Milwaukee Brewers 5 Round MLB Mock Draft 1.0

With the MLB Draft upcoming and still no Milwaukee Brewers baseball, we continue to focus on the upcoming MLB Draft with RtB’s first ever MLB Mock Draft.

Instead of a full 40 round draft this year, MLB is going forward with a five round draft, cutting the number of drafted players by more than 87%. It’s terrible for both amateur players and player development pipelines, but it’s the situation we have.

With just five rounds this year, we’re going to take a crack at projecting each Milwaukee Brewers draft pick.

The Brewers have selections at 20, 53, 92, 121, and 151 overall. Originally, the Brewers also held the 64th overall pick, which was in Competitive Balance Round B, but traded that pick to the Mariners in the Omar Narvaez trade.

Keep in mind, the MLB Draft is not a need-based draft. For example, the Brewers need a full-time third baseman now, but that doesn’t mean they should simply draft the best available third baseman. The draft is strictly a “best player available” approach for all organizations. That makes it a little less predictable than the NFL draft simply because each team is going to come to different valuations on players.

Also, the MLB Draft is a crapshoot, and there’s no guarantee that a first round pick is going to be a successful big leaguer. Brewers fans have been all too familiar with that over the last decade or so.

This isn’t a great year to be short on draft picks. The Milwaukee Brewers have the worst rated farm system in baseball and desperately need to stock up on as much talent as possible. Going from 40 rounds to five is not going to help them. Trading away that Competitive Balance pick also won’t do them any favors.

The shortened draft makes it all the more crucial that scouting director Tod Johnson hits on all his picks and gets some quality prospects.

With that, let’s get started on Reviewing the Brew’s Mock Draft 1.0!

With the 20th pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, South Carolina

If you’ve been keeping an eye on our draft prospect profiles, Carmen Mlodzinski‘s name probably rings a bell. A right-handed pitcher out of South Carolina, Mlodzinski is the kind of polished college arm that can really improve a farm system.

Mlodzinski has three plus-pitches – fastball, slider, and changeup – and good control of those pitches as well. He has the prototypical build for a potential frontline starter at 6’2″ and 232 pounds, and is a power pitcher that sits in the mid-90s and can reach back and hit 99 MPH as well.

The Brewers have been short on power pitchers in recent years, instead picking up a lot of soft tossers with deceptive deliveries and creative methods to success. Last year’s first round pick, Ethan Small, was one of these pitchers that filled that mold.

With a strong performance in the Cape Cod League last summer, Mlodzinski vaulted himself into first round consideration. If the 2020 spring season had continued, he could’ve been able to push himself further up draft boards, possibly into the Top 10.

The tools are there for Mlodzinski and there’s a lot to be excited about if you’re the Milwaukee Brewers.

With the way the board is looking this year, right around the No. 19-21 mark it’s expected that a run on college right-handers will begin. The Brewers hold the 20th selection and are in a good spot to get their pick of the litter in this second tier of college pitchers.

As we said in the previous slide, the shortened draft makes it all the more crucial that the Brewers make smart selections. That makes risky selections like high school players a tougher play. Perhaps if a high school player that was projected as a Top 10 guy fell down the board to them, it could be a good value pick, but it’s tough to predict just how much prep players will be devalued in this draft.

If a high school player like Robert Hassell falls down to the Brewers, he could also make sense as a selection, but a polished college arm is a safer pick and that’s the route I have the Brewers going right now.

With the 53rd selection in the MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Kevin Parada, C, Loyola (CA) HS

I know, I know, what did I just say about high school players being risky and needing to make safer selections? But there’s a lot to like about Kevin Parada and he could fall down draft boards a little bit because of the shortened draft and a solid value with the 53rd overall pick.

MLB Pipeline has ranked the Georgia Tech commit as their 48th-best prospect heading into the draft.

In the past, when the Brewers have gone after position players early in the draft they tend to go after players with a strong hit tool and worry about the position later. Take Keston Hiura for example. Hiura had one of the best hit tools in the 2017 draft, but there were worries about his elbow health and ability to even play second base defensively. But the Brewers loved the hit tool and would deal with the defensive issues later, simply wanting to get that bat in their system. That has clearly worked out so far.

Kevin Parada could be in a similar position. He’s an above average hitter with power potential as he matures and develops. MLB Pipeline reports that he gets most of his power from the pull side currently, but should be able to hit the ball to all fields in the future.

Defensively, Parada has some good qualities, including a strong and accurate throwing arm. However, he’s not a guarantee to stick behind the plate moving forward. He has a good chance to do so, but if he can’t or if the Brewers don’t have a catcher spot available for him when he’s ready for the big leagues, he’s athletic enough to move to a different position, likely on the corners.

As most of us have observed over the past few years, the Brewers value versatility among their position players and the fact that Parada won’t simply be stuck as a catcher and can play other positions if need be makes him an attractive option in the second round.

With the 121st pick in the MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Tyler McDonough, OF/2B, North Carolina State

There is a lot to like here with Tyler McDonough. A switch hitter, McDonough is an on-base machine with positional versatility up the middle of the field. That just screams everything an analytics-minded front office like the Brewers would love.

Despite playing catcher in high school, McDonough has successfully transitioned to center field thanks to his speed and good baseball instincts. He also played some second base this year as well before the shutdown. Defensively, McDonough has an active streak of 78 straight games without making an error.

MLB Pipeline ranks McDonough as the No. 151 prospect in this draft class.

McDonough has an above-average hit tool and a career .327/.407/.473 slash line for NC State. He doesn’t possess much power – just eight home runs over 1.5 seasons – but he could add some more as he continues to develop.

Power isn’t going to be a huge part of his game as he profiles more as a leadoff-type hitter, just looking to make contact and put the ball in play than drive the ball. For his college career, McDonough has just a 15.8% strikeout rate.

One scout that MLB Pipeline talked to said that McDonough was a “grinder in the mold of Adam Eaton“. Being called a grinder is certainly a positive in scouting circles and the Brewers wouldn’t be disappointed with finding a guy like Adam Eaton in the fourth round.

McDonough can play multiple positions, he can play up the middle, he’s a switch hitter, he’s fast, and he has an above average hit tool. He looks like a dream selection here in the fourth round.

Especially in this mock draft where the Brewers have not gotten an up-the-middle position player that’s not a catcher to this point, grabbing one here in the fourth would be a great spot. It’s a solid bet that the Brewers will grab at least one, if not two players that play either middle infield or center field. With McDonough, they get a guy that can play both.

With the 151st pick in the MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Christian Chamberlain, LHP, Oregon State

With their final selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Brewers go with another college pitcher, this time a left-hander in Christian Chamberlain from Oregon State.

After spending his first two seasons mostly as a reliever for the Beavers and putting up solid numbers, Chamberlain successfully transitioned to the starting rotation in 2020, posting a 0.82 ERA in his four starts with 34 strikeouts in 22 IP.

In 2018, as a key member of the College World Series championship winning team, Chamberlain struck out 11 hitters in one relief appearance.

A 12-6 curveball is Chamberlain’s best pitch, which he pairs with a low-90s fastball that can occasionally reach the mid-90s. His changeup is average, but the development of that pitch will be key in determining Chamberlain’s long-term future. If he can refine that pitch further, that gives him a solid three pitch mix and a potential future in the rotation. If not, he profiles more as a reliever.

Chamberlain stands at 5’10”, which is shorter than what teams would like their starting pitchers to be, but it’s not impossible to make it at that height. Marcus Stroman is only 5’8″ but he’s been a very successful starter. However, Stroman is more the exception than the rule.

The command could use some more improvement as well, as he walked 11 batters in just 22 IP this spring.

If the Brewers select Chamberlain, it would behoove them to send him out as a starter and determine from there whether he belongs in the rotation or not. With such a successful four game stint in the rotation for Oregon State, there’s reason enough to explore further his viability as a starter.

Even if he can’t stick in the rotation, Chamberlain’s left-handedness provides a big boost to his future potential and gives him better chances of pushing his way to the big league roster. As long as that command can improve, he’s got a future in this league.

This was Reviewing the Brew’s first ever Brewers mock draft. Let us know what you think of the selections and we’ll look to bring you some more as we get closer to the 2020 MLB Draft.