How the MLB Draft slot system works and impacts who gets taken
The Milwaukee Brewers have the MLB draft slot system down to a science. Here’s how it dramatically impacts each draft.
Peter Kussow never had to deliver that speech.
The Arrowhead High School right-handed pitcher had told his instructor that the call might come during his speech class, one week into his college experience at the University of Louisville. Kussow said whether or not they have a chance to get selected in the Major League Baseball draft, it was customary for Louisville baseball players to begin taking classes over the summer to get a jump on the course load.
Kussow had an outline ready for his first assignment.
“(The speech) was about who I am as a person,” he said. “My three topics were my family members, what my favorite attribute about them was.
“I got a call from my agent, and all of a sudden, I’ve got to go. All the baseball players knew what was going on.”
That was Monday, July 14. He was scheduled to give his speech on Tuesday. By then, Kussow was long gone.
Taken in the fourth round by the New York Mets, Kussow already knew where he was headed. His mom, Dawn, who’d been staying in Louisville, immediately helped him pack his bags in the dorm room. He checked in with Louisville coaches and drove back to Milwaukee; by Wednesday, he was on a plane to Port St. Lucie, Florida, for a physical and workouts. By July 18, he had signed an over-slot deal with the Mets, worth $897,500 (with his pick’s slot value at $555,800).
With their 4th round pick (133), Mets select prep RHP Peter Kussow from Arrowhead HS in Wisconsin. 18 years old.
Fastball 91-95, top 97, and his best pitch is a high-spin slider.
Threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts on only 93 pitches this year.
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 14, 2025
“I love the people there,” Kussow said of Louisville. “It was a great experience. I have nothing bad to say about Louisville, loved my roommates. Obviously, excited I didn’t have to do my speech.”
It’s not always abundantly clear that a high school player is going to get taken in the draft, even when the player in question is throwing 95 miles per hour with scouts watching every game or posting eye-popping performances like a 16-strikeout no-hitter against Kettle Moraine earlier this year. But once Kussow received an invitation to the annual MLB Draft Combine, it started to look like an eventuality.
“I would have to think that was comforting,” Arrowhead coach Nick Brengosz said. “He’s so used to this stuff by now, but I still have to imagine that’s some pressure. Those are some really outstanding pitchers that you’re probably comparing yourself to (at the combine).”
Ridiculous slider part of what makes Kussow so strong
The only player selected directly out of a Wisconsin high school in the 20 rounds of the 2025 draft, Kussow possesses uncommon velocity and a killer slider.
“I would fall out of the box trying to hit that thing,” Brengosz admitted.
“In 25 years of coaching, I’ve never seen a high school kid throw as good of a slider as he has,” said Germantown coach Jay Wojcinski, whose team was one of the few that had success against Kussow, defeating the standout hurler and Arrowhead in a 2025 WIAA sectional semifinal. “It’s almost major-league quality right now. … When he’s warming up and you can hear the ball, you know you’re in for a long day.”
Kussow came to Arrowhead interested in both baseball and football, serving as a quarterback in the latter sport. Arrowhead football coach Matt Harris posted a light-hearted mea culpa on social media, noting that he begged Kussow to stick with football and expressed that focusing on baseball would be a mistake.
Exactly 3 years ago I begged a freshman stud qb to not step away from football. I told his parents and the kid how big of mistake it was. They told me we are going to just focus on baseball for him!
I’m here to say today for the first time in my career of begging kids to play… pic.twitter.com/MOw76hP65p
— Matthew Harris (@CoachHarris28) July 16, 2025
But when Kussow struck out 16 batters in the course of 15 outs (a dropped third strike made it possible) while pitching for one of Arrowhead’s freshman teams against Fort Atkinson, Brengosz knew something special was brewing.
“At that point he was throwing more like mid-80s, maybe 84 to 86, going into his sophomore year,” Brengosz said. “He pitched at tryouts (for varsity) but then had an issue with a growth plate … he didn’t throw a single pitch his whole sophomore year. We knew the potential was there, but he didn’t get to pitch much until almost right until the junior season.”
When he finally got back on the mound, he was dazzling, joining forces with Nolan Buss to send Arrowhead to the state tournament that season. Kussow went 5-1 with 68 strikeouts while allowing just 19 hits and 19 walks as a junior. His ERA was 0.91, and his velocity kept ticking up.
“I think he’s such an intelligent kid; I have to imagine with video and analyzing hitters, he’s just going to take to that,” Brengosz said. “He’s going to find that next cool challenge for him.”
Even with two rocky outings in the mix, he posted a 2.03 ERA as a senior, amassing 75 strikeouts while yielding just 14 walks and 22 hits in 41â…“ innings of work. He posted a 0.871 WHIP.
Kussow trained with GRB Milwaukee in the offseason, later GRB STiKs, and also made appearances with a travel team loosely affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. He knew the Mets, a team that previously took a Classic 8 Conference player early in the draft when it drafted Jarred Kelenic out of Waukesha West with the No. 6 pick in 2018, were particularly interested.
The Mets, helmed by former Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns, also selected former Whitefish Bay High School star Mitch Voit, now with Michigan, with its first pick (No. 38) in 2025. Kussow said he has yet to meet Voit, but it’s a matter of time.
Kussow unlike anything Arrowhead has seen before
Kussow leaves behind a trail of highlights at Arrowhead, including that 16-strikeout no-no against the Lasers (“Everything was working that day,” he said.) and a high-profile matchup with his travel-ball teammate Ryan Brennecke of Oconomowoc, now headed to Wake Forest. (“One of my worst games of the season; that part wasn’t great, but you’d look up and think, ‘holy crap, there’s a lot of people here.'”).
“Coming out of COVID, I was starting to see kids from Texas, Florida — the hotbeds — on YouTube throwing 96, and I remember at the time thinking that must be nice,” Brengosz said. “(I thought), ‘We’re never going to see anything like that.’ It’s wild. Baseball in Wisconsin is in a really good place. I keep wondering where it goes from here. We’re going to see more and more guys with 90-plus velocity.”
Even at a school known for its athletics, Arrowhead hadn’t seen a draft pick straight out of the school higher than Nate Brown in the 40th round in 2016, before the draft was reduced to 20 rounds.
Kussow remains in Florida, working out at the Mets facility and meeting the other draftees. His pro baseball career has begun.
“It’s almost impossible to put it in perspective,” Brengosz said. “I certainly have talked to a lot of alumni and a lot of people in the baseball sphere, all offering congrats. For me and I hope for Peter, it’s about trying to appreciate it, not taking anything for granted.”
Wisconsin natives in the 2025 MLB Draft
Kussow was the only high school player selected in the draft, but many Wisconsin high school alumni were selected out of college in 2025.
Gavin Kilen (Milton), No. 13 overall, San Francisco Giants (University of Tennessee), second baseMitchell Voit (Whitefish Bay), No. 38 overall, New York Mets (University of Michigan), second baseNate Snead (South Milwaukee), No. 105 overall, Los Angeles Angels (Tennessee), right-handed pitcherPeter Kussow (Arrowhead), No. 133 overall, New York Mets, right-handed pitcherRory Fox (Catholic Memorial), No. 194 overall, New York Yankees (Notre Dame), right-handed pitcherBrady Counsell (Whitefish Bay), No. 303 overall, Arizona Diamondbacks (University of Kansas), shortstopWill Vierling (Homestead), No. 341 overall, Philadelphia Phillies (Murray State), catcherJacob Hartlaub (Martin Luther), No. 417 overall, Tampa Bay Rays (Ball State), right-handed pitcherAlex Breckheimer (Chilton), No. 480 overall, St. Louis Cardinals (Kansas), right-handed pitcherLuke Nowak (Menomonee Falls), No. 518 overall, Kansas City Royals (Illinois-Chicago), outfieldTyler Schmidt (Madison Memorial), No. 520 overall, San Diego Padres (University of Illinois), right-handed pitcherEthan Cole (Winnebago Lutheran), No. 578 overall, Colorado Rockies (Augustana College), left-handed pitcher