Milwaukee Brewers 5 Round MLB Mock Draft 2.0

With the 20th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Tyler Soderstrom, C, Turlock (CA) HS

Previous selection: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, South Carolina

This is a change from last week’s mock draft where we went with Carmen Mlodzinski, the college right hander from South Carolina. In this version, it’s the high school catcher Tyler Soderstrom from Turlock, California.

Soderstrom is a bat-first catcher that hits from the left side. He’s more of a hit-over-power kind of guy with a very strong 60-grade hit tool. For comparison’s sake, that’s the same hit tool grade that Keston Hiura had on him heading into the 2017 draft. As we all know, that man can hit.

Soderstrom is a polished hitter for his age and he has some solid raw power that he can grow into as he matures. At just 18 years old, Soderstrom has plenty of development left to go.

As far as speed goes, Soderstrom has elite level speed…for a catcher. He’s got above-average speed in general, but catchers are traditionally slow. That speed should help him in case he needs to move to a different position, which is entirely possible.

Like I said, Soderstrom is a bat-first catcher, and his defense is considered sub-par behind the dish. He has a very strong throwing arm, but in terms of framing, game calling, and blocking, he doesn’t stack up very well. That is going to have to improve and the Brewers are going to have to give him the time to improve those skills.

However, his bat could advance him to the big leagues far quicker than his glove would. If his bat proves to be close to big league ready far before his catching skills are, there’s a good chance the Brewers would have to move him off the position. Third base or the corner outfield are possible landing spots for Soderstrom. Positional versatility has been key for the Brewers in the draft over the years.

Over the past few years, the Brewers have shown to be willing to draft the bat first, and worry about the player’s defense later. If they were to follow that strategy again in 2020, Soderstrom makes sense as the selection.

With the 53rd selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Clayton Beeter, RHP, Texas Tech

Previous Selection: Kevin Parada, C, Loyola (CA) HS

With the Brewers going for a high upside bat in the first round, we have them following that up with a college pitcher in

Clayton Beeter

out of

Texas Tech

. MLB Pipeline has Beeter as the

No. 51 ranked

prospect in the draft.

Although he’s a college arm, Beeter is hardly a safe pick. At just 21 years of age, Beeter has already had two elbow surgeries and has only spent four weeks in the starting rotation. He missed his freshman year due to Tommy John surgery, then was a reliever in 2019, working in 21 games with a 3.48 ERA and eight saves.

In 2020, Beeter made four starts for the Red Raiders, posting a 2.14 ERA with 33 strikeouts and four walks in just 21 IP of work. In his final start before the shutdown, Beeter dominated Rice University, going six innings without allowing an earned run and striking out 12 with zero walks.

What Beeter lacks in track record, he makes up for in traits and potential. He possesses three plus-pitches, all graded at 60 or above on the 20-80 scale. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and can hit 98 MPH at times. Beeter also has a nasty curveball and a power slider that are excellent out pitches. He also has an average changeup as a fourth pitch to use on occasion.

Another trend the Brewers have shown in recent years when it comes to the draft and targeting pitchers in general, is that they go after guys that have deceptive deliveries and are somewhat unconventional pitchers. Beeter has an over-the-top delivery that makes it extremely difficult to see the baseball for hitters.

Guys like Brent Suter, Josh Hader, Aaron Ashby, and Ethan Small have unconventional, deceptive deliveries that are crucial to their success. The same goes for Beeter, and that could make him an attractive option for the Brewers in the second round with the 53rd pick.

There’s a lot of risk in taking a starting pitcher who only threw 41.2 IP in his college career, and spent just one half of a season as a starter. But the traits are there, and the Brewers will have to decide if the upside is worth the risk if Beeter is still on the board at No. 53.

With the 92nd pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Bryce Elder, RHP, Texas

Previous Selection: Ian Bedell, RHP, Missouri

We have the Brewers sticking with a college right hander in the third round, but changing the pick to

Bryce Elder

out of the University of Texas.

In four starts for the Longhorns in 2020, all of them were quality starts, going at least six innings giving up three runs or less. His best start came against Boise State, where he went seven innings, with just three hits allowed, no runs, and 11 strikeouts. Elder has been the Longhorns’ Friday night starter the past two seasons.

In 2019, Elder had a 2.93 ERA over 13 starts with 86 strikeouts in 83 IP. In 2020, Elder had a 2.08 ERA in his four starts.

Elder is MLB Pipeline’s 110th rated prospect coming into the draft. Standing at 6’2″ and 220 pounds, Elder has good size but doesn’t have overpowering velocity. He sits in the low-90s with a sinking fastball and pairs that with a nasty slider.

He also has a plus-curveball and a changeup that he mixes in as well, giving him a four pitch repertoire with solid command.

Here’s some of what MLB Pipeline had to say about Elder:

He has feel for manipulating the spin on his pitches…Elder provides strikes with all four pitches and they tunnel well together, allowing the sum of his repertoire to play better than its individual parts. He has a strong 6-foot-2 frame and repeats his delivery well, giving him the durability to remain in the rotation. Scouts love his mound presence, which adds to his chances of becoming a No. 4 or 5 starter.

Elder doesn’t have stand out for his individual pitches, but with the way he mixes those pitches, manipulates spin, and works the strike zone, it helps his stuff play up. His pitchability gives him a very high floor.

The Brewers tend to like players who are already familiar with analytics and by manipulating the spin on pitches and mixing his pitches indicates that Elder has a high baseball IQ and is very analytics-friendly.

With the 121st pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Luke Little, LHP, San Jacinto JC

Previous Selection: Tyler McDonough, OF/2B, NC State

Luke Little has gotten some recent attention of late after a viral video with Pitching Ninja of Little throwing a 105 MPH fastball. His stock has been trending upward of late and he’s firmly in the top five rounds.

Little is anything but little, standing at 6’8″ and 225 pounds. With his size and 70-grade fastball that hits triple digits, Little is what you would call an “imposing presence” on the mound.

Let’s talk about his fastball a little more. While his 105 MPH pitch is impressive, when he starts, he sits more in the 93-96 MPH range, and can reach it up there in short spurts, but he can’t maintain that velocity over a long outing. That itself could lead to Little’s future being in the bullpen rather than the rotation.

Along with that, Little a couple of solid secondary pitches that can be promising, but aren’t fully refined. His slider is best secondary pitch, followed by a curveball and changeup. He has the number of pitches necessary to be a starting pitcher, but unless two of them develop into more reliable offerings, it’s going to be tough to stick there. Also, his command is sub-par at the moment and will need improvement.

Little has the best fastball in this draft, and the fact that he’s left handed gives him added value. He’s committed to go to South Carolina next year if he doesn’t sign, but the 19 year old stands a very good chance of signing if he gets drafted. If he falls out of the five round draft, it’s unlikely he would sign as an undrafted free agent for no more than $20k.

If Little is there in the 4th round, he’d be a very attractive option for the Brewers who can add a tall lefty with a big fastball who could be the next Aroldis Chapman if he can refine his command. As a reliever, he could move fairly quickly through the minor league system.

With the 151st pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Tim Tawa, SS/OF, Stanford

Previous Selection: Christian Chamberlain, LHP, Oregon State

To this point in our Mock Draft 2.0, the Milwaukee Brewers have only selected one position player, a catcher, and that was back in the first round. After going with college pitchers in the previous three rounds, they’ll go back to a position player with Tim Tawa out of Stanford University.

With a shortened draft, the Brewers will not be able to draft players at every single position in the field like they could in a normal 40 round draft. So instead, here in the fifth round, they will draft a player who can play every single position. Tim Tawa is a jack of all trades position player.

By trade, Tawa is a shortstop and a centerfielder, but with his speed and arm strength, he can play basically any position defensively. Fangraphs has Tawa ranked as the No. 160 prospect on their big board.

It’s pretty well known by now that the Brewers place a high value on positional versatility, and that’s the key strength for Tawa.

Offensively, Tawa has struggled recently, going back to summer 2019. In the Cape Cod league last summer, Tawa hit just .221 over 26 games for the Falmouth Commodores. Then in the spring 2020 season, Tawa had a .213 batting average in 16 games with a sub-.300 OBP and SLG.

For his entire college career, Tawa has a .267/.307/.435 slash line with 16 home runs and 16 stolen bases over three seasons.

He was an All-Pac 12 player his freshman year, when he hit .296 with seven home runs, 41 RBIs, and a team high 18 doubles that year.

For whatever reason, Tawa’s offensive numbers have tumbled as he has gotten older, which obviously isn’t a great trend. In all likelihood, Tawa won’t be a big league starter at any one given position, but he could work his way to the big leagues as a utility option off the bench and his ceiling is probably close to that of Hernan Perez.

In high school, Tawa was also a standout football player, starring as the quarterback for his high school in West Linn, Oregon and winning the Gatorade Player of the Year award for the state three times!

Tawa’s athleticism and positional versatility gives him a higher floor, but he still has a limited ceiling. If his bat can turn around in pro ball and he can start getting on base more often, he can work his way up the big leagues.

Just like our Mock Draft 1.0, we have the Brewers selecting three pitchers and two position players with their five picks. Let us know what you think of the picks if any draft prospects stand out in your eye.