The Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of signing another player to a long-term extension before he even makes his MLB debut. The Brewers and shortstop Cooper Pratt are nearing an eight-year contract worth more than $50 million, reports USA Today. The deal will also include two option years that could push the total value north of $80 million.

The Brewers have not announced the signing.

Pratt, 21, was Milwaukee’s sixth-round pick in the 2023 Draft. He hit .238/.343/.348 with eight home runs and 31 steals in a full season at Double-A last year, and is off to a 4 for 15 (.267) start through three Triple-A games this year. Those are Pratt’s first three games at the Triple-A level. He has a career .354 on-base percentage in the minors, but only a .376 slugging percentage.

We did not rank Pratt among baseball’s top 100 prospects entering spring training. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 62 prospect in baseball and the No. 4 prospect in a deep Brewers’ system. Here’s part of their scouting report:

On the positive end, Pratt cut his strikeout rate from 20 percent in ’24 to 15.2 in ’25 despite the move up a level. He refuses to expand the zone in zero- or one-strike counts and then flips that approach with two strikes to be swing-happy, relying on his solid bat-to-ball skills to keep the strikeouts down. Although he stands 6-foot-3, Pratt hasn’t packed a huge punch in the power department, either in terms of homers or pure exit velocities, but he’s also been young for everywhere he’s played. There’s still a chance he gets to average pop down the line, but 12-15 homers per season seem more likely … Pratt continues to flash impressive timing and instincts at a premium position, and while his decent speed doesn’t give him huge range, his arm strength and accuracy still help him on some of the deeper throws.

The Brewers are deep in shortstops, with gloveman Joey Ortiz at the MLB level and highly regarded prospects Jesús Made, Luis Peña, and Jett Williams coming up the ladder. Made is on the short list of the game’s top prospects and will factor into Milwaukee’s infield soon. Williams has outfield experience. Pratt could play third base or become a super utility player.

This is not the first time the Brewers have signed a top prospect to a long-term extension before his MLB debut. Two years ago, they signed Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million contract when he only had a handful of Triple-A games under his belt. That contract landed Chourio on the 2024 Opening Day roster. Pratt’s deal could come with an immediate promotion too.

Once completed, this will be the eighth long-term contract given to a player yet to make his MLB debut. Here are the other seven listed by guaranteed dollars:

Those deals have been a very mixed bag. Chourio is working out wonderfully and Robert had his moments with the White Sox. If you gave the White Sox a truth serum, I’m sure they’d tell you they’d like a do over on Jiménez. Keith has begun to settle into a full-time role in Detroit. The Kingery, Singleton, and White contracts did not work out for the teams at all.

It goes without saying that the Brewers must value Pratt very highly (much more highly than the public prospect rankings) to guarantee him more than $50 million before his MLB debut, let alone just a few Triple-A games to his name. These long-term extensions are the best way for small-market teams to keep their best players, though they do carry risk.