Callis (and others) like the Brewers 2008 draft

[Bambis Bombers]

In the June 16 edition of Ask BA, Jim Callis likes the Brewers 2008 draft. mentions 15th round pick Mark Willinsky as a potential steal.

I have to issue the standard caveat that it's way too early to know with any great degree of accuracy how any club's draft will turn out. When judging drafts a week after the event, I'm looking at which teams got good value and also assuming that in most cases, any highly-rated prospects who didn't go in the first six rounds on the first day are going to be difficult to sign.

Two drafts jump out at me. The Brewers were armed with six picks in the first two rounds, and I like their haul. They couldn't have expected sweet-swinging Canadian high school Brett Lawrie (at No. 16) and athletic Illinois prep righthander Jake Odorizzi (at No. 32) to be available with their first two choices. After those two, Milwaukee landed a big, hard-throwing lefty (San Francisco's Evan Frederickson), another top high school righty (Seth Lintz from Tennesee), another advanced prep bat (outfielder Cutter Dykstra from California) and a strong-armed college righty (Southern Illinois' Cody Adams). San Diego's Josh Romanski (fourth round) is a polished lefthander, and the Brewers already have locked up Santa Clara righty Mark Willinsky, a potential closer and a steal in the 15th round.

Edit - expand topic to include other reviews of the Brewers 2008 draft

[Bambis Bombers]

Here's what Real Baseball Intelligence had to say about the recent Brewers draft efforts:

 

Milwaukee Brewers

 

First-rounders: Brett Lawrie (1, 16) is a pure masher. A high schooler from British Columbia, he is as good of a high school hitter as Eric Hosmer if not better. Although he has above average speed and athleticism, he is defensively challenged. He has good arm strength and the Brewers intend to try him at catcher. Jake Odorizzi (1, 32) is a polished high school pitcher with a smooth delivery and a low 90s fastball with life. He needs to improve his slider.

Late round gem: Erik Komatsu (8, 248) is a professional hitter who sprays line drives and can hit an occasional home run. He also has decent supplementary tools. He played left field for Cal State Fullerton.

Hometown heroes: The Brewers did not draft a single Wisconsin amateur, but Odorizzi and Cody Adams (2, 62) are from neighboring Illinois.

Tough sign: Kyle Winkler (37, 1118), a high school pitcher from Texas, has two plus pitches in a low 90s fastball and nasty curve. He has a strong commitment to Texas Christian.

Top 100 talents: Lawrie, Josh Romanski (4, 128), Odorizzi and Komatsu.

Summary/Grade: B+. The Brewers got a nice mix of high school talent (Lawrie, Odorizzi) and college prospects (Romanski, Komatsu). Lawrie is a nice pick in the first round because he can really hit and could move quickly through the minor leagues.

[Chio151]

Interesting that both reviews pointed out Romanski, who seemed like just an average pick at the time. We'll see how that turns out.

[colbyjack]

Callis' story is featured on the draft page at BA, which includes a picture of Lawrie:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/blawrie08428309mj.jpg

[Bambis Bombers]

Jonathon Small of MLB Draft University had the Brewers listed in the winners column on his draft review.

Milwaukee Brewers - High upside high school players. No surprise.

Love their first two picks. Brett Lawrie has as much potential as any high school hitter. Jake Odorizzi was in the mix as one of the best high school arms in the draft.

Their current system allows them to draft high upside players and let them develop as they have help on the way in LoPorta and Gamel.

And he scores bonus points by placing the Cubs in the losers column:

Chicago Cubs - draft lacks overall upside

How does Andrew Casher make sense for them? They already have a great bull pen. I assume they want to add to it come August. This is a front office who overpaid for Scott Eyre and Bob Howry, so maybe they wanted to develop their own piece of the pen. I understand that they have a very good team this year and maybe want to cement their chances of winning now.

Ryan Flaherty - seems like an overdraft to me. Could be an average big leaguer down the road. They drafted similar college SS in Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot, however. Pick does not have much upside.

Chris Carpenter - THERE is an upside pick - however past arm injuries and lack of results are the risk.

[trwi7]

Maybe it's just a typo saying LoPorta instead of LaPorta but the guy should've done a little research and when he did he would've found out that Fontenot was drafted by the Orioles and traded to the Cubs along with Jerry Hairston for Sammy Sosa.