Brewers draft pair of high-profile high school infielders on Day 2. Now, can they sign them?
Time will tell if the Milwaukee Brewers pulled off one of the steals of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft by selecting high-school shortstop Cooper Pratt in the sixth round Monday.
Pratt, an 18-year-old out of Magnolia Heights High School in Senatobia, Miss., entered the draft ranked as the 40th-, 45th- and 63rd-best overall player according to expert talent evaluators at The Athletic, MLB.com and Baseball America, yet he lasted all the way to pick No. 182.
Why wasn’t he selected sooner? One simple reason: Money.
As in, the Brewers are going to need to pony up way over the prescribed slot value of $309,900 in order to sign Pratt, who came into the draft with what was rumored to be a very strong commitment to the University of Mississippi.
Milwaukee entered the draft with a draft pool of $10,950,600 – 12th-largest in MLB – allotted to sign its class.
With the expectation that several of their other picks are likely to sign under-slot deals, first-rounder Brock Wilken among them, the Brewers clearly felt strongly that they'll be able to give Pratt a number big enough to convince him to begin his professional career this summer.
"Nothing's 100% sure. But feel pretty good about the opportunity there," said Brewers vice president of domestic scouting Tod Johnson. "Obviously, he did have strong commit, but he's also really committed to baseball, and loves baseball.
"We have a chance, anyways, and I think we're pretty confident it'll work out. But obviously, nothing's 100% guaranteed until the ink's on the paper."
Pratt, who measures in at 6 feet 4 inches and 195 pounds, will get every chance to remain at shortstop assuming he does sign with the Brewers. It's a position where Milwaukee continues to stockpile top-shelf talent, with shortstop Eric Brown Jr. taken as the organization's top pick in 2022 out of Coastal Carolina.
"Just a really, really good baseball player," Johnson said of Pratt. "His power started to develop this year as he kind of filled in; a pretty lean, lanky frame. Pretty good pitch recognition for a high-school kid, especially. Good actions. We like his hands. Does he get big enough that he becomes something other than a shortstop?
"It's possible. But we're going to give him every chance to go out and play shortstop for us, and we're pretty excited about that."
Pratt wasn't the only high-ceiling prep infielder the Brewers chose Monday.
Shortstop-third baseman Eric Bitonti was Milwaukee's first pick on the draft's second day, going in the third round and 87th overall. A product of Aquinas High School in San Bernardino, Calif., the left-handed-hitting Bitonti checks in at 6-5 and 218 pounds.
He played for the Brewers' Area Code team, giving the organization's West Coast talent evaluators Corey Rodriguez, Wynn Pelzer and Daniel Cho ample opportunity to interact with Bitonti, ranked 49th overall by The Athletic, 59th by Baseball America and 68th by MLB.
"They've spent a lot of time with this kid in the dugout and on the field for multiple years now," Johnson said. "He's always had really good power. We feel like the hit tool is something that can continue to improve and develop. He's played shortstop all through his high-school years so we'll probably give him some reps there, but he's more likely to be a third baseman.
"We're just excited. It's another really good bat that has power potential and a chance to develop. Pumped to get him there in the third round."
Bitonti is still only 17 years old and a University of Oregon commit. The slot value is $796,200.
"Nothing's guaranteed until the ink's on the paper," Johnson said when asked about Bitonti's signability. "But I think we have a pretty good feel for it. I feel fairly confident that it'll get done."
If the Brewers are able to convince Bitonti to come aboard along with Pratt, they'll have landed three tremendously high-ceiling prep players with right-hander Josh Knoth -- coincidentally another Ole Miss signee -- being Milwaukee's second Day 1 pick on Sunday (33rd overall).
"It's always a balance of trying to get good balance in your class, get some different demographics and different age ranges," Johnson said.
Brewers add several college pitchers on Day 2 of MLB draft
Milwaukee also picked six college pitchers -- four from the Division I level, one from NAIA and one from junior college -- on Monday.
The first was right-hander Jason Woodward, who went in the fourth round and 119th overall. Hailing from Florida Gulf Coast University, the 6-1, 180-pound righty is that school's highest draft pick since Chris Sale went 13th overall in 2010 but is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent in March.
"The stuff he was showing before he got hurt was really, really interesting," said Johnson, who added the team expects about a 12- to 14-month recovery time for Woodward. "He's a really athletic mover."
Fifth-rounder Ryan Birchard, a right-hander out of Niagara (N.Y.) County Community College, was trending as a potential dark-horse pick for the Brewers until...
"Kind of a late riser guy," is how Johnson described him. "Our area scout there, Steve Ditrolio, did an amazing job tracking him down and knowing him. We were actually a little frustrated because he was way under the radar because Niagara's not exactly the spot you want to go and watch baseball all the time.
"But then the kid went to the MLB Draft League and did exactly what he should there and dominated. So, that raised his profile a little bit and put him in a spot where we felt like (the fifth round) was about the last spot that we were going to be able to get him."
Maybe the most interesting pick in terms of backstory was the Brewers' eighth-rounder (242nd overall), right-hander Craig Yoho of Indiana University.
A native of Fishers, Ind., the 23-year-old Yoho spent his first two years at the University of Houston as a position player but played in only nine games in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, then after transferring to Indiana, missed all of the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the result of two Tommy John surgeries as well as a procedure to correct an injured patella.
Live tracker: Milwaukee Brewers 2023 MLB draft selections
Day 1: What to know about each of the Milwaukee Brewers' draft picks
All told, Yoho went 1,082 days between playing games at Houston and Indiana, where he went 4-1 with a 3.41 earned run average and 63 strikeouts in 37 innings over 18 appearances as a reliever. He also registered one save.
"Ginger Poulson's our scout in this area and she knew him really well. Had done a lot of work on him, brought his name up a lot," said Johnson. "The medical situation is something that we are aware of, and we'll have to keep track of.
"But he is back. It's interesting profile. It'll be nice to see how it turns out."
As if Yoho's collegiate journey wasn't crazy enough, he's since committed to playing next season at Arkansas if he and the Brewers aren't able to come to terms on his bonus (slot is $196,700).
"She knew what he wanted to do, and he wanted to go play," Johnson said. "It was one of those with where at that spot, even with everything else going on, we'll take the chance here."
The draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11-20.
Brewers 2023 draft class through 10 rounds
3B Brock Wilken, Wake Forest (first round, 18th overall)
RHP Josh Knoth (competitive balance, 33rd overall)
3B Mike Boeve, Nebraska-Omaha (second round, 54th overall)
SS-3B Eric Bitonti, Aquinas HS, San Bernardino, Calif. (third round, 87th overall)
RHP Jason Woodward, Florida Gulf Coast (fourth round, 119th overall)
RHP Ryan Birchard, Niagara (N.Y.) County Community College (fifth round, 155th overall)
SS Cooper Pratt, Magnolia Heights High School, Senatobia, Miss. (sixth round, 182nd overall)
LHP Tate Kuehner, Louisville (seventh round, 212th overall)
RHP Craig Yoho, Indiana (eighth round, 242nd overall)
LHP Mark Manfredi, Dayton (ninth round, 272nd overall)
RHP Morris Austin, Houston Christian (10th round, 302nd overall)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers select pair of high school infielders on Day 2 of MLB draft
