Brewers Lock Up Shortstop Prospect Cooper Pratt to $50 Million Extension

Cooper Pratt stepped onto a Triple-A field for the first time last Friday with the Nashville Sounds. Less than a week later, he had $50.75 million guaranteed.

The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to terms on an 8-year extension with the 21-year-old shortstop prospect, a deal first reported by USA Today's Bob Nightengale and subsequently confirmed by Jon Heyman of the New York Post and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Two club option years worth approximately $15 million apiece could push the total value north of $80 million, making it reportedly the fifth-largest contract in Brewers franchise history.

Pratt, who won't turn 22 until August, has yet to appear in a major league game. That makes this the eighth long-term contract ever given to a player before his MLB debut, and the second time Milwaukee has made that bet in three years.

In December 2023, the Brewers signed outfielder Jackson Chourio, then 19 with just six games of Triple-A experience, to an 8-year, $82 million deal that set a then-record for guaranteed money given to a pre-debut player. Chourio reached the majors in 2024 and has since posted at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season. That precedent clearly informed this latest commitment.

Milwaukee's conviction in Pratt traces back to draft day 2023, when the Brewers selected the Magnolia Heights School product out of Senatobia, Mississippi, in the sixth round, 182nd overall, then signed him for $1.35 million, well above slot and essentially second-round money for a sixth-round pick. Pratt had been committed to Ole Miss before choosing to turn pro.

His production has backed up that early investment. In 2024, Pratt hit .277/.362/.406 with 8 home runs and 27 stolen bases across 96 games split between Single-A Carolina and High-A Wisconsin, earning a Carolina League All-Star nod and a trip to the All-Star Futures Game. At Double-A Biloxi in 2025, his slash line settled at .238/.343/.348, but he was successful on 31 of 36 stolen base attempts. Baseball America assigned him a 60 arm grade, a 55 for both fielding and speed, and grades of 50 hit and 45 power, with an overall 55/High risk profile. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel rated him the Brewers' second-best prospect at the end of 2025.

This spring added another data point. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-hander posted a .405 on-base percentage over 18 Cactus League games, third-most appearances on the roster, drawing extra at-bats while Joey Ortiz departed camp to play for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.

Manager Pat Murphy, asked Monday what he likes about Pratt after watching him this spring, offered a pointed endorsement. "What's not to like?" Murphy said. "Aptitude. He's a baseball player. He's a good baseball player. He's got a ways to go. He's got to develop. Great human, a worker." Murphy also said he hopes he's still managing by the time Pratt reaches the major leagues, effectively treating 2026 as a development year rather than an audition.

The extension lands inside a crowded organizational shortstop picture. Ortiz holds the MLB job despite a rough 2025 (.230/.276/.317, 7 HR, 45 RBI) and remains under team control through 2030. Jesús Made, considered one of the best overall prospects in baseball, is also a shortstop currently at Double-A. With $50 million now committed to Pratt, Milwaukee has stated plainly where it believes the position ultimately belongs.