Braylon Payne just rewrote the record books at the Milwaukee Brewers High-A affiliate.
At just 19-years-old, Braylon Payne has officially set the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers single-season home run record.
Payne crushed his 23rd home run of the year on Saturday, Aug. 8, in a game that put him in the record books.
It was already his third homer in August, and while he's only hitting .214, his .607 slugging percentage is impressive, to say the least.
Payne is currently ranked as the Brewers' No. 7 prospect, though he remains outside the MLB Pipeline top 100.
Obviously, the Brewers still have a ton of representation in that department with No. 1 Jesus Made, No. 18 Luis Pena, No. 76 Jett Williams, and No. 87 Josh Adamczewski. Notably, that doesn't even include No. 64 Luis Lara, who's yet to graduate from the top 100. Once he does, will that open a spot up for Payne?
Payne has 23 homers in 292 at-bats this season
When looking at these numbers, it's crazy to think the 2024 No. 17 overall pick is hitting a home run roughly 7.88% of the time he steps up to the plate. That number simply isn't normal, though somehow the Brewers' top prospects seem to make it that way; look no further than his former teammate, Andrew Fischer.
Payne is a left-handed outfielder who is slashing .288/.381/.589 in his 73 games at High-A this season. His OPS sits at .970, which isn't a career high due to the 1.151 it was in 2024, but that comes with a grain of salt, as it was only in a four-game sample size.
The Texas native has only grounded into three double plays this season, and his power has always been a highlight of his game. At the time of writing, Payne has 31 career homers in 596 at-bats.
Move to Double-A incoming?
Everyone always focuses on Triple-A as it's the only step left before coming to the major leagues, but the Brewers have one of the most stacked Double-A lineups in all of baseball. Payne has a chance to join the likes of Fischer and Made as part of the Biloxi Shuckers; it's just a matter of how long they want to keep letting Payne do his thing with the Timber Rattlers.
Keep in mind, Payne has struck out 100 times this year. His strikeout percentage is quite high, and he struck out 103 times a year ago, so it's not like this is an issue that came out of nowhere. Once that number gets down, though, he has the potential to be a true superstar.
