Brewers Predicted To Bring Shortstop Phenom To Milwaukee

It's time for the last round of predictions before the Major League Baseball Draft officially arrives.

On Sunday, the Milwaukee Brewers will make the draft's 20th overall pick, and will have a chance to land their next impact player. This is a team that relies heavily on player development to compete for playoff berths, so needless to say, that 20th pick is important.

Will the Brewers go college or high school? Pitcher or position player? Infield or outfield? And which of the five tools will they prioritize most?

Jared Perkins and Tyler Jennings of Just Baseball have the Brewers landing a smooth-fielding shortstop with high upside in the batter's box.

On Thursday, Perkins and Jennings predicted that the Brewers would select Wake Forest University shortstop Marek Houston, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound 21-year-old who batted .354 in 61 games this season.

"The Brewers love to get creative with their draft strategies, and this year should be no exception. They’ll pick again at 32 and have three more day one selections," Perkins and Jennings wrote.

There’s a wide net cast here, though this is a logical landing spot for Marek Houston. It’s a safer floor with limited power, but he brings a consistent track record to Milwaukee.

Perkins earned a grade between 45 and 60 for every tool on the 20-to-80 scale in his pre-draft scouting report from MLB Pipeline. His power is considered his weakest tool at the moment, and his pure fielding ability his best.

The Brewers love gloves, and at his size, Houston probably has the upside to produce better than any shortstop Milwaukee has on the current big-league roster. And he'd certainly strengthen the overall farm system, which is always key to a medium-market team's ability to contend.