Milwaukee Brewers 2023 Post-Draft Superlatives

Fastest to the Big Leagues - RHP Craig Yoho, 8th round

Following the selection of Cooper Pratt, the Brewers went with four straight 22 and 23 year old college senior pitchers to save enough money in their bonus pool for the high upside prepster.

The Brewers took four college relievers and even though they're mostly money-saving picks, these guys have legit stuff that could help out the big league bullpen quickly. They're polished and experienced

Of the four, I like Craig Yoho to be the first one from this Draft class to reach the big leagues. He has a full four pitch arsenal, dominated this year in the Big Ten, posted excellent K/BB numbers, and has big league stuff.

He'll move quickly through the system as a reliever, and relievers don't need that much development time in the minors compared to starters. Milwaukee's been aggressive with promoting relievers in the past and we could see Yoho fairly soon, although I also like Tate Kuehner and Mark Manfredi. They're both lefties and could be quick movers in the bullpen as well.

Favorite Day 3 Pick - RHP Bishop Letson, 11th round

Day 3 is a difficult one because the Brewers aren't going to end up signing so many of their selections. They went heavy on the high school picks, knowing they wouldn't sign them, because the Brewers only have so many minor league roster spots available and didn't feel the need to sign 21 players.

My favorite of the group ends up being Bishop Letson in the 11th round. He's a talented and athletic arm, and MLB Pipeline had him in their Top 250 Draft prospects, ranked 179th.

Generally, on Day 3 the earlier you pick a high school player, the more likely you feel it is you can sign him. It's not as likely as if they were picked on Day 1 or 2, but a high schooler in the 11th round has a decent chance to sign if the Brewers have enough money left over. They might not, but Letson is a good target if they have some money left.

Head-scratching pick - Josh Knoth, Comp A Round

When looking at the whole picture, most of these picks make a lot of sense. I thought about putting Jason Woodward, the Crew's 4th round pick here, just because he's coming off TJS, is a small school arm, and doesn't really fit as a 4th rounder, but that pick was all about big slot savings for the two high school bats. So I get it, it makes sense.

The one that's unusual for me is Josh Knoth with the 33rd overall pick. Yes, he's talented. Yes, he can throw 98 MPH with a 3,100 RPM curveball. The Brewers picked him because they fell in love with those pitch traits and it's understandable why.

But the high school pitching demographic is so incredibly risky, more often than not it's a bad investment. That's why the Brewers have stayed away from it for the past several years. They haven't taken a Day 1 prep arm since 2017 when they took Caden Lemons 46th overall. Who's Caden Lemons? Exactly. Made 4 appearances in Low-A and that was as far as he got. Kodi Medeiros in 2014 was selected one spot ahead of college shortstop Trea Turner. Yeah, that Trea Turner.

The track record of high school arms is not good, especially ones from the northeast, where Knoth is from. The Brewers making an early investment in a prep arm, likely having to go overslot, for a guy at best you'll see in 2028 or 2029, just is a bit of a head-scratcher when there were other good options on the board.

Don't be shocked that - No outfielders for two years in a row

The Brewers went through this entire Draft without selecting a single outfielder. This is the second draft in a row Milwaukee has avoided adding more outfield depth.

Really though, the Brewers are already so stocked in the outfield that they don't need to. The big league club has the first big wave of outfield prospects at the ready, and Jackson Chourio isn't far behind. Throughout the organization, the outfields are loaded with prospects. The international signees of the last few years are making their way up the system and a lot of them are outfielders. They are supplying the lower levels with the outfield talent now, the Brewers don't need to draft them.

It's been an area of focus for so long, now the Brewers can turn their attention elsewhere in the Draft.

Best value - Cooper Pratt, 6th Round

There's no doubt about this one. Cooper Pratt is a second round talent. He was even mentioned by some mock drafts in the first round, and the Brewers grabbed him in the 6th.

Pratt could very well end up the best player from this Brewers draft class. You don't see that often from sixth round picks. It'll cost way over slot, so they won't be signing him for sixth round money, but just being able to grab him on top of getting the guys they did in the early rounds is excellent surplus value for your Draft class.

3 Words to describe Draft Class - Power, Upside, Change

The Brewers were able to add some things to their farm system that they've been lacking. They added power. Years of targeting hit-over-power players have left the system short on middle of the order bats. They have a lot of top of the order guys, but not many that can hit in the heart of the order and slug homers when you need them.

That also involved addressing the corner infield. Brock Wilken and Mike Boeve are both corner infielders, a position group that has been barren in the farm system for years and led to a revolving door at both third base and first base in Milwaukee. Third round pick Eric Bitonti is also going to be sent out as a third baseman, giving the Brewers three corner infielders in the first three rounds. He has a lot of power as well.

Upside is another word to describe this class. The Brewers targeted high upside players who are a bit riskier, but the reward is potentially greater. Typically, the Brewers have targeted safer picks with perhaps a lower ceiling but a higher floor and greater chances of making the big leagues. Knoth, Bitonti, and Pratt are high upside selections that could one day give the Brewers some All Star appearances.

The final word to describe this class is change. The Brewers made a lot of changes to their MO in this draft. Their philosophy changed. In previous years, the Brewers targeted bat first, up the middle players with high floors. They avoided high school players and risky upside plays. They avoided pure power hitters. This year, they targeted both demographics they've avoided.

As previously stated, the Brewers addressed their top needs in this Draft. In order to do that, they needed to make changes. If they stayed the same, they'd have more shortstops and centerfielders, but no power hitters and no one to take on third base and first base and those two key positions would continue to be black holes in Milwaukee's lineup.

They drafted power, they drafted upside, and they did it because they made a change to their draft philosophy. Time will tell if this change works out.