Brewers 2019 re-draft sees Yankees’ 8.9 WAR Gold Glove infielder land in Milwaukee originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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What could’ve been.
In 2019, the Milwaukee Brewers selected left-handed pitcher Ethan Small with the 28th overall pick in the MLB Draft.
Small is a free agent and made just four combined appearances with Milwaukee between 2022-23. It’s safe to say the pick did not work out for the Brewers. Enough time has passed.
In Bleacher Report’s re-draft of the 2019 MLB Draft, Joel Reuter has the NL Central club selecting New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe instead of Small.
“Instead, his stock has dropped considerably after a 2025 season where he hit .212/.272/.391 for an 82 OPS+ while his defense also took a step backward,” Reuter wrote about Volpe’s performance in recent seasons. “The Brewers have gotten little in the way of production out of Joey Ortiz, so this is a bet on the higher ceiling of Volpe, who is still only 25 years old.”
Even with his struggles, Volpe wouldn’t have been the worst option at shortstop. He won a Gold Glove during his rookie season, and he’s having a strong start to the year with the Yankees, albeit with a small sample size of games.
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In the actual 2019 draft, the Yankees selected Volpe with the 30th overall pick. Since making his debut in 2023, he’s produced 8.9 WAR in 483 games.
Has he experienced hardship? Sure, but there are a lot worse ways your first-round pick can turn out.
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