Brewers: New MLB Mock Draft Gives Crew Power Hitting Third Baseman

The 2023 MLB Draft is coming up fast and while we've already dug into some early mock drafts, there's a fresh one out from MLB Pipeline, their first full first round mock of the cycle.

While it's still early and a lot will change between now and the Draft, these early mocks will help get us familiar with who should be available around the time the Brewers will be on the clock.

MLB Pipeline has the Brewers selecting TCU third baseman Brayden Taylor with the 18th overall pick in their first 2023 Mock Draft.

Here's what Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline had to say about this selection for the Brewers.

Scouts wanted to see more pop from Taylor, who has responded by ranking second in the Big 12 Conference with a career-best 14 homers but also has seen his average slip to a career-low .268.

A power hitting third base prospect sounds like exactly what the Brewers could use in their system. They've been lacking a big time corner infield prospect for some time, and it's been somewhat of a revolving door at the hot corner for Milwaukee in recent years.

However, it also sounds like the exact opposite of what the Brewers have historically targeted in the Draft. In recent years, they target athletic, up the middle players with above average hit tools and questions about the power.

Taylor has seen his power tick up in 2023, which is important for a corner infielder, but it's coming at the expense of his batting average and on-base ability. With such questions about the hit tool, there's a strong chance he's not the Brewers selection at 18 overall.

However, that doesn't mean this mock draft is useless. Let's look at some of the other players going around where the Brewers are picking. Maryland SS Matt Shaw at 16 to the Giants is another college bat that plays up the middle and has a good hit tool along with some speed. Stanford SS Tommy Troy was in our first mock draft roundup and he goes to the Cardinals at 21 in this mock. Virginia Tech OF Jack Hurley goes at 23 to the Guardians in this mock and his profile is another that the Brewers tend to like.

There's also a string of high school players, although the Brewers have tended to shy away from that demographic recently. Could they go back to it this year? Potentially.

The 2023 MLB Draft gets started on July 9th and it's in Seattle this year.