Just days after declaring for the MLB Draft, Iowa Hawkeyes flamethrower Brody Brecht is already finding himself among the cream of the crop for talent headed to the bigs this year.
Brecht has elected to declare for the draft and is doing so after a strong career at Iowa that has him in the middle of CBS Sports’ recent MLB mock draft.
CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa has Brecht staying local in the Midwest and going to the Milwaukee Brewers with the No. 17 pick in the first round.
Mock pick: RHP Brody Brecht, Iowa
Slot value: $4,534,100The Brewers have been one of the most opportunistic teams on draft day, meaning they typically pounce on whichever highly regarded college player is unexpectedly available at their pick. That’s Brecht in our mock draft, not that him falling to No. 17 would be a complete shock. No pitcher in the draft class can match Brecht’s raw stuff — he regularly touches 100 mph and has a razor blade slider — though his command is lacking. Milwaukee is quite good at developing pitchers and the hope is Brecht will improve his strike-throwing now that he’s focusing on baseball full-time (he also played wide receiver for the Hawkeyes). – Axisa, CBS Sports
Brecht’s decision to commit himself fully to baseball after coming to Iowa as a dual-sport athlete has paid huge dividends. He has climbed up MLB draft boards and finds himself set up for a large payday.
This last season, Brecht pitched 15 games and posted a 3.33 ERA. He allowed just 46 hits in 78.1 innings pitched and had 128 strikeouts to only 48 walks. His career ERA at Iowa is 3.49 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 281 strikeouts to 135 walks.
Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.
Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7