2014 Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[reillymcshane]

Grant Brisbee at Baseball Nation did a satirical review of the baseball draft, essentially making fun of immediate grades and generic commentary that emerge (sort of like 'He could be great or flame out in A ball' - which essentially says nothing). For most teams, he says the draft was horrible, but the best item was for the Cardinals:

 

27. Luke Weaver - RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

Seriously, though, this guy is going to have eight shutout innings in the NLCS this year because the Cardinals are dicks.

 

The article isn't that funny, but this line made me laugh.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/6/6/5786338/mlb-draft-grades-2014-first-round

[SoupTown]

Talking about a guy's mechanics (well the Brewers development team chatting re it) scares me. Based on history the Brewer coaches who 'develop' players in the past are just plain awful. I don't know if any guys from the Rogers era are left, but to pick guys with sparkling stuff and pace, then to say 'now WE are going to change you' is the edge of idiocy. Why do you pick a guy based on what he has, then immediately say 'change what you have', that is no so smart. I hope they leave Kodi to just pitch.

 

re KLaw, there is actually something disturbed about the guy. If you did a study of what he has said in the past, your picture would be of a disturbed, incoherent human.

[narwhalattack]

Talking about a guy's mechanics (well the Brewers development team chatting re it) scares me. Based on history the Brewer coaches who 'develop' players in the past are just plain awful. I don't know if any guys from the Rogers era are left, but to pick guys with sparkling stuff and pace, then to say 'now WE are going to change you' is the edge of idiocy. Why do you pick a guy based on what he has, then immediately say 'change what you have', that is no so smart. I hope they leave Kodi to just pitch.

 

re KLaw, there is actually something disturbed about the guy. If you did a study of what he has said in the past, your picture would be of a disturbed, incoherent human.

 

I've been wondering if Law has NPD. I haven't gone in depth about what he said so far, and I'm not psychiatric expert, but it's a hunch.

[DoubleSwitch]

Grant Brisbee at Baseball Nation did a satirical review of the baseball draft, essentially making fun of immediate grades and generic commentary that emerge (sort of like 'He could be great or flame out in A ball' - which essentially says nothing). For most teams, he says the draft was horrible, but the best item was for the Cardinals:

 

27. Luke Weaver - RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

Seriously, though, this guy is going to have eight shutout innings in the NLCS this year because the Cardinals are dicks.

 

The article isn't that funny, but this line made me laugh.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/6/6/5786338/mlb-draft-grades-2014-first-round

 

this was a pretty good gag, looking up the royals draft history will give you malware

 

http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4575199/Screen_Shot_2014-06-06_at_8.42.58_AM.png

 

he should have just done a couple teams he had good jokes for instead of trying to do every team in the first round

[splitterpfj]

Gatewood and Harrison will be taking BP with the Crew today at MP.

 

Harrison has joined Twitter - @Team_Harrison3.

 

Medeiros is also at MP, he has agreed to terms.

[narwhalattack]

According to Jonathan Mayo, Medeiros signed for 2.5 mil plus 240K for school.

[splitterpfj]

Tweet from Jonathan Mayo...

 

1st rder of @Brewers has signed. @kodi_medeiros gets $2.5 mil plus 240k for school.

[TooLiveBrew]

Slot value for the 1-12 was ~$2.8MM, correct? So that's basically right there.

[splitterpfj]

Here you go, TooLive...

 

Jim Callis ‏@jimcallisMLB 7m

... @Brewers saved on picks in rds 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 for a total of $946,900. So still under bonus pool for top 10 rds.

 

Jim Callis ‏@jimcallisMLB 9m

Pick value at 12 for @Brewers was $2,805,700. Top 3 picks cost them $6.13 million, pick value was $5,290,900. Diff of $839,100

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks splitter! Score one for my memory (for once).

[colbyjack]

That's great news. Medeiros signed for a little more than I expected, but overall they saved more than I projected with all of their top 10 signings. Yamamoto is going to take some of that savings, but don't be surprised to see them take a run at one of their other notable late rounders that shouldn't have fallen that far.

[BraunyBoy08]

As someone that doesn't know very much about this stuff, can someone explain what the brewers will be penalized for being 800k over slot? I realize they went under slot for a lot of guys in rounds 3-10 but no way they were able to save enough to cover that much.

[splitterpfj]

BraunyBoy, this was posted a few posts back, but check it out....the team is currently under slot for the first ten rounds.

 

Jim Callis ‏@jimcallisMLB 7m

... @Brewers saved on picks in rds 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 for a total of $946,900. So still under bonus pool for top 10 rds.

[Eye Black]

Talking about a guy's mechanics (well the Brewers development team chatting re it) scares me. Based on history the Brewer coaches who 'develop' players in the past are just plain awful. I don't know if any guys from the Rogers era are left, but to pick guys with sparkling stuff and pace, then to say 'now WE are going to change you' is the edge of idiocy. Why do you pick a guy based on what he has, then immediately say 'change what you have', that is no so smart. I hope they leave Kodi to just pitch.

 

re KLaw, there is actually something disturbed about the guy. If you did a study of what he has said in the past, your picture would be of a disturbed, incoherent human.

 

I've been wondering if Law has NPD. I haven't gone in depth about what he said so far, and I'm not psychiatric expert, but it's a hunch.

Well that would seem to explain this TWEET then.

[Duckpondbrew]

I know that there has already been discussion on Medeiros, but lets add another comment to the the growing metaphorical pile. First let's look at the elite pitchers in the past years. I just looked through the past Cy young award winners. Since 2000 21 different pitchers won the award in both the AL and NL. Of those 21 winners over half were 1st rounders at some point (Clemens, Zito, Halladay, Sabathia, Lee, Greinke, Verlander, Price, Scherzer, Kershaw, Dickey, Lincecum, Carpenter, Johnson). If you cut out the pitchers who were international signings only three pitchers ended up not being first rounders. So to put it nicely Kodi was drafted in a spot almost every top pitcher was found. That's not saying Kodi will be a CY Young Winner (although it would be awesome), It does mean he is in the situation to be an ace.

 

Now I may have bored you on the " Duh we know this facts so why don't we look at some aces with question mechanics. TC37 already broke down Bumgarner. Sale has also been compared to Kodi because of his unorthodox methods. The thing is Sale is taller and skinnier. So I will go to a righty whom has also shown an unorthodox style. Look at none other than Max Scherzer.

 

As we all know, Scherzer is at this moment one of the top pitchers in the MLB. He has one of the best sliders in the league (there's a gif in the link here http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-best-most-devastating-pitches-of-the-year-a-gif-roundup/ ) He also gets a generous amount of movement on his pitches because of his low 3/4 windup. Sound familiar? Like Medieros, Scherzer was thought to be better for a bullpen role (specifically closer) than a starter (Link to article w/ Scherzer scouting report- http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/draft/draft-preview/2006/261602.html ) Now My only hope is Medeiros takes less time than Scherzer did. Thankfully, he will have a few more years facing professional hitters to learn how to pitch.

 

So if anything, I say we put the worry aside for Kodi and play wait and see. He could flame out, or end up in the bullpen, or he could be great. We don't know what he could do. What we do know is he is a first round (or very close) talent. We also know that recent aces have gotten by without the normal run-of-the-mill mechanics. At best Medieros is a strikeout machine starter. I'll try to temper my expectations, but it could be hard. If he can control his pitches I don't think many guys can hit him.

[brwrsfan]

So if I'm reading all of this right, the Brewers are under slot value as a total right now. Anyone left unsigned that I should be hoping we throw a bunch of money at?

[brewcrewdue80]

Wow, I'm amazed Medeiros reached to 2.5mil. There must have been teams just below the Brewers draft pick that had every intention to draft him, which to me just adds that this kid is better than advertised by the pundits.

The teams immediately following Milw's pick were San Diego/San Fran/Anaheim Angels all of whom could put together 2.5mil to sign Medeiros. While Arz/KC/ and Washington would have had to sign him over slot. I'll just guess it was Anaheim who took Sean Newcombe the College LH SP who's slot paid 2.475mil.

 

Man I really look forward to these 3 playing!

[reillymcshane]

Wow, I'm amazed Medeiros reached to 2.5mil. There must have been teams just below the Brewers draft pick that had every intention to draft him, which to me just adds that this kid is better than advertised by the pundits.

The teams immediately following Milw's pick were San Diego/San Fran/Anaheim Angels all of whom could put together 2.5mil to sign Medeiros. While Arz/KC/ and Washington would have had to sign him over slot. I'll just guess it was Anaheim who took Sean Newcombe the College LH SP who's slot paid 2.475mil.

 

Man I really look forward to these 3 playing!

I read before that draft that Kansas City was very interested in Medeiros at 17. At that spot, the $2.5 million is still a little high.

 

I agree - I thought it was going to be a little lower than the $2.5 million. It would have been nice to save a couple of hundred grand to lure a few of extra draft picks. Oh well, that's life. I'm excited all three guys are signed and will be playing this year. I hated how all the top picks just waited until the last minute to sign, effectively wasting an entire year.

[Mass Haas]

Via BrewCrewBall, Q&A with 3rd round RHP Cy Sneed

[wildcat83]

Any one know why Medeiros hasn't pitched yet, or when he is expected to?

[And That]

Medeiros was still in Hawaii as of a few weeks ago. He's pitched a lot this year, and might stick around after the AZL season to continue working on things. The Brewers probably aren't in a huge rush to get him on the mound.

[TooLiveBrew]

Any one know why Medeiros hasn't pitched yet, or when he is expected to?

Mass Haas with a nice catch in today's Link Report:

 

 

Learn about Kodi Medeiros and much more, as Tom Haudricourt's latest is a very nice read for followers of the Minor League system.

"For those wondering why Medeiros hasn't pitched yet for the Brewers' rookie entry in Arizona, he was given some time to go back home and rest and relax with family after participating in several pre-draft workouts. He should make his pro debut sometime this week."

[narwhalattack]

So according to the Twitterverse Grant Holmes sat 95-97 on the fastball in his last outing. I know Medeiros has a wicked slider and all, but I'm a sucker for blazin' fastballs.

[paul253]

Yeah I know it's REALLY early but for Holmes 6 IP 1 hit 1 walk 9 K's. I hope Gatewood and Harrison make selecting Medeiros ahead of Holmes worth it.

[TheCrew07]

I just noticed that Newcomb didn't sign yet. Holmes signed for $2.5 mil, the exact same bonus as Medeiros, selecting him wouldn't have impacted Gatewood or Harrison.

 

Obviously I'll be watching the trio of Medeiros, Holmes, and Newcomb to see who turns out to be the better player. At this point I'd obviously rather be wrong and have Medeiros turn out the best since I never gave him any consideration because of his low arm slot but was super high on the other 2.