Harold Hutchison

There are some teams who could use help at shortstop or third base. Perhaps a heated-up Ortiz could land some future pieces?

He's doing quite well, and I'm confident the Brewers pitching lab can level any pitcher up. See: Colin Rea, Quinn Priester, Trevor Megill, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, Chad Patrick... plenty of examples.

I'm reluctant to deal for a top reliever as well. First, Craig Yoho's looked better in this latest stint, and only got lit up when he went out for a second inning against the Marlins. So, we have one potential in-house solution. Second, I think McCullers might also help out as a multi-inning arm (Eckersley reinvented as a closer, so did Smoltz). Finally, there are some starters the Brewers could bring up to bolster the bullpen (Burnes/Woodruff in 2018, Misiorowski in 2025, etc.). I might pick up the phone to see what bringing Freddy Peralta back from the Mets might cost (Dylan O'Rae and Brock Wilken would be a good package to offer, maybe throw in a rookie-league pitcher or two). Bolster the rotation, move Drohan back to the pen (where he dominated).

As a lefty out of the pen, Kelly would be useful, with the struggles of Koenig this year. That said, Craig Yoho had some good outings until he was asked to go two innings against the Marlins, and I think he could take some of the burden in late innings.

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images If the 2018 Brewers draft is, in hindsight, an almost unqualified success, then the 2019 draft is… well, the opposite—for now. Just as the 2018 draft’s final chapter has yet to be written, however, the 2019 draft’s story can certainly change. Let's consider where things stand right now. Best Pick: RHP Taylor Floyd Floyd was selected in the 10th round of the 2019 draft, and seems to have topped out as a Double-A pitcher. Floyd hasn’t stagnated in the Brewers organization, though, because in 2023, the club sent him to the Minnesota Twins for a guy named Trevor Megill. Megill broke out for Milwaukee that summer and has been their closer more often than not since the start of 2024, when he filled in for an injured Devin Williams. With 75 saves over that span and a gaudy 24.8 K-BB% this season, Megill is likely to fetch a decent return when the time comes for a trade, and Abner Uribe can take over as the Brewers’ late-inning specialist. Floyd, though, has scuffled at the Double-A level for Minnesota, Seattle, and Cincinnati. This is the type of deal that helps the Brewers make postseason appearances. It turned a pick who never had much chance to reach the big leagues into a key contributor on multiple division-winning teams. Honorable Mention: SS David Hamilton Hamilton helped Milwaukee early on, when he was part of a package that convinced Boston to take on the contract of Jackie Bradley Jr. and send Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers. A year later, the Brewers dealt Renfroe and landed some relievers, including Elvis Peguero, who was a serviceable part of the team's bullpen for multiple seasons. That was before Hamilton came back to Milwaukee as part of the deal that added Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison to the Crew’s pitching staff. He’s been a solid lineup extender and disruptive baserunner for the 2026 Brewers, and he has a few years of team control left, so it remains to be seen what happens. Methodologically, we probably shouldn't count the value he creates from now on as part of the value of selecting him. On the other hand, knowing the player well enough to have picked him and having insight on his makeup surely helped the front office feel confident bringing him back. One That Got Away: LHP Antoine Kelly Kelly had some injury struggles, but lately, he looks to have revived his career as a possible left-handed relief option, which was his floor when the Brewers picked him in the second round. The team dealt Kelly along with utility player Mark Mathias, and got Matt Bush in return. Bush was lit up more often than not while with the Brewers, and eventually was released in July 2023 after he posted a 5.94 ERA in 37 appearances for them. That's definitely a trade the Brewers wouldn’t repeat if they had the chance for a do-over. Still Potentially Helpful: C Darrien Miller Miller seems like he’s been around forever, but he’s only 25, and he’s in the midst of an offensive breakout. He’s always had OBP skills, both in drawing walks and getting plunked. His left-handed bat has also flashed some power. After tearing up Double-A Biloxi, Miller was promoted to Triple-A Nashville, where he’s not fallen off much. He may be overshadowed by prospects like Jeferson Quero and Marco Dinges, but Miller’s a competent lineup extender, and he’s someone the Brewers have not minded keeping around. His ceiling is extraordinarily low, but he could be a useful backup backstop if the need arises. Overall Grade: D+ The big issue with this draft is whom the Brewers didn’t pick. In the first round, they could have selected infielder Michael Busch (now with the Cubs) or shortstop Gunnar Henderson (Orioles) instead of pitcher Ethan Small. After Kelly in the second round, Jared Triolo and Michael Harris II were selected and delivered reasonably well. That said, the draft grade could still go up some. The potential trade returns for Megill and Hamilton could alter how this draft shakes out. Miller, if he reaches the majors and serves as a backup/platoon mate to Quero, could also bump the grade higher. But this is one draft with which the Brewers can only wonder what might have been, with different selections. View full article

I wonder if McCullers is a pitching lab candidate to revitalize his career? We already saw Bryse Wilson rebound in a very short sample, and Craig Yoho's been lights out in his latest stint. Take on the McCullers salary, get Gordon as a fireman/back-end starter... for Wilken? I'll take the deal. Wilken's been bypassed by Luke Adams. Pretty much salvages value for that first-round pick, which has not panned out.

What held me back from an A grade were the Fry and Olson trades, TBH. Fry really was a find at that point in the draft, and easily would have been valuable the past four seasons. He played multiple positions decently, could have been a factor behind the plate, too (imagine that in terms of giving Contreras time off). Olson, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. He's a quality back-of-the-rotation guy, but then again, Olson might have meant no Quinn Priester trade, and Priester turned into a much better pitcher in 2025. On the flip side, who might Milwaukee have had with the prospect/draft capital it dealt to Boston to get Priester?

Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The 2026 MLB Draft is in the books, and for a bit, most of the names who just paraded past your eyes will now drop off your radar. As we wait for the team to sign its class, though, it's good to remind ourselves of how important this avenue of player acquisition is. If you want a classic example of a draft that goes well, Milwaukee’s 2018 class fits the bill. In one sense, the final grade for this draft still has not been determined, with the effects of trades and free-agent compensation still rippling. Best Picks: IF Brice Turang and RHP Drew Rasmussen (tie) We have a tie in this spot, even though one of these players was barely in Milwaukee. For Turang, who’s already staked a credible claim as the best second baseman in Milwaukee Brewers history, the case is obvious. The defense alone has been a game-winner, and he's also become a threat on the basepaths. Since 2025, though, his bat has leveled up, and he’s arguably now the best second baseman in MLB. Rasmussen, though, has arguably had an equal impact, even though he only made 27 appearances on the mound. In May 2021, he was one of two pitchers shipped to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Trevor Richards and shortstop Willy Adames. Adames, of course, laid his claim as one of the Brewers' all-time greats at shortstop, second only to Robin Yount by the end of the 2024 season when he left as a free agent. Here's the kicker: Rasmussen actually was a 2017 first-round pick by the Rays, who elected not to sign him. So, the Rays eventually got him, but had to cough up an All-Star-caliber shortstop to do so. But the Rasmussen deal can still benefit the Brewers even more. With the departure of Adames came a compensation pick, and shortstop Brady Ebel has looked very impressive in his first full professional season. Honorable Mention: LHP Aaron Ashby Ashby is a great pick, too. He’s a crucial member of the Brewers’ bullpen, even as his contract is slated to jump to $7.7 million in 2027, with $9-million and $13-million team options following that. Injuries did cause a detour from the starting rotation, but a top-end reliever could still fetch a decent trade return in the offseason. More importantly, of course, he's been key to the team's recent success, soaking up innings and putting out fires for a perennial contender. Ones That Got Away: UT David Fry, RHP Reese Olson Fry was one of my personal cheeseballs, a potent right-handed bat with low-grade positional versatility. The Crew sent him to Cleveland in March 2022 to complete an earlier trade for J.C. Mejia, who pitched around a dozen innings for them in 2022 and 2023. This is one trade they probably want back. Fry’s been a valuable bench asset for Cleveland, something the Brewers could have used in recent years. To be fair, though, he's been injury-wrecked and inconsistent at the plate since a brief star turn in October 2024. Reese Olson was a pitching prospect dealt for lefty reliever Daniel Norris, who didn’t work out well for the Brewers. Olson’s occasionally been a decent back-of-the-rotation type for the Tigers. While he's currently on the 60-day injured list, he could have been an asset for Milwaukee and may have helped the team preserve both prospect capital and a competitive-balance pick in early 2025. It's not as though he's proved durable or star-caliber, though, and you have to give up something to fortify playoff-bound pitching staffs. Still Potentially Helpful: LHP Clayton Andrews Andrews was another personal cheeseball, who had a two-way stint for the Advanced-A Carolina Mudcats and Double-A Biloxi Shuckers in 2019 (16 starts in center field—take that, Shohei Ohtani!). But even though he had only four games and 3 1/3 innings pitched, he could still give Milwaukee some benefit. In 2024, the Brewers dealt him to the Yankees for right-handed pitcher Joshua Quezada, who has been collecting a lot of strikeouts and could become decent bullpen help for the Brewers down the road. Quezada is 22 and has spent most of the season in Low A, so don't get too excited, but if any organization can one-red-paperclip their way to value in situations like that one, the Brewers are that outfit. Final Grade: B+ This is an immensely successful draft for the Brewers, who came away with a lot for the picks they made, even as high-ceiling outfield prospects Joe Gray and Micah Bello flamed out and with the trades in which they gave up Fry and Olson not netting them the timely help they hoped for. Still, one cannot really complain about the 2018 draft’s contributions to recent Brewers teams at all. Turang might sign an extension and stick around, but it's more likely he's traded in a couple of years. When he is, it will add new branches to the tree on which the fruits of this class keep appearing. View full article

That can happen to anyone, Braden.

Wasn't Sal Frelick a college outfielder in 2021?

100% agree here. I know we do not know everything involved and probably never will, but I do hope that we at least get some final answers as to what transpired, because this puts a massive cloud over the team's system if there isn't at least some transparency as to the matter. Hernandez's well-being is, of course, important in all of this, but the Brewers also need answers to hold those who bullied him accountable and to ensure they don't lose a prospect to a similar situation in the future.

Image courtesy of © Aaron Doster-Imagn Images The upcoming draft is a time of excitement for Brewers fans. Over the last decade, the Brewers have developed arguably the best minor-league organization in MLB, reflected not only in the talent they've found, but in the ability to develop players without standout pedigree or tools into valuable pieces. It takes time. One doesn’t know how well a pick really works out for a major-league team for years. First, it takes time for a player to rise through the farm system. Often, it also takes a while for them to finish their development in the bigs, and the final variable in the equation that expresses the value of the pick is what (if anything) the team eventually gets for them when they leave. The final reckoning for the 2014 draft will not come until the end of the 2028 season at the earliest, when Christian Yelich's contract could end. (Second-round pick Monte Harrison and 12th-round pick Jordan Yamamoto were parts of the package Milwaukee sent to Miami in the 2017-2018 offseason to acquire Yelich.) The ideal path is for the talent to become a reliable contributor to the major-league team. Brice Turang is one of the best examples of the traditional approach—a first-round pick who turns into a cornerstone of the team for multiple years. Then, there are the non-traditional paths to make a draft pick work out well for the Brewers. One is the late-round steal. They’re not one of the guys who get a huge seven-figure bonus after being picked in the first round. They’re picked later (Brandon Woodruff, an 11th-round pick in the 2014 draft), sometimes way later (Brent Suter, 31st-round pick in the 2012 draft), but these players are where the scouts and the coaches in the organization have really earned their money. Hitting on later picks not only means amassing depth that creates flexibility in trades, but positions a team to extend players who thrive. Clubs have more leverage over lower-round, lower-bonus selections in contract talks later on. The other, of course, is the return in a trade. This is how some somewhat disappointing prospects can redeem themselves (2014 first-round pick Kodi Medeiros, for instance, was traded for Joakim Soria in 2018). Other times, the blue-chip prospect can turn a season around in a deal (2007 first-rounder Matt LaPorta, who brought CC Sabathia to Milwaukee in 2008). In some cases, a traded prospect can be a force at the MLB level long after the Brewers’ return has faded away (see Michael Brantley, the player to be named later in the Sabathia trade). It's tempting to put an arbitrary timeline on evaluating a draft, but the timeline can always change, and a grade can change from year to year. Keston Hiura looked like a superb selection after the 2019 season, but his struggles and inconsistency in later years arguably lowered the grade. Tyrone Taylor looked like he wouldn’t pan out, until he did. Seven years after being selected in the 2019 draft out of high school, Darrien Miller is now in Triple-A and could end up with Milwaukee if he continues his hot hitting, which could alter the draft’s grade were he to become a contributor with the Brewers. He'll never be more than a role player, but finding a viable third or fourth catcher for the organization in the ninth round is a win. In other words, even the 2018 draft’s grade could fluctuate over the next few years. Every class since then has at least as fluid a tag on them. It will likely be a lot of fun finding out, but assessing the draft is so tricky that it's vital to remain circumspect. How do you evaluate the success or failure of draft years? Let us know in the comments below! View full article