Brewers make a surprise first round pick, then a splash late on Day 1 of the MLB draft

In some ways, the Milwaukee Brewers pulled off a surprise with their first pick in the Major League Baseball draft. 

In others, it may not come as much of a shock at all.

With the 17th pick, the Brewers selected Braylon Payne, a high school outfielder out of Missouri City, Texas.

In a class full of college bats that figured to be available throughout the first round, many anticipated the Brewers would follow their recent trend and select one of them with their first-round pick. 

Instead, the Brewers went with Payne, one of the younger players in the draft who features top-end speed and solid contact abilities but was not pegged by national draft outlets to be a first-rounder. 

Payne becomes the first high schooler taken in the first round by the Brewers since Brice Turang went 21st in 2018. The 17-year-old Payne bats and throws left-handed, won’t turn 18 until August and was ranked No. 53 by MLB Pipeline, No. 54 in the draft by Baseball America and No. 78 by The Athletic.

"I think that from where he was slated to go by the the 'industry watchers,' the Baseball Americas and MLB-dot-coms, I don't think that the teams themselves actually had him where he was in that," Brewers vice president of domestic scouting Tod Johnson said. "He was definitely in the — maybe not completely in the first-round mix — but he was certainly very close. And we felt like it was a really good opportunity to grab a player that we really, really liked. We felt like we wanted to do it at 17 and make sure we didn't miss out on the opportunity on a guy we think could be be a really big impact player for us down the road."

The pick was met with some surprise, but with the way the draft bonus pool system works in the draft, it could help set the Brewers up to select players they can sign to over-slot deals later in the draft. Two of those potential over-slot picks came at the end of Day 1, with Milwaukee taking New Jersey prep pitchers Bryce Meccage and Chris Levonas.

"We know who we like," Johnson said. "We have the board lined up how we see the players and then we just start working through the dynamics of of what picks we think we need to make when from the perspective of what the players' markets are, who we liked the best. Obviously, signability type information comes into that as well, and how we allocate our pool money across the whole class to get the most the most talent out of it."

Payne’s profile fits Milwaukee’s draft trends in recent history, too. He isn’t their typical first-round college bat, but scouts rave about his speed, bat to ball skills and defense in center field. From Turang to Garrett Mitchell to Sal Frelick, the Brewers have taken high-contact, plus-defense players regularly in recent years with their first pick.

Payne is 6 foot 1 and 180 pounds and will need to add strength, as his game currently lacks power for the most part.

Payne batted .531 (51-for-96) with nine doubles, four triples, three homers and 32 stolen bases as a senior in 2024. He drew 21 walks with just seven strikeouts in 119 plate appearances. As a junior in 2023, Payne batted .512 (44-for-86) with 9 doubles, 5 triples, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 34 runs and 34 stolen bases in 28 games. Payne is committed to the University of Houston.

Brewers go with a big bat with second pick

Using the pick they received from the Baltimore Orioles in the Corbin Burnes trade, the Brewers went with University of Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke at No. 34.

Many of the reports on Burke indicate that he is almost all bat and little glove, representing a bit of a rarity in that regard for the Brewers, who typically prefer well-rounded players.

But Johnson pushed back on that notion after the draft, calling the 21-year-old Burke "an all-around" player.

"He's a very good defensive first baseman as well, which not everyone talks about," Johnson said. "We think his defense around the bag at first and just being a defender over there is going to be an asset, as well."

Burke has elite raw power and a good feel for the barrel, and that is what will give him a chance to be a regular player down the road. A left-handed hitter, Burke batted .379 with a .702 slugging percentage, 20 homers and 31 doubles for the NCAA champion Volunteers this year as a junior.

Reports on Burke's plate discipline are generally positive for someone with his exit velocities and his 14.8% strikeout rate backs that.

"At the plate, it's not just power," Johnson said. "We think he's a good hitter, as well. He has good strike zone judgment and awareness. He makes a decent amount of contact for a guy that's more that's a power guy, as well. So we think he's a pretty polished, all-around guy who can also play really well at first base."

Burke doesn't figure to be an over-slot pick, which could save the Brewers even more money to use later in the draft.

Dipping into the same state for two intriguing arms

The Brewers have found success in plucking cold-weather, potentially under-scouted arms off the board ahead of the rest of the league in recent seasons.

They went back to the well again this year.

In the span of 11 picks toward the end of Day 1, the Brewers selected a pair of right-handed high school pitchers from New Jersey.

Meccage (pronounced like Message), taken out of The Pennington School in New Jersey with the 57th pick, is a large-framed right-hander at 6-4 and 210 but still has some room to add strength.

Meccage has been up to 96-97 mph with a high-octane delivery but his selling point is his two high-spin breaking balls. The first is a slider in the low-80s that moves sharp and late, while the other is an upper-70s curveball. The lack of velocity difference between the two pitches is notable, but their shapes are fairly distinct, which gives them a chance to each be a plus pitch on its own.

Meccage, unsurprisingly for a large-framed prep arm, will need to make strides in his command. He's a good athlete and could potentially find strike-throwing benefit from taking a bit off his fastball and allowing his breaking pitches to play up.

Meccage has some connections to the National League Central already; his uncle Justin is the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen coach.

Not long after Meccage was taken, Milwaukee went back to New Jersey and nabbed Chris Levonas, a 6-2 right-hander who struck out 68 over 31⅔ innings with a 0.44 ERA out of Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft.

Levonas has thrown his fastball in the upper 90s and still has room to fill out his lanky, athletic frame. Just like Meccage, Levonas features a high-spin arsenal of breaking balls, and he also benefits from excellent extension going down the mound.

A dive into Levonas' profile shows that he has a chance to be one of the real hidden gems of the 2024 class.

"We're going to develop both as starters and see, hopefully, potential top of the rotation-type upside," Johnson said. "That's the goal. That's what we're trying to build here, is starters. We see that with these guys. They have the pitch mix. They have the the ability to add the strength and durability to be able to take those roles on, and the strike-throwing and all those kinds of things."

These two picks may be where the Brewers' savings from other picks are ultimately allocated: Levonas is committed to Wake Forest and Meccage to Virginia, both of which are highly regarded college programs.

"That'll be a process we'll work through here between now and the deadline," Johnson said. "We always hope to sign every one we take at least in the top 10 rounds. That's that's the hope here and the plan. We'll work through that process with them and their representation and their families over the next three weeks or so, and hopefully land on on really good spots for both of them and get them out playing."