Brody Brecht is officially an MLB draft selection. Brecht was taken 38th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the first competitive balance round* of the 2024 MLB Draft. One of the most electrifying Iowa athletes of the last few seasons is headed to the major leagues.
* Quick note on round structure of the MLB Draft: the "first round" officially encompasses the first 30 picks. The "second round" officially covers picks 40-65. Picks 31-39 are thus neither first- nor second-round picks; they are picks awarded to teams either as incentives, compensation, or for competitive balance purposes. Yes, it's a little weird.
While nearly every mock draft had Brecht projected as Iowa's first first-rounder in 34 years (infielder Tim Costo was taken 8th overall by Cleveland in 1990), Brecht still managed to make some recent Hawkeye history.
At #38 overall, Brecht is still the highest-selected Hawkeye taken in the Rick Heller era at Iowa. The era's previous top pick: another pitcher, Adam Mazur, who was taken in the second round with the 53rd overall pick by San Diego in 2022 and has since made the big-league club.
Brecht was a multi-sport star at Ankeny High School. He earned Gatorade Player of the Year and Elite All-State honors as a senior in 2020 after going 10-0 with 126 strikeouts and a 0.57 ERA, while also helping lead the Hawks' football team to a state championship. He came to Iowa as a two-sport athlete in football and baseball, and started five games at wide receiver as a redshirt freshman before announcing plans to focus on baseball in March of 2023.
While Brecht had already earned freshman All-America honors in 2022, his Iowa career hit a new gear in 2023. Last season, Brecht finished the season 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA and struck out 109 batters. He led the Big Ten in strikeouts per nine innings (12.7) and in batting average allowed (.143). He also led the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (4.3). Those efforts earned him First Team All-Big Ten recognition, as well as Third Team All-America honors from Perfect Game, NCBWA, and Baseball America.
In 2024, Brecht was named to the All-Big Ten First Team again after going 4-3 with a 3.33 ERA and a Big Ten-best 128 strikeouts in just 78.1 innings. Brecht improved his ERA (3.74 to 3.33), strikeouts (109 to 128), and walks (61 to 49). His 128 strikeouts were good for seventh-best nationally. Though Iowa's NCAA hopes never materialized in 2024, Brecht's starts became must-see material.
WHAT ARE THE ROCKIES GETTING?
Brecht is a right-handed power pitcher, with a fastball that can top 100 mph and a potent swing-and-miss slider as well. The biggest knock on Brecht during his Iowa career has been his control; in three years at Iowa, Brecht had 281 strikeouts and 135 walks (plus 34 wild pitches).
His control got better during his career, though, and in 2024 Brecht posted a 2.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio (128 Ks, 49 BBs), up from his career mark of 2.1. He was particularly good down the stretch, posting 44 strikeouts to 14 walks in his final five appearances of the season.
The slot value for a player taken with the 38th pick is $2,452,200. For what it's worth, the slot value for players selected in the 20-25 range (where Brecht was slotted in several mock drafts) was between $3.4 and $4.0 million.
It's useful to understand that slot values are only recommended signing bonus figures established by MLB; they are not required or fixed dollar values. Teams often try to sign players below the slot value in order to free up more bonus money for other draft picks. You can read more about slot values, bonus pools, and the economics around MLB Draft picks here.
Like all MLB draft picks, Brecht will start his Rockies career in the minor leagues. The Rockies' Class-A team is the Fresno Grizzlies in California, and their High-A team is the Spokane Indians (Washington). The double-A Hartford Yard Goats (seriously) and triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes round out Brecht's likely path to the big leagues..
Colorado also has rookie league teams in Scottsdale, Arizona and Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. These are less likely destinations for the flamethrowing righty, though; when Mazur was selected, he started his minor-league career with San Diego's High-A squad in Fort Wayne before ascending to the AA San Antonio Missions midseason.
