2014 Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[reillymcshane]

Does anyone know what Sneed signed for?

 

I see there was a photo of him signing a contract (at least that's what the title infers):

 

https://twitter.com/HannahCoffman/status/475439767010549760

 

Chris Cotillo at MLB Daily Dish says he has signed, but again, no numbers:

 

[reillymcshane]

PS - Congrats to Cy Sneed on his engagement:

 

https://twitter.com/HannahCoffman/status/476023859775164416

 

I can't tell if Cy is wearing his Brewer's cap in the photos.

[SRB]

I hope he does better than those picks.

 

I'd be quite thrilled with anybody we selected turning into a top-25 prospect in all of baseball. Actually turning that into MLB success is the second step of a difficult process.

[SRB]

Some more info on why Monte Harrison perhaps fell so far, and why the Brewers nabbed him. According to Doug Melvin on WTMJ, Brewers scout Drew Anderson (Brewers and U. Nebraska almunus) has a decent relationship with Harrison and had a sense that he really wanted to play baseball instead of going to college (whereas some other teams may have thought he was a hard sign).

 

Kudos to Drew Anderson if he helped land Harrison at #50!

[SRB]

Some video of the top 3 picks from last year's PG All American Game (August 2013).

 

Jacob Gatewood starting around 0:21:00.

 

Monte Harrison starting around 0:31:20.

 

Medeiros pitches starting around 0:53:00. I especially recommend watching his breaking ball just after 0:55:00. Somebody remind me how this kid was not considered a "consensus" top 15 pick again?

 

[Mass Haas]

Signed, as indicated earlier --

 

Baltimore’s Troy Stokes Selected by Milwaukee Brewers in Fourth Round of MLB Draft

by Talibah Chikwendu and Zakiya Chikwendu, Afro.com

 

When Troy Stokes started playing baseball at the age of five, it may have been more about his father’s love of the game. But by the time he was eight or nine that love was his, along with rapidly advancing skill. Somewhere in the intervening years, his love of the game turned into the dream of becoming a professional major league baseball player.

 

That dream became a reality June 6 when the Milwaukee Brewers made Stokes, a Woodlawn native, the 116th selection overall in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft.

 

Describing the moment of his selection, Stokes said, "My family was with me. They just started screaming and hollering. Then my cell phone was ringing off the hook."

 

Stokes is the youngest of Troy and Lawanya Stokes' three children, part of a nuclear and extended family that has been supportive and encouraging from his first at-bat. His father, Troy Stokes Sr., led the charge and his pride was almost tangible. “I’m happy. I’m proud,” said Stokes Sr. “It’s somewhat mind-boggling.”

 

Stokes has been an unsung hero at Calvert Hall High School, graduating June 1, and during his senior season claimed the school record for runs scored and with 34 steals, breaking the school’s single-season steal record and falling just short of breaking the all-time bases stolen record. Despite his hard work for the team, it was his play in other venues that brought him to the attention of major league scouts. He participated on the travel team EvoShield Canes, which won two championships in 2013: the Perfect Game WWBA World Championship and the WWBA 17-under World Series. Stokes also made the USA Team and traveled with them in 2010 to a tournament in Nicaragua.

 

That exposure in venues across the country, along with playing and training year-round, gave Stokes the exposure needed for a scholarship to the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) and the interest of MLB scouts.

 

“I definitely want to thank God, my parents—they definitely sacrificed a lot,” Stokes Jr. said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here. They did the right things to get me here.”

 

His father partially agreed, explaining that his son’s play across the country made him visible to the right people. However, according to Stokes Sr., his son’s abilities are just a small part of it all. “Beyond the skill, it’s got a lot to do with attitude,” Stokes Sr. said. “How he dealt with striking out. How he dealt with losing.”

 

“His signature, since he was nine or 10 years old, is to remove his hat when he lines up to shake hands [with the other team at the end of the game],” Stokes Sr. said. “His character is where it needs to be. He’s awesome.”

 

Signing a contract with the Brewers on June 6, halted Stokes' UMCP college plans and kicked everything else into high gear. By June 10 he will be on the way to Milwaukee for a team physical, and the next day he will be off to Arizona, where he will spend the summer playing rookie ball.

 

Stokes Sr. said he was ready to see his son start his future as an adult. “I think this is something we’ve been preparing for a while,” said Stokes Sr. “The scary part is the unknown. Most people know what college has in store. I know that route. This route is unknown.”

 

Stokes Jr. seemed ready to embrace the journey.

 

“It’s going to be all baseball all the time,” he said. “I’m definitely ready.”

 

Understanding that reaching this goal is just the beginning of his journey, Stokes has already begun to consider what comes next.

 

“My main goal is to make it to the major leagues,” he said, explaining that he doesn't just want a place on the roster, but wants to play and make a difference for his team. “I want to be an All-Star.”

[fondybrewfan]

So has Medeiros actually signed yet? I see that he is bolded as signed in the other thread but from what I can tell it hasn't been formally announced yet including the $ right?

[Mass Haas]

BrewCrewBall interviews Patrick Ebert (our own colbyjack)

 

Part One

 

Part Two

[TheCrew07]

We need a scoop from Patrick on when Medeiros is going to sign!

[splitterpfj]

Reports started to come out saying Medeiros had agreed to terms, with a specific dollar amount attached to them, the same people who told me that, then said the team had asked them to hold off and allow the team to make the official announcement.

 

I believe it, and I expect the announcement soon. One thing to keep in mind...Medeiros is from Hawaii, he bounced around to some workouts, then went to NY for the draft, so I'm sure he's a little frazzled, and he probably wants to get his family together for this huge event in his life. It may be taking an extra day or two just to sort out the logistics.

[colbyjack]

I'd look for something this weekend when the Brewers return to town. Plus, they're honoring a bunch of Brewers with that new ceremony, as I'm sure they intend to go big

[DHonks]

From the video, Medeiros' motion looks fairly normal. The name that pops to mind is Casey Fossum. But I see nothing weird about the motion

[Thundercat32]

I apologize if this has already been posted. I was following this thread last week the night before & the night of the draft (some very enlightened folks in here, very cool), but I had login issues. Now, I'm all set. Has anyone seen this Medeiros article on Baseball America, yet? (link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/judo-star-medeiros-is-a-hit-on-the-mound/). I had heard him compared to Chris Sale before, which to be honest wasn't thrilling because there are folks that take issue with Sale's mechanics. However, in this article Medeiros is quoted saying "I like to watch Bumgarner because his mechanics are similar to mine," Medeiros says, "And I like to watch Sale to see the way he uses his slider that has similar break to mine."

 

That's exciting to me because Bumgarner receives positive reviews for his mechanics, particularly the repeat-ability... Eh, hold the phone. I scrolled up & watched the Perfect Game video that SRB posted. If you freeze it at multiple points during the delivery, you see his delivery starts out Bumgarner-like, as the foot strike phase of his delivery begins, but then Kodi starts mid trunk rotation (generating a REDONKULUS amount of a torque, which is just awesome!) & yet he holds the ball back as far as possible dragging the elbow behind & almost using a "whiplash" motion to the plate. As his head turns & his eyes come towards the plate, the ball is still towards the glove side of his head! Now, I'm still very much an amateur pitching mechanics analyst (a rank amateur in fact), but I've never seen that before. It doesn't seem like it can be that great for the elbow to continually be stretched out like that, but I could be very wrong on that.

 

One thing is for sure, Kodi Medeiros & Madison Bumgarner do not have identical deliveries.

 

Here's Bumgarner last night vs the Nats as his mid-trunk rotation has begun during his torque phase:

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p103/Thundercat32/MadisonBumgarnerTorquePhase.png

 

Notice how Bumgarner's wrist is perpendicular to his elbow and how his shoulders remain in line. At this point in his delivery his right hip & shoulder are nearly at a 90 degree angle with home plate, 85 degree angle maybe. And he has the baseball directly behind his head.

 

Here's Medeiros from the Perfect Game as his mid-trunk rotation has begun during his torque phase:

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p103/Thundercat32/KodiMedeirosTorquePhase.png

 

Notice how Medeiros left arm is making a "V" shape as his right hip & shoulder are well past the 90 degree point with his target, home plate. Medeiros' eyes are actually turned slightly more towards home plate than Bumgarner's are & yet the baseball is still towards the glove side of the back of his head. That's remarkable to me. His shoulders pulled apart in a "U" shape like they would be if he were doing a fly press workout with dumbbells.

 

Well, I don't know that means anything, other than what we already knew Medeiros has some work to do, but it's fascinating to me. Oh and I'm very high on Medeiros from everything that I've read. I think the Brewers took him at 12 because they believe they were getting a potential Bumgarner/Sale & I'll trust their scouting over my naked eyes any day. The stuff is really nasty too & if he's as good an athlete as the scouts say he is, then he should be able to clean a lot of this up too.

 

 

 

Edit: I should point out that both pitchers are not in the exact same point in their deliveries but as close to it as I could get without the aide of slow motion video. I paused the video multiple times on both pitchers & I never saw Bumgarner with the baseball to the glove side of his head & I continually saw that occuring with Medeiros. So, I still think this displays a current flaw in Medeiros' delivery.

[reillymcshane]

Not sure if this was posted, but Troy Stokes signed for $400,000. The Crew saves $49,000.

 

The Brewers have agreed to sign fourth-round choice Troy Stokes for $400K, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Milwaukee will get to apply $49.3K towards other picks, as the 116th draft slot carried a $449.3K pool figure. Stokes landed at 316th on Baseball America’s list of the 500 best draft prospects.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/06/draft-signings-nick-wells.html

[jvrocksaz]

Per this article on the Brewers website, Demuth has either signed or agreed to a deal.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140611&content_id=79257786&notebook_id=79258000&vkey=notebook_mil&c_id=mil

[SRB]

If the $2M figure is accurate for Medeiros, they still need to clear $237,900 in slot money across whatever bonuses Sneed, DeMuth, Meyer, Kole, McCall, and Salas got/will get. Considering that list includes four seniors, even if Sneed got slot money then the Brewers should have zero problem coming in below their bonus limit. Indeed, I'm guessing they will be a couple hundred thousand below their bonus pool. Maybe they can allocate some of that savings to sign one of the high school fliers from the later rounds.

[homer]

Some video of the top 3 picks from last year's PG All American Game (August 2013).

 

Jacob Gatewood starting around 0:21:00.

 

Monte Harrison starting around 0:31:20.

 

Medeiros pitches starting around 0:53:00. I especially recommend watching his breaking ball just after 0:55:00. Somebody remind me how this kid was not considered a "consensus" top 15 pick again?

 

 

That ball broke like 6 feet left to right.

[splitterpfj]

The Brewers say earlier reports from Hawaii that Medeiros had signed are not accurate. I don't sense any trouble, but if the team says they're still working it out, then they are...I took Medeiros back out of bold font in the signings thread.

[TooLiveBrew]

I apologize if this has already been posted.

...

 

Now, I'm still very much an amateur pitching mechanics analyst (a rank amateur in fact)

Dude. Keep posts like this coming. Great insight.

[yfinn6]

I apologize if this has already been posted.

...

 

Now, I'm still very much an amateur pitching mechanics analyst (a rank amateur in fact)

Dude. Keep posts like this coming. Great insight.

 

Agreed. That was great.

[Mass Haas]

4th round CF Troy Stokes, just 18 years, 4 months old, on top of the world at Miller Park

[yfinn6]

4th round CF Troy Stokes, just 18 years, 4 months old, on top of the world at Miller Park

 

He looks like he should be just going into high school. I guess I am officially getting old. Welcome aboard, Troy.

[Thundercat32]

I apologize if this has already been posted.

...

 

Now, I'm still very much an amateur pitching mechanics analyst (a rank amateur in fact)

Dude. Keep posts like this coming. Great insight.

 

 

I don't get paid to analyze pitching mechanics, so I'm not a professional. I'm just getting started breaking down mechanics, in fact. But, we all have to start somewhere.

 

Would it be fair to say that you're not a professional pitching mechanics analyst either, and that you have the same uncertainty about Medeiros' mechanics as I do? Because your reply, while not only sarcastic, makes it seem like you have some matter of authority on this subject, and if that's the case, I'd be happy to hear it.

[molitor fan]

thunder, why on earth would you think he was being sarcastic? I think everybody that peruses this forum was very much interested in what you posted, and TLC is a pretty mellow dude....

 

I am a 4th grade teacher and gave a lesson last week to my class on accepting compliments....we all need that lesson sometimes......

[molitor fan]

O n a different note, my thoughts on the draft....love the Gatewood selection - i think he has superstar potential, and have no idea why he was not selected earlier - it really makes no sense. Gatewood has off the charts makeup from what I have gleaned, as well. Madeiros is a guy that has a truly unique skillset....that slider just doesn't fit with physics...love him, but hope he grows a bit more, at just turned 18, that may happen. Monte is a wild card for me as he reminds me of many failed players with a similar background - first and foremost Mitchell from the White Sox org.....I love the pick but have less faith in him than the first two picks.....the 6th rounder has upside and DeMuth is going to play in the big leagues some day......