Brewers Announce Finalists for 2026 Robin Yount Performance Awards

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers today announced the finalists for their 2026 Robin Yount Performance Awards, which include Minor League Player of the Year and Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

The annual awards recognize the top performances by players in the Brewers Minor League system. Winners will be selected from the finalists and announced at a later date.

Finalists for the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year include (alphabetical order):

OF Josh Adamczewski

Adamczewski, 21, batted .300/.417/.509 (122-for-407) with 27 doubles, 2 triples, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 83 runs and 18 SB in 116 games between Class-A Wisconsin (50g) and Double-A Biloxi (66g). He was named a Southern League All-Star in the outfield after batting .278/.382/.465 with 9 HR and 34 RBI with the Shuckers after being promoted on June 16. Selected by the Brewers in the 15th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Lake Central High School (IN), Adamczewski ranked among Brewers Minor League players in doubles (T2nd), hits (3rd), extra-base hits (5th, 47), total bases (6th, 207), RBI (8th), runs (8th), HR (T8th) and walks (9th, 78). Among Milwaukee’s full-season Minor League players, he ranked second in batting average and third in both OBP and OPS (.926).

1B/3B Eric Bitonti

Bitonti, 20, hit .262/.378/.507 (111-for-424) with 27 doubles, a triple, 25 HR, 93 RBI, 95 runs and 24 SB in 117 games between Class-A Wisconsin (111g) and Double-A Biloxi (6g). All 25 of his home runs came with Wisconsin, setting a Timber Rattlers single-season record established earlier in 2026 by Braylon Payne (23). Bitonti ranked among Brewers Minor League players in runs (2nd), doubles (T2nd), RBI (3rd), extra-base hits (T3rd, 53), HR (4th), total bases (4th, 215), walks (7th, 82) and hits (8th). He was selected by the Brewers in the third round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Aquinas High School (CA).

1B Blake Burke

Burke, 23, batted .263/.350/.538 (130-for-494) with 28 doubles, 3 triples, 34 HR, 97 RBI, 86 runs and 29 SB in 127 games with Double-A Biloxi (96g) and Triple-A Nashville (31g). He was named Southern League Most Valuable Player and a Southern League All-Star at first base after batting .285/.367/.603 with 30 HR and 88 RBI in 96 games with the Shuckers. Selected by Milwaukee in Competitive Balance Round A (34th overall) of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Tennessee, Burke led the organization in doubles and ranked among Brewers Minor League players in HR (2nd), RBI (2nd), hits (2nd), extra-base hits (2nd, 65), total bases (2nd, 266), runs (6th) and stolen bases (8th).

SS Brady Ebel

Ebel, 19, finished his first full professional season batting .252/.413/.406 (105-for-416) with 26 doubles, 4 triples, 10 HR, 71 RBI, 79 runs and 40 SB in 115 games between Class-A Wilson (105g) and Class-A Wisconsin (10g). He was named a Carolina League All-Star at shortstop after hitting .261/.417/.420 with 10 HR and 68 RBI in 105 games with the Warbirds. Selected by the Brewers in the Compensatory First Round (32nd overall) of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Ebel led the organization walks (105) and ranked among Brewers Minor League players in stolen bases (4th), doubles (T5th), triples (T8th), RBI (T9th) and runs (10th).

1B/3B Andrew Fischer

Fischer, 22, batted .273/.413/.654 (120-for-439) with 17 doubles, 3 triples, 48 HR, 114 RBI and 107 runs in 126 games between Class-A Wisconsin (54g) and Double-A Biloxi (72g). His 48 HR rank second all-time in a single season by a Brewers Minor League player, trailing only Gorman Thomas (51 with Triple-A Sacramento in 1974) and are the most by any Minor League player since Ron Kittle hit 50 for Triple-A Edmonton in 1982. Fischer was named a Southern League All-Star at third base after batting .254/.389/.637 with 28 HR and 64 RBI in 72 games with the Shuckers after his promotion on June 16. Selected by Milwaukee in the first round (20th overall) of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Tennessee, Fischer led the organization in HR, RBI, SLG, OPS (1.067), extra-base hits (68), total bases (287) and runs while ranking second in walks (102) and fifth in hits.

SS Jesús Made

Made, 19, hit .271/.344/.430 (133-for-491) with 24 doubles, 6 triples, 14 HR, 91 RBI, 87 runs and 37 SB in 122 games for Double-A Biloxi. He was named a Southern League All-Star at shortstop and the league’s top Major League prospect after spending the entire 2026 season as the league’s youngest player. Ranked as baseball’s top prospect by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, Made led the organization in hits, tied for the lead in triples and ranked among Brewers Minor League players in RBI (4th), runs (T4th), stolen bases (5th), total bases (5th, 211), extra-base hits (6th, 44) and doubles (8th). He was signed by the Brewers as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in January 2024 and earned Brewers Co-Minor League Player of the Year honors in 2024 with Cooper Pratt before winning the award outright in 2025.

OF Braylon Payne

Payne, 20, batted .277/.358/.552 (114-for-411) with 21 doubles, 4 triples, 28 HR, 67 RBI, 89 runs and 25 SB in 102 games between Class-A Wisconsin (77g) and Double-A Biloxi (25g). He was named a Midwest League All-Star in the outfield after batting .277/.369/.561 with 23 HR and 55 RBI in 77 games with the Timber Rattlers. His 23 HR established a single-season franchise record before Eric Bitonti surpassed the mark later in the season. Selected by the Brewers in the first round (17th overall) of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Elkins High School (TX), Payne ranked among Brewers Minor League players in HR (3rd), runs (3rd), total bases (3rd, 227), extra-base hits (T3rd, 53), hits (7th), triples (T8th) and doubles (T10th). He ranked third in SLG and fourth in OPS (.910) among Milwaukee’s full-season Minor League players.

Finalists for the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year include (alphabetical order):

RHP Tyson Hardin

Hardin, 24, made 26 appearances (25 starts) between Double-A Biloxi (7gs) and Triple-A Nashville (19g, 18gs), leading the organization with 139 strikeouts over 119.2 innings. Over his final 5 outings (4 starts) for the Sounds, Hardin went 1-0 with a 2.74 ERA (23ip, 7er), striking out 29 while walking just 4. Selected by the Brewers in the 12th round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Mississippi State University, he also ranked among Brewers Minor League pitchers in starts (T3rd, 25) and innings pitched (4th, 119.2). Hardin was named Milwaukee’s 2025 Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

RHP Josh Knoth

Knoth, 21, went 6-3 with a 4.11 ERA (87.2ip, 40er) and 87 strikeouts in 22 appearances (20 starts) with the Rookie ACL Brewers (3gs), Class-A Wisconsin (16g, 14gs) and Double-A Biloxi (3gs). Following his promotion to Biloxi on August 27, he posted a 2.77 ERA (13ip, 4er) with 13 strikeouts, a 1.08 WHIP and a .191 opponent batting average (9-for-47). Selected by the Brewers in Competitive Balance Round A (33rd overall) of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Patchogue-Medford HS (NY), Knoth allowed 2 runs on 5 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts over 6.0 innings against Rocket City in Game 1 of the Southern League Championship Series on September 20.

RHP Manuel Rodríguez

Rodríguez, 21, went 13-4 in 27 appearances (26 starts) for Double-A Biloxi, setting a Shuckers single-season record for wins and surpassing the previous mark of 12 by Jorge López in 2015. He became the youngest Milwaukee Double-A pitcher to record 100 strikeouts in a single season (115 in 133ip) since Nick Neugebauer struck out 149 over 106.2 innings with Huntsville in 2001. Signed by the Brewers as a non-drafted free agent out of Mexico in April 2022, Rodríguez led the organization in wins, innings pitched (133.0) and WHIP (1.19), tied for the lead in starts (26) and ranked fifth in strikeouts (115).

LHP Wande Torres

Torres, 21, made 26 appearances (18 starts) between Class-A Wisconsin (24g, 18gs) and Double-A Biloxi (2g). He went 9-5 with a 4.15 ERA (115ip, 53er) and 126 strikeouts with the Timber Rattlers prior to his September promotion to the Shuckers. Over his last 12 outings (9 starts) with Wisconsin, Torres went 6-0 with a 2.32 ERA (62ip, 16er), striking out 76 while issuing just 20 walks. Signed by the Brewers as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in January 2022, Torres was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Month in both July and August.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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