The Milwaukee Brewers will hold the 25th pick in the Major League Baseball draft July 11, a first-round selection who will get thrown into the best farm system in the league.
Here’s a quick look at what mock drafts have to say about the player the Brewers might select:
Ace Reese, third baseman, Mississippi State
Keith Law of The Athletic zooms in on the left-handed, 6-foot-4 corner infielder. After Brock Wilken, Blake Burke and Andrew Fischer, would the Brewers again select a college corner infielder in the first round for a fourth straight year?
“Reese fits some of the Brewers’ recent high picks, as he grades out a little better in the model than he does on the field, similar to recent selections Andrew Fischer and Eric Brown,” Law said. “That said, they’ve gone in all directions with recent high picks, including taking a high school pitcher at 33 in 2023 (the recently returned Josh Knoth).”
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN also saw Reese as a fit.
“Reese is still on the board because he could end up as a first baseman long term and his in-zone contact rate is a bit below average, but his in-game feel for power is elite,” McDaniel wrote. “There are parallels in his profile to Andrew Fischer and Brock Wilken, college players the Brewers recently took with first-round picks, and I could argue Reese is the best draft prospect of those three; he should have lots of interest in the back half of the first round.”
Zion Rose, outfielder, Lousiville
From Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline: “If the Cubs [at No. 23] go in a different direction, the Brewers would definitely have interest in [Coastal Carolina right-handed pitcher Cameron] Flukey here. With him gone, they might be more likely to look at bats. They’re not afraid of high school guys, so [Cole] Prosek or [Bo] Lowrence could come into play, but they went the college route last year with Andrew Fischer and could hit another Power Four conference with Rose.”
FanSided also connected Rose to the Brewers.
“Nine of Milwaukee’s last 10 first-round picks have been bats,” the site wrote. “This organization loves offensive upside if it identifies a hitter it likes, and Rose has a lot to like after displaying a unique combination of contact and power at Louisville. His lack of defensive value in the outfield is going to put a lot of pressure on the bat, but at this point in the first round, it’s well worth the risk for a Brewers team that will always bet on athletes. His top-line production is second to none.”
Aiden Ruiz, shortstop, Stony Brook HS, New York
From Ben Badler of Baseball America: “The Brewers lean college bats with their first-rounders, though when they do draft high school players, they tend to go for players who are young for the class. That’s not Ruiz – he’s already 19 – but he has a lot of other traits they value with his hand-eye coordination, high-contact bat and being a premium defender at shortstop. He is on the smaller side, but the Brewers aren’t the organization that will mind that, and there’s some sneaky juice for his size when he lets it loose.”
For what it’s worth, Baseball America also gave the Brewers a fun name with the 66th overall pick: Alabama high-school shortstop Rocco Maniscalco.
Cade Townsend, right-handed pitcher, Ole Miss
Few follow the Brewers organization more closely than independent writer Spencer Michaelis of Backfield Brew, whose most recent “Mock Draft Monday” two weeks ago zoomed in on Townsend.
“Townsend has learned to keep his emotions in check a bit better during his time at Ole Miss, and his stuff has been trending extremely positively for a while now. Townsend averages close to 20 inches of [induced vertical break] on his fastball and will get all the way up to 98 mph, though he sits more 94-96. It’s a relatively high arm angle and stock release height so the shape is good, but not elite. He started to mix a sinker this year, which showed some solid flashes, and he throws a high-spin cutter that sits in the 90 mph range. … This is one of the more talented arms in the class, and I think he’d be well worth the Brewers’ first pick. I’m just not sure he makes it to 25 on draft day.”
Another name to follow: Cole Prosek, third base/catcher, Magnolia Heights High School, Mississippi
Prosek is the nephew of Brewers third-base coach Matt Erickson, and he was a guest at American Family Field earlier this year. The Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississippi (an honor once bestowed to Cooper Pratt), he has strong grades as both a pure hitter and in the power department.
Names to follow in the early rounds with Wisconsin ties
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What mock drafts think the Brewers will do in 2026 MLB Draft
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
