Where Will The Milwaukee Brewers Be Picking In The First Round Of 2024 MLB Draft?

Last year, the Milwaukee Brewers were participants in the first ever MLB Draft Lottery. They had the lowest odds of moving up of any team on account of having the best record among non-playoff teams. Ultimately, they did not win an earlier selection in that lottery, but still did pretty well in the Draft.

This year, the Brewers don't have a chance to move up in the Draft as part of the Lottery because they were a playoff team in 2023, even though they were eliminated rather quickly.

The way the Draft order works for playoff teams is they are slotted in reverse order of record among the teams eliminated in each round. The Brewers were eliminated in the Wild Card round so they're placement is with other teams eliminated in that round, which will start right after the 18 non-playoff teams.

The Milwaukee Brewers will hold the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Milwaukee's 92-70 regular season record in 2023 was 3rd-worst among the four teams eliminated in the Wild Card round (Marlins, Blue Jays, and Rays) with the Rays having the best record, winning 99 games. However, within each group of postseason rounds, draft order will be determined first by revenue sharing status, and the Brewers are a receiver of revenue sharing. The Blue Jays are not, meaning they get pushed back.

That means the Brewers hold the 20th overall pick in the 2024 Draft after the 18 non-playoff teams, the Marlins are 19th, the Brewers 20th, the Rays 21st, then the Blue Jays 22nd.

This is the 2nd time in franchise history the Brewers have held the 20th overall selection. The only previous time was in the 2020 Draft when the Brewers selected UCLA outfielder Garrett Mitchell. Mitchell instantly became of the Crew's top prospects and he quickly made his way up the system to make his MLB debut in 2022. Mitchell was the starting centerfielder early in 2023 before a shoulder injury derailed his season but he's a big part of the Brewers future outfield plans.

The Brewers have selected college position players with their first pick in each of the last four drafts and six of the last eight. The only exceptions were a college pitcher in Ethan Small in 2019 and the aforementioned prepster Turang in 2018.

As for who the Brewers could select with this pick, it is obviously way too early to have a clear picture and a lot will change between now and when the Draft occurs. But for now, Baseball America's 20th ranked prospect in the 2024 Draft class is Harvard-Westlake (CA) HS shortstop Bryce Rainer. Rainer is an advanced left handed hitter with power and hitting ability with good athleticism and a strong arm. He could also even pitch if the Brewers want to make him a two-way player.

A lot can change between now and the Draft. As it stands now, they will be picking 20th overall and will look to add more blue chip talent to the organization from that spot. But if the Yankees and Padres don't win a lottery spot, their luxury tax penalties in the draft will push them back 10 spots in the draft order behind Milwaukee, meaning the Brewers would move up in the order.