Brewers First-Round Draft Pick Braylon Payne - Photo by Karen Warren/Staff photographer
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – With day two of the 2024 MLB draft starting on Monday the Milwaukee Brewers have already made three picks in hopes of building for the future.
According to posts on X from the team, the Brewers selected Elkins High School star outfielder Braylon Payne, who won’t be 18 until August, and Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke.
Brewers vice president of domestic scouting Tod Johnson spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the selection of Payne, who many scouts did not have going in the first round, saying, “I think that from where he was slated to go by the the ‘industry watchers,’ the Baseball Americas and MLB-dot-coms, I don’t think that the teams themselves actually had him where he was in that. He was definitely in the — maybe not completely in the first-round mix — but he was certainly very close. And we felt like it was a really good opportunity to grab a player that we really, really liked. We felt like we wanted to do it at 17 and make sure we didn’t miss out on the opportunity on a guy we think could be a really big impact player for us down the road.”
Payne, who is currently committed to playing for the University of Houston next summer, hit .531 (51-for-96) with nine doubles, four triples, three homers, and 32 stolen bases as a senior in 2024. He drew 21 walks with just seven strikeouts in 119 plate appearances.
As for the selection of Burke, Johnson says the organization feels he can do a lot more than just hit saying, “He’s a very good defensive first baseman as well, which not everyone talks about. We think his defense around the bag at first and just being a defender over there is going to be an asset, as well.”
Burke hit .379 with 20 homers, and 31 doubles for the NCAA champion Tennessee Volunteers this year as a junior and scouts note that he possesses great raw power at the plate which can translate to the major league level making him a solid option to be an everyday player.
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