15 biggest draft busts in Brewers history

With the MLB draft coming up (beginning on June 13th), it seems like a good time to look back at some of the more disappointing draft selections in Milwaukee Brewers history. A draft bust in baseball isn’t quite like a draft bust in the NFL; even with modern scouting, it is no given that a first-round pick will even make it to the major leagues. This list isn’t built only on high picks who didn’t work out, but it also considers what players were still available in that general range.

There’s also a long history of baseball drafts that fall outside of the typical June amateur draft; for this project, we’re only considering players who were picked in the first round (or the supplemental first round) of the June draft. Alternative "what-if" players are only from the first two rounds, as anyone beyond that was missed by everyone.

Given that context, here are 15 of what you might call the biggest draft busts in Brewers history, in reverse order.

15. Kyle Peterson, RHP, 1997 (13)

There weren’t many good pitchers after Peterson early in the 1997 draft, so it’s hard to blame the Brewers too much here (a few solid but unspectacular arms went in round two: Randy Wolf, Scott Linebrink, Aaron Cook). The biggest miss here was superstar outfielder Lance Berkman, who went three picks after Peterson; Adam Kennedy and Jayson Werth, also good players, went at 20 and 22.

14. Isaiah Clark, SS, 1984 (18)

There’s no shame in taking a guy at 18 who didn’t work out, and if Milwaukee was set on an infielder, there weren’t really any better options in this range. The issue was the amount of pitching talent taken after Clark, notably in the second round, where Greg Maddux went at 31, Tom Glavine at 47, and Al Leiter at 50.

13. Eric Arnett, Kentrail Davis, and Kyle Heckathorn, 2009 (26, 39, 47)

The Brewers had three picks at the end of the first round in 2009, and none of the three players they picked—two pitchers and an outfielder—made it to the majors at any point. There was one superstar in their draft range who was still on the board after all three picks in Nolan Arenado, who went 59th. But there were several other solid players available: James Paxton (37), Jason Kipnis (63), DJ LeMahieu (79), and Patrick Corbin (80) all went before the end of round two.

12. Kodi Medeiros, LHP, 2014 (12)

Medeiros mostly struggled in five minor league seasons in the Brewers’ organization before he was included in the deadline deal for reliever Joakim Soria in 2018; he never made the big leagues. The pick after Medeiros was Trea Turner, and stars Matt Chapman and Jack Flaherty went later in the first round.

11. Nick Hernandez, C, 1978 (8)

Hernandez never made it to the majors. If Milwaukee was set on a catcher, a decent one, Dave Valle, went at number 32. But two other very good position players went shortly after Hernandez (Kirk Gibson at 12 and Tom Brunansky at 14), and one who everybody missed on went in round two (Cal Ripken Jr., 48).

10. Ken Felder, OF, 1992 (12)

The Brewers were looking for an outfielder in 1992, and Felder never made the bigs. Two other notable outfielders went in round one: Shannon Stewart (19) and Johnny Damon (35). There were also two excellent catchers drafted after Felder: Jason Kendall at 23 and Charles Johnson at 28.

9. J.M. Gold, RHP, 1998 (13)

Gold never made it above High-A. There were a handful of solid pitchers, both starters and relievers, who went in the first round after Gold that year: Jeff Weaver (14), Kip Wells (16), Brad Lidge (17), and Matt Thornton (22), plus Mark Prior, who didn’t sign. But the big miss was the 20th overall pick: CC Sabathia.

8. Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, 2011 (12 and 15)

Armed with the 12th and 15th picks, Milwaukee took Jungmann and Bradley, both college pitchers—deemed “safer” than high school arms. Bradley only ever made six appearances in the majors (none with the Brewers), and while Jungmann had one decent run in Milwaukee (he made 21 starts at slightly above league average in 2015), his success didn’t last, and he was out of the big leagues by age 28. The two picks in between Jungmann and Bradley were both good players: Brandon Nimmo and one of those “unsafe” high school arms, José Fernández (a superstar whose life was cut tragically short). But the Brewers also passed on three other very good pitchers: Sonny Gray (18), Joe Musgrove (46), and Blake Snell (52).

7. Bill Bordley, LHP, 1976 (4)

Milwaukee failed to sign Bordley, and he was drafted again, third overall, in 1979 by the Reds. He threw just over 30 innings in 1980 and never made it back to the big leagues. Two good lefties went after Bordley in round one (Steve Trout at 8, Bruce Hurst at 22), and a couple of solid position players went later in the first (Leon Durham at 15, Mike Scioscia at 19). But the big prizes were in round two: Hall of Famer Alan Trammell at 26 and future Cy Young winner Mike Scott at 37.

6. Corey Ray, OF, 2016 (5)

The highest draft pick the Brewers have had since taking Ryan Braun fifth in 2005, Ray never worked out; he played one game in 2021 and went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored and never made it back. He now coaches in the Cubs’ system. That wasn’t a loaded first round, but the Brewers did pass on Josh Lowe (13), Gavin Lux (20), Cole Ragans (30), Will Smith (32), and Nick Lodolo (41). The second round was where the impact players showed up: Bryan Reynolds (59), Pete Alonso (64), and Bo Bichette (66).

5. Chad Green, OF, 1996 (8)

Green never made the majors. Two position players who had good careers went right after him: Mark Kotsay at 9 and Eric Chávez at 10. A few solid pitchers went later in the first round, too, plus a couple more decent outfielders in the second (Jacque Jones at 37, Milton Bradley at 40) and one borderline Hall of Fame shortstop (Jimmy Rollins at 46).

4. Butch Edge, RHP, 1974 (6)

Edge pitched a total of 51 2/3 innings in his career, in Toronto in 1979, after he was taken by the Blue Jays in the 1976 expansion draft. There wasn’t a ton of pitching early in the 1974 draft—Rick Sutcliffe, who went 21st, was by far the best pitcher of the first two rounds, and the Brewers actually took the next-best option, Moose Haas, in the second round. But Milwaukee passed on several good position players: Garry Templeton (13), Lance Parrish (16), Willie Wilson (18), and Butch Wynegar (38).

3. Mark Rogers, RHP, 2004 (5)

Rogers’ career was derailed by injuries; he made a total of 11 major league appearances between 2010 and 2012 and pitched reasonably well, but he couldn’t stay healthy. This is less about Rogers than it is about it being unfortunate that the team couldn’t get a pitching prospect to hit during a time when several consecutive first-round position players hit. The best alternatives to Rogers early in this draft on the pitching side were Jered Weaver (12th) and Gio Gonzalez (38th). The best position players in the first two rounds here didn’t go until much later: Hunter Pence and Dustin Pedroia went back-to-back at 64th and 65th.

2. Antone Williamson, 3B, 1994 (4)

Williamson played 24 games for the Brewers in 1997 and never made it back to the majors. The first two rounds that year weren’t star-studded, but several good position players went later in the first round (Nomar Garciaparra, Paul Konerko, Todd Walker, Jason Varitek, Jay Payton), and another third baseman who had a good, long career went early in round two (Troy Glaus at 37).

1. Tommy Bianco, SS, 1971 (3)

Bianco played a total of 18 games in the majors. A few good players, including one Hall of Famer, went in the first round after Bianco (Frank Tanana, Rick Rhoden, Jim Rice), but the big issue here are two players who went early in the second round who played the same position he did: George Brett and Mike Schmidt, who went back-to-back at 29 and 30. (Of course, there’s a butterfly effect issue here regarding the 1973 selection of Robin Yount, but that’s a different discussion.)

Honorable Mention: B.J. Surhoff, C, 1985 (1)

The only #1 overall pick in Brewers history, Surhoff is by far the best player you’ll see on this list. He was a solid if unspectacular catcher in Milwaukee for nine years, though he never really figured out how to hit until he left the Brewers. He played until he was 40 and finished with over 2,300 hits. But this is about the players taken just after Surhoff: Will Clark at 2, Barry Larkin at 4, Barry Bonds at 6, and Rafael Palmeiro later in the first round. Yes, two of those are steroids guys, but all four had at least 56 career WAR and deserve Hall-of-Fame consideration. (One more Hall of Famer went in round two: Randy Johnson at 36.)