2023 Milwaukee Brewers Draft Picks

UPDATE: Jim Callis has reported that Wilken has signed well underslot.

Wilken has been on the draft radar for some time as a third base masher who cranked 40 home runs in his first two seasons at Wake. In 2023, everything has taken a step forward at the plate. Through 66 games, he hit 31 home runs and a triple slash of .345/.506/.807, all significant improvements from a year ago. Through the end of the CWS he cut his K% from 28% to 24% and increased his BB% from 13% to 29%. These improvements speak to a better approach at the plate and a hit tool that can develop to at least average. He may need to find a more aggressive approach at the plate as a pro as his passivity has allowed better pitchers to get to their best secondary offerings against him. Defensively Wilken has good hands and a plus arm. His lateral movement and slow foot speed may necessitate a move to first base eventually. Wilken has been moving up draft boards steadily this season and has 30 home run potential at the next level.

Spencer Michaelis:
Wilken may possess the most raw power of any player in this draft class, hitting multiple balls over 115 MPH this past season. It’s a relatively flat swing, which should allow him to have a decent enough hit tool, though he will likely never hit for a high average. While Wilken’s strikeout numbers aren’t in a great spot, you would think he was striking out at a 30% rate with how some evaluators have talked about it. In reality, it was closer to 18%, and he cut down on his whiff rate and chase rate in 2023. If there’s any cause for concern, it probably lies more with the Brewers' track record of developing these power-over-hit profiles. Defensively, scouts are split on whether he can handle third base. He certainly has the arm for it, but the actions and movements do look a bit slow. The Brewers haven’t been shy to play slow movers at third base before, though, and his hands seem to be decent enough to handle it.  Despite the concerns about the fit within the organization and their ability to develop him, Wilken is pretty well developed already, and he will likely be able to move through the organization relatively quickly. 

UPDATE: Jim Callis has reported that Knoth has signed under slot for his draft position.

Knoth is another prospect who wasn't on V1 of the consensus board. A prep arm from the northeast, he's taken significant strides forward in 2023. Knoth is a smaller framed pitcher, but has a simple, repeatable delivery and good athleticism on the mound. His arsenal consists of a fastball that operated between 90-92 mph but now typically sits in the 93-95 mph range after a velocity jump. It's likely he'll be able to add velocity to this pitch. He has a real ability to spin the ball, having a curve that surpasses 3,000 rpm, gets a ton of good depth, and that he can land for strikes. Knoth also has a changeup that's more of a work in progress. Knoth has been dominant this season and is one of the buzziest helium prep arms in the draft. Knoth is committed to Mississippi.

Spencer Michaelis:
Knoth might have the highest ceiling of the Brewers' day one selections. His profile was extremely enticing, even when he only threw his fastball in the 90-93 range (T95) last summer. This spring, however, he was up to 98 and sitting more in the 94-95 range. The fastball has good life at the top of the zone and pairs extremely well with what might be the best secondary offering in the entire system the moment Knoth signs. That offering being his hammer curveball. It’s a 3000 RPM pitch with late bite and a ton of movement. He has a smooth delivery that appears to be easily repeatable. Still only 17, Knoth’s upside on the mound might be second only to Jacob Misiorowski in the Brewers system.

Update: Boeve has signed with the Brewers! 

If you draft Boeve, you're a believer in his hit tool. At Omaha Nebraska, he put together ridiculous hitting and on-base numbers in three consecutive seasons as a starter. In 2023, he hit .401/.512/.563 through the end of the college season. Boeve is also sporting elite approach numbers at the plate, with a 19 BB% and 5 K%, incredible. There's not much power there, although Boeve is athletic enough to tap into more (he has 12 home runs in his past two seasons). He's an average defender, with a fringy arm and it's likely his profile moves him to a corner outfield spot long term, possibly left-field. Either way, it's hitting your drafting for. He's one of the better pure hitters in college baseball.

Spencer Michaelis:
Boeve was a personal favorite of mine throughout the entire draft process and also felt like a profile the Brewers would be partial to. At the time of the selection, it seemed a little weird to double up at third base, but it’s important to note that Boeve can also handle second base. Worrying about having too many players at one position is an exercise in futility on draft night. Get as much talent as you can in the organization, and things will work themselves out later on. There are a lot of similarities to Tyler Black with Boeve. The swing is pretty similar, and Black also was seen as much more hit-over power when he was drafted in 2021. This might be a swing that the Brewers feel good about tinkering with, having seen the results as Black tapped into more power. Boeve absolutely has it in him, posting a number of exit velocities over 110 this past season.

Bitonti has an athletic profile that's easy to dream on. At 6'5, 215, he's already showing above average power that could be 70 grade when he's done developing. His swing is pretty steep which results in easy power that can come at the expense of contact. Bitonti is long levered and his swing can get long at times. He's played shortstop to date but as a below average runner and lateral mover, he may move to third base or even a corner outfield spot long term. If he puts it all together, he's going to be an impressive power bat as a pro. Bitonti is currently an Oregon commit.

Spencer Michaelis:
If you liked the Wilken pick, especially the power that comes with it, then you should also be very excited about the Bitonti pick. Equipped with some of the biggest raw power in the high school class, Bitonti has a sweet-looking left-handed swing. Like Knoth, he’s young, even for a high schooler, as he won’t turn 18 until mid-November. Despite being a pretty good athlete for his size, it’s unlikely he will be able to stick at shortstop. In fact, the Brewers are already planning to have him start at third base. He should be a very strong defender at the hot corner, and he certainly has the arm to handle it as well. The question for Bitonti will come with his hit tool. He does have some holes in his swing presently, and he has struggled with making solid contact on breaking balls. His issues with breaking balls seem to be more aligned with his feel to hit them, as he doesn’t chase them much. This is a good sign. It means he likely just needs to get more comfortable with his bat path against spinners rather than learning how to recognize them entirely. He crushed fastballs in the prep circuit and should have no issues handling professional velocity. There’s big-time, middle-of-the-order upside with Bitonti. Brewers fans will just need to remember to be patient.

Update: Woodward has signed with the Brewers! 

Spencer Michaelis:
Woodward is a bit of a mystery, and he was likely drafted in part to save money for some of the other selections. But that doesn’t mean he’s a throw-away pick. Though he missed most of the 2023 season with  Tommy John , he was very solid in his three healthy starts. He finished his short season with a 1.32 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 13.2 innings. His fastball is normally around 91-94, but he can get up to 96 at times. The fastball is said to have a lot of ride and plays very well up in the zone. His best secondary is a changeup that is considered a plus pitch. He generates a lot of late movement with it. Woodward will be out for most of the next calendar year while he rehabs. We will most likely see him for the first time in the Complex League next summer, around this time of the year.

UPDATE: Birchard has signed with the Brewers slightly underslot for his draft position. 

Spencer Michaelis:
Like Boeve, Birchard was a player that I was a big fan of during the process and another that just felt like he would end up a Brewer. He has fantastic pitch characteristics on all three of his main pitches and was a Junior College arm. Everyone who follows the Brewers drafts knows how much they love those Juco arms. His fastball can reach up to 98 and sits in the 94-96 range with good carry. He was using a slider and changeup as his secondary pitches in the fall, but once he had made it through his season and into the draft league, he seemed to have scrapped the changeup in favor of a curveball. The slider and curveball have different shapes and are in different velocity bands. He should be just fine without the changeup. Some think he will end up in the bullpen long-term, but I personally do believe he can make it as a starter with his three-pitch mix. If he ends up falling back to a bullpen role, it could be a high-leverage type of arm and role

Pratt is a tall, prep shortstop who has been a quick riser up draft boards this year, thanks to at least four above average tools. He has a crouched, right-handed swing that currently has gap to gap power but will likely add home run juice as he fills out more. Pratt has a good combination of a low chase rate and strong contact rates, particularly in the strike zone. Defensively, while not particularly quick, Pratt moves well and should get a chance to prove he can stick at shortstop. Pratt is currently committed to Ole Miss and might be a tricky sign away.

Spencer Michaelis:
When the Brewers made this choice, I actually jumped up out of my seat. By this point in the draft, I was actually thinking they were already running low on slot bonus money to spend. Frankly, I had written off Pratt as a possibility long before this sixth-round selection. Assuming they do sign him, this is probably the biggest steal of the entire draft. At 6’5, many scouts believe he will be able to stick at shortstop. Based on the little video of his defense available, I am inclined to agree. For a player his size, he moves extremely well on the dirt, and his arm is quick enough to handle short as well. Offensively he is currently hit over power, but considering his frame, there is a lot of room to grow in the power department. Even if the power never does develop, there is a lot to like in his profile. Baseball America says, “Over a 668-pitch sample, Pratt has just a 12% overall miss rate and 17% chase rate. On pitches in the zone, his miss rate falls to just 6%.” Those are fantastic numbers for a player his age. He has a bit of a leg kick but an extremely smooth-looking swing that allows him to hit with some authority to all fields. It would not shock me if, later on down the road, Pratt ended up being the best player the Brewers selected in this draft class. The upside is similar to that of Gunnar Henderson.

Spencer Michaelis:
Kuehner was one of Louisville’s most important relievers this year. He throws from a tough lefty angle. His fastball was 92–95 this year with a good amount of run. The fastball works up, as well as down in the zone. His breaking ball is a pretty nasty pitch. However, he did struggle to command it over the last few seasons. There is potential for Kuehner to be a really solid pen guy—an interesting pickup for what will likely be a well-under-slot senior signing.

Spencer Michaelis:
Another pitcher that I was tracking as a potential Brewers pick. He seemed like an arm that an analytical front office would love, and the Brewers have been great with a profile like his. Yoho is relatively new to pitching full-time, as he was a two-way early in his college career. He’s been hurt a number of times, and despite being 23 years old, he somehow has three (!) years of eligibility left and was committed to transfer to Arkansas next year. It sounds as though he will sign, though, and I find that to be pretty exciting.  According to Baseball America, “Yoho’s high-70s changeup has a ton of late fade and tumble, is an effective pitch against both right and left-handed hitters, and had an impressive 61% miss rate. His sweeping slider had a 56% miss rate, while his curveball has big time depth and a 62% miss rate.” While Yoho was used as a reliever at Indiana, and that was the plan at Arkansas as well. I’m not entirely convinced he shouldn’t be given a shot at starting in pro ball. He definitely has a starter's repertoire. It will likely come down to durability and whether the Brewers believe he can handle a starter's workload. Yoho is an older pick, but a four-pitch pitcher with this kind of stuff and solid command to go with it is not commonly available in the 8th round.

Spencer Michaelis:
Manfredi wasn’t one on my radar before the draft, but he does show some intriguing traits. Namely, his release point, which is coming from a sidearm slot. This helps his fastball play up a bit above the low 90s velocity that he brings. Manfredi also uses a slider, curveball, and changeup alongside the fastball to help keep hitters off balance. The slider is probably the best of the three, but none stand out as better than a bit above average. This is another senior sign who has shown some signs of development as he worked with Tread Athletics over the last few months. There may be more in the tank yet, and the Brewers do well with funky delivery types like Manfredi.

Spencer Michaelis:
There is next to no information available on Austin. I was able to find a tweet showing trackman velocity for him, where he touched 97.5 MPH, but nothing on his secondary pitches or anything beyond that. He had a 7.00 ERA this past season. However, that was in a pretty small sample, and outside of one complete blow-up where he gave up five earned runs in 0.1 innings pitched, his ERA would have been under 2.00, and he did strike out 13 per nine. The Brewers likely saw something they liked in his pitch data and an opportunity for another under-slot signing.

Spencer Michaelis:
This is where the Brewers draft really started to surprise me. Teams don’t usually use an 11th-round selection on a guy they deem 100% unsignable for them. This leads me to believe that the Brewers see a chance to sign him away from his Purdue commitment. Where would the money come from, you ask? That is a fantastic question and one I will be interested to have answered myself. Letson has a fastball in the low-90s that pairs well with a tight slider and a solid changeup. His command is very strong for a high school pitcher, while his stuff is a bit closer to average currently. The good news is that he’s a very projectable arm, and the stuff should improve quite a bit as he matures. I’m not sure of the odds the Brewers have in terms of being able to sign Letson, but I hope they are able to. 

Spencer Michaelis:
Another high school pick was not what I was expecting in round 12, but it would be the second of seven high school selections the Brewers made on day three. Johnson has a fastball in the low-90s that he has held deep into his outings. He also mixes in a slider and a changeup; the changeup is probably the better of the two offerings at this moment. Strong command was a theme with each of the first two picks on day three. Johnson may be another tough sign, depending on the type of bonus pool the Brewers actually have left over.

Spencer Michaelis:
A starter and a reliever at Bryant, I imagine he will be primarily out of the bullpen in the Brewers system. He sat in the 93-96 range on his fastball, but he moves well on the mound, and I bet he will add a bit more to that once he is in pro ball. His slider is an above-average pitch as well. Command issues and the lack of a third pitch are why he likely will have to be a full-time pro ball reliever. It seems likely that he will sign.

Spencer Michaelis:
Robinson is another HS prospect; this one committed to Nicholls State. He has a fastball in the upper 80s and low 90s range but with a lot of projectability left. His slider spins in the 2700 RPM range and has sharp, late-breaking movement. He also mixes in a changeup that is a fringe-average pitch. Nicholls State is likely very hopeful he will make it to campus, but I have to wonder if that’s a school that he may be willing to pass on in order to take his shot in pro ball.

Spencer Michaelis:
A position player? In this economy? Adamczewski broke a string of eight straight pitchers selected in this class. Equipped with a sweet looking left-handed swing, this may be my favorite selection from Day 3 and is one I really hope they can sign. A Ball State commit from a Midwest state in Indiana, he seems like a player who has been overlooked a bit. Not too dissimilar to Luke Adams in last year's draft. As someone who viewed Adams as a top-10 prospect in the organization (prior to the draft), I would not be against adding another exciting prospect to the pipeline.

Spencer Michaelis:
Timmerman was originally at Wabash Valley College in Illinois, which is where the Brewers drafted Antoine Kelly out. Timmerman is up to 95 on his fastball, with 17 inches of induced vertical break, meaning it should play well up in the zone. He also has a sweeper, cutter, and changeup. The sweeper is a good pitch that spins at 1700 RPMs. He uses the cutter to keep the ball off the barrel, especially against left-handed hitters. The changeup is more of a work in progress. He is most likely a reliever in pro ball, but he’s been stretched out, so starting isn’t out of the question. While he is a college selection, he is also a young draft-eligible guy who won’t turn 21 for a few more weeks. The age factor is important to consider, as he may be willing to return to college and try to improve his draft stock for next season.

Spencer Michaelis:
Gholston has already made it pretty clear that he will not be signing and will honor his Oklahoma commitment. He has a huge ceiling, and this pick was likely made just to show that they’re interested and to be able to talk to him over the next couple of weeks.

Spencer Michaelis:
Auburn must recruit the Pacific Northwest pretty well. Like Bjorn Johnson, Watts is an Auburn commit from Tacoma Community College. Used mainly out of the bullpen at Tacoma, he will likely be a reliever at Auburn as well. Based on a small amount of video and data I found, he has a quick arm and a loose delivery. The only velocity readings available came from 2022, but he was a low-90s arm at that time with a low-80s slider that is probably his best pitch. My guess is that he winds up attending Auburn, but it’s a pretty interesting relief profile if the Brewers can sign him.

Spencer Michaelis:
Morton is a Minnesota Blizzard product, one of the best travel organizations in the Midwest. Up to 97 on his fastball with a curveball and slider, Morton’s commitment to Texas A&M is likely pretty strong and seems to be an unlikely sign. 

Spencer Michaelis:
Chambers is an Arizona State commit. He is in the upper 80’s and touching 90 with his fastball. He also mixes in a big, loopy curveball, a slider, and a solid changeup. Chambers is coming off of Tommy John surgery, and maybe that will entice him to take a chance in pro ball, where he will have access to rehab facilities that he may not have in college. Otherwise, though, this feels similar to Morton and Gholston; he seems unlikely to sign.