Michael Brantley is a six-foot-two, 209 lb. left fielder from Bellevue, WA. Born on May 15, 1987, the left-handed hitter and thrower was a seventh-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005, 205th off the board. Of the 15 eventual major leaguers taken at that point in the draft, Brantley (34.1 WAR) is the most prolific. Jason Schmidt (29.5 WAR) is second.
Drafted out of Fort Pierce Central in Florida, Brantley signed a deal with Milwaukee that included a $150,000 bonus. Before he ever graduated to the major league level, he was dealt with Zach Jackson, Matt LaPorta, and Rob Bryson to the Cleveland Indians for CC Sabathia.