Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[ryne100]

Arnett is signed according to his facebook status

[battlekow]

South Carolina's baseball coach expects Brooks Hall to sign with the Brewers:

For now, Tanner expects signees infielder Chris Owings (drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks), catcher and third baseman Wil Myers (drafted by the Kansas City Royals) and right-handed pitcher and infielder Brooks Hall (Milwaukee Brewers) to never make it to school.

[BoKnowsBall]

If Hall signs I think it is between him and Walla for my favorite draftee this draft

[mls4]

The awesomeness that is battlekow's BCB interview series with Brewer draft picks commences with # 1 pick Eric Arnett.

We bow in your presence, kow.

It was a great interview of awesome. And that "fresh sides" article is classic:

eric arnett | The Eric Arnett

June 10th, 2009 No Comments Posted in Hot News

eric arnett- Let me just say that. Today is. It is between three months and always, until the guys there are the BIGS. And for the Brewers, there is a poor history at the position which they are drafted. I last May, still no more than Nick Neugebauer not.

But I say to you today. Since the value of the bets go? When Eric Arnett arm enough to stay healthy, the Brewers a great one. He has two specialist sites in his name (and that is exactly the prototype conclude whether the change repitoire-up does not develop). It is acceptable to control and so he keeps in shape? 96 MPH fast ball, the BIGS.

It is not certain docuhey to signability. It was a great selection of awesome.

[crewcrazy]

Richardson definitely seems like a great guy...obviously it'd probably take him a bit longer to make it due to his past priorities on football, but I'm rooting for him.

[CheezWizHed]

"It was a great selection of awesome"

 

That HAS to follow Arnett around. We should make some t-shirts or something. In fact, I think I just found my signature...

[battlekow]

It's already my signature on BCB http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif It's a great quote of awesome.

[CheezWizHed]

Now, I hope he lives up to the quote. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[crewcrazy]

"It was a great selection of awesome"

 

That HAS to follow Arnett around. We should make some t-shirts or something. In fact, I think I just found my signature...

Hopefully the great selection of awesome fares better than catching WOAH SOLVDD did. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Never Outhustled]

Count me in with those excited about the Richardson selection. Many of us really hoped for a crack at another football player, Jared Mitchell, and Richardson is a very nice consolation prize. Richardson's cumulative rate stats over his 2 years of play are similar to what Mitchell did as a sophmore. Physically, Richardson is slightly bigger, just as fast, and has a much stronger arm. Both players did an impressive job of juggling 2 sports, a huge task, but are still under-developed because of it. Hopefully Richardson can show the progress at the plate over the next year that Mitchell showed this past year.

 

Sure, its possible Richardson won't progress at the plate, but its a worthwhile risk when you realize how unproductive 5th round picks are. The Brewers have had just 2 successful 5th round picks in their entire franchise history, Bill Wegman and Pat Listash.

 

Richardson's ceiling, because of his awesome physical ability, is an All-Star power hitting basestealing CF. I'd be happy with a starting caliber RF, and a nice 4th OF would be useful.

[battlekow]

If we sign Richardson, Gennett, and McDaniels, we'll have done quite a number on FSU's athletics program.

[Never Outhustled]

If we sign Richardson, Gennett, and McDaniels, we'll have done quite a number on FSU's athletics program.

Oddly, we'd make a bigger impact on there football program than there baseball program.

[JoeDirt]

Heckathorn looks like a pitching machine. If he doesn't have any deception I bet that can account for the stats. A pitching machine that dials up to 97 but still I would love to hit off that guy. He cocks it back by his ear like a catcher and just chucks it. Looks straight too. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[JoeDirt]

BTW totally off topic but am I the only one who thinks Bruce Seid sounds a little like Bill Murray on Caddyshack? Cinderella Story...

[battlekow]

Arnett family treated like royalty in Milwaukee

Kurt Snyder

 

MILWAUKEE - Bill Arnett was happy to see his son had no interest in playing hardball with the Milwaukee Brewers.

With the Rookie League season starting June 23, Eric Arnett just wanted to get back to playing baseball. Arnett, a Watkins Memorial graduate, was drafted No. 26 by the Brewers in the first round Tuesday and signed Saturday for a signing bonus of $1.2 million.

"He is getting ready to live a lifelong dream," Bill Arnett said. "There was no point in dragging his feet."

Eric Arnett will report to Helena, Mont., on Monday. Bill and his wife, Robin, and one of Eric's two siblings, younger sister Sarah, spent the weekend with Eric in Milwaukee.

The family watched the Brewers play the Chicago White Sox on Saturday and today, spending time in Brewers general manager Doug Melvin's luxury box.

"We were just mom and dad there to see (Eric) off, but they were really great," Bill Arnett said. "They treated us like kings."

Before Eric Arnett begins his professional career, he earned another collegiate honor at the end of last week. The National College Baseball Writers of America named Arnett a first-team All-American. He was the first Indiana University player to earn that recognition since 1992.

Arnett also only was the second Indiana player to be selected in the first round, and he was the first player from a Big Ten school to be a first-round pick in five years.

[battlekow]

Top pick takes fast track

Anthony Witrado

Four months ago, Eric Arnett wasn't thinking about being drafted in the first round.

But he pitched well enough at Indiana University to drive up his stock, and his desire to sign quickly and not hold out made him that much more attractive to the Milwaukee Brewers. As a result, they selected the right-handed pitcher with the 26th overall pick last week.

Arnett agreed to a $1.2 million signing bonus, as recommended by Major League Baseball, and was introduced to reporters Sunday morning.

The focus of his news conference was how quickly the Brewers, Arnett and agent Joe Speed finalized the deal, not even a week after the draft.

"You just never know how long the process is going to take," said Brewers director of amateur scouting Bruce Seid, who couldn't recall the last time a Brewers first-rounder signed so soon after the draft. "In this case, this is an individual with his adviser and agent, that thought the best path for Eric was getting started. They just wanted to be treated fairly (in negotiations) and we were able to treat them fairly.

"(Arnett) knew to sit out a whole year was not in his best interest."

By signing quickly, Arnett, 21, is able to get to Rookie League Helena and start his professional career. He, Seid and general manager Doug Melvin agree that will speed up his progression.

"I knew even before I was drafted that's what I wanted to do," Arnett said about signing quickly. "I just wanted to be treated fairly, and they've done that. I knew it wasn't going to be a long process.

"I thought this was the best path to go (down)."

Speed, who also represents left-hander Mitch Stetter, said he didn't expect Arnett to be a first-rounder when his college season started. But as Arnett dominated Big Ten competition, it became clear it was possible. Arnett, from Pataskala, Ohio, thought the Cleveland Indians might take him 15th overall, but Speed correctly predicted before the draft that Milwaukee would take him.

Arnett was the Big Ten's pitcher of the year and went 12-2 with a 2.50 earned run average.

Partly because of Arnett's rapid rise, he remained modest through the negotiations and didn't want to haggle or hold out.

"We knew for him to be a first-round pick, he had to be signable," Speed said. "We were all on the same page relatively quickly."

The Brewers didn't pick Arnett based solely on his signability, but it was a plus and showed the organization he was eager to get on his way to the big leagues.

"He's going to cash in in the big leagues," Seid said. "This is the ground floor to catapult him where he wants to be. And to wait two or three months and start that dream was not in his plans.

"You have a combination of a team that wants a guy, a guy that wants to sign. It's just a good mix.?.?.?. It means a lot."

The Brewers signed 20 of their draft picks over the weekend and have agreed to terms with 23 of them. Seid expects those others to sign early this week.

[Mass Haas]

Blurb from this article:

 

FSU is still waiting word from underclassman D'Vontrey Richardson plus a host of signees to make their plans following the Major League Baseball draft.

Two-sport athlete Richardson has said he will probably sign with the Milwaukee Brewers.

[battlekow]

Adam McCalvy tweets that Cameron Garfield has signed:

Brewers should have a few more Draft signings to announce today or tomorrow, including second-rounder Garfield. HS catcher, solid defender.

[battlekow]

D'Vo close to leaving football team

Scott Chancey

 

LEESBURG - If a Milwaukee Brewers signing-bonus offer for Florida State football/baseball player D'Vontrey Richardson is approved by the Major League Baseball commissioner's office, Richardson will leave college football behind, according to both Richardson and his guardian, Steve Glover.

 

Richardson, a fifth-round Brewers draft pick, however, will return to Florida State and continue preparations for the upcoming football season if the offer is rejected. Glover said they are expected to find out by July 2, and added that Richardson - if the offer is approved - would then sign his minor-league contract within 24 hours afterwards and embark on his professional baseball career in Arizona.

 

The reason for the review is because the Brewers' signing-bonus offer is higher than the typical rate for those drafted in the fifth round. Last year's average signing bonus for fifth-round draft picks, according to the Major League Scouting Bureau, was $266,000.

 

"Hopefully, they will approve it," said Richardson, who worked out Monday with Alabama signee Jason Townsend, who also starred at Chipola and Sherwood Christian Academy. "Right now, I'm still working out every day. I wouldn't say this is nerve-racking. I'm just working out like I normally would."

 

While the Brewers were in contact with Richardson before the draft, Glover said the family agreed that Richardson would not consider leaving for professional baseball unless the signing-bonus offer at least equaled what was requested. Neither Richardson nor Glover said they know what exactly is offered.

 

"Right now, they haven't actually given us an amount," Glover said. "We told them the offer it was going to take, and they took him. Nothing has been agreed to, there were no negotiations. They said they weren't going to draft him at first, and then said things have changed.

 

"He's still sitting pretty at Florida State on the football end of it," added Glover, who said that the Brewers' offer on the table could lessen after it's possibly approved by the commissioner since no contract has been signed. The deal would also include the Brewers paying for the rest of his college education.

 

Richardson was a 35th-round pick by the Washington Nationals out of high school in 2006, but instead signed a scholarship to play football and baseball for the Seminoles. There, Richardson worked his way to being the backup to quarterback Christian Ponder. On the baseball field, his blend of athleticism and power enabled him to become a viable outfielder with a strong arm and one who could also hit one out of the park.

 

He batted .351 and started mostly in center field his freshman year at Florida State. After not playing baseball last season to focus on academics, Richardson returned to baseball and batted .304 while starting 22 games. He tied a collegiate high for RBI (three) in the Tallahassee Regional-clinching win against Ohio State, but the lack of playing time this year occasionally frustrated Richardson.

 

Pre-draft workouts, however, improved his draft stock and the Brewers took notice.

 

Richardson has other help in the bargaining process, such as former major-leaguer Reggie Jefferson, who is his advisor. Jefferson will then become the agent if Richardson signs with the Brewers.

 

If the offer is not approved, Richardson said he will take things in stride.

 

"I'll just keep going to see what's out there," he said.

 

http://albanyherald.com/SiteImages/Article/3309a.jpg

[Never Outhustled]

MLB doesn't like overslot deals, but they won't have issues with Richardson's, because as a 2 sport athlete, there are rules that allow the bonus to be spread out over a numbers of years. Deals like this in the past have been approved quickly.

[jjfanec]

How often does the league turn down over slot signings? It seems like certain teams do it quite often.

[Never Outhustled]

How often does the league turn down over slot signings? It seems like certain teams do it quite often.

All get approved eventually. Bonus's $250 K over slot don't get approved until the signing deadline. Last season we had a long delay in Seth Lintz's signing because he got a little over slot, and that was only about $130 K, IIRC.

[splitterpfj]

Cameron Garfield went 5 for 5 in his debut.

[CheezWizHed]

its been pretty quiet on the signings lately... Big boom, little boom, then quiet... I figured Davis might take some work to sign, but its been quiet on the Heckathorn and Hall fronts also.

 

Anyone have a word?

[TheCrew07]

Anyone who was offered more than slot typically has to wait on MLB approval, which is irritating... seems like a power trip by the commissioner's office to smack down over slot deals. I would guess most of the guys unsigned got offers over slot to varying degrees.