Brewers' first-round pick's dream start in High-A further validates 2024 draft strategy

When the Milwaukee Brewers selected outfielder Braylon Payne with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the decision was met with some criticism. Payne was one of the youngest players available in the draft class, but he was not viewed as a consensus first-round talent by many evaluators. Still, Milwaukee believed in the upside and selected him while also creating more than $1 million in bonus pool savings as a result of the pick.

Those savings later allowed the Brewers to select Bryce Meccage with an overslot bonus in the second round at No. 57 overall. Milwaukee also attempted a similar strategy with Competitive Balance Round B pick Chris Levonas at No. 67 overall, though that signing ultimately did not come together.

Still, the aggressiveness and vision behind the strategy were evident, and it was all made possible by Milwaukee’s belief in Payne as a legitimate first-round talent when many others were not as high on him. Now the Brewers are beginning to see that confidence rewarded, as Payne is off to an impressive season at High-A.

Braylon Payne is showing why the Brewers selected him in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft

After an okay showing in Low-A last season, his first full professional campaign in which he posted a .240/.354/.382 slash line, Payne has taken a major step forward during his first taste of High-A competition this year. Through the early part of the season, he has erupted for a .260/.368/.569 slash line while already setting a new career high with 10 home runs and sitting just one double shy of matching last year’s total of nine.

Earlier this month, Payne’s power was on full display when he went on a three-game home run streak, launching four total long balls and recording his first career multi-homer game as a professional. The surge in power from the 19-year-old has been a welcome and encouraging development.

Taken together, Payne’s early High-A production suggests Milwaukee may have another talented teenage prospect who could potentially move through their minor league ranks at an accelerated pace. Whether or not he joins teenager Jesús Made in Double-A or not remains to be seen, but either way, the growth Payne has shown this year is hard to ignore and shows promise that the Brewers may have found another cornerstone outfielder in years to come following a previously criticized 2024 MLB Draft strategy.

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