The Milwaukee Brewers made three selections on Day 1 of the 2022 MLB Draft: SS Eric Brown, RHP Jacob Misiorowski, and SS Robert Moore.
The position players stand out more for their high floors as prospects rather than high ceilings. As we enter Day 2 of the Draft, with the savings in bonus pool money the Brewers likely have with those selections, they should be targeting some high ceiling, high upside players in these later rounds.
Here are three high upside draft prospects for the Brewers to target on Day 2 of the 2022 MLB Draft.
High Upside Target #1: RHP Jaden Noot, Sierra Canyon (CA) HS
There is a yearly showcase series in August called the Area Code Games. The Brewers are one of the eight organizations that have a showcase team put together with prospects from similar area codes. The section of the country the Brewers are assigned is Southern California and Hawaii.
These teams are coached and managed by Brewers scouts and scouting supervisors. They get to see these players up close, get to know them, and build a relationship with them.
A number of players the Brewers have targeted either in the draft or in trades have been because of the Area Code Games. Christian Yelich, Mike Moustakas, Tim Lopes, Garrett Mitchell, and others have all been on this team.
Jaden Noot was on the Brewers Area Code roster last season and had a standout performance. He could be a guy they target in the later rounds.
Noot is a big kid, standing at 6’3″ and 235 pounds, he’s mostly filled out and some have compared him to Lance Lynn. He’s got big velocity and a great ability to put spin on the baseball. He’s a good athlete, and his delivery is easy with that velocity. Those are all traits the Brewers historically love.
He’s got a starter’s frame and arsenal, and if the Brewers are able to sharpen his secondary stuff in the pitching lab, he’s got tremendous upside.
With the likely underslot picks of Brown and Moore, the Brewers could be saving money to target Noot here in the later rounds. Keep an eye on him.
High Upside Target #2: RHP Kassius Thomas, Sierra Canyon (CA) HS
Yes, both Jaden Noot and Kassius Thomas go to the same high school and were on the same team. Guess what else? They were both teammates on the Brewers Area Code team last year as well.
Thomas is the more athletic of the two pitchers, standing at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, which could lean the Brewers more in his direction due to their love of athleticism. He can reach 95 MPH with the fastball and there’s likely more in the tank the Brewers, or whatever team that drafts him, could tap into.
He has four pitches in his arsenal and may need to sharpen his secondary stuff a bit more, but that’s something the Brewers have shown an ability to do in the past. His command also made big jumps this year, and that’s another reason to have an up arrow next to this kid’s name.
High Upside Target #3: SS Aiva Arquette, St. Louis (HI) HS
Another high school target, another Brewers Area Coder. Sensing a theme perhaps? With the front office’s known love of high level athletes, and their already strong connection to Arquette who performed well at the Area Code Games last year, he makes a lot of sense as a target for Milwaukee on Day 2.
Arquette is a multi-sport athlete, as the 6-foot-4 shortstop is also a standout basketball player in high school. He’s added muscle to his frame and has plenty of raw power to tap into. Arquette should be able to hit enough to make use of that power, but he’s a bit more of a project at the plate. As a high school bat that’s not entirely surprising.
Because of his size and raw power, most see a move to third base in the future for Arquette, the question is simply will he be able to hit enough. If he does, there is huge upside in his profile.
The Brewers appear to be saving money to sign somebody. They did this last year for Roc Riggio but didn’t end up signing him. Could they be eyeing one of these players this year and get them to put pen to paper?