The 2025 MLB Draft is set to begin on Sunday, July 13, at 5:00 p.m. CT. Rounds 1-3, including the bonus rounds, will occur on Sunday night, with rounds 4-20 set to begin on the following day, Monday, July 14, at 10:30 a.m. CT. The Milwaukee Brewers will make five selections on day one, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles, who have six picks on Sunday night.
In a sport where only certain picks can be traded, you might be wondering how there is so much discrepancy in the number of selections that each team makes. To answer that, let’s take a look at which selections the Brewers will have in the draft this year and how they acquired each pick.
First Round (Pick No. 20)
The Brewers own the 20th overall selection in the first round of Sunday's draft. Normal round draft picks, like the one that the Brewers hold in round one, can't be traded amongst teams, so you can guarantee that the Brewers will be making a selection 20 picks into this year’s draft.
Up until their selection of Braylon Payne in last year’s draft, the Brewers had taken a college player in each of the last five years, with their last first-round high schooler coming in 2018 when they took Brice Turang with the 21st overall pick. In four straight drafts, from 2020-2023, the Crew took a college bat with their first overall selection.
Reviewing the Brew's Sam Phalen wrote about the parity in this year’s draft class back in early May, with many of the projected mid-first round picks struggling to separate themselves from the pack. As such, the Brewers should be well-positioned at pick 20 to potentially walk away with a higher-tier talent.
Compensation Pick (Pick No. 32)
Following the first round is a series of partial compensatory rounds, with the picks being handed out for teams meeting different incentives such as promoting their prospects early and having them have success, extending qualifying offers to would-be free agents, and finishing with a strong record as a small-market team.
The Brewers will make the 32nd selection in this year's draft after they extended a qualifying offer to Willy Adames, he rejected it, and subsequently signed a free agent contract worth more than $50 million.
Additionally, the Brewers did have the 33rd overall pick (in the Competitive Balance Round A), but since compensatory round picks are tradable, and the organization already had plenty of draft capital this season, Matt Arnold and company used the pick as part of the trade package to acquire Quinn Priester, a deal that is looking really good as time goes on.
Second Round (Pick No. 59)
The Brewers will make their regular second-round selection with the 59th overall pick. Several teams, including the Red Sox, Yankees, and Giants, forfeited their second-round picks by signing free agents who had received qualifying offers, allowing the Brewers to move up to the 6th pick in round two.
A season ago, the Brewers used their two picks in the 50-70 range to select two high school pitchers, Bryce Meccage and Chris Levonas. However, Levonas elected to attend Wake Forest rather than sign with the Brewers, which leads us to the team's next pick.
Competitive Balance Round B (Pick No. 68)
The Brewers will make a selection in another compensatory round that occurs after the second round, known as the Competitive Balance Round B. The Brewers were awarded the pick after their second-round selection in 2024, Levonas, went unsigned.
Third Round (Pick No. 94)
The Brewers' fifth and final day one pick will come as regularly scheduled in round three with the 94th overall pick. Having five of the first 100 picks should give the Brewers' front office an excellent opportunity to add some more intriguing talent to their farm system.
Remaining Rounds
Rounds 4-20 will proceed as scheduled, with the Brewers making one selection in each round for a total of 17 picks on day two of the draft. In 2024, Milwaukee leaned heavily into the pitching prospect pool, with each of their selections from round five through round 13 being pitchers. The front office has shown a knack for finding exceptional talent in the latter rounds of the draft, so just because a player isn't picked on day one, doesn't mean they won't impact the big league club in the foreseeable future.