Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[Mass Haas]

You'll notice that our old Brewerfan thread Patrick is providing us with scouting reports via his organization where available and we'll be including these in our Official Draft Pick Signing / Tracking Thread. Check out those from last night now.

 

Thanks, Patrick!

[DuWayne Steurer]

Roache sounds like a typical Brewers/Melvin pick......big bat, no glove.

 

I'm seeing all these "elite hitter" comments here, but I've read elsewhere that he's got huge holes in his swing, can't hit off-speed stuff, has a big hitch in his backside, tries to pull everything......... One scouting report said he's a one tool player with HUGE power, but nothing else.

 

Are we just being blind homers here on this guy?

[ListachRides]

Thanks to Patrick for the scouting reports. The report on Haniger was especially helpful. The nice thing about acquiring a couple college bats is that they shouldn't be too far behind our collection of pitching in High-A and AA.

[Tedaldtada]

Roache sounds like a typical Brewers/Melvin pick......big bat, no glove.

 

I'm seeing all these "elite hitter" comments here, but I've read elsewhere that he's got huge holes in his swing, can't hit off-speed stuff, has a big hitch in his backside, tries to pull everything......... One scouting report said he's a one tool player with HUGE power, but nothing else.

 

Are we just being blind homers here on this guy?

 

I'll throw a few hitting comps out there:

 

Best case: Somehwere around Nelson Cruz or Dan Uggla. Lots of K's but also a ton of power. Absolute best case would be either one of those guys but with an average closer to .300.

 

Recent draftee comp: Michael Choice of the Oakland A's

 

At worst: I see a Delmon Young-ish batting line. .260/.320/.435

 

The closest skills match in the Brewers system: Probably 2012 Corey Hart (i.e. much less speed than 2005 Hart).

 

Victor has a long way to go to reach even Delmon Young territory, but I like his makeup, and that helps. He is still only 20, so he has time.

 

These mixed reactions remind of the Prince pick.

[CheezWizHed]

These mixed reactions remind of the Prince pick.

 

Which is ironic, since he was a Prince comp pick.

[xisxisxis]

These mixed reactions remind of the Prince pick.

 

they remind me of Laporta and Gillespie, but then i'm not blindly spinning anything.....

[Tedaldtada]

These mixed reactions remind of the Prince pick.

 

they remind me of Laporta and Gillespie, but then i'm not blindly spinning anything.....

 

Yeah, those picks too xisxisxis. Thank you for your always pleasant contribution.

 

Of course, both those guys you mentioned would look pretty decent in a Brewers uniform right now.

 

So, I take it you do not like the Roache pick, or is your opinion a secret?

 

Edit: And I was not referring to the reactions at bf.net, I was talking about the mixed scouting reports referenced by a previous poster.

[Tedaldtada]

Tyrone Taylor in the 2nd. HS kid from Cali with big tools. Raw.

[StearnsFTW]

These mixed reactions remind of the Prince pick.

 

they remind me of Laporta and Gillespie, but then i'm not blindly spinning anything.....

 

 

 

I'm already on record saying I like the Roache pick and underwhelmed by the other 2.

 

What are your views?

[brwrsfan]

2nd round selection is in...Tyrone Taylor. High school CF from CA.

 

Report from MLB.com draft tracker:

 

A two-sport standout (he's a running back in football), Taylor has some good raw tools that scouts are bound to be intrigued by. His speed helps him on both sides of the ball, and he profiles as a leadoff type who can steal bases, and as a solid center fielder. There is some debate about what kind of hitter he can be, with some projecting more power to come, and others thinking he'll largely be a gap hitter. It may take some time to come together, but the tools that are there could get the Cal State Fullerton recruit drafted in the early rounds.

[Raw Biz]

I would've liked to have seen Adam Walker (from Milwaukee) for some more power, just went to the Twins at 97.

[TooLiveBrew]

I really dislike the 'hey, we drafted arms at the top of last year's draft, so it's bats this time!' approach. The Brewers need to take a page from the Packers' playbook & stop building their farm system based on need.

[zzzmanwitz]

TLB, I'm pretty sure they are just picking the best players available, at least by their board.

[TooLiveBrew]

TLB, I'm pretty sure they are just picking the best players available, at least by their board.

I hope so, but especially with this last pick I have questions.

[Raw Biz]

5'11 pitcher? Not the Brewers m.o.

[StearnsFTW]

There's a Tyrone Taylor paragraph in this article: http://www.bbprospectreport.com/2012/02/15/2012-mlsb-hitters#more-15351

 

Sounds like the guy has watched him quite a bit. Pretty underwhelming scouting report. Doesn't necessarily mean anything though.

 

Edit: Couple more nuggets here: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2012/02/southern-california-prep-talent-shines-in-compton/

 

Video of Tyrone as well:

[ListachRides]

In a Feb. 14 blog post, Law described Taylor as a great athlete whose swing needs a lot of work.

[nate82]

In a Feb. 14 blog post, Law described Taylor as a great athlete whose swing needs a lot of work.

 

I would say a majority of players who are labeled as great athletes have this designation. I am actually encouraged to see the Brewers selecting more athletic players.

[ListachRides]

I would say a majority of players who are labeled as great athletes have this designation. I am actually encouraged to see the Brewers selecting more athletic players.

 

Oh, I agree. The Brewers haven't spent many early picks on athletic, up-the-middle types and I wish they did more of it.

[igor67]

The tools question gets tricky because there are a variety of other things to consider. Clearly we could use more middle infield prospects. I'm less convinced we have a big need for CFs. Balanced against the positional question you want some high risk athletes to give you a shot at those all round super star players. Developing those guys seems very random however, and it is nice to have a supply of useful parts. The danger though if you are not drafting high in the first round is that your farm system isn't producing any of the All-star level guys you need to be a playoff contender. You don't need many if the roster is deep but you need some every few years to pan out.

[ListachRides]

5th round pick Damien Magnifico sounds like a fun one to follow. According to the scouting reports his fastball has repeatedly touched triple digits. The downside is he has an injury history and doesn't have any pitches to go with the heater. Only a sophomore, so I'm not sure if any of the money potentially saved on the early picks will need to be redirected here.

[Nader Raider Tim]

The Perfect Game guys seem to really like the Magnifico pick. Hardest thrower in the draft, hits 98-103, seems like a nice high end bullpen arm.

[Oldcity]

How many times do you think he's heard that Bohemian Rhapsody line?

[igor67]

I do like getting a guy with one really big and important tool in round 5.

[MJLiverock]

Roache sounds like a typical Brewers/Melvin pick......big bat, no glove.

 

I'm seeing all these "elite hitter" comments here, but I've read elsewhere that he's got huge holes in his swing, can't hit off-speed stuff, has a big hitch in his backside, tries to pull everything......... One scouting report said he's a one tool player with HUGE power, but nothing else.

 

Are we just being blind homers here on this guy?

 

Were these comments in the ESPN draft conversation thread or live blog whatever the called it? They had virtually these exact comments if not, which seemed a bit worrisome 'til I read the whole blog. They ragged on just about every guy as being nothing special, questionable or back of the rotation stuff at best.

 

I don't follow the scouting of HS and NCAA players very close and really have no informed opinion on anyone other than snippets I catch on here and a few blogs around draft day. It seems to me that outside of just a few of the elite cream of the crop you can find a scouting report or write up that paints a guy as terrible, overrated, or next coming of Pujols. The ESPN live chat seemed pretty negative on almost everyone, including a lot of the guys I saw mentioned for the Brewers to take but didn't or even guys taken ahead of them. I know they called both STL picks as back of the rotation at best. I saw one report that had Gallo as being too big to stick at third and may end up a 1B or Dunnesque OF.