Milwaukee Brewers 5 Round MLB Mock Draft 3.0

With the MLB Draft just a few days away and Brewers baseball still weeks away at best, we continue our focus on the 2020 MLB Draft with our Mock Draft 3.0.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been dropping some Brewers Mock Drafts here at Reviewing the Brew, and we’re following it up with our Mock Draft 3.0 as we close in on the 2020 MLB Draft.

Now remember, 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 one of the worst rated farm systems 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.

Let’s kick off our Brewers Mock Draft 3.0!

With the 20th pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Cade Cavalli, RHP, Oklahoma

Mock 2.0 Pick: Tyler Soderstrom, C

Mock 1.0 Pick: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP

Three mock drafts, three different first round picks. For the Brewers first pick in our mock draft 3.0, we have them going back to the college pitching ranks, selecting Cade Cavalli out of Oklahoma, MLB Pipeline’s No. 22 overall draft prospect.

Cavalli is a part of the cluster of college right-handers that are projected to go starting in the early 20s of the first round. The Brewers find themselves in a good position to start that run on college arms and can grab whichever player they believe is best among that group.

There’s a lot to like about Cavalli, starting with his high upside as a frontline starter. Cavalli sits in the mid-90s with his fastball which has “analytically friendly traits“, with the ability to reach back and hit 98 MPH and has prototypical size at 6’4” and 226 pounds. There’s such little effort in that velocity that it gives him a very strong chance to stick in the rotation moving forward.

His four-pitch mix also includes a power curveball, a wicked slider, and a changeup that has potential.

There are some weaknesses in Cavalli’s game right now, though. His command of the strike zone needs improvement if he’s going to reach his frontline starter upside. Also, he’s dealt with injuries in the past. He had a back injury in high school and then missed a few weeks with a stress reaction in his throwing arm in 2019.

He greatly improved his draft stock this spring in just four starts, striking out 37 hitters in just 23.2 innings and walking only five.

Cavalli was originally a two way player for Oklahoma, playing first base a lot his freshman season. Since he’s turned his full attention to the mound, Cavalli has made great strides.

Because he didn’t turn his full attention to pitching until his sophomore season, he’s not as polished as other college pitchers, but the upside is ridiculously high.

Cavalli reminds me a lot of former Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson. Both are big, tall right handers that have very similar looking mechanics. They both pitch from a three-quarters arm slot, have easy velocity that sits in the mid-90s, and pitch arsenals that are practically the same, although Cavalli has a changeup instead of the sinker that Nelson used.

Both Cavalli and Nelson struggled with command at this stage in their career, and by fixing those command issues, they can be frontline starters. Nelson finally achieved that in 2017, and Cavalli made some progress in 2020, but still has a way to go. Provided Cavalli can stay healthy and keep improving his command, the sky’s the limit for him.

The Brewers could go a number of different ways with this pick, all of which are dependent on how the board falls through the first 19 selections. A high school bat like Pete Crow-Armstrong or Tyler Soderstrom could fall to them and make sense. A high school pitcher like Jared Kelley or Nick Bitsko could fall as well.

With the 92nd pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Casey Schmitt 3B/RHP, San Diego State

Mock 2.0 Pick: Bryce Elder, RHP

Mock 1.0 Pick: Ian Bedell, RHP

Casey Schmitt is MLB Pipeline’s 117th ranked prospect and is a two-way player coming into this draft. Lately, two way players have been a hot trend, and the Brewers currently have one in the system with Clayton Andrews, and they could add another here in the third round with Schmitt.

Schmitt has a better pedigree as a hitter than Andrews and they both profile as relievers on the mound, although they have different styles of pitching. Schmitt stands at 6’2″, 200 pounds while Andrews stands at 5’6″ and 160 pounds.

Let’s talk about Schmitt as a position player. Raw power is his calling card and should play up well at the big league level. He has the power to stick at third base and be an impact player in the middle of the lineup. Obviously, Schmitt also has great arm strength and it profiles as an elite arm for the position.

In three years at San Diego State, Schmitt has a .295/.366/.408 slash line in over 400 at bats. On the mound, Schmitt has a 2.48 ERA in his career over 87 innings in 50 appearances. He’s struck out 78 hitters and walked 29. He’s saved 23 games for the Aztecs in those three seasons.

As a pitcher, Schmitt can hit the mid-90s with his fastball and he pairs it with a really good splitter. He is strictly a reliever at the professional level if his drafting team keeps him on the mound.

There isn’t much clarity on Schmitt’s future home. He could end up strictly a third baseman or he could end up strictly a reliever. Perhaps the team that drafts him will use him as a two-way player all the way up. The Brewers have clearly been open to versatile players and could be willing to send him out as a two-way until they can get a clearer picture of how best to use Schmitt’s immense talent.

With the 121st pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Tyler McDonough, OF/2B, NC State

Mock 2.0 Pick: Luke Little, LHP

Mock 1.0 Pick: Tyler McDonough, OF/2B

I’m going back to another one of my original selections from our Mock Draft 1.0 with Tyler McDonough in the fourth round.

McDonough is Pipeline’s 151st ranked draft prospect and his profile just seems to mesh perfectly with the Brewers organization.

He is a switch hitter with a penchant for getting on base. McDonough’s career .327/.407/.473 slash line is very impressive and he’s drawn 40 walks in his career to 50 strikeouts.

In the 2020 season, through 17 games before baseball was cut short, McDonough was hitting .354/.457/.554 with three homers, 14 walks, and 10 strikeouts.

Defensively, McDonough plays up the middle, providing great speed and defense in center field, including a 78 game streak without making an error. He can also play second base and should have enough arm strength to play other positions if needed.

His hit tool is very exciting, and combined with his speed, McDonough makes for a great top of the order hitter. He doesn’t have much power, but there’s some potential for growth in that area.

McDonough grades out as above average with his hit tool, speed, and defense. He can hit from both sides, he can play multiple positions, he’s a grinder, and a great clubhouse presence. Every organization in the league could use a guy with his profile.

With the shortened draft this year and the desire for safer picks, college guys like McDonough will move up earlier than they likely would’ve been taken.

With the 151st pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers select Matt Mikulski, LHP, Fordham

Mock 2.0 Pick: Tim Tawa, SS

Mock 1.0 Pick: Christian Chamberlain, LHP

If you like interesting pitching deliveries, you will like Matt Mikulski. There is a lot of effort in his delivery, but it also provides a lot of deception to opposing hitters.

Mikulski is MLB Pipeline’s 199th ranked draft prospect. Because of the effort in his delivery, scouts don’t think Mikulski will be able to stay in the rotation long-term, but he should have high upside as a lefty reliever.

While pitching in the rotation for Fordham this year, Mikulski made four starts covering 21 innings with a stellar 1.29 ERA. In his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Mikulski had higher ERA numbers and a lot of walks. He’s given up over four walks per nine innings for Fordham.

Last summer in the Cape Cod league, Mikulski made five appearances and four starts, covering 19.1 IP with a 1.86 ERA and 26 strikeouts for the Brewster Whitecaps.

Mikulski can mix three pitches, with a low-90s fastball and a wipeout slider. His fastball can reach the mid 90s in shorter stints, however. He also has a changeup that’s below average but still effective. If he moves to the bullpen long term, he’d likely drop the changeup from his arsenal.

If he’s going to stick in the rotation moving forward, Mikulski will have to fix his control problem and develop that changeup a little more. It’s likely that the Brewers would at least send Mikulski out as a starter and give him a chance to remain a starter. If they see that he won’t be able to stick, he could move to the bullpen and be fast-tracked to the big leagues.

The Brewers stocked up on lefty pitching last year and could look to add another southpaw to their system this year. College lefties are always in demand and getting a guy like Mikulski here in the fifth would be a solid end to the shortened draft this year.

Over the past few years, the Brewers have shown to favor crafty, lefty pitchers with deceptive deliveries. Brent Suter, Josh Hader, Aaron Ashby, and Ethan Small are all lefties that have a deceptive delivery as a main key to their success. Mikulski could be the latest in that line.

We’re just a few days away from the 2020 MLB Draft. It’s going to be very interesting to watch it go down and see how the Milwaukee Brewers strategize their selections.