Cooper Pratt hits first MLB home run in win Monday

Pratt hit the injured list with a right hamstring strain over the weekend. It appears to be on the milder end of the spectrum since the Brewers are anticipating he’ll make it back in a couple weeks.

We still haven’t received word on the result from Pratt’s MRI so we don’t know how serious the strain is, but he’ll miss a couple of weeks at a minumim while recovering. Ji Hwan Bae was promoted from Triple-A Nashville to take his place on the active roster.

Pratt has been nursing a minor hamstring injury for a few days and the Brewers will have him undergo an MRI exam to determine the extent of the injury. David Hamilton will start in his place at shortstop on Sunday and will bat ninth against Twins’ southpaw Connor Prielipp.

The Brewers have a pair of infielders battling minor injuries in Joey Ortiz (neck) and Cooper Pratt (hamstring), plus Jett Williams (wrist) shelved at Triple-A Nashville, so they’ll bring in some insurance to be on the safe side. Bae hit .257/.360/.368 with five homers, 32 RBI and 36 stolen bases in 371 plate appearances with the Mets at Triple-A Syracuse before opting out of his minor league deal.

Pratt is up to .288/.379/.396 as a major leaguer, which, rather surprisingly, is a fair amount better than his .241/.349/.386 from his time at Triple-A Nashville this year. With the Brewers possessing two of the game’s best shortstop prospects still making their way through the minors, Pratt’s long-term outlook in Milwaukee remains a little cloudy, even after his pre-callup extension. However, he should definitely hold on to the starting job for the rest of the season.

Pratt’s home run was his second. He hit a solo shot off Ryan Feltner in the second inning. Pratt is now hitting .281 with a .753 OPS and 11 RBI in his first 31 games in the majors.

The speedster was also caught stealing in his first rehab game since landing on the injured list on July 7th. Hamilton had been playing well before the injury, slashing .313/.353/.438 in his last 15 games with four RBI and four steals. With Joey Ortiz also starting to hit well, Hamilton’s imminent return could cut into Cooper Pratt’s playing time.

Pratt also doubled, and both of his RBI came on the two-bagger to give the Brew Crew a 10-2 cushion. The 21-year-old also drew a walk in addition to hitting his first MLB triple, and it was a nice proof-of-concept game for a player who the Brewers believe will be an important part of their future. His on-base percentage of .342 suggests he’s picking up the baseball well. The .217 average and .283 slugging percentage suggest there’s a lot of work to be done. Tuesday was good, however.

Pratt started his big-league career 7-for-19, but he’s 1-for-25 since. The good news is that he’s maintained a 6/4 K/BB during that span. Still, he’s not going to hit for power, and batting average has been a big problem for him since the beginning of last year. In 2025, he hit .238 in spite of a nice 15 percent strikeout rate in Double-A. This year, he was at .241 with a 14 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A. It’s not at all clear that he’s a better option at shortstop than Joey Ortiz right now.

Joey Ortiz gets the start at shortstop in this one. Pratt has gotten off to a better-than-expected start at the dish, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two RBI and three steals in six games since being called up from Triple-A Nashville last week. There’s nothing in the 21-year-old top prospect’s minor-league track record to suggest he’ll be a highly impactful fantasy contributor right away, especially given how deep the shortstop position is, but he should provide some cheap speed in deeper mixed leagues.