Brewers sign intriguing former Yankees first round pick to beef up infield depth

As the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft unfolded, the Milwaukee Brewers had their choice of several high school position players on the board with the 21st overall pick. Ultimately, the Brewers selected shortstop Brice Turang out of Santiago High School in California.

Two picks later, the New York Yankees selected a high school hitter of their own with Anthony Seigler, a switch hitting, switch throwing catcher that could also pitch and had athleticism for days.

Things have worked out pretty well for the Brewers with their selection of Turang. If they had to go back and do that draft over again, they would likely still take the Platinum Glove winner. Seigler, however, was a project that the Yankees were never quite able to put together.

Now the Brewers have both of those 2018 first round picks in their organization as they have signed Seigler to a minor league contract.

Brewers sign former first round pick Anthony Seigler to minor league deal

Coming out of the Draft, scouting reports did say that Seigler could profile as a second baseman and that appears to be the route he's going now. After struggling for years to make it as a catcher, Seigler finally made the transition to the keystone position in 2024 and found some success. He set new career highs in doubles, home runs, and stolen bases for Double-A Somerset.

The report of Seigler's signing did not say whether or not he will receive an invite to Major League spring training in 2025.

This is a low-risk signing for the Brewers, bringing in an athletic infielder who has some experience at different positions and a pretty high pedigree. Perhaps the Brewers can continue to develop his bat into something useful at the major league level. There were certainly positive signs with his performance in 2024 with the increase in power and speed. Seigler also employs a pretty patient approach at the plate, drawing walks and keeping his strikeout totals low.

There's clearly talent that Seigler has that led to him getting picked in the first round in 2018 and the Brewers will take a look to see if they can tap into that first round potential. Second base is pretty well covered by Turang at the major league level, but Seigler can make a jump to Triple-A in 2025 and if something happens with the big league club, perhaps Seigler can make his MLB debut if he continues to play well.