Running 2026 MLB Draft Thread

[Playing Catch]

I've never understood referring to Burke as a power-over-hit profile. He hit to all fields and made good swing decisions in college, and much of that quality has been maintained in the minors. He always felt like a less-heralded Prince Fielder profile to me. Fielder was a really good hitter, not just "power-over-hit". Both of them more athletic than their physiques suggest. Write-ups seem to explain-away Burke's matching minor-league HR/SB totals, and always seem surprised when they say his glove is better than they expected. All of the same stuff scouts say about Burke is what they said about Prince as a prospect, except that Prince had a very famous baseball slugger for a father. Had he been an unknown, Fielder's path very well could have mimicked Burke's through the SEC.

Prince was a borderline HOF talent, so I'm NOT suggesting Burke is Fielder 2.0, and I'm sure there are plenty of other variances in their games. I just think Burke gets unfairly typecast a lot due to his barrel-chested look. I think it's perfectly fair for scouts, with their jobs on the line, to stand on body-type precedents/long-term outlooks when projecting, but I think most of the time, it's just easier for them to predict meager outcomes, because that is ALWAYS the safest prediction for ALL prospects, and certainly the safer prediction for that body type. But based on his production, I just think scouts would like him a lot more, if it came from a guy that looked like Spencer Jones.

[jay87shot]

I was reading and took a look at 2 young HS prospects who just reclassified and will be extremely young 17 year olds.

Jared Grindlinger P/OF    His scouting report looks like he will be an easy choice to be a P, ranked #49 by mlb.com but 12 by espn. A 6"3" lefty up to 95 sitting 90-93 turned 17 in April with solid projectable secondary pitches. 

Rocco Maniscalco SS    He seems like a Brewers type of prospect if I have ever read a scouting report. He just turned 17 on May 1st. His dad played in the minor and coached his travel ball. At 6'2" there is a frame to add power but for now he grades very high with his arm and fielding. The Brice Turang vibes are undeniable and I am pretty sure he will be the youngest (or close to it) player in the draft.     #72 mlb and #56 espn

[BrewerFan]

On 5/19/2026 at 2:37 PM, jay87shot said:

I was reading and took a look at 2 young HS prospects who just reclassified and will be extremely young 17 year olds.

Jared Grindlinger P/OF    His scouting report looks like he will be an easy choice to be a P, ranked #49 by mlb.com but 12 by espn. A 6"3" lefty up to 95 sitting 90-93 turned 17 in April with solid projectable secondary pitches. 

Rocco Maniscalco SS    He seems like a Brewers type of prospect if I have ever read a scouting report. He just turned 17 on May 1st. His dad played in the minor and coached his travel ball. At 6'2" there is a frame to add power but for now he grades very high with his arm and fielding. The Brice Turang vibes are undeniable and I am pretty sure he will be the youngest (or close to it) player in the draft.     #72 mlb and #56 espn

I'm REALLY hoping the Brewers go with high upside arms. 

It's not what they normally do(at least early) but this is more of a straightforward draft(you'd think) with fewer picks and bonus pool. 

-Borthwick... a 6'6 255LB HS kid with an upper 90s FB, the big spin rates that the Brewers love. What isnt' there to love about this kid other than a full 3.8M to sign him in Rd1 most likely.
-Bumila the 6'9 255 Lefty who can also throw in the upper 90s and maybe an easier sign with the TJ already, but it's like reading a Misiorowski scouting report, but better spin rates and that same BIG extension. 

Doubt you'd be below slot on either, but I'm swinging for the fences in this class on arms with ALL the position players they've got locked up(and their LA class). 

I love the idea of Grindlinger if you were to go below slot. I'm skeptical you'd save much, but... give me a HS kid with a big fastball. Or... a kid who can catch and will take 75% of slot. I'm really not to picky. 

 

[jay87shot]

HS arms worry me but a guy like Bumila would be really hard to pass up. He does sound like Misi but bigger with a previous arm injury.

[snoogans8056]

Stick with the plan.

First round will be a 17 year old high school “reach” or the best college bat, either way they will take 3/4 of the slot value. I like Zion Rose and Rocco Maniscalco. Rose is a Chicago kid (southside, thankfully).

All college arms and bats for the rest of 2-10 saving as much as possible. We don’t have the pool money to go over slot by much if at all.

Rounds 11-20: Go nuts.

 

[BallFour]

On 5/19/2026 at 2:37 PM, jay87shot said:

Jared Grindlinger P/OF    His scouting report looks like he will be an easy choice to be a P, ranked #49 by mlb.com but 12 by espn. A 6"3" lefty up to 95 sitting 90-93 turned 17 in April with solid projectable secondary pitches. 

Grindlinger was also on the Brewers area code team. And Grindlinger is also ranked 17 on BA.

Another high school kid who reclassified and was on the Brewers area code team who won't turn 18 till a week after the draft is LHP-Logan Schmidt. Who is ranked 34 on pipeline and 27 on BA.

[snoogans8056]

16 minutes ago, BallFour said:

Grindlinger was also on the Brewers area code team. And Grindlinger is also ranked 17 on BA.

Another high school kid who reclassified and was on the Brewers area code team who won't turn 18 till a week after the draft is LHP-Logan Schmidt. Who is ranked 34 on pipeline and 27 on BA.

Taj Marchand was brought up in today’s Future Projection pod as a guy for the Brewers in the first. He’s around 80-something on BA’s board.

[landoc88]

I do like the Auburn second base kid.

[James Zumstein]

5 hours ago, snoogans8056 said:

Taj Marchand was brought up in today’s Future Projection pod as a guy for the Brewers in the first. He’s around 80-something on BA’s board.

I'm really liking the idea of Marchand at #25. I was calling for college arms early, but as things have fluctuated recently, it looks like the guys I would have targeted are either climbing the boards and will likely be gone or, like Reddemann and Carlon, have had some injuries recently and might not be worth the risk at this time. Marchand's game just seems like it fits the Brewers very well. Plus, fun fact, he goes to the same high school that Gorman Thomas went to.

[LouisEly]

On 5/22/2026 at 8:01 PM, James Zumstein said:

Plus, fun fact, he goes to the same high school that Gorman Thomas went to.

Book it.

Moustache's are in with today's young men, right?  

[jay87shot]

I am going to give a go at a mock draft here.

1(25) 2B Jarren Advincula.     This one has many layers to it. His hitting profile fits well he is hitting .430/.502/.625 with 30/16 bb/k, he doesn't get high power or speed grade but he has 10 hr (15 2b/2 3B) and 16 sb. A major part of this pick would be to save a million or so on slot, it is hard to predict which players are open to that type of savings. He has played mostly 2B but I think we could add utility with some 3B or OF maybe even 1B if some power comes through.

2(66) P Carson Wiggins.   Another potential slot saving pick. Wiggins has been a reliever but has a big arm and would be a big potential starters with some refinement. 

3.  OF Kevin Roberts Jr.    A big young powerful athlete that has a ton of potential. As a HS guys he is ranked a little lower but if we could sign at slot the upside and potential would be worth it.

4.  C Alex Sosa.   This has a lot of a Dinges style feel for me. A bat 1st catcher that our org can work with behind the dish. Great power near 1 to 1 bb/k rate and a nice lefty bat.

5-10 college arms and bat to save money.  My hope would be that we would save around 2-2.5 million with these picks before the 3rd day and could sign our usual 4-5 HS players in 11-20. The 1st 4 all have pretty solid upside because they have standout skills but would fit into our org nicely.

[harrydalton]

Given their plethora of current prospects the Brewers are in position to overspend on some select higher draft picks.

[nate82]

Don’t be surprised if it is Trey Ebel.  There are some whispers that the Brewers could draft him with their first pick.  It is unlikely he will be available for their second round pick and I have heard the Brewers really like him.

[wiguy94]

20 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Don’t be surprised if it is Trey Ebel.  There are some whispers that the Brewers could draft him with their first pick.  It is unlikely he will be available for their second round pick and I have heard the Brewers really like him.

You really think he wouldn’t make it to round 2? Looking at draft rankings and the highest I see him is 113 on pipeline. BA has him at like 204

[nate82]

1 hour ago, wiguy94 said:

You really think he wouldn’t make it to round 2? Looking at draft rankings and the highest I see him is 113 on pipeline. BA has him at like 204

From what I have heard the Brewers don’t believe he will be available with their second pick.  He is ranked lower on the lists compared to how teams see him.  Just what I have heard.  

[James Zumstein]

2 hours ago, nate82 said:

Don’t be surprised if it is Trey Ebel.  There are some whispers that the Brewers could draft him with their first pick.  It is unlikely he will be available for their second round pick and I have heard the Brewers really like him.

I've mentioned him before as being a possibility, but that was just a "he fits the profile and we have a connection," not having any inside info. If we did, it wouldn't shock me. He's worked out with Turang in the past and played for the Brewers Scout team, for what that's worth. Also remember that his brother signed last year for under slot so that could be something to watch for. Exciting possibility.

[Jake McKibbin]

What's the general consensus on Will Brick, the catcher out of Christian Brother HS? 

I can see the Brewers picking up some reinforcements behind the plate, and he seems to have a solid floor with enough upside to make it intriguing in round two or so?

[MilwaukeeBeers]

I am gonna throw out Cole Prosek as a name. Has everything they like and is very toolsy only problem is he is a bit old for their taste as a prep prospect. 

[snoogans8056]

With the new CBA, there have been talks of changes to the draft…

I would be very surprised if we didn’t gorge ourselves potentially one last time on high school picks. Feels like we’ve been building for this very moment.

[liveforoctober]

On 6/5/2026 at 6:47 PM, nate82 said:

Don’t be surprised if it is Trey Ebel.  There are some whispers that the Brewers could draft him with their first pick.  It is unlikely he will be available for their second round pick and I have heard the Brewers really like him.

I've wondered about Ebel #2 with us. 

Is there precedent anywhere with siblings coming up together in a system like this scenario would provide? 

I wonder what that would offer as a dynamic for both psychologically..

[Spencer Michaelis]

This week's Mock Draft Monday is free on my Patreon if people would like to read the write-ups for the players below. The tool makes it a little difficult for me to draft as many prep players as I'd like to. Nobody signs for the money that guys like Dorchies, Tobias, Vucinovich have signed for, but I think the Brewers will at least take a couple more prep guys in lieu of all the college players I have in there from rounds 6-10. 

I really like Schaffner the more I have looked into him. He has a ton of Brewers traits too.

 

[Spencer Michaelis]

On 6/5/2026 at 7:08 PM, wiguy94 said:

You really think he wouldn’t make it to round 2? Looking at draft rankings and the highest I see him is 113 on pipeline. BA has him at like 204

I do believe Trey Ebel is flying up boards FWIW. I wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't make it to the 66th pick. Not sure I'd go round 1 on him personally though.

[liveforoctober]

29 minutes ago, Spencer Michaelis said:

This week's Mock Draft Monday is free on my Patreon if people would like to read the write-ups for the players below. The tool makes it a little difficult for me to draft as many prep players as I'd like to. Nobody signs for the money that guys like Dorchies, Tobias, Vucinovich have signed for, but I think the Brewers will at least take a couple more prep guys in lieu of all the college players I have in there from rounds 6-10. 

I really like Schaffner the more I have looked into him. He has a ton of Brewers traits too.

 

Sasaki would be incredibly interesting just for the backstory.

[young guns]

Anyone have any idea how the uncertainty of the next cba is going to affect signability?  I don't know how much if any change is being talked about with the draft and maybe causing some highschoolers to prefer the certainty of college for the next 3 years.

[James Zumstein]

13 hours ago, Jake McKibbin said:

What's the general consensus on Will Brick, the catcher out of Christian Brother HS? 

I can see the Brewers picking up some reinforcements behind the plate, and he seems to have a solid floor with enough upside to make it intriguing in round two or so?

While Brick has a lot of qualities the Brewers look for, right-handed hitting HS catchers have probably the lowest success rate of any position in the draft historically. Add in the fact that he would demand slot or higher, I think the risk is greater than the reward.

I completely agree with you about needing some fresh blood behind the dish, but guys like Brick and Sean Dunlap, who I was high on earlier, are just too risky IMHO. There are still several HS catchers I feel the Brewers could be looking at, like Dylan Kassab, Kendall Hagedorn, or Maddux Lessard, that fit our profile and would be cheaper and therefore less of a risk. Lots of good college catchers that are possibilities too. Garrett Wright, Robbie Lavey, and Cashel Dugger will all be 21.0 or younger on draft day and are really solid prospects. Even Brady Neal, Alabama's catcher, will only be 21.9 as a SR, so could be a great bargain.