The Milwaukee Brewers are not an organization known for producing many power bats, but rather a team that focuses on developing toolsy players to play their style of baseball.
However, Andrew Fischer seems to be an exception. In a Minor League system full of players like Brice Turang, the Brewers have a player who's more Kyle Schwarber than anyone else. Andrew Fischer blasted his 47th home run of the Minor League season on Thursday, the most by a player since the turn of the century. However, his strikeout rate makes him an atypical Brewer.
His 47th home run passed Ryan Howard's 46 Minor League home runs in 2004 with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Fischer is the first player to reach the 47 home run mark in a Minor League season since Tony Solaita in 1968.
Fischer's historic season is not over yet, as the Brewers' Double-A affiliate, the Biloxi Shuckers, still have four regular-season games left.
Fischer's season ranks fifth all-time in Minor League Baseball's modern era, dating back to 1963. Bill McNulty owns the record with 55 home runs in a single minor league season, followed by Gorman Thomas with 51. Both of those players achieved their respective home run marks in 1974 for Triple-A Sacramento. That season, their home games were played in Hughes Stadium, where the left-field wall was only 233 feet away, per MiLB.com's Michael Avallone.
Ron Kittle is third on the all-time single-season minor league home runs list with 50. Fourth place belongs to Solaita. Fischer could get to 50, but chasing down 55 and 51 seems unrealistic.
Fischer started the season in High-A and has played 69 games in Double-A. 27 of his home runs have come with the Shuckers, and he should be in Triple-A very soon. The real question is when the power-needy Brewers decide to get him in the big leagues.