This morning I’m focusing on the bats. Let’s remember where the affiliates were on April 25:

And now, through May 12:

A couple of interesting notes:

• The Pacific Coast League continues to be the most favorable batting environment within the system, which should cause fans to place a pile of salt on their statistics citations for Lewis Brinson, Brett Phillips, Ryan Cordell, etc. Normalizing their performances to their environment should help one to present more realistic expectations for potential MLB call-ups.

• Keep an on Jacob Nottingham, who is heating up in May (.261 / .346 / .435 thus far). For the year, he’s faced brutal opposing OPS of .639 in a pitcher’s environment, so his overall total of eight extra base hits and six walks in 97 Plate Appearances look intriguing. If Nottingham can begin to find his power in this environment, it could signal a potential breakout ability in a more favorable (i.e., even an average) batting environment.

• Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a huge shift in the Midwest League at Wisconsin, causing competition levels to stratify there. Demi Orimoloye’s power surge looks especially impressive against opposing OPS of .681, so it will be interesting to see what midseason scouting reports reveal about his current performance and approach.

• Fans concerned about the performance of Lucas Erceg and Corey Ray, absent any specific scouting notes about their respective performances, should heavily weigh their tough opposition against their stat lines. Compared to the league opposition of .708 OPS, the median Carolina Mudcats regulars face opposition of .696 OPS. Within this environment, Ray has faced opponents with a .681 OPS, Erceg a .693 OPS. For this reason, throw aside the stats concerns and await scouting and approach notes.

Given the training camp nature of spring, it also allows us to catch our first glimpses of some of the top prospects littered throughout the minor league system. Split squad games and non-roster invitations allow ample opportunity for farmhands to show their wares in major league games, which have more often been televised or broadcast on the radio in recent years. Even with the massive grain of salt that should be taken based on the paragraph above, it’s difficult not to engender some enthusiasm when a prospect shows off his tools during spring games. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the Milwaukee Brewers’ prospects who have shown well during the first two or so weeks of spring training game action:

Lucas Erceg
Milwaukee’s 2nd-round pick in last year’s draft, Erceg isn’t officially a part of big league camp but has been loaned from the minor league side several times and seen plenty of game action. In six games thus far he’s taken 11 at-bats while working a 1.500 OPS. He’s slugged two balls over the fence already and driven in seven while showing off his rocket arm at third base. Check out where this ball lands.

Jesus Aguilar
While he’s no longer technically a prospect, Aguilar has only 64 MLB plate appearances on his ledger in parts of three seasons and has yet to establish himself in the big leagues. The Brewers claimed the hulking first baseman off waivers in early February to give him a shot at earning a spot on the bench as a right handed power hitter and backup to lefty Eric Thames. Given his lack of positional versatility, the out-of-options Aguilar needed his bat to do some serious talking if he’s going to make the team out of camp. So far, so good, as Aguilar has scorched opposing pitchers to the tune of a .474/.524/.842 slash in 19 at-bats with two home runs. You can read more about his profile in this BPMilwaukee feature by Dylan Svoboda.

Ryan Cordell
The subject of one of yesterday’s features on BP Milwaukee, the PTBNL from the Jonathan Lucroy trade is making a strong impression during his first camp with Milwaukee. He’s already appeared in 10 games and in 15 at-bats has posted a 1.279 OPS while showing power (one homer), patience (six walks), and versatility in the outfield. He’ll likely begin the season in AAA, but Cordell has already earned praise from the big league manager.

Ryan Cordell is making an impression. CC: "He’s probably a little farther along than I expected, closer to the big leagues than I expected."

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 8, 2017

Lewis Brinson
Ranked as Milwaukee’s #1 overall prospect, expectations are high for the 22 year old center fielder. He’s looked solid so far this spring playing center field while batting .273/.333/.455 across 22 at-bats. He’s stolen a base and shown off some impressive opposite-field power.

Mauricio Dubon
The 22 year old shortstop isn’t quite as polished as the other players we’ve discussed so far, as he just reached AA for the first time last year for a 62 game stint. After getting dealt to the Brewers over the winter, he’ll return to that level to start the 2017 season with Biloxi. Dubon has been a bit over-matched at the plate, collecting only two hits in 11 at-bats while striking out three times, but he’s flashed impressive leather already on several occasions while manning the shortstop position. Here’s his incredible play from yesterday’s game against the Padres.

Josh Hader
Even though he’s ranked by BaseballProspectus as the best Brewers pitching prospect, there are still questions about whether Hader will be able to remain as a starter long-term. To answer those doubts, he’s working diligently to master his “messed-up circle change” grip to give him a third offering along with his dominant fastball/slider combination. Thus far during the spring, Hader has been working in the 92-96 MPH range and touched 97 (per Brooks Baseball) while allowing just one earned run in 4.7 innings with a 5:2 K/BB ratio.

Paolo Espino
Despite possessing a rather strong minor league track record (3.63 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 in 426.7 innings at AAA), the 30 year old Espino has never gotten a shot at the big leagues while previously with the Indians and Nationals organizations. Espino is in camp as a non-roster invitee and is likely ticketed for the Sky Sox rotation to begin the year, but he’s been impressive during his couple of looks this spring. He’s brandishing a five pitch mix (rising four seamer, sinker, changeup, slider, and curveball), sitting 88-92 MPH with his hard stuff and has yet to allow a run through a team-high 6.0 innings. He’s allowed just one hit, walked two and has whiffed four opposing batters. Perhaps he’s a candidate to become this year’s version of #2016BrewersAce Junior Guerra.

Stephen Kohlscheen
A former 45th-round pick by the Mariners (2010) who has previously spent time in Seattle’s and San Diego’s farm systems, Kohlscheen joined the Brewers on a minor league deal last year and was lights-out at AA Biloxi’s closer, posting a 2.54 ERA and 67:17 K/BB ratio with 23 saves across 49.7 innings pitched. His 12.1 K/9 last season was tops among Brewer farmhands (minimum 40 IP) and helped him earn another minor league deal with Milwaukee for 2017 that included an invite to big league camp. Thus far Kohlscheen has worked two scoreless appearances spanning 3.3 innings that have included just one hit allowed, no walks, and three punch-outs. He’s been throwing a rising fastball in the 92-94 MPH range along with a hard slider that sits 85-88 MPH. The 28 year old has never appeared in the big leagues, but given the Brewers wide-open bullpen situation, if he doesn’t break camp with the big league club he stands out as a candidate to receive a call-up at some point during the year.

Cordell, a former 11^th round pick, made his way into a few top prospect lists while spending time in the Rangers organization, most recently by Baseball America in their midseason update in 2016. He has never really been considered an impact prospect due to his advanced age. 2017 will be his age-25 season. He is closer to the vaunted “career minor-leaguer” title than the prospect tag. But, he was only drafted in 2013 and has advanced a level every year since.

In the 2015 season, the tall right-hander was progressing quickly, and borderline dominating at the lower levels. The year before, he ran a .340 TAv in 70 plate appearances with the Rangers Class-Advanced A team and then followed that up with a .310 TAv in 2015 with the same squad. He barely made it through half the season before getting the call to the Rangers’ Class-AA affiliate.

This is where it all went wrong for Cordell. In 242 plate appearances, he ran an OPS of .598 and a TAv of .217. Putrid numbers and his advanced age left him on the cusp of being stripped of his prospect tag.

Then the 2016 season came around and Cordell made some adjustments. For example, his strikeout percentage fell from 30.2 percent to 21.8 percent, an astronomical jump. His walk rate went from 5 percent to 7.2 percent. Cordell displayed the plate discipline he had at the lower levels but now he was bringing it to the higher levels. His slugging percentage jumped nearly 150 points, and his on-base percentage jumped 56 points. Cordell showed off his power-speed combo by hitting 19 home runs and stealing 12 bases in 445 plate appearances.

It is easy to look at that miserable 2015 stint in AA as a 23-year-old and be cautious with a player of advanced age and huge struggles. But if you take that short, 242 plate appearance blip out of the picture, there is a player who has succeeded at every level. That is before discussing what he has done this Spring.

Cordell has already played in nine games this Spring, just as many as Orlando Arcia and Lewis Brinson, and he might just hit himself into a fourth or fifth outfielder spot. He has six hits, a home run, and five walks in twenty plate appearances. He has been on-base in over half of his plate appearances. Of course, nobody should overreact to any ten games, let alone Spring Training games, but Cordell and his roster chances are being evaluated and he is delivering.

It would appear at the moment Cordell is blocked by the glut of young outfielders the Brewers employ, along with Ryan Braun, but it still isn’t hard to see him finding a roster spot. The Brewers may want to give Lewis Brinson full-time at-bats in the minor leagues rather than share time with Braun or Domingo Santana, who also needs full-time at-bats to develop. This opens up a bench spot for the versatile Cordell, who can also play some third base and first base. Then there is the injury concern; Braun and Santana both haven’t exactly been the healthiest guys when it comes to injuries. Keon Broxton and his 30 percent strikeout rate is no guarantee either. Ryan Cordell is yet another young name to keep on your radar this Spring and possibly come Opening Day.

The 24 year old Cordell was not ranked in the preseason top 10 Rangers’ prospects according to BP, but he was mentioned as a player to watch in the Texas League back in April. The 6’4″ and 195 lb outfielder was the Rangers’ 11th-round draft pick out of Liberty University in 2013. He bats and throws from the right side.

According to Kit House from a BP Ten Pack earlier this season, “Cordell was an interesting toolsy college player before he posted a .914 OPS in 2014, his first full professional season. Then he got a promotion to Double-A, struck out like he was at a middle school dance, and baseball could almost cross off at least one more fourth outfielder-type.” Indeed, Cordell got off to a rather fast start in his career, batting .318/.385/.530 with 13 home runs and 21 steals in 89 games in 2014 between low-A and high-A, and then hitting .311/.376/.528 in 68 games with High Desert to start the 2015 season. As House alluded to, however, Cordell struggled mightily during his first exposure to AA, managing only a .217/.263/.335 slash with five home runs and 10 steals in 56 games. He struck out in 30.2 percent of his plate appearances while walking at just a five percent clip.

Cordell rebounded in a big way in 2016, however. After heading back to the Texas League for a second go-around, Ryan slashed his strikeout rate down to 21.8 percent (more in line with his 20.8 percent MiLB career rate), upped his walk rate to 7.2 percent, and posted a comfortably above-average .264/.319/.484 slash line in 445 plate appearances for a .279 TAv. He stole 12 bags and slugged 19 home runs, which tied for the eighth-most dingers in the league. He was also one of only six players in the Texas League to record a 10+ homer, 10+ steal season.

According to House, Cordell has a “workable” swing that he uses to generate a significant amount of hard contact. He did add that Ryan is unlikely to ever display more than average contact skills or power. Beyond his ability at the plate, however, House felt that his defense could already play at the big league level. He noted that Cordell could become a “very good outfielder” and possesses the “arm of a college pitcher.” Cordell’s plus speed has obviously helped him become a stolen base threat on the base paths, and it also allows him handle capably all three outfield positions. He has experience in the infield, as well, but Brewers GM Slingin’ David Stearns told reporters that the club views him strictly as an outfielder.

Cordell’s overall skill set makes him an intriguing player overall, one whom Fangraphs’ editor Carson Cistulli says is not all that dissimilar from Keon Broxton or Domingo Santana. Cordell has the tools to become a perennial 15+ home run, 15+ stolen base threat with above-average defense in an everyday role at the MLB level. He simply needs to make enough contact in order to effectively tap into those tools. Ryan did miss time with a high-ankle sprain this season, though he’s reportedly near 100% healed from that injury and will play instructional ball this fall to make up for the lost time.

The addition of Ryan Cordell adds yet another name to the increasing log-jam of near MLB ready outfielders within the Brewers’ minor league ranks.  It will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on how Stearns sorts through all those candidates; who will be traded, who will flame out, and who will earn a role with the big league club going forward?