Milwaukee Brewers 2023 Post-Draft Superlatives

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.