Brewers Go Offense Again By Selecting C Zavier Warren in the Third Round

The 2020 MLB Draft rolls on as the Milwaukee Brewers have taken their pick in the third round, the 92nd player taken overall.

The Brewers decided to go offense with their first two picks of the 2020 MLB Draft, even with many draft prognosticators predicting that they might heavily target college pitching.

That trend continued into the third round, with Milwaukee adding some more depth to a position of need.

Zavier Warren, C, Central Michigan

Warren put together just over two solid seasons at the University of Central Michigan, slashing .328/.457/.451 for his college career. He really broke out his sophomore year when he got on base at a sizzling .502 clip, had an OPS of 1.079, drove in 70 and scored 73 runs, all in 61 games.

He continued to impress and build his profile when he played for the Cape Cod League last year as he slashed .315/.396/.443 and compiled a .839 OPS.

Warren comes with a 55-grade hit tool per MLB Pipeline and is a solid line-drive hitter more than a power hitter (he has 40-grade power and hit just nine homers in college). He is a switch-hitter as well, which teams always covet, and is said to hit equally well from both sides of the plate.

Warren was listed as the No. 106 player on MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 draft prospects, just below the team’s second-round pick, Freddy Zamora.  And like Zamora, he primarily played shortstop in college.

However, unlike Zamora, Warren was not announced as a shortstop when his name was called. It appears that the Brewers intend to develop him as a catcher, as that was announced at the time he was drafted.

This is initially surprising considering he almost entirely played shortstop in college and actually jumped to third base in his stint in the Cape Cod League. However, he was a catcher in high school and played a handful of games there at Central Michigan, which makes the decision make more sense.

The Brewers aren’t completely devoid of talent at the catcher position within the organization. They just traded for Omar Narvaez last offseason and have players like Mario Feliciano and Payton Henry making their way up their Top 30 list at MLB Pipeline. They also drafted Nick Kahle and Thomas Dillard in the top five rounds last year, though Dillard has primarily played first base and outfield since being drafted.

The Brewers could have chosen play Warren at shortstop or third base, areas where they could also use more depth as an organization. Still, good catching talent is hard to find and the team must feel as though he has a good chance to develop into a solid player at the position.

Three picks are in the books for the Brewers and two more remain. Continue checking in with us tonight for more Brewers draft coverage!