Latest Draft Tidbits...Tampa will take Beckham at #1

[Madtown Bomber]

Colby can hopefully varify. I have had numerous conversations this morning with a few contacts I have (college coaches, a couple out of state high school coaches, ect.) and they didn't have a whole lot about what the Brewers are doing other then they are really doing their homework on the high school kids this year.

 

Those that want Josh Fields might not get that chance. Latest word is that Fields could sneak as high as the Reds at 7, Nationals at 9, or the Cardinals at 13. Even if he is there at 16 I just don't get the feeling he is even on Jack Z's board at 16 which is kinda shocking.

 

Eric Homser, a Boras client, may be selected by the Royals at 3. It will take a lot to sign him but it is looking like he is the top guy on the Royals board, even over Posey if he is there.

 

Fastest rising player in this draft is easily Dan Schlereth from Arizona. He is a left handed pitcher who has went from no where close to being a first rounder a few weeks ago to Houston at 10. That is a FAST RISER!

 

The next fastest riser is Ike Davis, a OF from Arizona State. From a third round selection to possibly the New York Mets at 18 in a matter of weeks.

 

If you have risers you have to have people who are falling. Those are as I am told are Yonder Alfanso from Miami and Casey Kelly a HS SS from Florida.

 

The fastest rising Wisconsin product is UW-Milwaukee RHP Andy Heteberg. A few sources have told me that he has gone from 83-87 to 90-94 in a matter of months. At 6'7" that won't hurt. Another source told me that he has been instructed not to play or throw by a team interested in drafting him because of the number of innings pitched in the past month.

[battlekow]

What have you heard about Lawrie, Hewitt, Collier, etc?

[tigerbrew]

Thought the Reds would pick Yonder Alonso if Gordon Beckham is taken. Really hope Lawrie falls to 16.

[Madtown Bomber]

Really? I guess everything I have read over the past couple days had Lawrie heading to Minnesota.

[battlekow]

Lawrie could go as high as #7 to the Reds. I was asking about them in regards to OTHER teams taking them; I know that there's no info coming out of the Brewers' camp.

[tigerbrew]

I'm hoping it isn't so, but you may be right.

[battlekow]

Goldstein/BP has Lawrie going #7 to the Reds, Sickels has him going #14 to the Twins, & Mayo/MLB has him going #16 to us, with this comment about the Twins' #14 selection:

Lawrie has been mentioned, but it's sounding like they may nab a college arm here and perhaps take some higher-ceiling high school guys later on.

[tigerbrew]

I don't know if this is a reliable info, but this is what John Fay the Cincy Enquirer Reds beat writer wrote today

 

Draft: Reds focused on four players

The Reds pick seventh in tomorrow's draft, so what happens with the six picks above them will greatly influence what they do.

"I can give you a list of three or four guys," scouting director Chris Buckley said. "But, at 7, you don't know if they're going to be there."

The four the Reds are hoping for (with where Baseball America rates them):

--2. Brian Matusz, a left-handed pitcher from the University of San Diego: He was a fourth-round pick out of high school. He throws up to 93, but his offspeed stuff sets him apart.

--4. Buster Posey, a catcher from Florida State: He's a converted shortstop. Baseball America calls him "one of the safest picks in the his years draft. His projection as an offensive catcher with Gold Glove-caliber defense has boosted Posey's draft stock as much as anyone's over the weeks leading up to the draft."

--6. Gordon Beckham, a shortstop from Georgia: That's Jeff Keppinger's background as well. Beckham won the Cape Cod home run title last year. He's been among the leading hitters in the NCAA, both in average and home runs.

--10. Yonder Alonso, a first baseman from Miami: A very good hitter. Drove in 69 runs as a freshman. Hit .376 with 18 homers as a sophomore.

Notice that each player plays a different position.

"I believe in drafting for value," Buckley said. "What are the needs of the Reds today might not be the needs in three years when these guys will be ready. Walt (Jocketty) can trade anyone."

[battlekow]

That's relieving. Coupled with Mayo's quote about the Twins looking for college arms, that gives me hope for Lawrie, for whom I've really developed a lust.

[TheCrew07]

That's relieving. Coupled with Mayo's quote about the Twins looking for college arms, that gives me hope for Lawrie, for whom I've really developed a lust.

man crush was the word you were looking for... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Never Outhustled]

BA is speculting that the White Sox new farm director might convince them to pick his godson, Jason Castro. That would pretty much slide the board enough to guarantee multiple quality college arms for the Twins to choose from at #14, and giving us a shot at Lawrie. Castro would be a terrible reach at #8. The Reds picking Lawrie at #7 was a little far fetched too. I love Lawrie, but I wouldn't pick him over Posey, Matusz, or Gordon Beckham.

 

That's relieving. Coupled with Mayo's quote about the Twins looking for college arms, that gives me hope for Lawrie, for whom I've really developed a lust.

We seem to have man crushes on a number of the same players. We're not the same person are we?

[SoCalBrewfan]

As I said somewhere else, the Dodgers worked out Collier as well as Dykstra. They pick just before Milwaukee in the regular rounds...

 

Lawrie intrigues me greatly but I've learned in past years that I don't know Jack.

[battlekow]

BA is speculting that the White Sox new farm director might convince them to pick his godson, Jason Castro. That would pretty much slide the board enough to guarantee multiple quality college arms for the Twins to choose from at #14, and giving us a shot at Lawrie. Castro would be a terrible reach at #8. The Reds picking Lawrie at #7 was a little far fetched too. I love Lawrie, but I wouldn't pick him over Posey, Matusz, or Gordon Beckham.

Castro at #8 would be hilarious.

We seem to have man crushes on a number of the same players. We're not the same person are we?

I dunno, but you seem pretty smart, so I'm open to merging. How hot is your girlfriend?

[colbyjack]

I can confirm the Royals interest in Hosmer. They'll take Alvarez if he falls, otherwise they seem prepared to take Hosmer, although it's not certain that they would sign him.

 

Schlereth is also rising, as I saw one mock where he snuck in at the bottom of the 1st round (maybe that was Goldstein's linked above). Although I wouldn't say he was nowhere near to being a first-round pick a few weeks ago, he's been in the mix for the supplemental or 2nd round for quite some time.

 

Same goes for Ike Davis, who was actually in better position to be a first-rounder before he missed some time not too long ago due to injury.

 

I don't think Alonso falls (have heard the Nats really like him at #9), but I have heard that Smoak might. Not too many teams in the top 10 are linked to Smoak. Kelly could fall since many seem to believe he's a better pitcher, yet he wants to hit, and he has that pesky FB commitment to TEN.

 

The Pirates are obviously going to change who gets taken among the top 3-12 overall picks. Their pick is going to set off a chain reaction that will likely effect the Giants, Reds, White Sox, Astros and A's.

 

My final projection should hit PGCC's homepage by tomorrow morning.

[Never Outhustled]

If Smoak falls out of the top 10, its possible, while a longshot, he's available at #16? The Brewers have to pick him then right?

[battlekow]

Haha, man, just what we need: another guy who can only play first.

[Never Outhustled]

Haha, man, just what we need: another guy who can only play first.

Actually, Erracart is the only 1 we have now. LaPorta can play RF, Nelson OF and 3B, and Fielder can't play 1B http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. We both love Lawrie, but Smoak is pretty awesome, and a very safe sure thing. It makes sense to keep drafting sure thing 1Bs, and then flip them for pitching. Melvins actually done it twice already with Sexson and Overbay.

 

 

[colbyjack]

If Smoak was pretty awesome, he wouldn't be falling out of the top 10. I didn't hear the exact reason as to why he's falling, but I know seeing him in the past I'm a little concerned with his swing and bat speed. I'm one of the few people that have preferred Yonder Alonso all along.

 

Although I did hear last night that the Brewers might be a darkhorse candidate for Brett Wallace. Heck, if they're good at developing bats, even if those bats don't project to play anywhere other than first, keep taking them. I also kind of took that to mean that they might have more flexibility with LaPorta if they wanted to dangle him for a pitcher at the deadline. That's must my speculation, as I still would be surprised to see Wallace's name called.

 

Oh yeah, I've also heard that Zach Collier may not be as good, or at least polished, of a hitter as the hype over the last month or two may suggest. It seems as though his reputation is still riding on his game he had vs. Aaron Hicks.

[battlekow]

Didn't Collier have a bad workout for the Brewers?

[colbyjack]

Here's an awesome story from my PGCC associate David Rawnsley, who is set to be part of ESPN2's draft coverage tomorrow (if you haven't noticed, Rawnsley is one of the brightest and most underappreciated voices on amateur talent):

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/columnists/davidrawnsley/2008/draft/draft08_ramblings.aspx

 

Please excuse him if he constantly refers to Rickie Weeks as "Richie." http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[battlekow]

Here's an awesome story from my PGCC associate David Rawnsley, who is set to be part of ESPN2's draft coverage tomorrow (if you haven't noticed, Rawnsley is one of the brightest and most underappreciated voices on amateur talent):

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/columnists/davidrawnsley/2008/draft/draft08_ramblings.aspx

The best bit of that article:

The more and more I hear about Canadian Brett Lawrie and his hitting ability, the more impressed I am. Lawrie could be drafted before the Toronto Blue Jays get a shot at him at No. 17. I had an interesting conversation with righthander Stosh Wawreszek, who has played with Lawrie through the years, at Perfect Game's Pre-Draft Showcase in mid-May. Stosh, who throws 90-93 mph with a 78-mph curveball, pitched to Lawrie on various British Columbia and Team Canada squads since Lawrie took up catching last year. At the beginning, Stosh related, Lawrie couldn't catch a thing and was a danger to himself. But by late this spring, Lawrie had improved so much that he considered him the best catcher he had ever thrown to and had complete confidence in him in all regards.

[tigerbrew]

The best bit of that article:

 

The more and more I hear about Canadian Brett Lawrie and his hitting ability, the more impressed I am. Lawrie could be drafted before the Toronto Blue Jays get a shot at him at No. 17. I had an interesting conversation with righthander Stosh Wawreszek, who has played with Lawrie through the years, at Perfect Game's Pre-Draft Showcase in mid-May. Stosh, who throws 90-93 mph with a 78-mph curveball, pitched to Lawrie on various British Columbia and Team Canada squads since Lawrie took up catching last year. At the beginning, Stosh related, Lawrie couldn't catch a thing and was a danger to himself. But by late this spring, Lawrie had improved so much that he considered him the best catcher he had ever thrown to and had complete confidence in him in all regards.

Sweet!!

[1e Corbeau]

Count me on the Lawrie man-crush bandwagon. Last year, I feared the Canadian. This year, I embrace the Canuck.

 

As always, I don't have any expectation of guessing right, though. I do know it'll be a fun afternoon, though.

 

I was a big Brett Anderson fan in 06 and was sad to see him go in the second before we had a chance. This year DeVall is my LHP HS'er. I'd love to find him at #32. Any word on who has interest in DeVall?

[Hart Of Milwaukee]

Mayo from BA said the Reds are seriously considering Lawrie with their pick just inside the top ten. Hopefully, this is is not the case, because that may be a little high even for the "Canadian Crush". What I'm worried about is he doesn't become one of those guys where everyone says he is underated, therefore on draft day he is overrated. Long story short I really hope Jack Z has him targeted at 16.

[Never Outhustled]

If Smoak was pretty awesome, he wouldn't be falling out of the top 10.

Isn't the main reason he is falling because not every team is willing to take a 1B that high? He'd have no problem being the top 1B most years. Just the fact the he's a solid 1st rounder suggests his career will be pretty awesome. As we were told last year when the Brewers took LaPorta, 1/2 the college 1Bs taken in round 1 have made the HOF. He had a terrific year this year, that can't be ignored.