The Brewers looked at the slot value structure, laughed, and went their own way spreading their bonus pool all over the place. They saved about $1.7 million on their first two picks, gave nearly a million of that back to second rounder Bryce Meccage, then saved another three quarters of a million dollars on third rounder Jaron DeBerry. They also knew that Meccage and competitive balance pick Chris Levonas would be tough signs, so they drafted seven preps (mostly pitchers) on day three plus two more tough-sign college arms. It turns out that Levonas didn't sign, so they spread the money around and spent more than two million dollars against their bonus pool on four of those day three arms, leaving five (plus Levonas) unsigned. This was a clearly pitching-heavy draft, as after taking bats with their first two picks, the Brewers only signed one position player the rest of the way. They targeted unique fastballs, projection, and youth relative to class, trusting heavily in what's been a pretty successful pitching development pipeline.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-18: OF Braylon Payne, Elkins HS [TX] {video}
Slot value: $4.53 million. Signing bonus: $3.44 million ($1.09 million below slot value).
My rank: #51. MLB Pipeline: #53. Baseball America: #54.
The Brewers played their first pick anything but straight up. Braylon Payne was almost universally considered a second round talent, but Milwaukee was so convicted in his tools and projection that they grabbed him here in the middle of the first round, paying the Houston commit roughly the slot value for the #25 pick here at pick #18. That move saves the Brewers more than a million dollars, savings which they would deploy a round later on New Jersey prep arm Bryce Meccage. Payne, meanwhile, is no slouch. He stands out first for his plus-plus speed that regularly impacts the game on both sides of the ball, but he's more than a speedster. He's skinny at this point at 6'2", 185 pounds, but he has steadily gotten more physical and projects to continue to do that for a long time. He starts with his hands high before dropping them into the hitting zone, gashing line drives around the park with regularity against Houston-area pitching in 2024. It's a bit of a disconnected stroke that is purely focused on contact at this point, and when he misses, he usually misses on top of the ball with lots of ground balls that play well to his blazing speed. As Payne continues to refine his swing mechanics and learn to leverage the ball, he could tap fringe-average power in the long run with the potential for 10-15 home runs per season, perhaps more at peak. Still, it will always be a hit over power profile. Meanwhile, he's a weapon in center field with strong feel for the position beyond his speed, so he'll not only stick there but provide positive big league value despite his weaker arm. Age ties the profile together nicely, as Payne didn't turn 18 until a month after the draft and has plenty of time to grow both physically and in his skillset. If it all breaks right, he could be Milwaukee's leadoff man of the future.
CBA-34: 1B Blake Burke, Tennessee {video}
Slot value: $2.70 million. Signing bonus: $2.10 million ($598,300 below slot value).
My rank: #37. MLB Pipeline: #65. Baseball America: #51.
I love this pick. Blake Burke is a borderline-first round talent, and they saved nearly $600,000 here by signing him to roughly the slot value of the #44 pick. If you've followed college baseball at all, you know who Tommy White is, and Burke actually stacks up extremely well against his more famous LSU counterpart. Firstly, Burke is a big, physical presence in the box at a listed 6'3", 235 pounds, looking even bigger as he stands straight and tall awaiting the pitch. He has a simple left handed swing that channels all of his brute strength into plus-plus raw power, power which he taps effortlessly and consistently in games. Beyond the power, he actually has plus bat to ball skills to make a ton of contact inside and outside the zone, though the hit tool plays down just a tick due to an extremely aggressive approach. Burke chases roughly a third of the time, one of the highest rates among early draft picks, yet still struck out in less than 15% of his plate appearances in 2024 as he made contact anyways. Pro and MLB pitchers will "know how to miss" a bit better than college pitchers, which will make things more difficult on Burke, though his bat to ball should help bail him out until he makes the appropriate adjustments. Meanwhile, the Northern California native is a non-athlete that will be limited to first base, where his well below average speed and heavy feet will be less of an issue. Despite his lack of athleticism, he does handle himself well around the bag and should be just fine at first base. Like Braylon Payne, Burke is young for the class and turned 21 a month before the draft. He has picked up four hits, all singles, in sixteen at bats with four strikeouts to two walks through five games at High A Wisconsin.
2-57: RHP Bryce Meccage, Pennington HS [NJ] {video}
Slot value: $1.56 million. Signing bonus: $2.5 million ($937,900 above slot value).
My rank: #55. MLB Pipeline: #51. Baseball America: #71.
After saving over $1.5 million on their first two picks, the Brewers began to cash in here by bringing in one of the top prep arms in the Northeast. With a signing bonus roughly fitting for the #37 pick, the Brewers pulled Bryce Meccage away from a Virginia commitment. Meccage sits in the low 90's and touches 97 with a fastball, an explosive pitch that plays up further with riding action. He has great feel for spin at this point, showing both an above average curveball and slider with distinct shapes to miss bats. The changeup is behind, but you'll happily take three potential above average pitches. Meccage is a great athlete with explosive actions on the mound, repeating his delivery well for average command that you don't often see paired with his caliber of stuff. 6'4" righty also has a very physical frame with additional room to fill out and add even more power, giving him legitimate ace upside especially in a system like Milwaukee that develops pitching well. While like most high school pitchers he has a long way to go, this is a special arm talent that already shows some polish.
CBB-67: RHP Chris Levonas, Christian Brothers HS [NJ] {video}
Slot value: $1.23 million. Signing bonus: did not sign.
My rank: #63. MLB Pipeline: #59. Baseball America: #74.
As a fellow New Jersey power armed righty, Chris Levonas is a very similar arm to Bryce Meccage. The Brewers hoped their massive savings in the first two rounds would help them lure Levonas away from a Wake Forest, but unfortunately they could only afford one and they won't be able to spend his $1.23 million slot value elsewhere. Like Meccage, he has a low 90's fastball that touches 97 with riding life and also shows excellent feel for spin. He can really rip through his power curveball with big spin rates and nasty bite, and he can shift it into more of a cutter/slider that looks like an above average pitch in its own right. Again like Meccage, the changeup is a bit behind. While Meccage is a little more physical, Levonas is an even more explosive athlete that gets down the mound extremely well with projection remaining on his 6'2" frame. Because he's so explosive on the mound, his command can be impacted and he can get scattered, so Wake Forest will look to smooth that out a bit while preserving the big time stuff. He has a chance to become a superstar under the tutelage of renowned pitching coach Corey Muscara.
3-93: RHP Jaron DeBerry, Dallas Baptist {video}
Slot value: $788,700. Signing bonus: $25,000 ($763,700 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #459.
Continuing with the bonus pool games, the Brewers more or less punted their third round pick from a bonus standpoint, grabbing senior sign Jaron DeBerry for a minuscule $25,000. The bonus standpoint disclaimer is important, because Deberry is an impressive arm. He began his career at Northern Oklahoma JC, then transferred to Grayson JC as a sophomore and finally on to Dallas Baptist for his junior and senior seasons. 2024 was his best year yet, impressively completing at least five innings in all sixteen of his appearances. The fastball sits around 90, perhaps a tick above, and tops out around 94 with riding and cutting action from a lower slot, making for a sneaky offering that plays up. Following the "feel for spin" theme of this draft class, he leans heavily on his tight, hard sweeper and his downer curveball, while also showing a true cutter, sinker, and changeup, though those are more filler for the arsenal than headliners. He doesn't carry much weight on his skinny 6'2" frame, offering some projection, and he has assuaged durability concerns so far with a consistent, high workload season at Dallas Baptist. DeBerry repeats his delivery well and shows a tick above average command. Between the deep arsenal, consistency, projection, and command, it's a really nice sleeper of a starting pitching profile for a guy who barely signed for any money. And though he's a senior sign, the DFW native is young for his class and didn't turn 22 until more than a month after the draft.
4-123: C Marco Dinges, Florida State {video}
Slot value: $583,400. Signing bonus: $500,000 ($83,400 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Marco Dinges was a prominent bat in the ACC this past season, though most outlets saw him as a better college hitter than pro prospect. Not the Brewers, who believe fully in the bat and even think he has a chance to catch at the next level. Dinges began his career at Tallahassee JC, planned on transferring to Maryland, then changed course and instead headed down Pensacola Street to play at Florida State where he was all-ACC third team. He's a power-over-hit type with a sturdy 6' frame that can blast balls out to all fields with ease, doing so fifteen times in 2024. He's also a pretty disciplined hitter that walked (13.3%) more than he struck out (12.5%), keeping the swing and miss down by swinging at good pitches he knew he could work with. Meanwhile, Dinges is a below average athlete that has spent a lot of time at DH, though he has made appearances in the outfield and behind the plate. His below average speed limits him in the former, though his above average arm could help him cut it in right field, while he's raw at the latter. However, his strong frame and arm strength give him a nice baseline as a catcher, and if he can maintain his mobility and clean up hsi actions a little bit, he does have a shot to play there. That would certainly elevate the profile considerably, as he'd otherwise have to be carried by his bat alone which could go either way. He is young for the class, not turning 21 until more than a month after the draft. So far, he's slashing .303/.378/.394 with a 9/4 strikeout to walk ratio through eight games at Low A Carolina.
5-156: RHP John Holobetz, Old Dominion {video}
Slot value: $422,900. Signing bonus: $322,500 ($100,400 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
John Holobetz is another one that was off the radar a bit. Another transfer, he began his career at Radford and played the last two seasons across the state at Old Dominion, where he has been a valuable swingman for the Monarchs. Holobetz has a low 90's fastball that gets up to around 95, with more likely in the tank. He complements the fastball with a nice slider, and those two are his main weapons. Holobetz lost his spot in the rotation after four turns this spring, but showed very well as a long reliever and still averaged over four innings per appearance overall. He has above average command and moves extremely well on the mound, with significant projection remaining in his 6'3" frame. He could cut it as a back-end starter if he brings the changeup along, or his stuff has a chance to really leap forward in shorter stints with better command than most relievers. It's a pretty fun arm that the Brewers tend to do well with. Breaking from the theme a bit, the Pennsylvania native is older for the class and turned 22 shortly after the draft, making him older than senior Jaron DeBerry and more than a year older than fellow junior Marco Dinges.
7-215: LHP Mason Molina, Arkansas {video}
Slot value: $257,400. Signing bonus: $254,900 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #190. MLB Pipeline: #225. Baseball America: #147.
After a stretch of names expected to go a bit later in the draft, Mason Molina is one of the more famous players to be taken by any team in this late day two part of the draft. Molina was a coveted prep arm out of Southern California, landing at Texas Tech where he was a central piece of head coach Tim Tadlock's pitching staffs in 2022 and 2023. Transferring to Arkansas this past season, he slotted right into the Razorback rotation and turned in another solid season, giving a really extensive body of work overall. His fastball sits around 90 and tops out around 95, which isn't overwhelming, but it plays way above its velocity with massive riding life to make it almost like an invisiball. He has a big, deep curveball and a tighter slider, both of which reliably miss bats in the zone when he executes them, which is often. Molina rounds things out with an above average changeup with great fading action, and it might be his best pitch when all is said and done. He lacks a true strikeout pitch and the breaking balls lack the true snap to elicit chases, but he's a high IQ pitcher who effectively sequences his pitches and works through lineups. The 6'2" lefty has gotten bigger at Arkansas, now clocking in at 230 pounds, and lacks projection at this point. Still, he's young for the class and only turned 21 shortly before the draft, so there's hope he could add a frankly necessary tick or two to his fastball in pro ball. It's hard to call anybody high floor these days, but as a durable lefty with four pitches he knows how to sequence, Molina is a high probably back-end starter and struck out three over two shutout innings in his first start at Low A Carolina.
13-395: LHP Joey Broughton, Northville HS [MI] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $535,000 ($385,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: #143. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #168.
If the Brewers weren't going to sign Chris Levonas (plus a few other day three picks), Joey Broughton is more than a nice consolation price after they gave him late fourth round money to sign away from a Pittsburgh commitment. He was teammates with Phillies first round pick Dante Nori at Northville High School in the Detroit suburbs, making for possibly the best hitter/pitcher combination of any high school in the country. Broughton is a very interesting sleeper. The fastball sits in the low 90's and touches 95-96, but it plays way above its velocity with huge riding action from a low release point, an uncommon combination. He has a big, two-plane curveball with nice finish, with the chance to become an above average or even plus pitch with added power. There's also a changeup in there that he hasn't fully gained feel for, but does flash some nice ones. It's a fairly athletic, crossfire delivery with a bit of longer arm action that can impact his command, but he repeats it well and has a chance to be average or better in that regard. The 6'2" righty has some projection but is pretty sturdily built right now, giving him every chance to start overall. This is a nice day three sleeper with real mid-rotation upside, showing the potential for three above average pitches from the left side.
15-455: RHP Travis Smith, Kentucky {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $462,500 ($312,500 against bonus pool).
My rank: #218. MLB Pipeline: #179. Baseball America: #265.
This is an interesting pick and a case of the Brewers really trusting their talent evaluation as they hand Travis Smith fifth round money here in the fifteenth round. Smith was a highly regarded recruit out of Northern Kentucky, but missed his freshman season with both heart surgery and Tommy John surgery. He earned a full time role in the rotation in 2023, putting himself in early day two consideration heading into 2024, but he lost his spot in the rotation this past spring as he struggled to a wholly unremarkable season. He planned to transfer to Mississippi State for 2025, but the Brewers believe in the arm talent and gave him the money he was expecting before his tough season. Smith has a low 90's fastball that gets up to about 96-97 at peak, coming in with running and sinking life from a lower slot to avoid hard contact. He has a tight slider that works well off his fastball, which he can work into a cutter to split the difference, and also has a changeup that's a bit behind. Smith has had streaky command at Kentucky and struggled to stay ahead of hitters in 2024, leading to an elevated 12.5% walk rate but perhaps more concerning, just an 18.8% strikeout rate that represented the second lowest mark of any of the 54 college pitchers on my draft board. The Brewers will have to unlock better execution to get him missing bats at a higher rate, as the current product won't cut it in pro ball. The arm talent is certainly there, though, and Milwaukee thinks they can unlock it with perhaps some tweaks to the stuff and usage.
16-485: RHP Jayden Dubanewicz, Stoneman Douglas HS [FL] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $665,000 ($515,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
The Brewers continued doing their thing, this time handing out another large bonus to Jayden Dubanewicz, who signed for early fourth round money to skip a Florida commitment. This one is a pure projection play. Dubanewicz is long and lanky at a listed 6'3", 160 pounds, looking like he could legitimately add fifty-plus pounds as he gets into a pro conditioning program. The fastball sits in the low 90's right now and only tops out around 92-93, so that added strength will be key. The fastball comes in with running and sinking action from a lower slot, while the slider is loopy but gets nice finish diving the opposite direction. His changeup is a third pitch but present. Dubanewicz is very raw and may need to hang back in complex ball for a little bit, but the Brewers believed he would have exploded at Florida and they'd prefer to have him explode in their own system. If it works out, the sky is the limit.
18-545: RHP Tyler Renz, Fox Lane HS [NY] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $852,500 ($702,500 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #279.
The Brewers shelled out a lot of large bonuses on day three, but none were larger than the $852,500 handed to St. John's commit Tyler Renz – roughly the slot value for the #88 pick, mid-third round. Like Jayden Dubanewicz, he's a pure projection play. The fastball hovers around 90 and tops out around 93 in short stints with running action, so he'll certainly need to add velocity. He has nice feel for a slider with late bite, while his changeup is a distant third pitch. Renz is extremely projectable at a listed 6'4", 180 pounds, with a sturdy frame that looks fit to add that weight. He also has a free and easy delivery that helps him stay under control and fill the zone, giving him the potential for above average command in the long run. Renz is extremely young for the class, tying Diamondbacks second rounder Ivan Luciano for the second youngest player in the entire draft and not turning 18 until November. That adds to the projection in a big way, and if he can add about five MPH to his fastball while continuing to progress with his command, he has a chance to be an impact starting pitcher.
