MLB-NEWS: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ shortstop, has officially signed a three-year, $147.4 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, as reported by ESPN. The announcement was made following….

Milwaukee Brewers 2024 1st Round Draft Pick Signs For Significant Amount Under Slot Value

The Milwaukee Brewers selected prep outfielder Braylon Payne with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He had a verbal commitment to the University of Houston but after being selected in the first round he has elected to forego the collegiate route and has officially signed a contract to be a professional baseball player.

Braylon Payne signs a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

On Tuesday, July 23 Braylon Payne traveled to Milwaukee and put pen to paper on signing a contract to become a member of the Brewers organization.  As one of the youngest players in this year’s draft the 17 year old has 70 grade speed, plays excellent defense, and is still developing as a hitter.  He is very confident in his current abilities.

The estimated slot value for the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft was $4.5 million. Braylon Payne signed with the Brewers for $3.4 million. By saving more than $1.0 million in MLB Draft pool money Milwaukee will hopefully be able to pay over the estimated slot value on some of the other prep players they drafted.

The next step for Braylon Payne is to finish being on-boarded to the Brewers organization. He will head to the teams Arizona Complex to do this. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that he won’t play in any official games this year but he will get some live action in some unofficial games. A realistic progression for him in 2025 is to start in the Arizona Complex League and possibly advance to Single-A with the Carolina Mudcats.