Evaluating Brewers' 2020 Draft: Two Hits, One Miss, One Up in the Air

It's best to pretend the 2020 season didn't happen. Effectively, it didn't. It shouldn't have. But the 2020 MLB Draft did happen, and it matters for the Brewers. There were only five picks in that draft, which meant the team didn’t have a lot of room for error. But this draft has worked out quite well for Milwaukee. We’ll go through each of the picks.

Best Pick: OF Garrett Mitchell
It’s not hard to make this call. Mitchell’s been dynamic when he’s on the field. In 2026, he’s become a mainstay of the Brewers offense. It’s what the Brewers were hoping for as a first-round pick.

The big problem with Mitchell is keeping him on the field. He missed large chunks of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons due to injury. He’s remained healthy so far this season. With a lot of outfield prospects forcing their way up (Josiah Ragsdale, Josh Adamczewski and Braylon Payne, among others), the day his legacy is cemented by a trade return may be sooner, rather than later. Between now and then, though, there's a lot more value to deliver on the field.

Honorable Mention: OF Joey Wiemer
Wiemer stepped up when Mitchell was lost for the season in 2023 and held down center field as Gorman Thomas Lite (with the help of Blake Perkins and Sal Frelick), providing right-handed pop, defense, and a lot of strikeouts as the Brewers fought their way to a division championship. The Brewers dealt him the following season for Frankie Montas, who solidified the back end of the rotation in 2024. For a fourth-round pick in a chaotic draft, that was a good outcome.

One That Got Away: UT Zavier Warren
Warren was picked as a catcher, but instead turned into a versatile option with a fair bit of pop from both sides of the plate. Despite the versatility, switch-hitting, and a bat with some power, the Brewers left him unprotected in the minor-league phase of the 2025-2026 offseason’s Rule 5 draft, and Cincinnati selected him.

Warren, in some ways, was a victim of the organization’s overall success. For prospects, making the majors with Milwaukee means reaching a higher standard than most organizations set. No doubt Warren was a solid prospect, but with Milwaukee’s depth, a lot of solid prospects end up on the margins.

To Be Determined, But A Long Shot: SS Freddy Zamora
In some years, Freddy Zamora would not be a horrible shortstop or bench asset; think along the lines of Andruw Monasterio, Bill Spiers, or Craig Counsell. His problem is the same one fellow 2020 draftee Zavier Warren ran into: Milwaukee’s minor-league talent level has exploded in recent years.

Despite putting up solid numbers and making it to Triple-A Nashville, the second-round pick from the 2020 draft is nowhere close to being in the top five shortstop prospects for the organization (Cooper Pratt, Jesus Made, Luis Pena, Brady Ebel, and CJ Hughes probably have those spots), and it’s fair to question if he’s even in the top 10, with the presence of Jett Williams, Ricki Moneys, Diego Frontado, Trey Ebel, and Jose Rodriguez. Even though Williams has only seen spot duty at short in 2026 and the other four are either in the DSL or a 2026 draft pick, Zamora’s lost in the crowd.

The best thing for him (and for the Brewers) could be a trade that nets him an opportunity and maybe gives the Brewers a small boost.

Lucky Trade: SS Hayden Cantrelle
Cantrelle, the team’s fifth-round pick, was moved for catcher Alex Jackson in April 2022 after free-agent signing Pedro Severino was lost for half the season due to a PED suspension. Prior to that, Cantrelle flashed some speed and OBP skills with a lot of strikeouts on the side before the Brewers dealt him, looking like a two-true outcome player with speed. It was lucky for Cantrelle, who would have been buried in the Milwaukee system behind the glut of shortstops.

It was also lucky for Milwaukee, as they got Jackson, who provided catching depth and was later flipped for Evan McKendry when the Brewers needed pitching depth. Cantrelle’s bounced between Double-A and Triple-A for the Marlins, Giants, and Cubs since then. He won't make much of an impact in the majors; the Brewers squeezed value from him while they could.

How would you grade the Brewers’ 2020 draft? Let us know in the comments below!

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