Brewers' bizarre 9th-round-slugger's position change makes no sense (and will probably work)

On Day 2 of the 2026 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers used 12 of their 16 selections on pitchers, which is standard for the organization's recent draft strategy. One of the arms they came away with was ninth-round pick Chase Mora out of Texas State University. Mora spent practically all of his college career as a power-hitting infielder, but he was announced as a right-handed pitcher when his name was called on Day 2 of the draft. And apparently, it wasn't a mistake.

The now-22-year-old Mora had an impressive career at Texas State. He broke Paul Goldschmidt's program record for career home runs earlier this spring, finishing his collegiate career with 42 long balls, which bested Goldschmidt's previous mark of 36. He also racked up 184 RBI in 227 games played and posted a strong slash line of .271/.338/.485 throughout his four seasons at Texas State. Yet, despite his impressive numbers at the plate, Mora was drafted as a pitcher.

On the surface, this looks like a puzzling move as Mora logged a grand total of 1.1 innings throughout his college career, with one full inning coming earlier this year in a blowout game. The kicker, however, is that he touched 98 MPH and was initially recruited as a pitcher by schools like Texas Tech, but opted for Texas State, who was willing to let him be a two-way player.

The Brewers' drafted Texas State legend Chase Mora as a pitcher after he threw just 1.1 innings in college

Mora, a Tomball High School (Texas) product, was reportedly sitting in the low 90s with his fastball in high school, leading to plenty of interest from bigger schools that wanted him to focus just on pitching. Unfortunately, after electing to go to Texas State as a two-way player, Mora underwent Tommy John surgery prior to his freshman season. This caused him to focus his attention on hitting, where he broke out with a 17-home-run freshman campaign that included an eye-popping .316/.382/.653 slash line.

Mora regressed at the plate his sophomore season, hitting just six long balls and posting just a .710 OPS. He hit eight more home runs his junior year before hitting 11 to finish out his college career, but ultimately failed to have the same success that he did initially.

So, is it crazy to think the Brewers drafted Mora with the intention of developing him as a pitcher? At first glance, maybe. But after learning about his background, and considering Milwaukee's well-earned reputation for developing pitchers, the idea becomes much more believable.

The Brewers frequently bet on "athletes" in the MLB Draft, and Mora's versatility certainly lands him in that category. Under the guidance of Milwaukee's excellent player development department, Mora will be a fun name to watch out for as his professional career gets underway.

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