Analyzing Every Milwaukee Brewers Rounds 16-20 Draft Picks In the 2026 MLB Draft

The Brewers continued to go with prep players for round 16-18, then they took a Division II player, and then they finished the draft off with the son of a Brewers legend. All in all, a pretty exciting final five rounds.

Round 16, Pick 491: RHP Bradyn Havard -- George County HS (MS) -- Pearl River CC Commit

This is an interesting selection, as the Brewers take a player committed to a community college for next season. Havard had a very strong season in Mississippi this year, striking out 134 batters in 75 1/3 innings and posting a 1.30 ERA. He sits in the 88-90 MPH range and gets up to 93 at times, with armside run. He also mixes in a curveball, a slider, and a changeup. The slider is the pitch he seems to have the best feel for at this moment, and seems to be his go-to secondary when he's looking to put someone away.

A community college commitment is not a common one for a high school pick, but it certainly would seem like he'd be someone willing to sign into pro ball if the offer is right. 

Round 17, Pick 521: INF Chance Ruby -- Wilmot HS (WI) -- Illinois-Chicago Commit

This marks the third Ginger Poulson pick in rounds 11-20. Ruby was an under-the-radar name in the state of Wisconsin. He's got extremely quick hands at the plate, with some Joey Wiemer mannerisms (at times) to the hand movement during his load, though never quite as exaggerated. He runs a sub-6.6 60-yard dash and has numerous 100+ MPH batted balls in games already. He's also shown the ability to catch up to upper-90s fastballs in live AB settings. There are some right-handed Josh Adamczewski parallels to this profile.

The glove might wind up moving him off of shortstop eventually, but the arm is strong enough to handle it if he can improve upon some of the infield actions. He is very instinctual and has a lot of baseball IQ as well. Ruby is a UIC commit, like Adamczewski was a Ball State commit, which gives the impression he could be a signable player, even at this point in the draft.

Round 18, Pick 551: RHP Brady Smith --East Carter HS (MO) -- Wichita St Commit

Smith is another lanky pitcher with room to fill out and add some more velocity. He seems to sit in the low-90s with decent regularity and has touched 94 MPH in a showcase setting. The fastball shape seems to blend into a sinker type of shape, so he may wind up embracing that as his primary fastball, if he hasn't already.

The slider is a solid secondary offering with average spin rates in the 2300 RPM range, and a pretty stock slider shape. The changeup seems to be the secondary with the most potential, as he will get up to 22 inches of run on it at times, with close to 0 inches of induced vertical break as well. It has the potential to be a plus offering down the line. His Wichita State commitment is another tough one to gauge. The odds are the Brewers won't be able to sign all of these prep players in this range, but Smith is another who feels attainable.

Round 19, Pick 581: LHP Sam George -- Minnesota State Mankato (D2) -- Iowa Transfer Commit 

George is another Poulson area pick, and another interesting one. This is a left-handed arm that has seen a lot of success at the Division II level for Mankato. This most recent season, he posted a 3.80 ERA in 64 innings, and that was coming off a sophomore season in which he posted a 2.97 ERA in 60 2/3 innings. 

George starts in a very closed stance and falls off to the third base side a bit on his finish. He threw a ton of strikes at Mankato, only walking 48 in 165 innings. He mixes both a four-seam and a sinker in the low-90s, touching 94 MPH. His best secondary is his slider, which he spins well and can command to both sides of the plate. He will also mix a changeup in, which he lacks the same feel for, but shows some interesting signs at times. He is committed to transferring to Iowa, but feels like another name that could very well wind up signing.

Round 20, Pick 611: 1B Carsten Sabathia III -- Houston

Yes, this is CC's son. No, he is not a pitcher. Yes, this is a very cool pick. The Brewers will now have the sons of CC Sabathia and Prince Fielder in their organization. Carsten is a first baseman who started his career at Georgia Tech and finished it at Houston. He possesses quite a bit of raw power, with the hit tool lagging behind. He was not a regular for Houston this season, but in 107 plate appearances, he posted a slash line of .283/.374/.511 for an .885 OPS, and also hit six home runs.

He also participated in the MLB Draft League, where he didn't perform great in 43 plate appearances, but he did pop close to a 111 MPH exit velocity in a game this year. Whether it works out or not, the Sabathia family will be back in the organization for the first time since that magical 2008, and that is very cool for Brewers fans.

That concludes the 2026 MLB Draft. Thanks for following along all day or catching up later on. Non-drafted Free Agents are next over the next few weeks, because the fun never really stops!

Check out our 2026 MLB Draft tracker, with scouting reports, player information, total pool allotments, and much more!