Milwaukee Brewers 2023 Post-Draft Superlatives

The 2023 MLB Draft is done and the Milwaukee Brewers made their 21 selections even though they don't plan to sign all 21 of them.

The Brewers addressed some of their biggest needs early on, adding power hitting and corner infield talent. They also went heavy on pitching, adding some high upside arms and some high floor arms that could move up the system quickly.

Just like we did with our pre-draft superlatives, we'll take a closer look at this year's Brewers draft class with some post-draft superlatives to help describe this year's class.

Biggest surprise - Just 2 college hitters

For years, the Brewers have stocked up on college bats. They love college hitters, especially up the middle ones. It was presumed they'd stock up on more of them this year. It seemed that was going to be the case on Day 1, when they started with the selection of Wake Forest's Brock Wilken and Nebraska-Omaha's Mike Boeve.

But then the Brewers didn't select a college position player the rest of the way. None on Day 2 and none on Day 3. For comparison, the Brewers drafted 7 college position players in each of the past two drafts. This year, that number drops down to just 2. It's quite a drop, and reflects a seeming change in draft philosophy in Milwaukee.

The Brewers are pretty well stocked on hitting because they've targeted so many college position players the last few years, so it does make some sense to not need as many. Still, it's surprising that it's only two college bats and didn't take a single flier on one later on in the draft.

Favorite pick - SS Cooper Pratt, 6th round

This was the pick that made the class for me. Most were thinking Cooper Pratt was heading to school when he was still on the board as the 6th round got started, but the Milwaukee Brewers had built a strong relationship with Pratt and ultimately felt they could sign him and snatched him up with the 182nd overall pick. Spoiler alert, Pratt is better than the 182nd best talent in this draft.

The selection of Pratt makes so many of the other picks make sense. The Brewers went heavy underslot in the 4th round with an off the radar Jason Woodward pick. The Day 1 guys, college hitters Wilken and Boeve also seemed like they could be underslot picks. Were they saving all that money for Josh Knoth in the Comp A round and Eric Bitonti in the 3rd? It didn't seem like they needed to save that much, there had to be someone else they were targeting. Turns out, it was Pratt.

Pratt could very well end up as the best big league player from this Brewers draft class. He has the best bat to ball skills and strike zone discipline of any high school player in this class. He's big at 6-foot-4 and strong, with solid power presently and room for a lot more as he grows into his frame and matures.

He can stick at shortstop and has high upside and star potential at the shortstop position with defense, hitting for average and for power. I know we've said this about Brice Turang and Eric Brown, but Pratt could be better than both of them and be Milwaukee's shortstop of the future. Getting him in the 6th round is even sweeter.

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.