Cooper Pratt's whirlwind rookie season just ran into its first real obstacle. The Brewers placed their 21-year-old shortstop on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a strained right hamstring, an issue that reportedly first popped up a day earlier and got confirmed by an MRI before Milwaukee's game against the Twins.
The Brewers aren't putting a firm timeline on it, and that's the concerning part. Manager Pat Murphy told reporters Pratt has never dealt with a hamstring injury before, which makes it hard to predict a return date. Hamstrings have a way of lingering longer than the initial 10-day stint suggests, especially for a guy who plays a demanding position and runs as much as Pratt does.
It's a rough turn for a player who's had almost nothing but good news since he arrived. Pratt debuted on June 16, went 7-for-19 in his first six games, cooled off briefly, then caught fire again, hitting.325/.374/.475 over a 25-game stretch that included his first career homer against the Mets on July 20. That kind of production from a 21-year-old shortstop is exactly why the Brewers didn't wait around to lock him up — back in April, before he'd even played a big league game, Milwaukee signed him to an 8-year, $50.75 million extension running through 2033.
The timing stings because Milwaukee's infield was already banged up. Third baseman Joey Ortiz has been dealing with his own issue, and now the Brewers had to scramble for a corresponding roster move, signing utility infielder Jihwan Bae to a minor league deal and immediately activating him. Bae made his debut the same day, entering late defensively and slapping a bunt single in his first at-bat — a nice story on its own, but not exactly the plan Milwaukee drew up.
None of this is a crisis yet. The Brewers still sit atop the NL Central with a comfortable lead over the Cubs, and a 10-day IL stint for a hamstring is often just that. But losing the guy they just bet $50 million on, even for a couple weeks in the stretch run, is the kind of thing that can put a real dent in a division race that's supposed to be a formality. Milwaukee's best-case scenario is Pratt back on schedule and this whole thing becomes a footnote in a special rookie season.