Grisham starts next chapter with new name
Selected in the first round of a 2015 Draft class filled with promising talent and top prospects, Milwaukee's Trent Clark has flown under the radar. Part of that has been the result of an inconsistent start to his career and more time on the disabled list than on the field
Selected in the first round of a 2015 Draft class filled with promising talent and top prospects, Milwaukee's Trent Clark has flown under the radar. Part of that has been the result of an inconsistent start to his career and more time on the disabled list than on the field prior to 2017.
But with a new name, renewed confidence and a desire to be one of the crown jewels of a talented system, Trent Grisham, as he is now known, is already counting down the days to the start of the 2018 campaign. And he'll do so with the last name of the most important person in his world stitched on his jersey for the first time.
"The name has always been a big deal to me," Grisham said. "My mom [Michelle] raised me and has been there for me through everything. She was there for every game, taking me to every tournament when I was younger. She even drove my truck across the country so I could avoid having to pay to have it shipped. She's the greatest person on Earth, and I wanted to honor her for all that she's done for me."
Selected 15th overall in 2015 out of Richland High School in North Richland Hills, Texas, Grisham signed quickly with the Brewers and began his pro career in the Rookie-level Arizona League. In a scary foreshadowing of an injury-plagued season to come, the outfielder ran headfirst into the wall while attempting to make a catch in the first inning of his second game as a professional. After being tended to by trainers for nearly 15 minutes, Grisham was removed from the field on a stretcher, fortunate to have suffered only a bad bruise on his forehead.
Despite the inauspicious start to his career, Grisham hit .309/.424/.430 with 25 stolen bases and 15 extra-base hits over 55 games in the Rookie-level Arizona and Pioneer Leagues. He displayed a patient approach at the plate with 39 walks in just over 250 plate appearances.
But Grisham wasn't able to carry that success over the following year in the Midwest League. He injured both hamstrings and missed more than two months during two separate stints on the disabled list. Grisham managed a .231/.346/.344 slash line in 59 games with Class A Wisconsin.
Despite the time he spent away from the field, the No. 13 Brewers prospect looked at 2016 as an opportunity gained, not lost.
"I injured my right hamstring in May and missed about a month," Grisham said. "About a week after returning, I hurt the left one. Even so, I would say being hurt didn't affect my development. If anything, it helped me. I was able to learn a lot about what is needed to take care of my body. You need to balance performance with trying to stay healthy while playing every single day.
"It was the first time I had really ever injured myself for a long period of time and it stunk, but I don't think it hindered my development at all. It taught me a much bigger lesson."
According to Grisham, a big part of his development from 2016 to this past season was the realization that professional baseball is an everyday affair. Unlike in high school or college where only a few games are played each week, full-season Minor League ball is a day-in, day-out proposition.
"That was really the biggest difference for me," the Fort Worth, Texas native said. "The competition is certainly a step up but that's something you can get used to. Playing daily and knowing the importance of keeping your body is such a big change. It takes a toll mentally and physically and forces you to balance everything. You need to find and set the routines that work for you and stick with them."
Health wasn't an issue for Grisham in 2017. Promoted to Class A Advanced Carolina prior to the season, the 21-year-old batted .223/.360/.348 with 37 stolen bases and 78 runs scored. Grisham also walked 98 times, the second-highest total in the Minors behind Double-A Corpus Christi's Jon Singleton.
"Staying healthy and lasting the entire season was my primary goal last spring and I was able to do that," Grisham said. "I beat myself up a little bit on the drive home after the season was over. I thought about if I had done things differently, maybe my numbers would have been better, but I realized about halfway through my drive that I accomplished a lot. I learned so much this season and I'm proud of some of the things I was able to do. Sure, the batting average isn't great to look at, but I took a lot of positives from this year that I can use as a springboard into 2018."
The icing on the cake for Grisham was playing with fellow prospects Lucas Erceg, Corey Ray and Monte Harrison.
"It really was fun," he said. "All of those guys are great friends of mine. We've grown together as players and it's great to just be around each other and learn from each other. I'll push them and they'll push me, and that's where a lot of the improvement comes from. This is a great organization to be a part of. I really love it."
While Grisham is ready to get back to the grind of baseball and continue his journey toward the Majors, the offseason afforded him the time to make that sought-after change he and his mom had been discussing for years.
"When I turned 18, I told her that I wanted to change my last name from Clark to Grisham," he said. "She was honored by it and was totally behind it. With baseball and other things in life, it always ended up on the back burner. But I finally found time to make the change official a few weeks ago. I couldn't be prouder to have done it."
Michael Avallone is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MavalloneMiLB.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between