- Full name Braylon Payne
- Born 08/14/2006 in
- Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 180 / Bats: L / Throws: L
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Drafted in the 1st round (17th overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024 (signed for $3,440,000).
View Draft Report
School: Fort Bend Elkins HS, Missouri City, Texas
Commit/Drafted: Houston
Age At Draft: 17.9
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Tools: Hit: 50. Power: 40. Run: 70. Field: 55. Arm: 45.
An athletic and lean lefthanded hitter and outfielder, Payne has table-setting, top-of-the-lineup tools, led by his double-plus speed. He’s young for the class, doesn’t turn 18 until a month after the draft and has a ton of physical projection in a 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. Payne has impressive pure bat-to-ball skills, but over the 2023 high school showcase circuit he employed a swing with a significant step-in-the-bucket action. His lower half often was disconnected and leaked out to his pull side with some back-foot drift. Payne’s swing looked better this spring, with better direction and balance in his lower half—and he pushed further up draft boards because of those developments. Still, he still might be more of a singles and doubles hitter than a 20-homer threat. He gets out of the box quickly with jailbreak run times that will often lead to sub 3.9-second home-to-first times. He is a 70-grade straight-line runner who should be able to handle center field and play above-average defense with more refinement. Payne’s arm is not a weapon, but it should be perfectly serviceable in the middle of the outfield. Payne is a Houston commit who has a chance to be drafted inside the first three rounds.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme.
Track Record: Payne was a surprise first-round pick out of high school in 2024 when the Brewers drafted him 17th overall and signed him for $3.44 million. Young for the class as a 17-year-old on draft day, Payne went to Low-A Carolina and showed more power than expected during his brief time there at the end of the season and in the playoffs.
Scouting Report: As a high school player on the showcase circuit in 2023, Payne stood out for his quick-twitch athleticism and plus-plus speed. It’s not a textbook swing; Payne will bail early at times, to where it looks like he’s hitting on skates, but he does have the hand-eye coordination to still put the ball in play. More of a slap hitter in 2023, Payne looked stronger in the spring of 2024 and showed surprising strength and power after signing with exit velocities up to 110 mph. Payne has the speed to stick in center field and a fringe-average arm, though he will need to sharpen his instincts and routes.
The Future: If Payne can produce average or better game power, that would significantly enhance his profile from where it was heading into the draft, but there’s still some rawness to his game he will have to refine. He should return to a stacked Carolina team to open 2025.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 70 | Field: 55 | Arm: 45.
Draft Prospects
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School: Fort Bend Elkins HS, Missouri City, Texas Commit/Drafted: Houston
Age At Draft: 17.9
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Tools: Hit: 50. Power: 40. Run: 70. Field: 55. Arm: 45.
An athletic and lean lefthanded hitter and outfielder, Payne has table-setting, top-of-the-lineup tools, led by his double-plus speed. He’s young for the class, doesn’t turn 18 until a month after the draft and has a ton of physical projection in a 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. Payne has impressive pure bat-to-ball skills, but over the 2023 high school showcase circuit he employed a swing with a significant step-in-the-bucket action. His lower half often was disconnected and leaked out to his pull side with some back-foot drift. Payne’s swing looked better this spring, with better direction and balance in his lower half—and he pushed further up draft boards because of those developments. Still, he still might be more of a singles and doubles hitter than a 20-homer threat. He gets out of the box quickly with jailbreak run times that will often lead to sub 3.9-second home-to-first times. He is a 70-grade straight-line runner who should be able to handle center field and play above-average defense with more refinement. Payne’s arm is not a weapon, but it should be perfectly serviceable in the middle of the outfield. Payne is a Houston commit who has a chance to be drafted inside the first three rounds.
Top 100 Rankings
Scouting Reports
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School: Fort Bend Elkins HS, Missouri City, Texas Committed: Houston
Age At Draft: 17.9
An athletic and lean lefthanded hitter and outfielder, Payne has table-setting, top-of-the-lineup tools led by his double-plus speed. He’s young for the class and doesn’t turn 18 until a month after the draft, and has a ton of physical projection in a 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. Mostly a singles hitter now, Payne has a slappy, level swing and solid pure bat-to-ball skills with some sneaky pop when he catches a fastball on the inner half and turns it to the pull side. He’s capable of turning ground balls into singles and blooped flairs into doubles thanks to his excellent speed. He gets out of the box quickly and is also a savvy base runner. Payne does have some refinements to make offensively. He has a significant step in the bucket action in his lower half and consistently pulls out with his lower half. Additionally, while he has good contact skills, he could improve his pitch recognition to better sit back on breaking balls and drive them with authority. Payne performed well at Perfect Game’s WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, where he went 5-for-11 (.455) with two walks and no strikeouts. He is committed to Houston.
