Milwaukee Brewers: What the Scouting Reports Say On Hayden Cantrelle

Here is what a few pre-draft scouting reports had to say about Milwaukee Brewers’ fifth-round pick, Hayden Cantrelle from Louisiana Lafeyette.

With their final selection in the shortened 2020 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers added another versatile college bat with the selection of Hayden Cantrelle from Louisiana Lafeyette.

The switch-hitting Cantrelle is a speedster who knows how to get on base and he knows how to steal a base as well. Cantrelle’s career average for the Ragin Cajuns was .280, but his career OBP was a sizzling .405, along with 50 stolen bases.

Unfortunately, Cantrelle’s career average at the plate and his draft stock both took a hit during the shortened 2020 season as he would slash just .136/.320/.237 in his 59 at-bats earlier this year. However, he was coming off an excellent 2019 campaign.

That season, Cantrelle would slash .309/.426/.504 with nine home runs and 28 stolen bases. In fact, he was one of only six collegiate players to have 25 or more extra-base hits along with 25 or more stolen bases. This is the version of Cantrelle that the Milwaukee Brewers drafted, and MLB Pipeline agrees.

Cantrelle graded out quite well by MLB Pipeline and was their 118th ranked prospect in the draft. A tremendous value for the Brewers at pick 151. Below are how Cantrelle’s tools graded out on the scale ranging from 20 to 80:

Hit: 50 / Run: 60 / Field: 50 / Power: 40 / Arm: 55 / Overall: 45

Like several of the draft picks before him, Cantrelle had a solid performance in the Cape Cod League last summer that helped give his draft stock a nice boost. Against some stiff competition, Cantrelle would post a .303 average over 155 at-bats along with 20 stolen bases and 22 walks.

Defensively, Cantrelle primarily played shortstop where some scouts see him as just an average defender. While Milwaukee will give him the opportunity to stick there, if he doesn’t, second-base is always a fallback option for him.

And at this point in the draft, Cantrelle is slotted to make $353,700.

Now for a closer look at Cantrelle’s game and what he brings to the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization, here are what a few scouting reports had to say about him prior to the draft:

MLB.com

"“A switch-hitter, Cantrelle hits the ball with more authority from the left side of the plate. He has the potential to bat near the top of the batting order with his knack for drawing walks and getting on base, and he also has plus speed and knows how to use it.”"

Athlon Sports

"“A switch-hitter who has started to figure out that he’s more effective when he’s spraying the ball around than when he tries to muscle up.”"

Carlos Collazo – Baseball America

"“Also a solid defender, Cantrelle has plus arm strength in the tank but rarely shows it off.”"

With Hayden Cantrelle, the Brewers added another proven collegiate bat, that can make some noise on the base paths, and someone who brings some versatility defensively. Although the start to his 2020 season may have resulted in him sliding down draft boards, Milwaukee could have come away with an absolute steal – no pun intended.