Milwaukee Brewers: 3 Outfield Prospects To Know For MLB Draft

Michael Busch, 1B/OF, North Carolina

As odd as it may be drafting a guy named Busch to play in Miller Park, by the time he would get here, it won’t be called Miller Park anymore. Salt in an open wound? I’ll move on.

No matter what his name is, Michael Busch is someone that’s going to hit baseballs and hit them hard. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the 28th overall prospect on their Top 100, which is conveniently the exact location of the Brewers first round pick, so there’s a good chance he’s still on the board for their first selection.

His scouting grades paint a favorable picture of his bat. He has above average grades for both his hit tool and his power tool, and being a left handed hitter, he should see those tools play up in Milwaukee.

Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say about Busch’s bat:

Busch makes it look easy at the plate. He has a smooth left-handed swing with plenty of bat speed and a patient, balanced approach that allows him to hammer balls to all fields. He should hit for average and power while drawing plenty of walks, and few college players in this Draft have a higher offensive ceiling or floor.

This sounds like the kind of hitter any team would want in their system. However, there are flaws in his game. Busch has below average speed, and lacks an obvious long term defensive home. He’s played some left field, some first base, although undersized for the position, and some second base in the Cape Cod League.

That’s driven down Busch’s value to a later first round pick, but if the Brewers believe in his bat enough, they could take him at 28 overall. There were questions about Keston Hiura‘s defensive future back in 2017 but they believed in the bat enough to select him then.

This season for North Carolina, Busch is hitting .277/.444/.523 with a .967 OPS, 12 home runs, 50 RBIs, 54 walks(!), and 35 strikeouts. He’s patient at the plate, doesn’t seem to chase much, and will draw his walks.

Busch has some defensive versatility, but will be nothing more than an average defender no matter where he plays. It’s his combination of hitting for average and power that will get scouts excited about his future.

Sammy Siani, OF, Penn Charter (Pa.) HS

Another left handed hitting outfielder that’s just a little undersized, Siani is another possibility for the Milwaukee Brewers on the first night of the MLB Draft.

Standing at 5’11” and 175 pounds, Siani has an above-average hit tool that’s a result of a smooth and consistent swing. That’s his biggest tool, but Siani also possesses above average speed, although he’ll likely be relegated to playing left field in the future instead of center.

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MLB Pipeline ranks Siani as their 41st overall prospect in this draft, which could mean one of two things. Either the Brewers could believe there’s more potential than that, having him higher on their board and might want to snatch him at 28th overall, or, they could pass on him at 28 and wait to see if he’s still there at 65 overall for their next pick. Siani is in that kind of in between stage.

Those teams who would consider selecting Siani early would be doing so with the belief that he could be something similar to Andrew Benintendi with the Red Sox, where he’s a late bloomer, but when he finally blossoms, it’s something amazing.

Siani is from Pennsylvania, and playing spring ball out there is difficult because of the long stretch of cold, wintry weather that extended late this year, which likely negatively impacted Siani and other high schoolers. If the Brewers like Siani enough to select him, they’re believing in his summer showcase circuit performances to be more of the player he really is.

Siani has a college commitment to Duke, which could be difficult to sign away from. But Siani has a brother, Mike, who was selected in the 4th round last year by the Reds out of high school and was signed away from his college commitment. Especially if he’s an earlier pick than his brother, Sammy would probably be more likely to want to get his professional career started.

There isn’t a great crop of outfielders that are worthy of selections on Day 1. There are three outfielders likely to be selected in the Top 10, and a couple other mid-late first round options such as Corbin Carroll or Kameron Misner. But Misner doesn’t have the big hit tool, which, based on recent history, means the Brewers probably won’t be interested.

If Carroll is still on the board at #28 overall, I would think the Milwaukee Brewers would be running up to the podium to make the selection. Busch is another solid possibility if Carroll is off the board.

The 2019 MLB Draft is just a few short weeks away. It shouldn’t surprise any of us if the Brewers go for another outfielder early on.