Where Will The Milwaukee Brewers Be Picking In The First Round Of 2024 MLB Draft?
Last year, the Milwaukee Brewers were participants in the first ever MLB Draft Lottery. They had the lowest odds of moving up of any team on account of having the best record among non-playoff teams. Ultimately, they did not win an earlier selection in that lottery, but still did pretty well in the Draft.
This year, the Brewers don't have a chance to move up in the Draft as part of the Lottery because they were a playoff team in 2023, even though they were eliminated rather quickly.
The way the Draft order works for playoff teams is they are slotted in reverse order of record among the teams eliminated in each round. The Brewers were eliminated in the Wild Card round so they're placement is with other teams eliminated in that round, which will start right after the 18 non-playoff teams.
The Milwaukee Brewers will hold the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.
Milwaukee's 92-70 regular season record in 2023 was 3rd-worst among the four teams eliminated in the Wild Card round (Marlins, Blue Jays, and Rays) with the Rays having the best record, winning 99 games.
That means the Brewers hold the 21st overall pick in the 2024 Draft after the 18 non-playoff teams, the Marlins 19th, then the Blue Jays 20th.
This is the 3rd time in franchise history the Brewers have held the 21st overall selection. The first came in the first year as a franchise, in 1969 when the organization drafted Gorman Thomas. That selection turned out quite well. The most recent was 2018 when the Brewers used the 21st overall pick on high school shortstop Brice Turang. Turang just made his MLB debut in 2023 and was the starting second baseman for most of the year.
The Brewers have selected college position players with their first pick in each of the last four drafts and six of the last eight. The only exceptions were a college pitcher in Ethan Small in 2019 and the aforementioned prepster Turang in 2018.
As for who the Brewers could select with this pick, it is obviously way too early to have a clear picture and a lot will change between now and when the Draft occurs. But for now, Baseball America's 21st ranked prospect in the 2024 Draft class is NC State catcher Jacob Cozart. Cozart is reportedly a well rounded catcher that can hit for power from the left side, has good bat-to-ball skills, and is strong defensively. That sounds like the type of player the Brewers have liked to target.
A lot can change between now and the Draft, but what won't change is the Brewers draft position. They will be picking 21st and will look to add more blue chip talent to the organization from that spot.
