Milwaukee Brewers 2017 MLB Draft: Rounds 3 through 10 recap

The Milwaukee Brewers added seven new prospects to the farm system today. We’re breaking down the latest picks.

Round 3, Pick 76
K.J. Harrison
Catcher, Oregon State

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: 76 || Baseball America Top 500: 68 || Minor League Ball Top 500: 92

The consensus so far on K.J. Harrison: No one understands why the Brewers drafted him as a catcher. Harrison played mostly first base in college where he showed a good feed for the strike zone and adequate defense. There is some pop in his bat and he uses all parts of the field. Harrison barely caught at Oregon but was primarily a catcher during his high school years in Hawaii. Perhaps the Brewers were able to turn to some old tape they had from when they scouted Kodi Medeiros and Jordan Yamamoto?

Round 4, Pick 114
Brendan Murphy
Lefthand Pitcher, Mundelein High School

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: 157 || Baseball America Top 500: 119 || Minor League Ball Top 500: 143

Murphy is a big high school lefty but he doesn’t have the blow-it-by-you fastball you’d expect. Instead he sits in the low 90s with movement. What he does have is an advanced changeup, especially for a high school, and great control. As Murphy adds a few more pounds to his frame, he could get his fastball into the mid-90s but he’ll still need to refine his below-average curveball if he wants to be in the rotation.

Round 5, 144
Nick Egnatuk
Third Baseman, Immaculata High School

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: N/A || Baseball America Top 500: 223 || Minor League Ball Top 500: 198

Nick Egnatuk is an interesting prospect. Scouts didn’t get to see him as much as they would like due to living in a state that actually gets a winter. When he went on showcases, he showed an advance feel for hitting and the strike zone. There’s a good amount of raw power but not much demonstrated in game yet. Defensively he played mostly shortstop but is likely to move over to third where is strong arm and decent speed should suit him better.

Round 6, 174
Devin Hairston
Shortstop, Louisville

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: 130 || Baseball America Top 500: 113 || Minor League Ball Top 500: 101

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Hairston is all of 5’7” but he can still hit with the best of them. The Louisville shortstop is great at making contact and has a feel for the strike zone, though he doesn’t walk often. While he makes good contact, he does not have a lot of power and it will likely never develop. He also isn’t very fast, meaning he doesn’t stand a good chance of handling the shortstop position in pro ball. He could be a great defensive second baseman or utility infielder.

Round 7, 204
Bowden Francis
Righthand Pitcher, Chipola College

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: N/A || Baseball America Top 500: 194 || Minor League Ball Top 500: 267

Bowden Francis likely profiles as a bullpen pitcher in the majors. He has a low-90s fastball that sits mid-90s in shorter stints. It has good action on it and is complimented by a hard slider. He needs to work on his control and a third pitch. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Brewers at least give him a shot at starting before moving him to the pen.

Round 8, 234
Jayson Rose
Righthand Pitcher, Utah

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: 178 || Baseball America Top 500: 211 || Minor League Ball Top 500: 169

Some scouts give Jayson Rose the best changeup grade in the entire draft. He likely would have gone higher if not for early season struggles, mostly connected to throwing the changeup too much. He has a low-90s fastball and repeatable delivery, but the lack of a strong third pitch means his ceiling maxes out at backend starter.

Round 9, 264
Dallas Carroll
Third Baseman, Utah

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: N/A || Baseball America Top 500: N/A || Minor League Ball Top 500: N/A

I have NOTHING on Dallas Carroll. He is a 5th year senior who will likely give the Brewers some much needed financial flexibility when signing all the picks who came before him. When scouting the stat line (which is always bad), he made good contact with some pop and didn’t strike out a lot.

Round 10, 294
Alec Bettinger
Righthand Pitcher, Virgina

Pre-draft Rankings
MLB Top 200: N/A || Baseball America Top 500: N/A || Minor League Ball Top 500: N/A

Another very sign-able senior, Bettinger should also help provide financial flexibility. He pitched exclusively in relief in 2017 and had trouble with walks — to the tune of a 4+ BB/9 — but struck out more than one per inning.

The draft’s not done yet. Round 11-40 take place tomorrow and the Brewers were able to get some very interesting names last year, like Chad McClanahan, so stay tuned to our draft tracker to see who’s the next future Brewers are.