The Brewers may have found more than a nostalgic draft pick in Carsten Sabathia III.
Milwaukee took the oldest son of franchise icon CC Sabathia in the final round of the 2026 MLB Draft, and the reaction from the fanbase was immediate. But the selection has started to look like a lot more than a feel-good nod to family history. In his first two weeks as a pro, Sabathia has flashed the kind of power the Brewers were hoping would show up once he got into their system.
Sabathia, now 22, signed with Milwaukee and has already made his debut for the Low-A Wilson Warbirds. He’s also joined a short but growing list of father-son combinations to play in the Brewers’ organization, alongside Prince and Jadyn Fielder and Mike and Daz Cameron.
The draft pick made sense beyond the name on the back of the jersey. Sabathia is a 6'4" right-handed hitting first baseman, not a pitcher like his father, and his college track record at Georgia Tech and Houston was modest. Across 83 college games, most of them coming in his junior and senior seasons at Houston, he hit nine home runs and posted a .439 slugging percentage.
That’s why Milwaukee’s bet was about projection. The Brewers saw the possibility that more pop could be waiting to be unlocked, and Sabathia has wasted little time giving them something to watch.
Since making his professional debut on August 11, he has gone deep three times and added three doubles in 11 games with the Warbirds. He’s hitting .405/.468/.690 with a 1.158 OPS, numbers that jump off the page even with the usual small-sample warning attached. Through 47 plate appearances, he’s also shown a solid approach at the plate, with seven strikeouts, five walks, and a 1-for-1 mark on stolen base attempts.
The early production has come while Wilson has stayed hot. Since Sabathia debuted, the Warbirds are 9-5 as they continue chasing the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for the second-half title in the Carolina League’s North Division. Wilson sits 5.0 games behind the Houston Astros’ Single-A affiliate, and the roster has gotten even more interesting with recent draft additions Trey Ebel, the first-round pick, and Kyle Jones, taken in the third round.
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