Milwaukee Brewers 2023 Post-Draft Superlatives

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.