The Best Drafts In Milwaukee Brewers History

[Michael Trzinski]

This article discusses some of the best drafts, 1970-2015 inclusive. How many players in the 2024 draft class might find their names on these lists 20 years from now?

Image courtesy of © RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

This weekend, the 2024 MLB Draft will take place July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas, in conjunction with the All-Star Game played at Globe Life Field in neighboring Arlington.

This is the final of a three-part series discussing past Brewers drafts. Today, we look at the top drafts in Milwaukee Brewers history. I will discuss and list the top individual players, the top drafts by number of players that made it to ‘The Show,’ and the top drafts by ‘Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

Note: Only drafts from 1970-2015 are considered. Numbers in parentheses indicate round drafted.

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TOP DRAFTS BY PLAYER
1973
Robin Yount (1) was the only player drafted to play in the majors, but his career made this an outstanding draft year.

1977
Paul Molitor (1) played 15 years with Milwaukee and three each with Toronto and Minnesota. Other players drafted were outfielder Kevin Bass (2), who only played 18 games for Milwaukee before he was traded in 1982 to Houston in the Don Sutton deal. Left-handed pitcher Dave LaPoint (10) was involved in the huge trade that brought Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons, and Pete Vuckovich to Milwaukee in 1980.

2005
Ryan Braun (1) had an excellent 14-year career with the Brewers despite a year in which he was found guilty of using PEDs, casting a huge cloud over the Californian’s career, and outfielder Michael Brantley had a solid career after being traded from Milwaukee to Cleveland.

1986
Infielder/outfielder Gary Sheffield (1) spent only four years in Milwaukee but had a remarkable 22-year career with seven other teams, hitting 509 home runs. Outfielder Darryl Hamilton spent seven years in Milwaukee during a 13-year career.

2004
Yovani Gallardo (2) won 89 games for Milwaukee during eight years in Brew City and added another 32 victories for four other teams in a 12-year career. Lorenzo Cain (17) played one year for the Brewers before a trade to the Royals saw him spend seven years in Kansas City. He returned to Milwaukee in 2018 as a free agent and played into 2022 before being released.

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TOP DRAFTS BY THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS THAT PLAYED IN THE MAJORS
2009
Eight players, including Right-handed pitcher Mike Fiers (22), second baseman Ryan Gennett, aka ‘Scooter,’ outfielder Khris Davis, and left-handed pitcher Caleb Thielbar, who never pitched for Milwaukee but is still working games for Minnesota in 2024.  

1993
Eight players, including shortstop Mark Loretta (7), right-handed pitcher Jeff D’Amico (1), and utilityman Brian Banks (2). Left-handed pitcher Kelly Wunsch never played for Milwaukee—he was granted free agency after six minor league seasons—but was fifth in AL ROY voting in 2000 for the White Sox. Outfielder Todd Dunn only played 50 games for Milwaukee. Infielder Danny Klassen was selected in the 1997 expansion draft by Arizona.

2011
Eight players, including right-handed pitchers Jacob Barnes (14), Taylor Jungmann (1), Jorge Lopez (2)—pitching for the Cubs this year, left-handed pitcher Jed Bradley (1), and first baseman Nick Ramirez (4), who switched to the mound and is a pitcher for the Dodgers this year.

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Five drafts had seven players each reach the big leagues:
1974
Right-handed pitcher Moose Haas (2), second baseman Jimmy Gantner (12), and left-handed pitcher Jerry Augustine (15) highlight that draft year.

1987
Shortstop Bill Spiers (1), right-handed pitchers Jaime Navarro (3),  Steve Sparks (5), outfielder Troy O’Leary (13), and Jeromy Burnitz (24) are the top players in this solid draft class.

2005
See previous section. Right-handed pitchers Jake Arrieta (24) and Andrew Bailey (16) were two ‘that got away.'

2001
Shortstop JJ Hardy (2) and right-handed pitcher Tim Dillard (15) were drafted as a catcher, and left-handed pitcher Manny Parra (26) led this class.

2007
Third-round pick catcher Jonathan Lucroy was the only big name, but outfielder Matt LaPorta (1) went to Cleveland in the trade that brought the Brewers CC Sabathia.

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TOP DRAFTS BY WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT (WAR)
1973 (77.4)
Thank you, Robin Yount, who scored all the WAR.

1977 (58.9)
Paul Molitor accumulated 59.9 WAR.

2005 (47.4)
Ryan Braun scored 47.1 of the WAR for this draft class.

1974 (42.3)
Jim Gantner (22.4) and Moose Haas (15.7) did most of the heavy lifting for this group.

1987 (30.4)
Jeromy Burnitz notched 15.7 WAR for this class.

Note: the numbers above only include WAR achieved in a Brewer uniform.

Thank you for reading this article. It was a good chance for an old guy like me to reminisce and an opportunity for some readers to learn about Brewer's history.

PART 1: The Worst Drafts
PART 2: The Ones That Got Away

View full article

[CheeseheadInQC]

17 minutes ago, Michael Trzinski said:

This article discusses some of the best drafts, 1970-2015 inclusive. How many players in the 2024 draft class might find their names on these lists 20 years from now?

Image courtesy of © RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

This weekend, the 2024 MLB Draft will take place July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas, in conjunction with the All-Star Game played at Globe Life Field in neighboring Arlington.

This is the final of a three-part series discussing past Brewers drafts. Today, we look at the top drafts in Milwaukee Brewers history. I will discuss and list the top individual players, the top drafts by number of players that made it to ‘The Show,’ and the top drafts by ‘Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

Note: Only drafts from 1970-2015 are considered. Numbers in parentheses indicate round drafted.

---

TOP DRAFTS BY PLAYER
1973
Robin Yount (1) was the only player drafted to play in the majors, but his career made this an outstanding draft year.

1977
Paul Molitor (1) played 15 years with Milwaukee and three each with Toronto and Minnesota. Other players drafted were outfielder Kevin Bass (2), who only played 18 games for Milwaukee before he was traded in 1982 to Houston in the Don Sutton deal. Left-handed pitcher Dave LaPoint (10) was involved in the huge trade that brought Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons, and Pete Vuckovich to Milwaukee in 1980.

2005
Ryan Braun (1) had an excellent 14-year career with the Brewers despite a year in which he was found guilty of using PEDs, casting a huge cloud over the Californian’s career, and outfielder Michael Brantley had a solid career after being traded from Milwaukee to Cleveland.

1986
Infielder/outfielder Gary Sheffield (1) spent only four years in Milwaukee but had a remarkable 22-year career with seven other teams, hitting 509 home runs. Outfielder Darryl Hamilton spent seven years in Milwaukee during a 13-year career.

2004
Yovani Gallardo (2) won 89 games for Milwaukee during eight years in Brew City and added another 32 victories for four other teams in a 12-year career. Lorenzo Cain (17) played one year for the Brewers before a trade to the Royals saw him spend seven years in Kansas City. He returned to Milwaukee in 2018 as a free agent and played into 2022 before being released.

---

TOP DRAFTS BY THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS THAT PLAYED IN THE MAJORS
2009
Eight players, including Right-handed pitcher Mike Fiers (22), second baseman Ryan Gennett, aka ‘Scooter,’ outfielder Khris Davis, and left-handed pitcher Caleb Thielbar, who never pitched for Milwaukee but is still working games for Minnesota in 2024.  

1993
Eight players, including shortstop Mark Loretta (7), right-handed pitcher Jeff D’Amico (1), and utilityman Brian Banks (2). Left-handed pitcher Kelly Wunsch never played for Milwaukee—he was granted free agency after six minor league seasons—but was fifth in AL ROY voting in 2000 for the White Sox. Outfielder Todd Dunn only played 50 games for Milwaukee. Infielder Danny Klassen was selected in the 1997 expansion draft by Arizona.

2011
Eight players, including right-handed pitchers Jacob Barnes (14), Taylor Jungmann (1), Jorge Lopez (2)—pitching for the Cubs this year, left-handed pitcher Jed Bradley (1), and first baseman Nick Ramirez (4), who switched to the mound and is a pitcher for the Dodgers this year.

---

Five drafts had seven players each reach the big leagues:
1974
Right-handed pitcher Moose Haas (2), second baseman Jimmy Gantner (12), and left-handed pitcher Jerry Augustine (15) highlight that draft year.

1987
Shortstop Bill Spiers (1), right-handed pitchers Jaime Navarro (3),  Steve Sparks (5), outfielder Troy O’Leary (13), and Jeromy Burnitz (24) are the top players in this solid draft class.

2005
See previous section. Right-handed pitchers Jake Arrieta (24) and Andrew Bailey (16) were two ‘that got away.'

2001
Shortstop JJ Hardy (2) and right-handed pitcher Tim Dillard (15) were drafted as a catcher, and left-handed pitcher Manny Parra (26) led this class.

2007
Third-round pick catcher Jonathan Lucroy was the only big name, but outfielder Matt LaPorta (1) went to Cleveland in the trade that brought the Brewers CC Sabathia.

---

TOP DRAFTS BY WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT (WAR)
1973 (77.4)
Thank you, Robin Yount, who scored all the WAR.

1977 (58.9)
Paul Molitor accumulated 59.9 WAR.

2005 (47.4)
Ryan Braun scored 47.1 of the WAR for this draft class.

1974 (42.3)
Jim Gantner (22.4) and Moose Haas (15.7) did most of the heavy lifting for this group.

1987 (30.4)
Jeromy Burnitz notched 15.7 WAR for this class.

Note: the numbers above only include WAR achieved in a Brewer uniform.

Thank you for reading this article. It was a good chance for an old guy like me to reminisce and an opportunity for some readers to learn about Brewer's history.

PART 1: The Worst Drafts
PART 2: The Ones That Got Away

 

View full article

 

Nice write-up. One nit-pick: Should Burnitz count since he was acquired later after not signing with the Brewers in 1987?

[biedergb]

Great review.

It highlights that a good draft nets a few MLB regulars, and a great draft gets a HOF/Perennial All Star player.  So even though some had 7-8 MLBers, most were fringe and not regular.

Also interesting you counted J. Burnitz as part of the 1987 draft when he didn’t sign - was drafted a few years later by the Mets before get traded to Cleveland and then to Milwaukee in the Kevin Seitzer trade. So he WAS drafted by the Brewers, but did not join us directly from the draft. 

[Michael Trzinski]

3 hours ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Nice write-up. One nit-pick: Should Burnitz count since he was acquired later after not signing with the Brewers in 1987?

Probably...my bad.

[Michael Trzinski]

3 hours ago, biedergb said:

Great review.

It highlights that a good draft nets a few MLB regulars, and a great draft gets a HOF/Perennial All Star player.  So even though some had 7-8 MLBers, most were fringe and not regular.

Also interesting you counted J. Burnitz as part of the 1987 draft when he didn’t sign - was drafted a few years later by the Mets before get traded to Cleveland and then to Milwaukee in the Kevin Seitzer trade. So he WAS drafted by the Brewers, but did not join us directly from the draft. 

my bad...good catch.