Karson Milbrandt

Milbrandt broke out in 2025, ending his age-21 season with a dominant two-start run at Double-A. He emphatically forced a promotion from High-A, as he struck out 26 while logging a 1.17 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 15.1 innings over his final three starts for Beloit, including a 10-K, one-hit performance over five scoreless innings against a loaded High-A Wisconsin lineup. He struck out 10 with a 60 percent groundball rate in 10.2 innings at Double-A. Long known for his strong stuff (mid-90s fastball, strong curveball, cutter) and shaky command, Milbrandt's propensity to issue walks is still his biggest weakness, but his stuff has gotten so good that hitters typically can't get much done on their own. He didn't give up a home run after June 13 and had 80 strikeouts in 58 innings over that stretch. For the third year in a row, Milbrandt threw over 90 innings and under 100 innings. He'll likely spend 2026 refining his command and control across the top two levels of the minors. Read Past Outlooks