Brewers Draft: More Offense With OF Joey Wiemer In The Fourth Round

MLB Draft day 2 continues as we move into the fourth round and the Milwaukee Brewers have made another selection.

After going with toolsy position players in the first three rounds, the Milwaukee Brewers continue that trend, going with University of Cincinnati outfielder Joey Wiemer.

Toolsy outfielders are the name of the game for David Stearns and Tod Johnson.

Joey Wiemer, OF, Cincinnati

Wiemer doesn’t really have a strong track record of offensive success in college. In three years as a Bearcat, Wiemer hit .264/.379/.408 with 25 doubles, 12 homers, and 62 RBIs. Wiemer drew 71 walks over three years with 104 strikeouts as well.

Wiemer has some strong defensive tools, including a 70-grade throwing arm. For a short time, he was also used as a reliever for Cincinnati and he got his fastball up to 98 MPH on the mound. He has an absolute cannon.

He also has above-average speed and defensive ability, allowing him to play any outfield position. Standing at 6’5″ and 215 pounds, Wiemer has a lot of raw power.

The real question for Wiemer is going to be his bat. MLB Pipeline currently has it at a 40-grade tool, which is not good. He’s likely going to have to make some changes to his swing if he’s going to work his way to the big leagues. Wiemer was ranked as the No. 167 prospect in this draft.

In the Cape Cod League last summer, Wiemer hit .271 on the year, but didn’t have much power show up that season.

Wiemer has a huge leg kick to start his swing that has concerned most scouts. He’s working on cutting it down and making it a shorter kick, which should help his timing with pitches and therefore improve his hitting ability. There’s some solid potential here if he can get that hitting ability up.

Some have compared Wiemer to Hunter Pence due to his size, speed, and power ability, but he likely won’t hit quite as well as Pence has.

If he can figure out the swing and the Brewers can make the necessary changes, Wiemer could be a solid outfielder that can play any position on the grass.

The Brewers continue their trend of going with college bats in this Draft, trying to stock a system that’s short on impact bats.

The final round is coming up soon as the Milwaukee Brewers are close to filling out their 2020 Draft class. After that, it’s on to the undrafted free agents.