Milwaukee Brewers select IF Hayden Cantrelle in fifth round of 2020 MLB Draft

With their final pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Louisiana-Lafayette SS/2B Hayden Cantrelle.

Cantrelle is a strong hitter who likely saw his draft stock dinged as he was hitting poorly before the shortened collegiate season ended. Before this year, he was a speedy, contact first, top-of-the-order hitter. He can see the strike zone well and use his speed to get more bags than most would on soft hits. There’s some fringe power in his bat, more so out of the left-handed swing than the right. Cantrelle was one of six collegiate hitters to have 25+ extra-base hits and 25+ stole bases in 2019.

Analysts say that Cantrelle has the range and arm to play an average shortstop, where he played at Louisiana-Lafayette. Some believe that teams might choose to switch him to second base, where his average defense could play up a little more. ESPN announced him during the draft as a 2B, which might show the team’s intent to move him there.

MLB Pipeline puts Cantrelle at 118 in their top 200, Baseball America has him at 138 and FanGraphs puts him at 82.

MLB Pipeline Tools:
Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

The Brewers have a $353,700 slot assigned to their fifth-round pick.