Brewers take a pitcher from Wisconsin and intriguing high school players on Day 3 of the MLB draft

The final day of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft had a local flavor to it for the Milwaukee Brewers.

And that wasn't the only theme to stand out.

With rounds 11-20 held Tuesday afternoon, the Brewers used seven of 10 selections to take high school players, which are typically more challenging to sign the later the draft goes on.

One of those players, and one of five prep pitchers taken by Milwaukee, was Manitowoc Lincoln graduate Noah Wech, who the Brewers selected in the 19th round.

"We have a lot of knowledge here," Brewers vice president of domestic scouting Tod Johnson said. "Ginger Poulson's our area scout. She's seen him a decent amount of times. We've had a lot of people from the office who have made it up there to see him, as well, and pend some time with him. Local kid, it's an interesting projection, high school arm, another one to kind of add to the portfolio of that group with the ones we took yesterday, as well."

Wech is committed to Oklahoma State, a college commitment that the Brewers hope they can sign the power right-hander out of. They'll do the same with their other six high-school selections from Day 3, as well.

Picks after round 10 are not held against teams' draft bonus pools, so long as their signing bonuses do not exceed $150,000. Players can sign for more than that, but it is counted against a team's overall bonus pool.

High school players have more leverage than college players because of their ability to go to school and be draft-eligible in three years. Because of this, it's largely college players that are selected in the late rounds.

The Brewers, instead, went heavy on prep players, hoping that they built up enough savings in the first 10 rounds that they can financially sway their late-round high school picks to sign. It would be nearly impossible for Milwaukee to sign all of them, but Johnson feels confident that a decent crop of them will ultimately start their pro careers this summer.

"We signed five high school kids last year in Day 3 as well," Johnson said. "So if we got five of these guys done that probably would be a pretty good outcome. And then we signed three college kids (on day three) last year. We took three this year. Obviously we'll be trying to sign them as well. So ultimately, I don't know exactly how it will break out when we get it all said and done, but I feel like we'll be in a similar number of signings this year as last year."

Here's a look at every pick the Brewers made on the final day of the draft.

Round 11: Caedmon Parker, RHP, TCU

Parker is on the younger end of college players in the draft, having just turned 21, and has pitched primarily out of the bullpen for TCU. He throws an explosive fastball in the mid-90s along with a biting slider in the upper-80s that generates about nine inches of horizontal break and 14 inches of vertical break. It's likely a relief profile, but power gains could help out Parker, who's been well-known on scouting circuits dating back to his high school days in the Houston area.

Round 12: Tyson Hardin, RHP, Mississippi State

Milwaukee goes back-to-back with college relievers to open Day 3. Hardin throws a firm 95-97 sinker that seems to get excellent arm-side run and has a slider to go along with it. He allowed a 3.22 ERA in 2024 after struggling heavily in 2023 but still walked nearly six batters per nine innings.

Round 13: Joey Broughton, LHP, Northville HS (Mich.)

The Brewers took their first crack at a high-schooler on the day by selecting Broughton in the 13th round. A Pittsburgh commit, Broughton will almost certainly command more than the $150,00 allotted to Day 3 picks. An athletically-built lefty, Broughton throws in the 92-94 mph range with his fastball, throws a high-spin curve that moves in two planes and also features a changeup. Broughton's best pitch is his fastball, which registers an impressive 20+ inches of induced vertical break, according to pre-draft reports. His arsenal is the darling of analytical-minded pitching evaluators.

Broughton suffered an elbow injury this year and didn't get to showcase himself in front of packed crowds of scouts – his teammate was first-round pick Dante Nori – as much as he would have liked.

"He didn't get to demonstrate on the on the best stage what he looked like, so that was an unfortunate occurrence for him, obviously," Johnson said. "But something where we had seen from him prior and were willing to take the chance on him."

Round 14: James Nunnallee, C, Lithridge HS (Va.)

This is the MLB draft in a nutshell: In the fourth round of the day, the Brewers were the team to take one of the top players on the board. Nunnallee was ranked No. 200 overall by MLB Pipeline and No. 322 by Baseball America coming into the draft. The 6-1 catcher has a smooth stroke from the left side of the plate, though he needs to add loft to his swing and strength to maximize his feel for the barrel. There's potential for power in the package, too; seven of Nunnallee's eight swings during batting practice at the MLB combine this summer had exit velocities of 100+ mph. Reports give Nunnalee a chance to stick at catcher, but if he has to move he has enough athleticism to play in the outfield. Nunnallee is committed to Virginia, so it won't be an easy task for Milwaukee to get him to sign.

Round 15: Travis Smith, RHP, Kentucky

Smith was ranked relatively high coming into the season but struggled and was eventually moved to the Wildcats' bullpen, where he finished the season with a 6.21 ERA in 37 ⅔ innings. He has a heavy mid-90s sinker that gets up to 97 mph. He was on draft radars coming out of high school in 2021 because of his velocity, projectable frame and high-spin breaking ball Smith has committed as a transfer to Mississippi State.

Like Parker and Hardin, the Brewers plan to give Smith a chance to start, Johnson said.

Round 16: Jayden Dubanewicz, RHP, Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)

Make it three high-schoolers taken on the day for Milwaukee. A Florida commit with a lanky, athletic frame, Dubanewicz has a low-90s heater that he pairs with a sweeping, high swing-and-miss slider. The right-hander also has solid feel for a changeup for a high school pitcher. Dubanewicz has a long, whipping arm motion and physically projects for significant velocity bumps. He, similar to Nunnallee, would seem to be a challenging sign for the Brewers.

Round 17: Cooper Malamazian, SS, Nazareth Academy (Ill.)

Malamazian was the second prep bat off the board to the Brewers on the afternoon. A strong, balanced swing and smooth actions with a good arm at shortstop are his calling cards. Malamazian is committed to Indiana.

The Brewers have some solid recent history of scouting in this area. Luke Adams was a 12th round pick out of high school in Illinois in 2022, and last year the Brewers nabbed both Indiana's Craig Yoho as a senior college sign and high schooler Bishop Letson in southern Indiana. Their two high school arms taken on Day 2 this year were Griffin Tobias of Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana, and Ethan Dorchies of Cary-Grove in Cary, Illinois.

"That group of players up here, too, you end up with a decent group of them that kind of have stability that sort of fits too, I guess," Johnson said. "Not that I'm saying we're definitely going to sign all these kids or discount anything with that. But it's just the way it seems to work that you can often identify some of these kids that are more willing to kind of make the choice to start their pro career sooner for something that fits for us budget-wise. And other parts of the country you don't necessarily have the same opportunity."

Round 18: Tyler Renz, RHP, Fox Lane HS (N.Y.)

Renz is another shoot-for-the-moon Day 3 pick for Milwaukee. He was ranked in the top 300 of the draft by Baseball America and is committed to St. John's, so it likely won't be easy to get him off of that commitment. But the right-hander is the type of arm that appeals to analytically-minded organizations. He's young for the draft and won't turn 18 until November, features a fastball that lacks major velocity but has standout characteristics and is 6-4 with plenty of room to fill out.

Round 19: Noah Wech, RHP, Manitowoc Lincoln HS

A local kid that went near the end of the draft. Wech has a firm fastball that gets good carry up in the zone, and is a plus athlete that works well down the mound in terms of extension. Wech is already pitching in the Northwoods League for the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, and has struck out 13 in 11 ⅔ innings with a 2.31 ERA. Wech is committed to Oklahoma State, but the Brewers would certainly love to get a pitcher with his fastball traits and arm action in the system.

Wech is the first player drafted directly out of a Wisconsin high school by the Brewers since Connor Fisk was selected out of Grafton High in 2010.

Round 20: Henry Brummel, RHP, Pontiac HS (Ill.)

To wrap up the draft, the Brewers went back to a couple of their wells. Brummel is yet another prep pitcher taken, the fifth out of the team's 10 total selections on Day 3 and ninth overall in the class, and a player from the Illinois/Indiana region. Brummel was up to 94 mph recently in games and is a plus athlete who also played basketball in high school. He throws two different breaking balls and has flashed a changeup, though the latter pitch needs much refinement. He, like Malamazian, is committed to Indiana.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers take a pitcher from Wisconsin and intriguing high school players on Day 3 of the MLB draft