Payne’s first-pitch homers lift teen’s rare power

Payne’s first-pitch – At 19, Brewers prospect Payne turned two first-pitch swings into back-to-back moments of impact at High-A, launching homers 348 and 414 feet. His run of power is already setting a new career high through 29 games this spring and puts him on track for a rare do

The Dow Diamond wind didn’t just blow Sunday afternoon—it seemed to grab onto the ball as Payne sent it over the wall.

In the fifth inning. the left-handed hitter went deep on an 0-0. 84 mph slider from Loons southpaw starter Sterling Patick (Dodgers). driving a pulled shot 348 feet down the right-field line. He didn’t wait long for the next jolt. In the ninth. his second homer of the matinee came on another first pitch—this time a 96 mph outside fastball from righty reliever Isaac Ayon. Payne turned on it again. pushing it to left-center. where it got caught in the Dow Diamond wind and kept traveling 414 feet over the wall in left-center.

Payne finished 2-for-5. Those two swings carried his season total to nine and 10 homers—his ninth and 10th of the 2026 season—giving him a career high through 29 games this spring. The only teammate doing more damage so far in the Midwest League is Andrew Fischer, who also homered Tuesday.

Payne’s power has a familiar foundation, but it’s starting to take a different shape as he matures. A Texas native who went 17th overall to the Brewers in the 2024 Draft. Payne signed for under slot at $3.44 million as a 17-year-old at the time. In his first full season at Single-A Carolina. his loudest tool was already his plus-plus speed. but he also showed real pop—hitting .240/.354/.382 with eight homers and 31 steals in 77 games.

This spring with Wisconsin, he’s hitting .281/.383/.614 after Tuesday, and something about his approach has tightened. He’s cut down on the leg kick that had been making him leak out of his swing early. switching to more of a modest leg raise in his load. His overall contact numbers have stayed roughly similar, but the ball is leaving the bat on different terms. Entering Tuesday, his ground-ball rate fell from 50.3 percent to 41.3 from 2025 to ’26, while his flyball rate rose from 33.3 percent to 40.

Combine those improved angles with the strength already in his profile, and Payne is trending toward a possible 20-homer threat.

Even if the season ended today. the list of teenagers who have managed this kind of power at High-A would be unusually short for Milwaukee’s system. Payne would be the only Brewers prospect aged 19 or younger to hit double-digit homers over a single High-A season since 2006. Jackson Chourio came closest when he hit eight in his age-18 season in 2022, though that was in only 31 games.

Outside the organization, only Cam Collier (20, 2024), Edwin Arroyo (13, 2023), Owen Caissie (11, 2022), Carter Jensen (11, 2023) and Leo De Vries (10, 2025) have done so as Midwest League teenagers in that timeframe. All five have been Top 100 prospects at various stages of their careers.

For a 19-year-old to be turning first-pitch swings into long flights—348 feet to right, 414 feet to left-center—doesn’t just change box scores. It changes what the season feels like, the kind of atmosphere where every at-bat starts to sound like it could land somewhere over the fence.

Payne Brewers prospect High-A Dow Diamond home runs Midwest League Sterling Patick Isaac Ayon Andrew Fischer Wisconsin