Brewers sign LHP Jason Munsch as undrafted free agent

The 2020 MLB Draft has concluded and the signing period for undrafted free agents is under way. The Milwaukee Brewers are getting in on the action by adding left handed pitcher Jason Munsch out of Concordia University (Nebraska).

While the Brewers did not select any pitchers in the shortened 5 round MLB draft this year, Jason Munsch is the second undrafted free agent pitcher to sign with the club.  The first to sign was RHP T.J. Shook out of South Carolina.

Munsch was a 4 year starter while at Concordia University.  While pitching in the NAIA, Munsch found immediate success. As a freshman, he became a top of the rotation starter and limited opposing hitters to a .193 batting average over 55 innings.  He started in the program’s first ever national tournament appearance that year and went seven strong innings.

Jason’s sophomore season was not as successful.  Logging 7 starts, he posted a 4.91 ERA in 36.2 innings.  However, junior year was a big bounce back season.  Serving as the teams top starter Munsch pitched 66 innings (11 starts), recorded a 2.44 ERA, and had 106 strikeouts.

His performance in the brief 2020 season was the most impressive.  In 26 innings, Munsch allowed 0 earned runs and recorded 59 strikeouts.  That’s good enough for a 20.4 strikeouts per nine innings!

He had two incredible games in his senior season as well.  On March 7th, he set a school record 20 strikeouts and on March 13th he pitched a seven inning no-hitter that included 16 strikeouts!

As for his stuff, Munsch’s fastball typically sits in the 90-92 MPH range and tops out at 94.  He mixes in a high 70s to low 80s slider and a low 80s splitter to keep hitters off balance.

Had the MLB draft been the full 40 rounds, Munsch said in an interview that he was projected to be drafted as high as the 20th round.  Had he been drafted, he would have become the first player drafted in Concordia University’s (Nebraska) program history.

The Brewers have now signed three players in the undrafted free agent signing period.  Joining LHP Jason Munsch is previously mentioned RHP T.J. Shook and infielder Drew Smith.

The undrafted free agent signing period presents a great opportunity for the Brewers to add talent to their minor league farm system at a cheaper cost than normal years.  Getting players to go professionally rather than attend college for one more season may be a challenge given the much smaller than normal signing bonus, so it will be interesting to see how many players the Brewers will sign.

A undrafted free agent signing tracker can be found on MLB.com and Baseball America in order to stay up to date on the signings.