Brewers: Complete grades of their 2021 MLB Draft Class

Round 15 (447): Hunter Hollan, LHP, San Jacinto JC

Round 16 (477): Kaylan Nicasia, SS, Champagnat Catholic (FL) HS

Round 17 (507): Will Rogers, C, Mounds View (MN) HS

Round 18 (537): Ryne Moore, RHP, Old Dominion

Round 19 (567): Carter Holton, LHP, Benedictine Military School (GA)

Round 20 (597): Samuel Mendez, RHP, Cisco JC

There’s quite the mix of talent here at the end of the draft. Hunter Hollan made 16 starts for San Jacinto this year, posting a 3.08 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 73 IP. The Brewers have had a lot of success with JUCO talents in recent years and there’s a strong foundation to work with here.

Kaylan Nicasia, according to his latest Perfect Game showcase report, is a very strong defender at shortstop and projects to stick there going forward, but can also play some outfield. Nicasia is a switch hitter, but is more comfortable from the right side.

He has a good frame, and could fill out a little more and has a lot of projection remaining.

Nicasia is from Curacao, where his grandfather runs a baseball program. He moved to Florida for his senior year to get drafted and it doesn’t seem like he has a college commitment to fall back on either. This could be a likely sign for the Brewers.

Will Rogers performed well at the Draft combine, but is raw as a catching prospect and as a hitter. He has a strong commitment to Arizona State and is likely to head there. Would be an interesting sign, and might only happen if they have leftover money if Riggio chooses not to sign.

Ryne Moore is a college senior from Old Dominion. He had a good year, posting a 3.16 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 85.1 IP. He could move quickly through the system if he continues to put up good numbers but is a likely reliever going forward.

Carter Holton is another Top 200 draft prospect the Brewers selected on the final day of the Draft. He will not sign. Holton tweeted on Monday, after the 10th round came to a close that he was following through on his college commitment to Vanderbilt. This was more of a ‘courtesy/get to know you/hey we like you’ selection.

Samuel Mendez is the oldest drafted player in the history of the MLB Draft. He’s 28 years old and a freshman at Cisco JC in Texas. He throws in the mid-90s, has a tall and wiry frame, and could move quickly through the system as a reliever if his stuff plays. The Brewers get relievers out of seemingly nowhere and Mendez could be another one.

Moore and Mendez are the guaranteed signs in this group. Hollan also is likely to sign and Nicasia sure seems likely to. Rogers and Holton probably won’t join the Brewers but there’s some good upside in this group. They can never have enough pitching and Nicasia has potential in the middle of the field.

Grade(s): B+

Overall Draft Grade: A-

The Brewers added some high upside pitchers with little polish, depending on the player development system to turn them into valuable assets. They also brought in some polished hitters at the top with strong contact skills and some power bats. Milwaukee also chased some upside later on, rounding out a pretty solid draft.

This Draft will look fantastic if they’re able to sign Riggio from the 11th round, if not, it’s still solid. We’ll see how these initial draft grades look a few years down the road, however.