Brewers: New 2021 MLB Mock Draft Gives Crew Slugging Outfielder

It may be a little early for Mock Draft season, but some have been popping up and the Brewers have the 15th pick.

Who doesn’t love a good mock draft seven months before the actual event? The Brewers will have two top-35 picks in the 2021 MLB Draft with a very loaded draft class. Who might they select with those picks?

The guys at Baseball Prospect Journal have posted their first 2021 Mock Draft and it goes through Competitive Balance Round A.

With the 15th overall pick, the Brewers select…

Ethan Wilson, OF, South Alabama

The Brewers grab another outfielder! What a surprise!

Ethan Wilson is known for his loud bat as a power-hitting, left-handed swinging outfielder. He has an advanced approach at the plate and can draw walks well while finding the barrel and getting base hits.

MLB Pipeline has Wilson ranked as their No. 23 Draft Prospect heading into 2021, but that could change depending on how the spring season shakes out.

Defensively, it sounds like Wilson doesn’t have a great throwing arm and will be limited to left field as a pro, which is a spot currently occupied by Christian Yelich, another left-handed power hitter.

In the past, the Brewers have not worried about defensive positioning. They draft the bat, the offensive potential, and figure out the long-term defensive home later. They’ve done that with Keston Hiura, Thomas Dillard, Zavier Warren, and others. If the Brewers pick Ethan Wilson at 15 overall, he would fall into that same category.

The Brewers need more power hitters in their farm system and Ethan Wilson fits that mold.

Because of his throwing arm and lack of speed, perhaps a move to first base could be in his future? If he’s the pick and given how strong the Brewers crop of outfield prospects is, that might be his long-term home.

What the Brewers could really use is more power hitting corner infielders, but you don’t draft specifically for need in the MLB Draft and besides, there aren’t really any corner infielders that are likely to be worth taking at 15 overall right now unless Alex Binelas falls that far. He could fall that far, depending on how his spring season goes, but Baseball Prospect Journal has Binelas going 8th overall in their Mock 1.0.

With the 32nd overall pick, the Brewers select…

Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami (Ohio)

How would you like a pitcher that throws 100 MPH with movement? I would love one, and that’s exactly what describes Sam Bachman.

Bachman has three pitches that all are above-average, starting with his plus-plus fastball. He also has a plus slider and flashes an above-average changeup, per MLB Pipeline, who has him ranked 29th on their list.

If his command continues to show improvement once the spring season starts, Bachman is going to be trending upward. His value will increase if he proves he can remain a starter going forward, but even if he can’t, his fastball-slider combination should play extremely well out of the bullpen.

A lot will happen between now and the 2021 Draft, which will take place in July next year instead of June. Will these actually be the players the Brewers select next year? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.