Brewers prospect Trent Grisham changes name, seeks to write a new chapter in 2018

PHOENIX -- The 2018 season will serve as a fresh start for Milwaukee Brewers prospect Trent Grisham in a couple ways.

First and most obvious is the last name. He was known as Trent Clark when the Brewers made him the 15th overall pick in 2015, but he changed his name to Grisham in the off-season to honor his mother, Michelle.

"My mom raised me growing up by herself so it was always in the plans when I turned 18 to change my name," Grisham said. "We just made it a priority this off-season, got all the paperwork and went to court and did all that stuff. It was a real priority for me for that side of the family.

"Went through it, changed my name, mom was really happy, that whole side of the family was really happy."

His family matters settled, Grisham will now try to find the groove at the plate that's been eluding him for most of his tenure with the Brewers.

Grisham, regarded as the top high school hitter in that 2015 draft, batted a combined .309 in 55 games as a rookie before slipping to .231 at Class A Wisconsin in 2016 and .223 at advanced Class A Carolina in 2017.

A nagging right-hamstring strain limited him to just 59 games in 2016. He was healthy enough to play in career-high 133 games in 2017, but struck out 141 times on a prospect-laden Mudcats team that also saw Corey Ray, Lucas Erceg and Isan Diaz struggle. 

RELATED:Deeper roster might leave Aguilar on outside looking in

RELATED:Spring training a process for Thames

CAMP REPORT:Wade Miley roughed up, but Brewers hold off Reds

BOX SCORE:Brewers 16, Reds 13

"Kind of an up-and-down year, really," Grisham said. "None of the stuff that people look at really jumped off the page. But we had a lot of good discussions with Kenny Graham, our hitting coordinator, Tom Flanagan and those guys, and they were really excited – as was I – when they started bringing out the stuff I actually did well and stopped looking at the negatives like the batting average and stuff like that.

"I did a lot of things well. I have things to hang my hat on from last season."

Among the positives for Grisham were 21 doubles, six triples, eight homers and 98 walks, with the free-pass total ranking him tops in the Carolina League.

"A lot of line drives, a lot of using the middle of the field," he said. "A good amount of plate discipline – maybe a little too much. Just trying to find a happy medium of swinging at the pitches I like as well as laying off the pitches that I did last year.

"There were a lot of good things that happened, like the stolen bases and the low percentage of getting thrown out. I had a lot of things to be happy about and be proud of. There’s still some things I need to work on."

Grisham's next stop on the minor-league ladder will be Class AA Biloxi. What does he see awaiting him this season and beyond in a franchise that's now well-stocked with outfielders at the major-league level?

"It’s tough to judge," he said. "I do my best to stay away from it and let the front-office guys handle that. Really, just try to grow as a player, grow as a teammate and try to figure out what’s going to help me get to the big leagues."