MLB Draft 2024: Top College Baseball Prospects & Rising Stars to Watch

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Carsten Sabathia III, the son of former Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia, in the 20th round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft. The younger Sabathia, an outfielder who played at Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey, was taken with the 615th overall pick on the final day of the selection process.

Draft Selection and Family Legacy

The selection of Carsten Sabathia III continues a familial link to the Milwaukee organization. His father, CC Sabathia, famously joined the Brewers in a mid-season trade in 2008, a tenure that proved instrumental in the club’s postseason push that year. During that stretch, the elder Sabathia recorded a 1.65 ERA across 17 starts, including seven complete games, before eventually moving on to a long career with the New York Yankees.

The younger Sabathia’s path to professional baseball has been closely monitored by scouts given his physical profile and high school performance. As an outfielder, he has drawn attention for his athleticism and developmental potential. By drafting him in the 20th round, the Brewers have secured his rights, though the decision to sign a professional contract or honor a college commitment remains a standard part of the post-draft process for high school draftees.

The Path for High School Draftees

For prospects selected in the later rounds of the MLB Draft, the decision-making process involves balancing immediate professional opportunities against collegiate development. NCAA regulations allow high school athletes to maintain their eligibility if they choose not to sign a professional contract. This framework is designed to provide players with multiple avenues for growth, whether through the minor league system or by playing at the collegiate level to further refine their skills.

The Brewers’ scouting department, overseen by the front office, evaluates these players based on long-term projections. Unlike the early rounds, where signing bonuses are heavily dictated by a team’s total bonus pool, later-round selections like Sabathia III represent strategic additions to the organization’s depth chart. The team now has until the mid-summer deadline to negotiate terms with the outfielder.

Organizational Strategy and Next Steps

The Milwaukee Brewers have historically utilized the final rounds of the draft to target players with high upside or unique personal connections, provided those players meet the organization’s scouting benchmarks. The addition of Sabathia III comes as part of a broader effort to bolster the team’s minor league talent pool following the conclusion of the 20-round draft.

The next confirmed checkpoint for the organization involves the official signing deadline for draftees. Players selected in the 2024 draft must reach an agreement with their respective clubs by 5:00 p.m. ET on August 1, 2024. If a player does not sign by this time, they typically proceed to their intended college program, where they become eligible for future draft cycles after completing their freshman or sophomore seasons, or upon reaching the age of 21.

Fans and analysts will be monitoring the Brewers’ official transactions page throughout the coming weeks to see which of their late-round selections officially join the farm system. For now, the selection of Carsten Sabathia III remains a notable footnote in the 2024 draft class, connecting a new generation of talent to a familiar name in Wisconsin baseball history.