Brewers shaping up to have loaded 2025 MLB Draft with Adames compensation pick

The Milwaukee Brewers made their peace long ago that Willy Adames would not be in their long-term plans. They engaged in extension talks that never gained traction and had opportunities to trade him to recoup some near-MLB value. Instead, they held on, knowing he would ultimately leave, and they would only recoup a 2025 Draft pick.

However, that Draft pick is looming quite large for the Brewers as the 2025 MLB Draft order is about to take clearer shape. The MLB Draft Lottery will take place on Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings, which will determine the order for the first 18 selections. There's nothing that can happen with the ping pong balls in that lottery that will impact the Brewers.

Milwaukee is locked into the 20th overall pick for their first round selection. Also, they recently were awarded the first pick in Competitive Balance Round A for being a small market club. But now that Adames has rejected the qualifying offer the Brewers gave him and signed with the San Francisco Giants for $182 million, Milwaukee gets another pick.

Brewers in line to have five selections on first day of 2025 MLB Draft

The compensatory pick for Adames will fall between the end of Round 1 and the start of Competitive Balance Round A, despite some confusion over comp picks coming after the CB-A round this year.

That should give the Brewers three picks in the first 33 selections, as Joe Doyle of Future Stars Series runs down here.

The Brewers would have three of their picks in a 13 pick stretch, allowing them a lot of flexibility in the players they want to target, not to mention extra money to use on their entire class. But that's not all for the Brewers in the first day of the 2025 Draft.

They also have their second round selection and they will have the 68th overall selection as compensation for not signing CB-B pick Chris Levonas in the 2024 Draft. That means the Brewers will have a whopping five selections in the first 68 picks, all on the first day of the Draft.

Now there's still a chance the Brewers' Competitive Balance A pick could move closer. Those three picks from 30-32 for the Orioles and Diamondbacks are projected compensation picks for free agents Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander, and Christian Walker. If any of those three free agents sign back with their previous club or sign for less than $50MM, then there would not be compensation picks in the early 30s for them.

That would move the Brewers pick at the start of Competitive Balance A up from these projections. Santander it appears is going to find a new team and the Orioles have already moved on from him, signing Tyler O'Neill, but there's a shot Burnes returns to Baltimore and Walker could return to Arizona.

No matter how that final order plays out, the Brewers are going to end up with five selections in the first day of the 2025 Draft, loading them up with tons of bonus pool money to spend and early picks to bring in lots of blue chip talent.

Last year, the Brewers had four picks on the first night of the MLB Draft. The year before they had just three. A lot of teams have just two picks on night one. The fact the Brewers will have five is absurd and rarely seen. Milwaukee's scouting department will be looking to take advantage of their rare opportunity to sign five day one selections next year.