Brewers Predicted To Acquire 'Pure Hitting' Infielder In July

For the Milwaukee Brewers, the Major League Baseball Draft will be an important date on the calendar next month.

On Jul. 13, the Brewers will have two of the first 32 picks. They've got the 20th overall pick because of where they finished in the standings last season, then they've got the 32nd selection due to losing shortstop Willy Adames in free agency.

Every team approaches the draft differently, and the Brewers have typically gone for superior athletes to maintain their defense-first identity. But one baseball writer believes they could break that trend this season by selecting a slugging infielder.

On Friday, CBS Sports' Mike Axisa predicted that the Brewers would select University of Tennessee middle infielder Gavin Kilen, who hit 15 home runs in 53 games for the Volunteers this season, with the 20th overall pick.

"Kilen is one of those second-tier college tiers who fits just about anywhere in the 11-20 range," Axisa wrote. "He's not the speedy, super athletic type the Brewers typically target in the first round (Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, etc.), but the pure hitting ability is up their alley."

Kilen, 21, slashed .357/.441/.671 after transferring to Tennessee from the University of Louisville as a junior. He played exclusively shortstop for the Cardinals in 2024, but split his time between short and second base in Knoxville.

Axisa did not include a prediction for the Brewers' second pick, which is technically in the compensational round rather than the "first round."

If Kilen progressed to the majors quickly and the Brewers kept him, they'd have an interesting decision to make when it came to sorting out positions for Joey Ortiz, Caleb Durbin, and Brice Turang.