Milwaukee Brewers

Brewers sign 2019 first-round pick Ethan Small

Published Jun. 25, 2019 5:07 p.m. ET

The Milwaukee Brewers have officially added another left-handed arm to their organization.

Milwaukee announced it signed former Mississippi State southpaw Ethan Small on Tuesday afternoon, the 28th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft.

As a redshirt junior this season, Small logged a 10-2 record with 1.93 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and an NCAA-best 176 strikeouts in 107 innings. Opponents hit just .164 against Small, as he led the Bulldogs to a College World Series appearance. Small was named the 2019 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Pitcher of the Year.

Over his three-year collegiate career, Small registered a 16-6 record, 3.05 ERA and 318 strikeouts. He's the third Mississippi State pitcher to tally 300+ strikeouts in a career.

This draft marked the first time Milwaukee drafted a pitcher in the first round since Nathan Kirby in 2015.

Milwaukee's first-round pick in 2017, Keston Hiura, made his MLB debut this season and owns a .281/.333/.531 slash line and five homers in 17 career games. Brice Turang, the Brewers' top pick last year, is batting .296/.395/.374 with 11 doubles, three triples and one homer in 69 games with the Low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers this season.

The Brewers have now signed 22 members of their 2019 draft class.