2014 Brewers' 1st-Rd. Pick Speculation & Overall 2014 Prospects Discussion Thread

[princeofpop]

You're not alone Patrick.

 

Since I correctly (and joyfully) picked them taking Prince Fielder in 2002, I am hitting a bit of a dry spell on my Brewer 1st round draft predictions/wishes.

 

2003 OF Delmon Young (Weeks)

2004 RHP Homer Bailey (Rogers)

2005 OF Cameron Maybin (Braun)

2006 OF Travis Snider (Jeffress)

2007 OF Jason Heyward (LaPorta)

2008 LHP Christian Freidrich (Lawrie)

2009 3B Matt Davidson (Arnett)

2010 OF Josh Sale (Covey)

2011 RHP Sonny Gray (Jungmann, Bradley)

2012 3B Joey Gallo (Coulter, Roache)

2013 Anyone but Kyle Lohse (Lohse)

2014 3B Jacob Gatewood (??????)

[splitterpfj]

"A Short Rant"...by Todd

 

I do not want Finnegan.

I don't have anything against Conforto or Zimmer, but neither has won me over, so I'll pass.

I like Trea Turner, but I think he'll picked ahead of Milwaukee.

Toussaint is a project, and I think the team will play this pick a little safer than that, so I'll bet against it.

Hoffman would be a fun pick, but he may not reach the Brewers.

I can't stand brussels sprouts, no matter how healthy they are.

The Brewers won't do what I'm about to say.

The Brewers should be focused on Holmes, Pentecost, and Schwarber, and taking whoever they think the best of the three is.

Mark DiFelice's middle name is Andrew.

I still think it's Pentecost.

If the Brewers take a guy I really didn't expect them to take...it'll be Gillaspie.

[paul253]

I'm really hoping for Holmes but I feel like it's going to be Schwarber or Pentecost.

[narwhalattack]

According to Kiley McDaniel, there's some buzz that Kolek is sliding. According to him, a crosschecker provided him with a mock draft and Kolek wasn't in the top 11.

[SRB]

Now there's some buzz that Schwarber might go as high as #4 to the Cubs.

 

No idea what's going to happen tomorrow, but it's going to be fun to watch!

[fondybrewfan]

At this point I still really want Schwarber; he seems to be a difference making bat that we desperately need. Coulter, Schwarber, and Taylor could be a really fund group to come together in MLB; and that isn't including guys like Haniger, Neuhaus, Reed and Denson among others who could have pretty good MLB careers.

 

Coulter, Schwarber, and Taylor probably still wouldn't touch the Prince, Braun, and Weeks trifecta but it would be fun to follow nevertheless.

 

I am certainly not going to be disappointed if we get a different high upside guy at 12 though. Other guys no about the prospects better than me so if Brewerfan likes it then I will probably like it

[Mass Haas]

Article

 

Marc Flores, University of Hawaii first baseman (Baseball America has Flores ranked No. 88 among their Top 100 college seniors). The Cubs, Brewers, Twins and Giants have all shown interest in Flores.

 

Obviously a later round talking point, but if the Crew picks him up, we'll have some background.

[colbyjack]

I ranked Flores as the 25th best prospect in the Northwoods League last summer. Here's my report on him:

 

25. MARC FLORES, 1b, Willmar Stingers (Hawaii, SR in 2014)

Strongest player in league, power stands out, impressive pure strength as LH hitter in 6-5/230 frame; pieces came together in NWL after .280-2-17 season at Hawaii; hit .352-13-64, set NWL record with 26 doubles, was named co-MVP; finished summer 2nd in RBI and H (95), tied for 3rd in HR and SLG (.593), 4th in BA and 5th in R (58); 3-sport star in high school, will look to carry success to his senior year, could be interesting senior sign in 2014 draft if he continues to make adjustments at plate.

[3and2Fastball]

At this point I'm hoping for Schwarber or Pentecost at 12, although the huge ceiling of Gatewood is intriguing. Gatewood seems pretty risky though, a boom or bust type

 

I think the Brewers will take Beede if he's there at 12, I would prefer Schwarber or Pentecost

[princeofpop]

Re: Catchers

I hope we pass on Max Pentacost.

First round catchers have a pretty terrible track record of success.

 

Re: Pitchers

If Brewers nab a pitcher, I hope it is Hoffman, Nola or Beede. I don't think the high schoolers available at #12 will be that much better than the ones available with pick #41 or #50. It's a deep draft for high school pitching. Kodi Medieros or Foster Griffin could slide in a dream scenario, but if not there should be guys like Joe Gatto, Justus Sheffield, or Keaton McKiney available.

 

Re: Hitters

I'm hoping this is the route the Brewers go with #12. Lots of nice power bats to be had at #12. Gatewood, Schwarber, Gallespie, Davidson, Chavis, Reed, etc.

 

Re: Sliders

There are exciting rumors that with a few surprise picks ahead of us, guys like Tyler Kolek or Aaron Nola have an outside chance to slide to our pick.

 

I had read somewhere that our last game of the season win over the Mets in 2013 cost us to slide 4 draft spots. This makes me a little sick to my stomach, actually.

[JohnBriggs12]

If it makes you feel any better, the Brewers lost their last game of the season last year, after taking the first 3 of the series. Now had they lost two of the previous 3 in that series, they'd be up several spots.

 

I'd hold off on the sick to my stomach feeling until we actually see how these guys end up.

 

I think I speak for most fans that I don't know enough about any of these guys to have as strong opinion. It does seem to me unless they are certain Coulter can't catch, that it's odd that they'd take Pentecost. Of all the hitting positions, it seems they are stocked pretty well behind the plate.

[dpapo]

It appears in Keith Law's final mock draft he has the Brewers selecting Kodi Medeiros. However, I don't have a ESPN Insider subscription so not sure what makes him think that is who the Brewers will take, but this is what he said in a chat session,

 

"You have the Brewers selecting Kodi Medeiros in your latest mock, but he is only #50 in your Top 100. Is this a huge reach on their part?

 

Klaw

(1:13 PM)

 

IMO, yes. I think there's a high chance he's a reliever"

 

I like the idea of the Brewers taking a power bat in the first round like a Kyle Schwarber or possible Jacob Gatewood, then taking a pitcher with a later pick since there seems to be more pitching then hitting depth.

[brewcrewdue80]

Yep PoP, We lost the TieBreaker to the Mets,Toronto, and Colorado and with Toronto's non signing of Bickford last draft their 10 pick became 11 this draft taking Milw's 11 down to 12.

 

I just posted my predictions 1-12 in the other thread. I went with Hoffman. When you look at 10-25 on the draft board you really get questionable prospects. Hoffman wasn't a questionable prospect. He falls to Milw and they take him. Now I mentioned way back his throwing motion looks elbow hurting and there's TJ #1 now to it. It's not a matter of question on his ability to pitch just stay healthy. I think there's a small discount on his signing. Hoffman was a 4-7 type pick which valued was 3.3-4.6mil. The Brewers get 2.8 to work with and I think Hoffman can't pass up on a 2mil signing since he won't get to showcase much prior to the next draft to really increase his value.

The Crew has just under 2.5mil allotted for their next two picks. Another 800k gives them 3.3mil Which avg out to 1.65~34th pick money. Or you can go 2mil/1.3mil ~21st money/our 41st money.

 

There has to be a few guys who fall in this draft in the 10-25 range that become signability problems for teams. Picking Hoffman not only adds talent but gives Milw that ability to sign a 2nd 1st rd talent(17? 2.2mil) Which you can sell as We liked the fact we got Hoffman a top 10 prospect on our draft boards at 12 while the money we saved signing him gave us the ability to go get another 1st rd ability kid. So Hoffman has potential outside his injury but if the injury holds him back, we feel we still got a 1st rd pick to work with out of this draft. We'll take 2 for 1 on the ability to work out, and if both work out this is a complete HR for this draft.

 

Let's just say Hoffman plus any of these HS kids that if they fall you wind up selecting who felt value-wise as they fell College was going to be better: Derek Hill, Chavis, Monte Harrison, Luis Ortiz, Jacob Gatewood, Spencer Adams, Kodi Medeiros, Foster Griffin, and maybe Marcos Wilson.

Can you add J. Bukaukus/Gettys two guys who appear College bound that at 2mil. you sign away from that idea?

 

That scenario playing out there's a lot of HR potential with this draft. The Batters:Hill,Chavis,Harrison falling would definitely give the Brewers the best of both worlds. A top 10 SP and a top 12-20 Position player drafted.

 

Of course my dream scenario would be Hoffman-Ortiz tandem. But Miami/KC/even Pitts as mentioned earlier give me the feeling they'll get him since they can make money moves as well with their picks to give Ortiz what he commands.

[TooLiveBrew]

"You have the Brewers selecting Kodi Medeiros in your latest mock, but he is only #50 in your Top 100. Is this a huge reach on their part?

 

Klaw

(1:13 PM)

 

IMO, yes. I think there's a high chance he's a reliever"

'Yep, it's a huge reach & would be a really bad pick for the #12 overall... which is why I made that call in my Expert Mock Draft™.'

 

What a knob.

[Fear The Chorizo]

This is why some guys who generate prospect lists and MLB mock drafts like KLaw grind my gears...they obviously have favorite organizations/gm's/scouts who they prefer to get information from, and those organizations get positive spin directed towards them, while organizations they have poor or no relationships with get pounded.

 

So Klaw is slamming the Brewers' brass based on a hypothetical selection Klaw himself made for them in a mock draft...It'll be interesting to read the positive spin he'll put on whatever team picks him that he does like at #16 or so!

 

The MLB draft is such a crapshoot with an impossibly large talent pool at drastically different stages of development - variables like signability and level of competition play huge roles on where players get picked once you're outside even the top 5 picks. Mock drafts are made for webpage clicks...you get an idea of the top few dozen players who could go in the 1st round, and that's about as useful as they get.

[brwrsfan]

Here is the scouting report on Kodi Medeiros:

 

Hawaii hasn't produced many pitchers over the last decade, but Medeiros has a chance to be the best in years with electric stuff despite a diminutive frame. He sits 90-92 mph with his fastball, and will occasionally touch 95 and has one of the stronger, quicker arms in the draft.

 

His money maker is his slider, which outside of Carlos Rodon's slider is the best breaking ball of any pitcher in the class with ridiculous tilt and late break that will give left- and right-handed pitchers fits. Medeiros also throws a change on occasion that acts more like a split, but is a developmental pitch at best.

 

Even if Medeiros is able to develop a third pitch, there's a great chance he won't be able to start because of his arm slot, which is borderline side-arm and would be as low or lower than any southpaw starter in baseball. He repeats his delivery well and throws strikes, but there are too many uphill battles to project him as an elite starter.

[princeofpop]

Love Kodi Medieros. If he signs for a lower than slot contract, then it gives the Brewers to go overslot on either there #41 or #50 guy. That could be huge, because I see a couple of guys in that range that would be first round picks in weaker drafts, especially in the high school ranks.

[colbyjack]

The part about Medeiros' changeup being developmental at best is overstated. The 3 times I've seen Medeiros his changeup has flashed plus. The other time he didn't have much feel for it and pretty much stuck to his fastball/slider. The arm slot, and debating his future between starting/relieving is legitimate, but I personally don't think it's that big of a deal at this point in time. It may be something to deal with down the road, but it wouldn't effect my decision in drafting him.

 

I also wouldn't call him diminutive. He's not the biggest guy, but he's one heck of an athlete that can also swing the bat really well.

[brewerprospectwatch]

My top 5 of guys I hope the Brewers pick:

 

1. Michael Conforto, even though he probably will be gone, his power bat and hit tool, even though iffy defender make him an almost certain major leaguer with impact talent.

 

2. Touki Toussaint, the most likely, BPA for this draft, big projectible RHP with monster stuff and just needs to harness his command/control, but he is athletic enough to figure it all out.

 

3. Tyler Beede, another big power arm, athletic and big athletic body. Has had command/control issues but his athleticism should be able to correct that with professional coaching and projects as high as a #2 starter.

 

4. Kyle Schwarber, another big power bat with good hit tool, probably limited to 1B but the bat, like Conforto makes him an almost certain impact level player.

 

5. Brandon Finnegan, a small bodied LHP with 2 plus pitches and solid change make him a future #3 starter.

 

Dont want Holmes, big soft body with control issues, Zimmer's limited power for a corner OF, Pentecosts hit only as a simply "eh" defender. And as much as I would love Hoffman, I dont think the Brewers, or Seid can afford the big risk him taking him at #12.

[fondybrewfan]

A round of imaginary beers to the group that the pick is not someone extensively discussed in this thread. It will probably be a surprise (Hopefully a good one like someone unexpectedly falls). No real reason for me to think this; it just seems no one ever has any idea what the Brewers are thinking come draft day.

[miggs721]

Every time someone falls to us, we pass on him anyways, lol!!!!

[splitterpfj]

Jim Callis' last mock...

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/2014/06/05/78397820/final-mock-jim-callis-picks-for-the-first-round

 

Jonathan Mayo's last mock...

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/2014/06/05/78374912/final-mock-jonathan-mayos-picks-for-the-first-round

[SRB]

Medeiros is the guy with the very unusual delivery (extremely low slot), right? They talked quite a bit about him on the Baseball America podcast a couple days ago, sounded pretty exciting to me.

[Eye Black]

Jim Callis' last mock...

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/2014/06/05/78397820/final-mock-jim-callis-picks-for-the-first-round

Callis has Derek Hill up to #13 in his final mock draft. Hill has had a lot of helium this past week leading into the draft, I am curious to see if he actually ends up going somewhere in the middle of the first round.

[Eye Black]

My top 5 options for the Brewers at #12 among guys that have a possibility to be available:

 

1) Jeff Hoffman

2) Sean Newcomb

3) Grant Holmes

4) Touki Toussaint

5) Luis Ortiz (on an under-slot deal allowing for some over-slot deals in the comp round and 2nd round)