It might have been a little bit of a slow offensive start to the 2026 season for Milwaukee Brewers third base prospect Andrew Fischer, but opposing pitchers would be wise to not count on those struggles lasting for long for Milwaukee’s 2025 first-round pick.
If there’s one thing that Fischer has shown that he can do, throughout his young career, it’s hit a baseball. And he showed on Thursday night in Fort Wayne, that he might not be long for the Midwest League, after blasting a pair of home runs, to boost his line to .263/.366/.509 through his first 16 games of the year.
A New Jersey native, Fischer played at Duke as a freshman, before transferring to Mississippi as a sophomore, and then Tennessee for his junior season, where he finished third among all D1 hitters, with 25 home runs for the Volunteers.
The Brewers used the 20th pick in the first round last July to select Fischer, and he quickly endeared himself to fans in Milwaukee during an interview with MLB Network on Draft night, referring to the Brewers as “a great program”, and saying “I just wanna go out there and play, and I wanna win. The Brewers have a ton of young talent and it’s just a great spot to be.”
“(He) really hit” said Brewers Vice President of Amateur Scouting, Tod Johnson on Draft night. “He was the anchor of their lineup (at Tennessee). He was definitely the best hitter on that team, that teams were game planning around. Excited to get that kind of bat.”
A first baseman during his junior season at Tennessee, the Brewers’ scouting staff felt confident that Fischer could man third base, adding to his overall value to the organization, at a thinner position throughout Milwaukee’s system.
“We’ll send him out at third base” Johnson said. “He’s played a lot of third base through his career. This year, with the team dynamic there (at Tennessee), he ended up playing more first than third, but we’ll get him out there at third base. Get him every chance to play there. He’s actually a pretty good athlete so if the infield doesn’t work out, he could certainly play an outfield corner as well.”
Fischer welcomed the challenge, saying during a press conference with Milwaukee media following his signing for a reported $3.5 million, “They announced my name as a third baseman on Draft day, so maybe that’s some sort of clue. Wherever they tell me to play, I’m ready to do it.”
So far, that decision has paid off for the Brewers, as Fischer has showed that he can handle the hot corner defensively, and he was named by MLB Pipeline as the top third base prospect in baseball heading into the 2026 season.
After signing with the Brew Crew, Fischer debuted at High-A Wisconsin last season, where he enjoyed success, despite the advanced placement, hitting .311/.402/.466 with one home run and ten runs batted in over a 19-game span.
Hoping to make an impression on the Brewers’ brass during his first Spring Training, another opportunity presented itself to Fischer, when he was selected to play for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Fischer, whose great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side was born in Italy, embraced the opportunity. “(I’m) looking at the WBC as something that’s gonna boost me forward and get me ready for the season” he said while talking with reporters in Arizona this spring. “Obviously the WBC is cool and it’s exciting stuff, and I can’t wait to represent Italy.”
And he represented Italy well, appearing in four of the team’s six games, hitting .357 with two doubles, a home run and five runs batted in as the Italians advanced to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in the country’s history.
He also was impressive in Cactus League play with the Brewers, hitting .333 with a home run, and there was some thought that Milwaukee might have him make the jump to Double-A to start the 2026 season.
With only 19 career pro games under his belt however, the Brewers chose to take a little bit more cautious approach with the 21-year old slugger, sending him back to Wisconsin to begin the year.
With the typical April cocktail of rain, snow and cold temperatures wreaking havoc on the Timber Rattlers early-season schedule, Fischer didn’t come out guns blazing. A 1-for-20 stretch dropped his average down to .182, but a recent hot streak shows that even when he gets knocked down, Fischer won’t stay down for long.
Currently holding a six-game hitting streak, Fischer has a 1.315 OPS over the past week, and he belted a pair of home runs in Fort Wayne on Thursday night, giving him three homers on the season.
A fierce competitor on the diamond, Fischer’s ability to handle adversity and right the ship displays exactly the type of mental toughness that the Brewers love to see.
“When I play, I play with a lot of emotion, and that fuels the fire”, he said.
If the past week is any indication, consider that fire lit.
• Milwaukee’s #2 prospect, Luis Pena, was involved in a scary incident in Fort Wayne on Wednesday night, that resulted in Pena being taken by ambulance to a local hospital, and the game being called in the eighth inning.
Pena, who flew out in the top half of the eighth, was lifted in the bottom half of the frame, and was seen struggling in the dugout, before passing out. With reports of Pena being unresponsive, an ambulance was brought in, and play was halted for the evening.
Fortunately, things were looking up by Thursday morning, as the Brewers released a statement saying, “Luis Pena overheated and passed out in the dugout during last night’s Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game in Fort Wayne. He was transported to the hospital and treated with an IV. He is doing well, according to our medical staff, though it is a situation we will continue to monitor.”
Pena and the Brewers received more good news, when he was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.
• The Brewers added some outfield depth at the Double-A level this week, signing 25-year-old Mark Coley II and assigning him to Biloxi.
Coley II, who was drafted by the Marlins out of Rhode Island in the 17th round of the 2023 Draft, spent his first three seasons in Miami’s organization, reaching Triple-A last year.
He made his Biloxi debut on Wednesday afternoon, and wasted no time making an impact, going 2-for-5 and beating out an infield single that led to the winning run coming around to score in a 6-5 Shuckers victory in extra innings.
• The Nashville pitching staff has added some extra arms in recent days, thanks to a pair of rehab outings for Milwaukee Brewers hurlers Quinn Priester and Craig Yoho.
Priester struggled in his first game action of 2026, throwing just 12 of his 29 pitches for strikes, and allowing four runs. Yoho fared much better for the Sounds however, working 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
On Friday, Yoho was returned from his rehab and optioned to Nashville, where he will continue to work out of the Sounds’ bullpen.
In addition, outfielder Jackson Chourio and first baseman Andrew Vaughn have both started swinging the bat, and could soon head out on rehab assignments of their own, as they work their way back into Milwaukee’s lineup
• Dylan O’Rae has gotten off to a scorching hot start in Biloxi, sporting a .976 OPS through his first 18 games. A third-round pick in 2022, who missed all of last season due to injury, O’Rae has been fantastic at the top of the Shuckers’ order, reaching base at a .476 clip.
In Wednesday’s win over Rocket City, O’Rae went 3-for-4 with a walk, and he set a new Biloxi franchise record by stealing five bags, giving him a total of 14 stolen bases on the season.
• Wisconsin’s Josh Adamczewski has been equally as hot at the plate, with a 1.259 OPS through 13 games with the Timber Rattlers.
Adamczewski’s five home runs have already tied a career high for the 2023 15th round draft pick, and he’s currently slashing .333/.490/.769 with 11 walks, 12 runs scored and 12 runs batted in.
• On the pitching side of things, Wilson left-hander Anfernny Reyes has been nearly unhittable early on, tossing eight scoreless frames while racking up 11 punchouts for the Warbirds.
The 22-year-old southpaw has allowed just one hit and two walks, holding opposing hitters to an .043 average, while posting a WHIP of 0.38 over four appearances out of the bullpen.
First baseman Luke Adams landed on the IL in Nashville, after suffering a hand injury, but the Sounds got good news on the injury front as well, with the returns of Ethan Murray and Tyler Black, who had both been sidelined recently.
Black went 4-for-13 with a pair of doubles after his return, and was called back up to Milwaukee on Friday, as the Brewers designated Luis Matos for assignment.
The Brewers and Sounds also continued to shuffle pitchers this past week, with Carlos Rodriguez heading up to Milwaukee, and Coleman Crow returning to Nashville after an impressive MLB debut in Miami last weekend, before Rodriguez was sent back to Nashville, with Shane Drohan making his was back to Milwaukee earlier today.
The Sounds are in the middle of a six-game series with Charlotte (White Sox), with Crow back on the bump tonight, squaring off against Chicago’s Opening Day starter, Shane Smith.
Nashville, who currently sits at 12-11 in the International League West Division, returns home on Tuesday to host the Norfolk Tides (Orioles) for six games at First Horizon Park.
At Double-A, the Shuckers welcomed back one of their hottest hitters to start the year, with the return of outfielder Damon Keith from the IL. Utility-man Jheremy Vargas and pitcher Joe Corbett were also sent to Biloxi from Nashville, along with the previously mentioned addition of Coley II.
The Shuckers, who have won three in a row, are currently tied for first place in the Southern League South, with a record of 10-8. They will host the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels) for three more, before they travel to Florida next week, starting a six-game series with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Marlins) on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee’s High-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, lead the Midwest League with a +25 run differential, and currently sit atop the West Division standings with an 11-5 record.
Wisconsin added 1B/OF Tayden Hall back to their clubhouse as well, when he was sent back down from Biloxi on Tuesday, and they have taken the first three games of their series with the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres).
They’ve got three more on tap in Fort Wayne, with Bryce Meccage scheduled to make his third start of the season tonight, and then the Timber Rattlers are back at Fox Cities Stadium starting on Tuesday night, as they begin a series against the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals) to finish out the month of April.
The Class-A Wilson Warbirds have dropped their last two contests, and they also lost RHP Enniel Cortez, who was placed on 7-Day IL last Saturday.
Wilson’s offense has scored only 72 runs through their first 18 games, and they are hitting just .182 as a team, but they have gotten some solid pitching performances, and currently sit just four games back in the Carolina League’s North Division.
They’ve got three more on tap against the Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles), with Carlos Carra getting the start tonight, and then they begin their second homestand of their inaugural season, with the Salem RidgeYaks (Red Sox) coming to town on Tuesday night for six games at Wilson Ballpark.