The Brewers signed their top 2 draft picks. Just as big, they saved money needed elsewhere.

Brock Wilken’s biology professor will have to forgive him. The kicks, after all, went to good use.

Wilken, selected last week by the Milwaukee Brewers as their first-round draft pick, was at his future stomping grounds of American Family Field on Monday. He was dressed for the occasion, sporting a pair of blue-and-yellow Nikes to match the jersey and hat of his new team.

Wilken, a self-proclaimed shoehead, didn’t even need to go shopping for them after the draft; they were already in his closet, thanks to a distraction during a class while at Wake Forest.

“I enter in a lot of these shoe drawings,” Wilken said. “I’m big into them. I was in my bio lab – sorry, teacher, I wasn’t supposed to say that – but I won these shoes in my bio lab about four months ago. It’s a little foreshadowing.

“As soon as I heard I was going to become a Brewer, I was like, ‘I got these colors, so I’m going to rock them as much as I can’. It’s just a great way to show that I’m a Brewer.”

Wilken officially became a Brewer on Monday, as did Milwaukee’s 33rd overall pick in the draft, pitcher Josh Knoth. Both players were in Milwaukee to sign their first pro contracts and take a tour of the stadium.

The key news for the Brewers wasn’t just that they inked their first two picks of the draft, but they, just as importantly, came in well under slot value.

Wilken signed for a reported $3,150,000, nearly $900,000 below the assigned slot value for the 18th-overall pick in the draft.

More: The injuries keep coming for the Brewers, who lose a top starting pitcher to elbow injury

Knoth, the 17-year-old electric arm out of Medford, New York, cost a reported $2 million, which is more than $500,000 below slot.

Those savings will come in handy because of the way the Brewers handled the rest of the draft after taking Wilken and Knoth, stocking up on highly-regarded high schoolers later on who will demand over-slot bonuses in order to eschew their college commitments.

The primary targets on which the Brewers hope to use those savings: Infielders Eric Bitonti and Cooper Pratt, both regarded as possible second-round picks before falling to Milwaukee in the third and sixth rounds, respectfully,

“I’m fairly confident we’ll be able to do something there and we’ll be able to see those guys relatively soon,” Brewers scouting director Tod Johnson said. “Deadline (to sign) is the 25th, so it will be a week from tomorrow. We kind of have a soft deadline by the end of the weekend because we have to get physicals and stuff, but we should be pretty good there.”

The powerful Brock Wilken is expected to jump right to Class High-A

Brewers fans might be in luck.

Wilken, by nature of being an advanced college hitter, is likely to jump over Class A Carolina and head straight to Class High-A, where he will begin his pro career only 90 miles from Milwaukee in Grand Chute, once he gets some at-bats under his feet at the Brewers’ complex in Arizona.

“I think that’d be great,” Johnson said. “I think the level of play he was at in the ACC and through the College World Series, would make Appleton something he can handle. He’s also been playing up until recently because they were in the final four of the College World Series so his last competitive game was only a couple weeks ago… It’s not my call at all, but I’d love to see him up here because then I get to go watch him, too.”

Wilken made it clear from the jump he wanted to sign and get back to playing as quickly as possible. That proved to be the case, as he was in Milwaukee one week after being drafted, and already dreaming of launching homers over the left-field fence.

More: The Brewers figure to buy at the trade deadline. Here are 8 players they could target.

“It kind of settled in today,” Wilken said. “You always dream of this day as a little kid. First off, you dream of draft day and that went accoridng to plan. Now we’re here. Just being able to get out on the field and see the lay of the land and see where I’ll be playing in a couple years is really special.”

Wilken was lauded by the Brewers for being arguably the top power bat in the draft. The 21-year-old third baseman tied the ACC career record with 71 home runs in college and his 31 homers this year tied the Wake Forest single-season record.

The Brewers hope Wilken’s hit tool will continue to grow as it did this past year at Wake Forest, and he will develop into an everyday third baseman who can be an all-around player.

“I want to continue to grow in every aspect of the game,” Wilken said. “That’s part of the maturity process and being able to grow and be consistent day-in and day-out. In college you’re playing 4 games a week and now you’re playing 6 to 7 games a week. That’s part of the whole process is growing and learning and being able to play every day with the same passion that I did on weekends (in college).”

Josh Knoth grips it and rips it

Knoth, who has just about everything metrically data-driven scouts want to see from a pitcher, knows full and well that he joined an organization heavy on analytics on the pitching side.

“100 percent, I know they develop pitchers very well,” Knoth said. “They’re very analytical and I’m excited to get going with that. It can only help.”

Is Knoth into the analytics side of things?

“I want to be,” Knoth said, “but it hurts my brain a little bit.”

More: Brewers are promoting top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski to Double-A

Knoth may not be a data savant, but he sure knows about spin rate. It’s hard not to when that’s what your best pitch, a 3,000-plus rpm curveball, is most lauded for.

Knoth also worked hard to make significant velocity gains prior to his senior season of high school ball, raising his fastball from the low 90s to sitting 94-96 while topping at 98, and added a slider, but there’s no doubt in his mind, he said, that his curve is still his top offering.

“I just kind of grip it and rip it,” Knoth said, “and it plays.”

It sure does.

Knoth has all the ingredients of what the Brewers have shown makes a top-notch pitching prospect with the kind of pure stuff that rivals the likes of Aaron Ashby, Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff and so on.

Now begins the process of putting the pieces together.

“I think I’m just ready to get to work and develop hopefully to where I’m here sooner than later,” Knoth said. “I’ll probably start off slowly in my progression because I haven’t thrown in a while. I’ll probably stay in Arizona this year and the middle of next year maybe move up to (Class A) Carolina if everything goes to plan.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers sign their top 2023 MLB draft picks Brock Wilken, Josh Knoth