I struggled at the beginning,” he said, “then as it progressed, I started to feel more comfortable, started to see the ball better.Everything started to click a little bit more.”
Brewers manager Pat Murphy views Pratt as being “close to ready.”
“He belongs,” Murphy said. “I think last year he didn’t know for sure. He’s a very humble kid. And I think that now he’s seeing, ‘I think I’m close.’
“He knows he has work to do before he’s ready. But he knows he’s closer.”
Pratt, however, is only thinking of the here and now.
“You can’t really think like that,” he said. “You just have to keep thinking about where your feet are and when the time comes, it’ll be there.”