Verge: Speed, plate discipline help O'Rae rise up Brewers' prospects ranks

Great Lake Canadians alum Dylan O'Rae (Sarnia, Ont.) has 62 stolen bases in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization this season. Photo: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

September 10, 2024

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

He was once a baseball loving kid from Sarnia Ont., who was overlooked due to a smaller physique.

Now, Dylan O’Rae is a top prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization, doing what he’s always had to do in a historic 2024 season where he’s stolen 62 bases.

Drive his talent down your throat, and leave no question - this guy deserves to be here.

The 5-foot-7 second baseman/centre fielder, ranked No. 26 on the Brewers’ top prospect list, racked up the total 62 playing with the Brewers’ double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers and High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

“My whole goal kind of this season was when I get on base to get into scoring position for the guys hitting behind me, and being in scoring position to help the team score runs,” O’Rae said.

Working his way up to pro ball, O’Rae was never given any favours when he took the field based on his stature, said Junior National Team coach Greg Hamilton, who coached O’Rae back in 2022.

The former Junior National Team player had to force you to pay attention to him when he took the field.

“He had to drive it down your throat that he loved the game, that he could play the game and that he could play the game at a higher level,” Hamilton said.

It’s how he got on the Junior National Team in the first place, and it’s how he joined the Great Lake Canadians as one of their first underage players ever. And, it’s how he first caught the attention of former major leaguer Adam Stern as a young kid sauntering into his training facility in London, Ont., 15 years ago.

O’Rae had the intensity of a pro, and the stature of a kid who had yet to hit his first double digit birthday.

He was locked in, and only about five years old, Stern said, wearing a Detroit Tigers jersey as he walked into the facility.

“He was this little guy rolling in but he was a man on a mission,” Stern said. I just remember him because they stand out, like he just looked like a little ball player.”

A ball player, he was, his passion and determination obvious at even that young age. Those have stayed with O’Rae as he grew up, helping lead the now 20-year-old into professional baseball, and a historic season for the Brewers. With No. 60, he became the first Brewers player to steal that many bags in a season since 2009.

The second baseman/centre fielder was the 102nd pick in the third round of the 2022 draft. He was signed by Brewers scout and Junior National Team coach Pete Orr.

O’Rae doesn’t have a big strike zone, and doesn’t go outside of it to swing, doing pitchers no favours, his scouting report says. And, “the plus-plus speed the Brewers liked so much in the draft has certainly played in pro ball.” In his minor league career to date, spanning from 2022 to 2024, he’s hit .263 with 57 RBIs and 110 stolen bases.

Wherever he’s been, he’s always been a key part of the roster, including during his time playing under Hamilton with the Junior National Team.

“He was always one of the smallest guys and one of the most high engine guys,” Hamilton said. “You just saw the passion and the compete level and the energy and the desire [he had to be successful].”

It was the same when he first joined the Great Lake Canadians as one of their first underage players on their 14U team as a 13-year-old.

He truly embodied the culture of what it meant to be a Canadian, said Jamie Romak, director of player performance.

“Once he did get in the program, he really was the pulse,” Romak said.

And going back even earlier, when he took lessons with Stern as an eight-year-old, and he'd show up with a handful of different gloves and a selection of bats to Centrefield Sports.

“He stood out like a sore thumb just because of how intense he was,” Stern said.

And now, he’s making his mark as a minor leaguer in the Brewers’ organization with 110 stolen bases under his belt since 2022.

The next step for O’Rae in baseball?

“I've always wanted to just play at the highest level I could possibly play, so just keep playing my game and see where that takes me,” O’Rae said.

That dream will likely be realized soon, Romak said.

“He’s going to be a major league piece I would believe at some point in the near future,” he said.