The MLB Draft is notoriously tough to predict. The Brewers have been one of the better teams at drafting and developing in recent years. The MLB Draft is less about who is simply the best player, and more about which player provides the best value at that spot.
4 Crystal Ball Predictions For The Brewers 2025 Draft originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The MLB Draft is notoriously tough to predict. It's the biggest crapshoot of any pro sports draft and most players selected are at least a couple years away from actually making it to the major league level.
Still, it's incredibly vital for teams, especially teams like the Brewers, to draft well and build up a pipeline of young talent to be ready to help the big league club. The Brewers have been one of the better teams at drafting and developing in recent years.
The MLB Draft is less about who is simply the best player, and more about which player provides the best value at that spot. That makes it tougher to predict who goes where, but there are some things I'm seeing in my crystal ball about what to expect from the Brewers draft this year.
Prediction #1: The Brewers will select a position player in the 1st round, and with 2 of their first 3 picks
This may not be going out on much of a limb, since it's 50/50 at being either a hitter or a pitcher, but I'm predicting the Brewers will take a hitter in the first round. Milwaukee has taken a position player with their first pick in each of the last five drafts and in nine of the last ten.
Typically, it's been college hitters with six of those nine being from the NCAA ranks. Last year, they bucked that trend with Texas prepster Braylon Payne. There's a chance they could go the high school ranks again this year, so I won't be locking into it being a college hitter, but I feel very confident it will be a bat they take in the first.
There aren't a ton of natural hitters in any draft class, which makes the position group a premium to grab early on. They'll take two hitters within their first three picks I predict, sprinkling in a pitcher that really fits their pitching development system. That pitcher won't come with that first round pick, but he'll be one of the next two.
Prediction #2: The Brewers will take 2 high risk, high reward, high school players on Day 1
The Brewers have five picks on Day 1 of the Draft. The Draft was shortened to two days this year, meaning the first day consists of rounds 1-3 while the second day is rounds 4-20. With those five early picks, I expect the Brewers to take calculated swings for risky, potentially high reward players.
Sometimes you have to take risks in order to get star players. Especially when you're picking later in the Draft. If there was a "safe" star player, they'd be going way earlier in the Draft than where the Brewers are. The Brewers take some calculated risks in their Draft class, but they almost never take them in the first round anymore.
Jacob Misiorowski is one example of a high risk, high reward Draft prospect. The Brewers took him with their second round pick in 2022, going well over-slot to sign him. We're seeing the high reward aspect of Misiorowski now, but there's a lot of risk in his profile.
College hitters are seen as a "safe" demographic. High school players, both pitchers and hitters, are seen as a "risky" demographic. I predict the Brewers will take a couple of swings on some high upside prep players within their first five picks and spend a little extra over slot in order to get them.
Prediction #3: The Brewers will select at least one Junior College pitcher
The Milwaukee Brewers love JuCo pitchers like dogs love tennis balls. They see one and they just want to chase after it. It's been a demographic the Brewers have had a lot of success in. The aforementioned Jacob Misiorowski, Aaron Ashby, Logan Henderson, and Carlos Rodriguez are all pitchers the Brewers drafted out of a junior college and helped out the big league club this year.
The Brewers have taken a JuCo pitcher in six of the last eight Drafts. The only ones where they didn't were the shortened, 5 round Draft in 2020 and last year in 2024. I think they'll get back on the JuCo train in 2025.
Matt Barr out of Niagara CC is the top ranked one in this year's class. But the Brewers have a history of heavily scouting JuCo ball and there are likely to be some arms they have unearthed that they want to take.
Prediction #4: On Day 2, 90% of the selections will be pitchers
For rounds 4-20 on the second day of the Draft, I'd expect the Brewers to lean heavily on selecting pitchers, with maybe one or two position players mixed in. In those later rounds, good hitters are difficult to find. The Brewers also excel at pitching development, and they likely have a large list of guys who have traits the organization feels they can develop.
It's also much easier to roster more pitchers given the current minor league roster limits.
Rounds 11-20 will likely be heavily filled with high school players as well that the Brewers can use extra bonus pool money on. They've employed this strategy in recent years with great success. They'll find players who don't have the strongest college commitments and can be signed away. They'll sign a handful of their picks in these rounds and more than most might think.
Almost all of them will be pitchers. The Brewers can project and develop the prep arms and might throw in a couple of college senior signs to save money as well in rounds 4-10. Anything more than three position players on Day 2 and I'd be surprised.
Related: 8 Draft Prospects That Would Be Perfect Fits for the Brewers
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball