Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[colbyjack]

Please use this thread to share your thoughts, links, stories, pictures and anything else on the Brewers picks on draft day from rounds 1 through 5. Please do not start separate threads to discuss the individual picks.

 

Please use the in-draft thread to talk about the picks similar to a game thread.

[PlayerHader]

Draft starts at 5 CT, right? What time should we expect the Brewers to make their pick? Closest estimate, of course.

 

Sorry if this is the wrong place.

[battlekow]

Between 6:30 and 7, I guess. Right around game time, annoyingly.

[Tbadder]

Gotta love Arnett's slot. That's just nasty against right-handers. Good pick Bruce!

[battlekow]

Commentary from BP:

 

Goldstein:

Brewers take Eric Arnett at 26. Absolutely solid pick for the Brewers. He's Harold Reynolds #2 pitcher on video, for whatever that's worth. If he had a longer track record, he could have gone higher and this is a solid selection.

Bryan Smith:

I heard some tout Arnett for not having a lot of mileage on his arm, but he's actually a player whose workload worries me quite a bit. Arnett pitched 66 innings his sophomore season, and jumped up to 108 this season. That wouldn't be so bad by itself, but he threw 140 pitches against Purdue, then 128 against Northwestern, then sat out for the last weekend series of the year. He's a great arm, but I'm doing a lot of medical work before I sign him.

[JJHardy7]

X predicted this pick. I'm impressed with X and I like the fact that we got a guy that some had going higher. I'll admit I don't follow these guys until they're drafted so I'll defer to the experts and look forward to reading what everyone has to say about this guy.

[battlekow]

BP had Arnett as the 21st-best player:

The Good: The fastest riser among college arms, he generated an enormous amunt of buzz over the last month with his massive frame, 95 mph fastball, and plus slider; he repeats his mechanics well, and he has outstanding stamina.

The Bad: He rarely throws a changeup; the slider can become inconsistent at times; there is some concern over his lack of a track record, as this was his first successful year.

In A Perfect World He Becomes: A durable, above-average innings-eater.

BA had him 18th:

Indiana University produced just one first-round pick in the first 44 drafts, shortstop James DeNeff (No. 8 overall, Angels) in 1966. Forty-three years later, the Hoosiers should have their second-and it's not preseason All-America catcher Josh Phegley. After pitching mostly out of the bullpen and having only sporadic success in his first two seasons at Indiana, Arnett got stronger and tightened his slider. He flashed a 92 mph fastball as a freshman, and now he's sitting at 92-94 mph, touching 96 and maintaining his velocity into the late innings. His mid-80s slider gives him a second strikeout pitch. He also is doing a better job of using his 6-foot-5, 225-pound frame to leverage the ball down in the strike zone. He's a workhorse who has held up well while averaging nearly eight innings per start, and he ranked second in NCAA Division I with 11 wins entering the final week of regular-season play. Arnett will need to improve his changeup to remain a starter in pro ball, and some scouts think he lands too hard on his front leg in his delivery. Others say his mechanics are fine, and enough teams like him that he should go in the second half of the first round.

[battlekow]

Project Prospect's Lincoln Hamilton on the Arnett pick:

Good job for Doug Melvin, he made his mustache proud.

He had Arnett as the 14th-best player.

 

Andy Seiler had Arnett ranked #32.

[battlekow]

MLB's scouting video on Arnett.

[DHonks]

I don't recall seeing Davis' name mentioned around here. Can't wait to read the thoughts

[Chio151]

Davis has a real goofy running style and he's short, but he does seem to have a nice compact frame with good power.

[jwill535]

The report reminds me of LaPorta. Above average power hitter that is an average outfielder.

[DHonks]

Heckathorn is a name I've heard rumored on here plenty. I seem to recall reading encouraging things. I wonder why the mlb tracker stopped about 20 mins ago

[JJHardy7]

Above average power hitter that is an average outfielder.

 

LaPorta is not an average OF. His defense is pretty poor IMO.

[colbyjack]

Davis is somewhat of a surprising pick. He's a Boras client, and was expected to go mid-first round entering the spring as one of the more polished offensive players available. He had a good, not great spring, and has a propensity to swing and miss at breaking stuff, particularly low and away. He was the best hitter for Team USA last summer before having his summer cut short due to a wrist injury IIRC. He was one of my favorite picks coming out of high school two years ago (he's draft eligible as a true sophomore), but had somewhat of a down senior year after being involved in a car accident. He's got good, not great pop, and is somewhat of a 'tweener in that he doesn't have the ideal arm strength or instincts for center and doesn't have prototypical power for left. He used to draw Kirby Puckett comparisons for his shorter yet stocky body, but I think he's more similar to a LH hitting version of Shannon Stewart.

 

I'm assuming the team is confident they can sign him if they took him so high, but I kind of figured that he may opt to return for his junior year to re-assert himself as a mid-first-rounder.

 

Heckthorn, like Arnett, is a horse, built tall and strong with pretty good stuff. So far I'm encouraged with the team's picks, as I think it's clear they intended to take more polished players early.

 

And yes, Arnett was at the team's pre-draft workout. Tip of the cap to X for calling that one again, the third in four years if you include Lawrie and Braun.

[TheCrew07]

Is Davis an upside pick though? I think both pitchers were, I'd rather not draft polish if it lacks upside. It's not like the system is short on OF prospects.

[battlekow]

Kentrail Davis was #39 by BA and not in BP's top 50:

An All-Freshman choice in 2008 who starred for Team USA, Davis is a sophomore-eligible who doesn't neatly fit any mold. His performance suffered this spring on a Tennessee team having a down season, and he had struck out in 25 percent of his at-bats in two college seasons. However, he has tools and hitting ability that stand out in the 2009 draft class. Strong and physical at 5-foot-9, 200 pounds, Davis has a short, powerful swing when he's going well, with bat speed to spare. Despite that, Davis had a tendency to chase pitches this year when pitched around, and he got pull happy, which caused his swing to get a little long. Similarly, Davis has plus speed as a 6.6 runner over 60 yards, but it doesn't play plus offensively. Davis is an average defender in center field, which is below what most big league teams look for. If he can't stay in center, his fringy arm will push him to left, where his power will have to play.

Heckathorn was #28 by BA:

Heckathorn has been on scouts' radars since he started growing into his 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame. As a prep junior, he had an ankle injury that prompted many of the larger schools recruiting him to hesitate, while Kennesaw State kept after him. He reciprocated their loyalty and finally was having a breakout season as a junior, after several fits and starts. Heckathorn has raw stuff on par with anyone in the draft class, even Stephen Strasburg. He runs his fastball up to 99 mph as a starter, sitting in the 94-97 range into the eighth inning against Jacksonville in a May start. His slider can be similarly lethal, sometimes turning into a true cutter at 91-93 mph, other times getting decent depth in the 85-88 mph range. He doesn't throw much that's soft and actually throws too many strikes; he hasn't yet learned how to set up hitters to chase his slider or heater out of the zone when ahead in the count. Heckathorn's quick (two outing) departure from the Cape Cod League last summer raised some red flags for teams, as has his lack of consistent dominance in the Atlantic Sun. His command also is not what it should be. Most clubs consider Heckathorn, who has a short, quick arm action, a likely reliever as a pro, as a better (they hope) version of Kyle Farnsworth.

and #33 by BP:

The Good: An intimidating presence on the mound, Heckathorn has been clocked as high as 99 mph in the past, but more often he was in the 92-95 range this spring; more teams ended up liking his teammate, Chad Jenkins, as the much more complete pitcher.

The Bad: A 6-foot-6 monster with upper-90s heat should be an elite talent, but he had plenty of days with merely good velocity, he's yet to develop a secondary pitch that thrills scouts, and his mechanics are messy and inconsistent.

In A Perfect World He Becomes: A durable power pitcher in a rotation, but it's hardly a slam dunk.

[igor67]

I thinks it's safe to say that Power is the name of the game in the Brewers scouting department.

[battlekow]

Garfield was ranked #78 by BA:

In a banner year for prep catchers, Garfield stands out as one of the best pure defenders. At 6-feet and 190 pounds, Garfield is fit, strong and powerful. His pop times range from 1.85 to 1.90 seconds at showcase events, with one scout clocking a 1.78, and he has an above-average arm. Scouts' primary worry is that Garfield shines at showcases and struggles in games. He often puts on eye-opening power exhibitions during batting practice, but he has trouble carrying those results into games. He has a breathtakingly quick bat, but he often pulls off the ball and opens his front side, pulling the ball hard but foul. Failure to track the pitch and let it get deep throws off his timing, though he will occasionally show the ability to stay back on the breaking ball. Doubts may exist about Garfield's bat, but few doubts exist about his defense. His bat shows the promise of power, but he'll need improvement to bring it up to big league average.

[silversurferr]

How big is he?

[battlekow]

The Brewers worked out Walla recently:

A lot of exaggerations and rumors can get spread this time of year-and we weren't present at the workout-but we've been told that during his workout in Anaheim, Walla was thrown 60 balls during a BP session and put 38 of them in the seats for home runs.

It wouldn't be the first time Walla's dropped bombs during a BP session for scouts. Here's part of what I wrote about Walla in my New Mexico writeup: Walla doesn't have the size, speed or arm that make him stand out on a baseball field. Then he steps into the batter's box and people stop what they're doing to watch. Walla can flat-out hit. Drawing comparisons to Jaff Decker, a supplemental first-round pick last year, Walla is similar in that he's 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds. Walla doesn't have the arm strength that Decker displays, but he has a better body. He's swam competitively since he was six years old and was part of his school's relay team that broke two state records this year. He has a compact swing and consistently hits balls on the sweet spot. Swinging from the left side, Walla generates considerable power for his size. Between his junior year in Albuquerque and the summer showcase circuit, Walla hit 51 home runs. His coach said that at a workout for some scouts this spring, they wanted to see him take 25 swings with a metal bat and then 25 with wood. He hit 18 home runs with the metal, switched to wood and hit 18 more over the fence. He was also a standout pitcher for his team this year, leading them to a state championship, but his future is as a hitter.

Yeah, he sounds right up the Brewers' alley. I like this pick.

[Never Outhustled]

That Walla workout is unreal. Exciting pick.

The Davis pick shocked me. I wasn't even following him because he's a Boras guy. I should have paid attention to him though. The Brewers love bat speed, and he has a ton of it.

[battlekow]

Josh Prince was rated the #7 prospect in Louisiana by BA, with no other comment.

[battlekow]

John Manuel on the Davis selection: "Gutsy pick with big upside."

 

Will Heckathorn be shifted to the bullpen? Manuel: "Heckathorn could move quickly if he's moved to the bullpen, as most scouts expect."

[twobrewers]

The Brewers love bat speed, and he has a ton of it.

Hopefully he comes with "double sheaths" on his tendons.