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Brewers select UCLA center fielder with top pick in 2020 MLB Draft

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The Milwaukee Brewers may have gotten a steal with their first round pick in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.

UCLA center fielder Garrett Mitchell was projected as a top 10 pick in the draft, so the Brewers were certainly excited to see him fall to 20th in Wednesday night’s opening round.

There was some speculation that teams considered him a risk because he has Type 1 diabetes, but that didn’t scare the Brewers away.  Mitchell learned of his condition when he was eight years old and has learned to live with it.

The Brewers selected prep pitcher Dylan Covey with their top pick in 2010.  He was discovered to have Type 1 diabetes in his draft physical, decided to pass on the Brewers and attend college.

Mitchell is considered a top defensive center fielder with speed and batted lead-off for the Bruins.  he hit .349 during his sophomore season and led the nation with 12 triples.  This past season, Mitchell was off to a .355 start when the Bruins season was suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the second time Mitchell was drafted.  He went in the 14th round of the 2017 draft but decided instead to go to UCLA.

The Brewers have four more picks on the second and final day of the draft on Thursday.

Brewers to make five selections in 2020 Draft

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The Milwaukee Brewers will make five picks in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, which starts at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday night.  They will have the 20th overall selection in the opening round.

This years draft has been shortened from the usual 40 rounds to five rounds in a cost-cutting move because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This years draft is deep in college pitching, which means the Brewers could draft that position for the second straight season.  They made Mississippi State lefty Ethan Small their top pick in last year’s draft (28th overall).

The Brewers have single picks in rounds two through five on Thursday.  They traded their Competitive Balance Round B selection (No. 64) to Seattle over the offseason in the deal for catcher Omar Narvaez.

Wednesday nights opening round will be televised on the MLB Network and ESPN.  The rest of the draft will be conducted Thursday, beginning at 4 p.m.

 

Brewers, Hader to swap salary figures today

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Josh Hader File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

The Milwaukee Brewers and their ace closer Josh Hader are scheduled to swap salary figures today.  Hader is in his first year of arbitration as a “Super 2” player (ranking among the top 22% of players with between two and three years of service time).

Hader hit the cutoff date at 2 years, 115 days, which gives him four years of arbitration instead of the customary three.

In 151 games in the majors, Hader is accumulated a 11-9 record, 2.42 ERA, 49 saves and a 0.845 WHIP.  He’s won the National League’s Reliever of the Year award the last two seasons.

Hader is expected to make between $4 million and $5 million in his first year of arbitration.  The figure [Read more…]

Brewers sign outfielder Avisail Garcia to free agent deal

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The Milwaukee Brewers  have signed free agent outfielder Avisail Garcia to a two-year contract with a club option for 2022.

The 28-year-old Garcia hit .282 with a career high 20 home runs and 72 RBI in 125 games with the Tampa Bay Rays this past season.  Garcia made 122 starts overall, 89 in right field, 23 games as a DH and 10 games in center field.  He hit .294 (42-for-143) with runners in scoring position.

“Avisail provides an impactful right-handed hitting force in our lineup,” said President of Baseball Operations and General Manager David Stearns.  “Adding him to our current group of outfielders strengthens what was already one of the strongest outfields in baseball.”

Garcia owns a career batting average of .273 with 96 home runs and 374 RBI in 763 games with Detroit (2012-13), Chicago-AL (2013-18) and Tampa Bay (2019).  His best season came with the White Sox in 2017 as he hit a career-high .330 with 18 home runs and a career-high 80 RBI in 136 games.  He was named to his only All-Star Game that season.

The native of Anaco, Venezuela was originally signed by Detroit as a non-drafted free agent on July 6, 2007.  He was a member of the 2012 American League-champion Tigers during his rookie season.

 

Hader, Yelich nominated for first-ever All-MLB Team

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Major League Baseball on Monday announced the introduction of the first-ever All-MLB Team, which will commemorate the top regular-season performances from 2019.  Two Milwaukee Brewers are represented on the ballot:  pitcher Josh Hader and outfielder Christian Yelich.

The selection of the All-MLB Team will be determined equally by an online fan vote on MLB.com as well as by a panel of baseball media, broadcasters, former players and other officials throughout the game.  A first and second team will be named with one player from each of the following positions:  first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher and designated hitter.  Each team will also feature three outfielders (not based on specific outfield positions), five starting pitchers and two relievers.

Fans may cast their ballots once daily beginning now until the polls close at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday, December 3. [Read more…]

2019 Milwaukee BBWAA Award Winners announced

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The Milwaukee Brewers announced their postseason award winners today as selected by a panel from the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Outfielder Christian Yelich earned Brewers Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight season after hitting .329 with 44 HR, 97 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 130 games.  He led the Major Leagues in slugging percentage (.671) and OPS (1.100) and the National League in batting average and on-base percentage (.429).  The batting title was his second in as many seasons, the first to accomplish this feat in the National League since the Rockies’ Larry Walker in 1998 and 1999.

Brandon Woodruff, a first time All-Star, was voted Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher after going 11-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 22 starts.  Woodruff was the team leader in wins, strikeouts (143) and quality starts (10). [Read more…]

Brewers open 2020 season at home against the Cubs

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Brewers File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

The Milwaukee Brewers will open the 2020 Major League Baseball season against the rival Chicago Cubs on Thursday, March 26 at Miller Park.  After taking Friday off, the two teams will wrap up the series on Saturday, March 28, and Sunday, March 29.  The St. Louis Cardinals then comes to town for three games to complete the six-game home stand.

Next season will mark the eighth time in the last nine years that the team will open the regular season at Miller Park and the second time that they will begin a campaign against the Cubs.

The Brewers will enjoy three off days on Friday next year, including back-to-back weeks to open the season. [Read more…]

Hiura named NL Rookie of the Month

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Keston Huira – Courtesy of MLB

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura was named the National League Rookie of the Month for July.

Hiura  hit .355 (33-for-93) with 17 runs, 10 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs, 18 RBI, 6 steals and a 1.127 OPS in 25 games.  He led all Major League rookies in runs, hits, doubles, extra base hits (18), total bases (65), batting average, OBP (.429), SLG (.699) and OPS and tied Victor Robles (Wash) for the lead among rookies in steals in the month.

Hiura became the sixth player in franchise history to earn NL Rookie of the Month honors, joining Ben Sheets (June 2001), Scott Podsednik (August 2003), Prince Fielder (April 2006), Ryan Braun (June 2007), Ryan Braun (July 2007) and Casey McGehee (September 2009).

Hiura is hitting .370 (30-for-81) in his last 22 games.  During that stretch, he has scored 15 runs, adding 17 extra-base hits, 17 RBI and a 1.174 OPS.  During this span, Hiura leads the entire National League in doubles, extra-base hits, SLG (.728) and OPS.  He is tied for the league lead in hits and ranks second in batting average and third in OBP (.446).

Hiura named NL Player of the Week (AUDIO)

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Keston Huira – Courtesy of MLB

Milwaukee Brewers rookie second baseman Keston Hiura has been named the National League Player of the Week.

Hiura earned his first career NL Player of the Week Award and is the second different Brewers player (third time) to take home weekly honors this season, joining his All-Star teammate Christian Yelich, who captured the weekly award twice.  The last Brewers player to accomplish the feat other than Yelich was Aramis Ramirez on July 5, 2015.

Hiura is the first and only rookie to win the weekly award in team history.

Hiura hit .517 (15-for-29) with seven runs scored, six doubles, two triples, a home run, eight RBI, two walks and two stolen bases in seven games this past week.

Among National League leaders, Hiura finished the week first in hits, extra-base hits (9), doubles and slugging percentage (.966); tied for first in triples; second in total bases (28); third in batting average and on-base percentage (.548); and tied for third in stolen bases.

Hiura enter’s Monday night’s game against Cincinnati riding a 11-game hitting streak.  He has eight multi-hit games and a trio of three-hit performances during that stretch.

AUDIO: Keston Kiura on being the first Brewers rookie to earn Player of the Week honors in MLB :15

 

Brewers blow lead late and fall to Reds 5-4

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Chase Anderson – File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Cincinnati – The Brewers bullpen let a 4-2 seventh inning lead get away Tuesday night and fell to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4.

Milwaukee led 4-2 through six innings thanks to more home runs, as Christian Yelich, Mike Moustakas and Eric Thames all went deep off Reds starter Tanner Roark.  It was in support of starter Chase Anderson, who allowed two runs over 5.2 innings and just 72 pitches.

Freddie Peralta allowed a run over 1.1 innings, and Cincinnati tied it with a two out RBI double from Joey Votto in the eighth off Matt Albers.

The Reds winning run scored in the eleventh.  With two outs Yasiel Puig singled to center.  Jose Iglesias singled to right, sending Puig to third.  Yelich’s throw to the infield short hopped Thames at first base, as the ball bounced off his glove and rolled through the infield.  Puig took off and scored from third to give the Reds a 5-4 win.

Yelich’s homer was his 31st.  Moustakas’s was his 24th.  The Brewers are 45-40 and lead the Cubs by a game in the N. L. Central