Brewers draft a Sabathia, but this one's a pure hitter

MILWAUKEE – Carsten Sabathia III was turning 5 years old when his dad strapped the Brewers on his broad shoulders and carried them into the postseason for the first time in a generation. But after the Brewers selected him in the 20th round of the MLB Draft on Sunday, one memory stood out clearly.

Of course, he remembers Bernie Brewer.

“I remember not wanting to leave because it was the summertime, and I was like, ‘Mom, we’re in Milwaukee and I never have to go to school. This is awesome. I never want to leave,’” Carsten said. “Being real young, that’s all you’re thinking about. I remember going to the stadium and loving the uniforms, loving the colors, loving the slide in deep left-center.

“Just all of those memories that you have as a kid, those are all flooding back.”

Perhaps some of the same memories flooded back for Milwaukee fans when they saw the Brewers had used their final selection of the two-day Draft to select a player named Sabathia. Yes, that’s the son of Hall of Famer (and former Brewers pitcher) CC Sabathia, and no, he’s not a pitcher like dad. He’s a first baseman who made a mark at the Draft combine by smashing seven balls at 104.9 mph or higher.

He’s unabashed about his love for hitting, but the question was where he would get to do it. The younger Sabathia played two seasons at Georgia Tech and two seasons at Houston, where he came back from a 2025 shoulder surgery to hit .283/.374/.511 with six homers in 107 plate appearances as a senior in 2026, splitting time between designated hitter and first base.

After going undrafted last year with the shoulder still a concern, Sabathia had to wait all the way to the end of this year’s two-day MLB Draft to hear his name called.

“I was up all night,” Carsten said. “It was not so much nerves, because I knew I was going to get an opportunity to play baseball, which I will always be thankful for. But I was joking with somebody earlier that of course I’m the third-to-last pick. Of course I was going to wait until the very end to see my name pop up.

• Track every Brewers pick here

“But it truly is an awesome opportunity.”

He actually heard his name pop up before he saw it. His youngest sister was following the Draft and screamed out when she saw her brother’s name. As the oldest of CC and Amber Sabathia’s four children, Carsten said his “third parent” instincts kicked in and he worried someone was hurt.

He’s always been mature that way, as his dad explained to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince last year.

“Our conversations have always been different because of his baseball IQ and because of how much of a fan he is,” the elder Sabathia said. “Like, you could have a conversation with him about a 2-1 pitch when he was 10 years old. And when he was 14, he would try to hit behind runners and do all these different things instead of just trying to hit a homer, because he always had a mind to try to do the right thing on the diamond.”

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And he won’t be the only son of a famous former Brewer in Milwaukee’s Minor League system. The Brewers also feature one of Carsten Sabathia’s best and oldest friends, Jadyn Fielder, the son of Prince, who signed last year as an undrafted free agent and is currently playing at Class A Wilson.

Their dads were teammates thanks to a July 2008 trade that still stands out as one of the best swaps in Brewers history. CC Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 17 Brewers starts down the stretch, throwing seven complete games including three shutouts, and making a series of starts on short rest to help carry the Brewers into the postseason for the first time in 26 years, even though he had free agency on the line that fall.

The Brewers hosted CC back in Milwaukee just this year while inducting him into the team’s Wall of Honor in May. His son couldn’t attend because he was playing baseball.

As a boy, he dreamed of being a pitcher like dad. But after he hurt his arm at age 11, CC suggested that his son focus on hitting.

Carsten fell in love with it. Now he gets to hit as a professional.

“My love of the game is so pure, and every day, the opportunity to go in between those lines and compete, I’m ultra-grateful for,” Carsten said. “I’ve grown up in the game, and you get all of these different experiences preparing you for moments like this. I have nothing but huge gratitude for it, all those times you were in the clubhouse and were able to watch how guys work. You don’t realize until you get to this point that it helped mold you, it helped raise you.

“So, it really is a unique and special and awesome opportunity.”