The Brewers took Trey Ebel 25th overall out of Corona High School in California, and on Friday they made it official: a $2.8 million signing bonus, a little under the $3,696,000 slot value for that pick. It's the kind of underslot deal teams love because it frees up bonus pool money to go after other targets later in the draft. But the number is really a footnote to the bigger story here, which is that Milwaukee now has both Ebel brothers in the organization.
1st-rder Trey Ebel signs w/@Brewers for $2.8 million (slot 25 value = $3,696,000). California prep SS, quality AB & refined instincts, no surprise considering he's the son of @Dodgers 3B coach Dino. Milwaukee drafted his brother Brady 32nd overall last yr. @AggieBaseball recruit.
Trey is the son of Dino Ebel, the Dodgers' third-base coach who's spent decades in pro ball as a player, coach and scout. That pedigree shows up in scouting reports on Trey — Callis pointed to his quality at-bats and refined instincts, the kind of polish teams expect from a kid who basically grew up in big league clubhouses. He was also an Aggie baseball commit before turning pro, so Milwaukee had to buy him out of a Texas A&M scholarship to get him signed.
This isn't the first time the Brewers have gone to the Ebel well. A year ago they drafted Trey's older brother Brady 32nd overall in the same draft, meaning Milwaukee has now spent two straight first rounds on sons of the same Dodgers coach. That's not a coincidence — it's a front office deciding it likes the family's baseball IQ enough to bet on it twice, and it sets up the possibility of the brothers actually playing together somewhere in the Brewers' system down the road.
History says that reunion, if it happens, would be a rare one. No siblings have ever suited up for the Brewers at the same time in franchise history — the closest was infielder Steve Kiefer, who was with Milwaukee from 1986 to 1988, the same stretch the club drafted his brother Mark, a right-hander, in 1987. Mark didn't reach the majors until 1993, well after Steve had retired. If Trey and Brady both develop on pace, Milwaukee has a real shot at writing a new chapter there.
For now it's just business: a promising prep shortstop with a famous last name has a pro contract, and a franchise that already has one Ebel banking on the theory that talent, like a good glove, sometimes runs in the family.