Brewers MLB draft glance since 1998: Rounds 6-20
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, which will be held June 10-11, will be limited to five rounds.
With the truncated version this year, we thought we’d take a look back at Milwaukee Brewers drafts since 1998 – when the last two expansion teams were added – to see how the Brewers have fared in each round.
We’ve already looked at Round 1 and rounds 2-5 and now we’ll look at the players who made the majors from Milwaukee’s picks in rounds 6-20. Our final article will focus on rounds 21-50.
Instead of ranking each player subjectively, we’ll order them objectively – by baseball-reference.com’s WAR (wins above replacement). Note: For pitchers, we’re using only their pitching WAR. To add in their hitting WAR seems a bit unfair, but we’ll include it in the capsule for reference sake. Also, this list only included players signed by Milwaukee.
Round 6
Bill Hall, SS, 1998
WAR: 9.7 (9.3 with Brewers)
Pitching WAR: 0.0 (DNP with Brewers)
Hall made it to the majors at age 22 in 2002 but didn’t get regular playing time until 2004. He’d more all over the field as the Brewers tried to find a place for him in the lineup. In a three-year span from 2006-08, he was the team’s starting shortstop, center fielder and third baseman. In eight seasons with the Brewers, Hall hit .253/.312/.446 (95 OPS+) with 102 home runs. He batted a career-high .291 in 2005 then had his best season the following year, hitting .270 with 35 homers, 101 runs and 85 RBI. Hall was dealt to Seattle in August 2009 and also played for Boston, Houston, San Francisco and Baltimore, his career winding down in 2012 with a career .248 average and 125 home runs. Hall ended up playing more than 200 games at second, third, short and the outfield in his career.
Garrett Cooper, 1B, 2013
WAR: 1.8 (DNP with Brewers)
Milwaukee dealt Cooper to the New York Yankees in 2017 for reliever Tyler Webb. Cooper got a handful of at-bats with New York who then traded him to Miami. After getting into just 14 games in 2018, Cooper appeared in 107 games for the Marlins in 2019, batting .281 with 15 home runs.
Eric Hanhold, P, 2015
WAR: -0.1 (DNP with Brewers)
Batting WAR: 0.0
Hanhold was the player to be named later in Milwaukee’s acquisition of Neil Walker (0.7 WAR) from the New York Mets in 2017. Hanhold pitched 2 1/2 innings for the Mets in 2018. He was claimed off waivers by Baltimore in 2019 and was in the Orioles’ major-league camp this spring as a minor-league invite.
Hiram Burgos, P, 2009
WAR: -0.8
Batting WAR: 0.0
Burgos made six starts for Milwaukee in 2013, posting a 6.44 ERA and 1.670 WHIP over 29 1/3 innings. He remained in the Brewers’ system until 2017 but never made it back to the majors.
Round 7
Michael Brantley, OF, 2005
WAR: 28.7 (DNP with Brewers)
One of the players used to acquire CC Sabathia from Cleveland, Brantley enjoyed a productive, although injury-riddled 10 years with the Indians, being named an All-Star three times. He joined Houston as a free agent in 2019 and again made the All-Star Game. Over his career, Brantley has hit .297/.353/.438 (116 OPS+) with 109 home runs and 121 stolen bases.
Khris Davis, OF, 2009
WAR: 11.4 (3.6 with Brewers)
Davis hit 60 home runs in three years with the Brewers, including 22 in 2014 and 27 in ’15, then was shipped off to Oakland. With the A’s, he had 42+ home runs in each of his first three seasons there before dipping to 23 in 2019. One idiosyncrasy of Davis’ career is that he hit .247 for four straight seasons (2015-18). He’s also had a negative defensive WAR in every season of his career. Davis’ career slash line is .244/.316/.499 (119 OPS+).
Tom Wilhelmsen, P, 2002
WAR: 4.8 (DNP with Brewers)
Batting WAR: 0.0 (DNP with Brewers)
After his first season in the minors, Wilhelmsen was suspended for marijuana use and decided to quit the game. The Brewers officially released him in 2009 and he signed a minor-league deal with Seattle before the 2010 season. He pitched for the Mariners in 2011 and stayed there until being dealt to Texas during the 2016 season. He also appeared with Arizona in 2017. His career numbers: 68 saves, 3.53 ERA (110 ERA+) and 1.268 WHIP.
David Goforth, P, 2011
WAR: -0.4
Batting WAR: -0.1
Gorforth pitched 36 1/3 innings over 31 games for the Brewers between 2015-17, recording a 5.94 ERA. He last pitched in the minors in 2018.
Round 8
Dave Pember, P, 1999
WAR: -0.1
Batting WAR: 0.0
Pember made four appearances with one start in 2002, allowing six runs (five earned) in 8 2/3 innings.
Erik Komatsu, OF, 2008
WAR: -0.4 (DNP with Brewers)
Komatsu was traded July 30, 2011 to Washington for Jerry Hairston (1.0 WAR with Brewers). He’d get into 30 major-league games, all in 2012 – 15 with St. Louis and 15 with Minnesota. He went 11-for-51 (.216). Komatsu last played in the minors in 2014.
Round 9
Dennis Sarfarte, P, 2001
WAR: 0.5 (0.1 with Brewers)
Batting WAR: n/a
Known as a strikeout pitcher, Sarfate reached the majors in 2006 at age 25 and threw 8 1/3 innings for Milwaukee, allowing four runs and fanning 11. He was purchased from the Brewers by Houston in September 2007 and he pitched 8 1/3 innings for the Astros, allowing one run with 14 strikeouts. Traded to Baltimore that winter, he got his most action with the Orioles – 102 2/3 innings in 2008-09. He finished his career with a 4.82 ERA, 1.549 WHIP and 9.3 K/9.
Yadiel Rivera, SS, 2010
WAR: -1.1 (-0.3 with Brewers)
Rivera saw spotty action with the Brewers from 2015-17, getting 88 plate appearances in 43 games and batting .183. He signed with Miami, where he played for two years, hitting .176 in 226 plate appearances. Rivera signed with Texas this past offseason.
Round 10
Eric Fryer, C, 2007
WAR: 0.8 (DNP with Brewers)
Fryer was traded to the Yankees in February 2009 for pitcher Chase Wright, who never reached the majors with the Brewers. Fryer didn’t play for New York, but carved out a career as a backup catcher, playing 159 games over seven seasons from 2011-17 with Pittsburgh, Minnesota and St. Louis. He batted .232/.320/.300 with two homers.
Mike McClendon, P, 2006
WAR: 0.3
Batting WAR: 0.0
McClendon pitched three seasons with the Brewers, compiling 48 2/3 innings in 35 games. His most action came in 2010 when he appeared in 17 games with 21 innings. He finished his career with a 5-0 record and 3.88 ERA.
Anthony Banda, P, 2012
WAR: 0.1 (DNP with Brewers)
Batting WAR: -0.1
Banda, along with Mitch Haniger, was traded to Arizona on July 31, 2014 for Gerardo Parra. He pitched in eight games for the Diamondbacks (5.98 ERA in 25 2/3 innings) then was involved in an offseason three-team draft which sent him to Tampa Bay. He’s pitched 18 2/3 innings for the Rays in the past two seasons with a 4.34 ERA.
Steve Garrison, P, 2005
WAR: 0.0
Batting WAR: n/a
Garrison was one of three players traded to San Diego on July 25, 2007 for Scott Linebrink (0.1 WAR with Brewers). The Padres waived him in 2010 and he was claimed by the Yankees. On July 27, 2011, Garrison got the final two outs in New York’s 10-3 home win over Seattle. Those would be the only two batters he’d face in his major-league career.
Ben Hendrickson, P, 1999
WAR: -1.0
Batting WAR: -0.1
Hendrickson was called up twice by Milwaukee and neither time went well. In 2004 he made nine starts and one relief appearance and had a 6.22 ERA in 46 1/3 innings. In 2006, he gave up 17 runs (16 earned) in 12 innings. Hendrickson was traded to Detroit in March 2007 and bounced around the minors for a couple of years.
Round 11
Corey Hart OF, 2000
WAR: 14.4 (15.4 with Brewers)
Hart saw bits of action with Milwaukee from 2004-06 before becoming the starting right fielder in 2007. He had five seasons of 20+ home runs, with a high of 31 in 2010, when he also had a career-high 102 RBI. He also had two seasons with 23 steals (2007-08). A two-time All-Star, Hart hit .276/.334/.491 (116 OPS+) with 154 home runs in his nine years with the Brewers. An injury cost him the 2013 season and comebacks with Seattle in 2014 and Pittsburgh in 2015 did not prove fruitful.
Brandon Woodruff, P, 2014
WAR: 3.8
Batting WAR: 0.6
After making four starts in 2017 (4.81 ERA), Woodruff emerged late in the 2018 season as a solid pitcher for Milwaukee, making 19 appearances (four starts) and posting a 3.61 ERA, 1.181 WHIP and 10.0 K/9. In 2019, he made 22 starts and went 11-3 with a 3.62 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.142 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 and also made his first All-Star Game. Woodruff, who is in line to be Milwaukee’s ace if and when the 2020 season is played, is 16-6 in his career with a 3.87 ERA, 1.118 WHIP and 9.7 K/9.
Round 12
Jordan Yamamoto, P, 2014
WAR: 0.9 (DNP with Brewers)
Batting WAR: -0.2
Part of the trade with Miami which netted the Brewers Christian Yelich, Yamamoto made his debut last season and had 15 starts for the Marlins, going 4-5 with a 4.46 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.144 WHIP and 9.4 K/9.
Carlos Corporan, 1B, 2003
WAR: 0.4 (0.0 with Brewers)
Corporan had exactly one plate appearance for the Brewers. He came in as a replacement for Jason Kendall in a blowout win at Cincinnati on May 6, 2009. In the top of the ninth, he got a hit off Paul Janish, an infielder called in to pitch, and eventually scored on a double by Craig Counsell. Corporan served as a backup catcher in Houston from 2011-14 and in Texas in 2015. He hit .214 with 20 home runs in 780 plate appearances spanning 232 games in his career.
Calix Crabbe, 2B, 2002
WAR: -0.5 (DNP with Brewers)
A speedy infielder who twice had 30+ steals in the minors, Crabbe was selected by the Padres in the Rule 5 draft, played in 21 games – batting .176 with one steal in 39 plate appearances – and returned to the Brewers. He left via free agency the next year and kicked around in the minors for a few more seasons.
Round 13
Rob Wooten, P, 2008
WAR: -0.3
Batting WAR: 0.0
The right-handed Wooten made it to the majors in 2013 at age 27 and had a 3.90 ERA (100 ERA+) and 1.265 WHIP in 27 2/3 innings for the Brewers. He pitched ni 40 games in 2014, with 34 1/3 innings, but his numbers rose to a 4.72 ERA and 1.456 WHIP. Wooten allowed eight runs in six innings in 2015 and didn’t pitch again in the majors. He announced his retirement this past April.
Sean Halton, 1B, 2009
WAR: -0.4
Halton made his debut three weeks after turning 26 in 2013 He played in 42 games – with 24 starts — for Milwaukee and hit .238/.291/.396 with four home runs in what would be his only major-league season.
Round 14
Donovan Hand, P, 2007
WAR: 0.9 (0.6 with Brewers)
Batting WAR: -0.1 (-0.1 with Brewers)
Hand reached the majors at age 27 in 2013, appearing in 31 games with seven starts for the Brewers. He went 1-5 with a 3.69 ERA (105 ERA+) and 1.346 WHIP. After spending all of 2014 in the minors, he signed with Cincinnati and pitched three scoreless innings for the Reds in 2015. After playing a year in China, he pitched in the Mets’ farm system in 2017.
Jacob Barnes, P, 2011
WAR: 0.1 (0.5 with Brewers)
Batting WAR: 0.1 (0.1 with Brewers)
Barnes pitched four seasons with Milwaukee from 2016-19, appearing in 167 innings over 167 games. He recorded a 3.93 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.359 WHIP and 9.4 K/9. After struggling in 2019, he was placed on waivers in August and claimed by Kansas City, where he had an 8.31 ERA in 13 innings. Barnes signed with the Angels this past offseason.
Round 15
n/a
Round 16
Scooter Gennett, SS, 2009
WAR: 7.3 (3.2 with Brewers)
Moved to second base, Gennett came up in 2013 and hit .324 in 69 games, earning him the starting spot in 2014. In four years with the Brewers, he hit .279/.318/.420 (99 OPS+) with 35 homers, including 14 in 2016. Gennett was placed on waivers and claimed by Cincinnati in 2017 and he proceeded to hit 50 home runs over the next two years with the Reds. However, he fell out of favor in 2019 and was dealt to San Francisco, hitting a combined .226 in just 139 plate appearances. Gennett, who remains a free agent, has a career slash line of .286/.327/.449 (106 OPS+).
Mitch Stetter, P, 2003
WAR: 0.6
Batting WAR: 0.0
Another late bloomer, Stetter debuted with five innings pitched at age 26 in 2007. A left-handed specialist, he pitched in 86 innings over 132 games in a five-year period, posting a 4.08 ERA (104), 1.395 WHIP and 9.3 K/9. In his career, he held lefties to a .194/.310/335 slash line.
Dana Eveland, P, 2002
WAR: -1.5 (-1.0 with Brewers)
Batting WAR: -0.1 (-0.1 with Brewers)
Eveland carved out an 11-year career, beginning as a 21-year-old with the Brewers in 2005. He pitched only 36 games for Milwaukee with a 6.98 ERA before being dealt to Arizona. Eveland pitched for 10 teams in his career but never spent more than two years with one club. Besides Milwaukee and Arizona, he played with Oakland, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore, New York Mets and Tampa Bay. In 187 major-league games, with 61 starts, he went 20-28 with a 5.46 ERA, last pitching for the Rays in 2016.
Round 17
Lorenzo Cain, OF, 2004
WAR: 36.1 (11.7 with Brewers)
Easily the best 17th-round pick in Brewers history (of course, only four ever players in the majors, but still). Cain debuted in 2010 but was traded in the offseason to Kansas City in the Zack Greinke deal. In 2018, he returned as a free agent and made the All-Star Game, batting .308 with 10 home runs, 90 runs and 30 steals. Last season, he dropped to .260 and 18 steals but won his first Gold Glove. Cain, who also made an All-Star Game with the Royals, has a career slash line of .288/.347/.413 (104 OPS+) in his 10 years. His career defensive WAR is 15.3 with five seasons of 2.0 or higher, including each of the last two years with the Brewers.
Tyler Cravy, P, 2009
WAR: 0.0
Batting WAR: 0.0
Cravy appeared in 34 games with nine starts for the Brewers in 2015-16, going 0-9 with a 4.56 ERA and 1.437 WHIP. In case you’re wondering the other two 17th-round Milwaukee picks to make the majors, they were outfielder Bob Coluccio (1969) and pitcher Chuck Crim (1982).
Round 18
Caleb Thielbar, P, 2009
WAR: 2.1 (DNP with Brewers)
Batting WAR: n/a
The left-handed Thielbar was released by Milwaukee after the 2010 season and picked up by Minnesota. He had a good year with the Twins in 2013 (1.76 ERA, 0.826 WHIP in 46 innings), so-so in 2017 (3.40 ERA, 1.406 WHIP in 47 2/3 innings) and then pitched just five innings in 2015. After bouncing around a couple of organizations, he re-signed with the Twins this past offseason.
Darren Ford, OF, 2004
WAR: 0.2 (DNP with Brewers)
Ford was one of two players, and the only one to make the majors, who was traded to the Giants for Ray Durham (0.7 WAR with Brewers) on July 20, 2008. Ford appeared in just 33 games In 2010-11, often used as a pinch runner. In fact, he had just one less steal attempt (15, with nine successful) than plate appearances (16, going 4-14).
Zach Braddock, P, 2005
WAR: 0.2
Batting WAR: 0.0
Braddock pitched in 51 innings in 71 games – yup, he’s left-handed – in 2010-11. He went 1-3 with a 4.41 ERA, 1.471 WHP and 10.4 K/9.
Round 19
Ty Taubenheim, P, 2003
WAR: 0.0 (DNP with Brewers)
Batting WAR: 0.2
Taubenheim was part of a five-player deal with Toronto in December 2005 which, in part, netted Milwaukee pitcher Dave Bush. Taubenheim pitched 35 innings with a 4.89 ERA for Toronto in 2006 and then 11 innings combined for the Blue Jays and Pirates the next two seasons, finishing with a career ERA of 5.09.
Zelous Wheeler, 3B, 2007
WAR: 0.0 (DNP with Brewers)
Wheeler had some decent years in the minors with Milwaukee and then Baltimore, which acquired him off waivers, with a good ability to get on base. But his only major-league action came in 2014 with the New York Yankees, hitting .193/.230/.298 in 62 plate appearances with two homers.
Round 20
n/a
