Brewers Rule 5 draft mistake in full view after White Sox's roster decision

The Milwaukee Brewers have an eye for pitching talent. Over the years they have demonstrated this by drafting well, winning trades, and by grabbing players that nobody else wanted and turning them into studs.

Evidence of this is the fact that Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Devin Williams, Abner Uribe, and Jacob Misiorowski were/are all home grown talents. Freddy Peralta, Josh Hader, and Robert Gasser were all brought in via trade. Lastly, former organizations moved on from guys like Trevor Megill, Bryan Hudson, and Jared Koenig.

Despite this track record of successfully identifying and acquiring talent, the organization has let a guy that looks like an absolute stud slip away. To make matters worse, this was very preventable, and Milwaukee should have known better than to allow this to happen.

Milwaukee Brewers Rule 5 draft mistake in full view after Chicago White Sox's roster decision

Back in November, the Brewers elected to add Chad Patrick and Logan Henderson to their 40-man roster. This transaction blocked both from being eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft. Patrick was coming off winning the triple crown in the International League and Henderson had a dynamite year as he punched out 104 batters over 81.1 innings pitched with a 3.32 ERA. Protecting both Patrick and Henderson was justifiable given their potential

However, this left Shane Smith exposed and the White Sox selected him with the first overall pick. The 6'5" righty, who had been throwing 98 MPH since last summer and has been a talk around the league this spring, recently was informed that he made the White Sox Opening Day roster.

If Milwaukee could go back in time, their decision should have been to also protect Smith. Instead they decided to give away what could have been his spot on the 40-man to a Rule 5 pick of their own, Connor Thomas.

Thomas, formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, is a southpaw who has a five pitch mix. He relies on command and is not overpowering. From an intangibles standpoint, Smith has significantly more upside than Thomas, which is something the Brewers knew well before last November's Rule 5 draft.

There is still a lot that needs to play out regarding Thomas and Smith's futures with their current ball clubs, but right not protecting Smith and giving a 40-man roster spot to Thomas looks like a choice Milwaukee will regret.

More Brewers News from Reviewing the Brew