Has Tyler Black’s Time in Milwaukee Come to an End?
A former top prospect in the Brewers' farm system, Tyler Black's long-term future doesn't appear to be in Milwaukee.
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It’s been a tumultuous journey to the big leagues for Tyler Black.
Selected 33rd overall in the 2021 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, Black has been featured on several top 100 prospects lists and was considered to be one of Milwaukee’s better prospects as recently as last season.
Black’s talent and athleticism have never been in question, but the major-league production — albeit in small sample sizes — hasn’t been there. What’s more, the current construction of the big-league roster is going to make it challenging for Black to work his way into the picture in 2026.
With Rhys Hoskins no longer in the picture and Andrew Vaughn set to have the starting role at first heading into 2026, the Brewers were in need of a lefty option off the bench to pair with Vaughn’s righty bat. Black — a lefty hitter — appeared to be the perfect pairing.
Instead, the Milwaukee Brewers recently extended a one-year contract to lefty first baseman Jake Bauers, the Brewers’ lone non-tender candidate heading into the offseason. Now set to back up Vaughn at first next season, Bauer’s presence on the roster greatly complicates Black’s runway to the big leagues.
While Black is still just 25 years old and has yet to really get a legitimate shot in the majors, the former top prospect’s future doesn’t appear to be in Milwaukee.
Tyler Black’s Lack of Runway
Black first made his MLB debut back on April 30 of 2024, going 2-for-4 with a double in front of his home crowd. However, he failed to get any sort of consistent playing time from that point forward.
He was optioned back to Triple-A just six games after his debut. He was recalled on two other occasions that year but was sent back down after just a handful of games. Black played in a total of 18 games in 2024 for the Brewers and posted a .204/.316/.245 slash line, good for a .561 OPS and 69 wRC+.
Black struggled mightily in spring training of 2025 before suffering a hamate fracture in his right hand that forced him to miss nearly two months of the season. He ended up playing just five games for the Brewers in 2025 after a couple of call ups, but he was quickly relegated once core players returned from injury.
On top of his struggling MLB production, part of Black’s lack of runway can be attributed to his inability to stick at a position.
Drafted as a second baseman, Black slowly made a transition to being a corner infielder by 2023. He even started getting some reps in the outfield by 2024 as a way to maximize his athleticism.
The problem, however, is he has struggled defensively and has not found a home in the field. For a team like the Brewers that values defense as much as any organization in MLB, that shortcoming is really hurting his outlook.
While the ball club values position versatility, that flexibility doesn’t bring much of a benefit if the defense at those positions is below standard.
Black increasingly got more reps at first base in the minor leagues to help mitigate his defensive issues and to put him on the best path to playing time in the majors. However, that experiment itself has come with its share of barriers.
Hoskins was brought in to be the everyday first baseman two offseasons ago. When he went down with injury in July, his replacement, Vaughn, was one of the hottest hitters in the sport after supplanting Hoskins on the MLB roster. That left little room for Black to carve out a role on the big-league roster.
As mentioned, the Brewers have tried getting Black involved in the outfield, but Milwaukee already has a crowded group of players in that area of the roster who have high offensive floors but can also provide value defensively.
With Caleb Durbin seizing the everyday role at third base and Brice Turang emerging as one of the top second basemen in MLB this past season, Black simply doesn’t have a home with how the roster is currently constructed.
Black still has promise if his defense could take even a slight step forward, and it wouldn’t hurt to retain him as depth. However, he may provide more value to the organization if they can use him to bring in an asset on the trade market with the winter meetings right around the corner.
The Best Path Forward
Black wouldn’t be the type of prospect that nets a significant return, but it’s not as if he has no trade value at all. While 2025 was a step back from previous seasons, he’s still an impressive athlete with a high offensive ceiling.
Black fully broke out in 2023 when he hit .284/.417/.513 with a 144 wRC+ and 55 stolen bases in 123 games across Double-A and Triple-A. In 39 games with Triple-A Nashville that year, Black walked more than he struck out, showcasing his strong ability to hit and impressive feel for the zone.
He followed that up with a strong 2024 campaign in Triple-A, launching 14 homers while posting an .803 OPS and 117 wRC+ in 102 games. He regressed with the Sounds in 2025, hitting .243 with a .730 OPS, but he ended his season on a high note, batting .316/.426/.474 for a .900 OPS in the month of September.
There are questions as to how high his ceiling is as a hitter, though. His power peaked back in 2023, and that jump led to him crawling up prospect lists. But his hard-hit rate in Triple-A has steadily declined since then, along with his slugging percentage, ISO, and wOBA.
He failed to impact the baseball in his limited major-league at-bats, but that’s also been a trend in the minors too. Black posted a 51% ground-ball rate in Triple-A this past season, which was over a 10% jump from 2024. He has the ability to make plays with his legs thanks to his speed, but that’s far too high of a number for the Brewers to be comfortable with.
On top of the diminishing power and increasing ground-ball rate, Black’s punchout rate also jumped from 18.8% in 2024 to 26.5% this past season. That’s after he struck out nearly 30% of the time in 57 MLB plate appearances in 2024.
At the end of the day, shuffling between the majors and the minors without receiving any sizable opportunity at the MLB level can be taxing for a player. That, combined with his recovery from the hamate injury, certainly could have had an impact on his performance in 2025.
Final Thoughts
Black has the talent, athleticism, and offensive profile to be a serviceable utility piece for a big-league club. While the glove might not be coming along, he at least deserves an opportunity to prove himself at the big-league level. Whether or not that opportunity with be for the Brewers remains to be seen.
Perhaps Milwaukee views 2025 as a lost season for Black from the beginning. Maybe a reset in Triple-A to start the year can lead to a bounce-back season and recoup some of his stock.
After all, Bauers will hit the open market next offseason, and Vaughn will be entering his final year of arbitration in 2027; nether of which seem to be in the long-term plans. Black does have one minor-league option remaining, so the Brewers don’t have to cut bait this offseason if they’re optimistic on his outlook.
That said, if they viewed Black as a potential long-term answer — let alone a short-term solution at a position of need in 2026 — next season would have been the perfect opportunity to give him a shot. With several younger and more enticing options coming though the pipeline, it really feels as if the writing is on the wall for Black’s future in Milwaukee.
Written by
Joey Peterson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an editor for Just Baseball. Joey covers the Milwaukee Brewers, along with general MLB topics…