2014 Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[jjkoestler]

Great news. Any idea where the 3 kids will play this year?

[Eye Black]

I know the new draft system is not exactly loved across the industry, but one corollary of the draft slotting system I like is that we don't have to wait very long for guys to sign. Looks like the Astros even signed Brady Aiken already ($6.5 million).

[CheezWizHed]

I'm guessing the Brewers had a pretty good idea as to what the overslots would sign for. As others have said, they don't take many chances with the upper picks. I actually thought Harrison would be the hardest to sign. So this was a surprise for me.

 

I would imagine Medeiros already has a pre-draft deal as that would be the easiest to predict.

[nate82]

Great news. Any idea where the 3 kids will play this year?

 

All will be in Maryvale.

[homer]

They are not signing all 3. They might not even be able to sign 2 out of 3.

 

Bump

[reillymcshane]

The club lacked high upside players. They added a few with a little creativity. If we could add Lara and hang onto Wang (I giggled writing that), it really helps the system. Well played.

[fondybrewfan]

Love these guys signed so early; get them to Maryvale and start playing to see what you have. Both Maryvale and Helena should be fun to follow

[Ennder]

Maybe it's because I like Medeiros much more than some and think he is being underrated due to his unconventionality and his home state, but from the perspective of right after the draft (huge caveat) is this the best Brewers draft in recent memory?? They had picks 12, 41, and 50, and ended up with arguably three top-20 talents who are all likely to sign.

 

I think if he can develop his change people will think of him more as a starter and not a bullpen guy. As far as I can tell this is almost solely about him only really having 2 pitches. The arm slot is something a good number of starters get away with so that can't be too big a part of it.

[SRB]

Maybe it's because I like Medeiros much more than some and think he is being underrated due to his unconventionality and his home state, but from the perspective of right after the draft (huge caveat) is this the best Brewers draft in recent memory?? They had picks 12, 41, and 50, and ended up with arguably three top-20 talents who are all likely to sign.

 

I think if he can develop his change people will think of him more as a starter and not a bullpen guy. As far as I can tell this is almost solely about him only really having 2 pitches. The arm slot is something a good number of starters get away with so that can't be too big a part of it.

 

Really? Seems like scouts love his slider and fastball, and think he might have a plus pitch down the road in his changeup too. My sense is that the reliever tag is due to his unusual arm slot and the fact that (as a result of his delivery) he might be expected to have fairly large platoon splits. I don't think that a good number of starters have his arm slot, it sounds fairly unusual. (I'm just going off discussion by Baseball America, etc., not my personal observation slash non-expertise).

 

If he was from Florida and not Hawaii and scouts had more of an opportunity to get used to his orthodox delivery, I suspect he would have been "ranked" much higher in consensus rankings.

[markedman5]

Arm slot looks similar to Madison Bumgarner to me

[SoupTown]

Colby: I think in the end Kodi gets somewhere in the $2.2-2.4 M range and both Harrison and Gatewood get around $1.8, in which the math still works.

 

The pair of 1.8s was not quite right (1.8 and 1.83). But you do seem to have some idea what you are talking about. So if I am in Vegas I am laying down the bet on 2.2 to 2.4.

 

Oddly, if Kodi did not decide to accept, we would get that same pick next year. But I am sure (as your sources say) the final signing if the trifecta must close. The Crew does not offer over slot for the two they signed without knowing what the savings are from the number one pick.

 

I don't follow other teams, so I cant compare. But (again based on the chatter here) it seems the Crew did wonderfully. I wonder what it will take to get Keith Law on side. Law said the Boston draft was very good.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I wonder what it will take to get Keith Law on side.

 

who cares? Honestly I think many on this board are perfectly ok with him never being "on side". He's spent multiple years griping about the Brewers drafting "safe" and not going after kids with bigger upsides. The Brewers went with nothing but kids with bigger upsides early this year and he still doesn't like it. And of course he thought Boston had a great draft...his post draft analysis/reaction template is pretty much "Boston had a great draft here in (insert year)".

 

and I guess I'm still confused why an 18-yr old high schooler with a mid-90's fastball that moves everywhere and a plus slider/developing changeup would be viewed by anyone as a reliever only at this point, regardless of what his arm slot is. maybe that's Law-speak to justify a reason to criticize Brewers management for picking him. Jim Bowden had all 3 of the Brewers top picks rated in the top 25 of the whole draft on his board, and it's looking like a good plan to pick someone they liked at 12 who would take an underslot bonus and follow up by picking guys at 41 and 50 they could overslot who were there simply because of signability concerns. Had they picked someone else at 12 that would command slot or even overslot money, picks 41 and 50 wouldn't have been nearly as exciting, I guarantee you that.

[TheCrew07]

I had graduation parties all day but get to come home to the wonderful news that both Harrison and Gatewood have signed already.

 

The draft system isn't perfect, but I REALLY love the fact we don't have to sit around wondering about picks signing until August.

 

On a side note maybe TH will actually learn Gatewood's name now....

[TooLiveBrew]

I had graduation parties all day but get to come home to the wonderful news that both Harrison and Gatewood have signed already.

 

The draft system isn't perfect, but I REALLY love the fact we don't have to sit around wondering about picks signing until August.

 

On a side note maybe TH will actually learn Gatewood's name now....

I think you mean Jared Gartner.

[reillymcshane]

I looked at prospect ranking from three sources: Baseball America, MLB.com, and minorleagueball.com.

 

Using those three rankings (this is player rankings, not mock drafts), the players we picked averaged in rank as 20th (Harrison), 26th (Gatewood) and 28th (Kodi).

 

It's kind of like we dealt the 12th, 41st and 50th picks for the 20th, 26th and 28th picks.

 

I know that's not a perfect analogy, since we are skimping on some later picks, but it seems like a pretty nice move on our part.

 

I don't know the players that well, but I'm excited by the upside they all offer. And I'm excited that we could manuver in such a way as to be able to sign all three players. I realize these guys have risks, but I like the gamble.

[wichmae]

Foreshadowing?

https://twitter.com/Brewers/status/474721624076214272/photo/1

[TheCrew07]

Six clubs that made the best Draft impressions

 

4. Brewers. Milwaukee reached a bit at No. 12 for Waiakea HS (Hilo, Hawaii) left-hander Kodi Medeiros, though there's no denying that he has electric stuff. With their next two choices, the Brewers snaked two players who fell further than expected: Clovis (Calif.) High shortstop Jacob Gatewood (supplemental first round), who owns the best raw power in the Draft, and Lee's Summit West (Mo.) High outfielder Monte Harrison (second), one of the best athletes available. Milwaukee's crop has boom or bust potential, because the team will invest most of its bonus pool in its first three selections, but it could make a really big boom.

[Mass Haas]

Nice May 20th article on the 5th round 3B --

 

For IU's DeMuth, it's dream over money

[Mass Haas]

4 (116). Troy Stokes, CF, Calvert Hall College HS, MD

 

Young Mr. Stokes is in, will be in Milwaukee Tuesday.

[splitterpfj]

I showed Troy Stokes this forum, specifically this page...I think he's looking in tonight.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hi Troy, & welcome to the Brewers!

[yfinn6]

Is it just me, or are there a lot of signings in the first few days after the draft? Maybe I haven't followed it that closely in the past (usually I was working in areas with no internet in the summer ... so I sort of have an excuse).

 

Also, just wanted to say thanks to all the BF posters who have contributed all the information of these prospects. It makes someone, like myself, who is pretty ignorant to all things draft/minor league something to read and look forward to. Again, thank you.

[SRB]

I showed Troy Stokes this forum, specifically this page...I think he's looking in tonight.

 

Looking forward to watching Troy's career as he hopefully follows in the footsteps of some great Brewers fourth round picks who developed into top prospects over the last decade and a half (e.g. Brad Nelson, Mat Gamel, Hunter Morris)

[logan82]

I hope he does better than those picks.

[Mass Haas]

Kodi Medeiros expects to sign $2 million contract with Brewers

By Kevin Jakahi, Stephens Media Hawaii

 

So how did you spend your weekend?

 

Kodi Medeiros, a recent Waiakea graduate and pitcher with a $2 million left arm, has a whopper of a tale to tell his grandchildren.

 

And he’s set to put his signature on a contract Monday worth more than $2 million.

 

The Milwaukee Brewers made him a blue-chip commodity, and Major League Baseball gave him a tour of a lifetime, rolling out the red carpet in stops at Arizona, Milwaukee, Kansas City and New York.

 

He even got to shake MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s hand, after the Brewers picked him 12th overall in the first round of the MLB first-year player draft, making him the highest Hawaii player selected out of high school.

 

Medeiros was composed with all the impromptu questions, and he managed to sneak in a shout-out to his family. That must have been rewarding for his parents, Robert and Kori Medeiros, and brother, Korin.

 

“After I got picked, MLB was asking me tons of questions. Then I went to the conference room where two Milwaukee stations called me,” Medeiros said. “Fans were asking me questions, and my text messaging blew up, my Twitter feed, and all my followers, and I couldn’t keep track of all the people who congratulated me.

 

“I’m almost caught up. I’m hitting back everybody with calls. It’s really overwhelming with social media. A lot of people would say, ‘Congratulations,’ and wanted to talk story, but I could only say, ‘I’ll talk to you later.’ It was a really long day.”

 

MLB footed the bill for everything.

 

The Medeiros family flew out from New York on Friday afternoon to Las Vegas, where they’re staying with Kori’s sister.

 

Milwaukee’s 12th overall pick has an assigned value of $2,805,700. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room because there’s a cap for the first 10 rounds, but the next two picks reportedly signed for more than slot money.

 

Medeiros said he expects to sign Monday when the Brewers fly him to Las Vegas. Then the team will fly the family to Milwaukee, where he’ll undergo a physical and watch a few games.

 

To replenish a mediocre farm system, ranked 29th by minorleagueball.com, the Brewers drafted 27 pitchers out of their 41 picks, including Saint Louis School right-hander Jordan Yamamoto in the 12th round.

 

Yamamoto outdueled Medeiros with a 2-0 win in the quarterfinals at the Division I state tournament in May on Oahu. The two could possibly be teammates if Yamamoto turns down a scholarship to Arizona.

 

Dave Matranga, from psisports.com, is an advisor to Medeiros and Yamamoto. Matranga is the agent for Kolten and Kean Wong, and several other local players, including Iolana Akau, Kela Kaaihui, Branden Kaupe and Lenny Linsky.

 

The MLB travel whirlwind wasn’t the first time Medeiros has been stuck on a long plane ride to an enjoyable and memorable destination.

 

In 2011, he was a member, along with his brother Korin and Kean Wong, on the Hilo All-Stars World Series championship ballclub that traveled to Maine.

 

“It’s my second time I was on a long plane ride,” Medeiros said. “I was pretty used to it, and everything went fine.”

 

In the minor leagues, as Wong, who is at Single-A ball with the Tampa Bay Rays, can tell him nothing is first class. There are bus rides to sleepy towns. The routine of games are based on improving and weeding out competition, even on your own team.

 

“I know the bus rides won’t be enjoyable, but I’ll find a way to deal with it,” Medeiros said.