2014 Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[colbyjack]

There's a good chance the Brewers get Medeiros under slot for that pick. At least they better if they hope to sign all 3 of these guys. Very aggressive draft. You might see a bunch of easier signs/college seniors with the rest of their picks in the top 10 rounds to have a chance at actually getting all 3.

 

Here's Monte Harrison's PG Draft Focus profile:

 

Position: OF

Height: 6-3

Weight: 200

Bats/Throws: R-R

Birthdate: Aug. 10, 1995

High School: Lee's Summit West

City, State: Lee's Summit, Mo.

Travel Team: Marucci Elite

Commitment: Nebraska

Projected Draft Round: 2

 

If the Perfect Game 2014 Top 500 list was the equivalent of an entire high school senior class and published a yearbook, Missouri three-sport standout and Perfect Game All-American Monte Harrison would probably win two of the class awards.

 

He’d be a shoe-in for the Class Clown. Harrison has an ultra high energy smiling personality that is always turned on full volume. His antics bouncing between dugouts and teams at the PG All-American Classic was a constant that made his teammates, seemingly from both the East and West squads, shake their heads in wonderment.

 

More importantly, he would be the leading contender for Best Athlete.

 

Defining athleticism in that context isn’t easy. Michael Gettys has been compared to Mike Trout as an athlete and it doesn’t get much better than that. Bryan Dobzanski is perhaps the best wrestler in New Jersey state history, excels in football and throws 94 mph. Jon Littell is another three-sport standout who can play all over a football field both offensively and defensively. Jakson Reetz fits the same description as Littell and can play all the positions on the baseball field at a high level.

 

Harrison’s often spectacular performance at all three major sports would give him the nod, however.

 

He doesn’t get as much attention for his abilities on the basketball court as he does on baseball or football fields, but that doesn’t take away from his athletic achievements on the hardwood. Harrison led Lee's Summit West High School to a 27-4 record and a third-place finish in the state tournament this year, averaging 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He’s also a finalist for the award given to the top basketball player in the greater Kansas City Metro area. Check out this video of Harrison before a game this winter.

 

Harrison is also a national level wide receiver prospect and is listed as a four-star recruit by most recruiting services. He caught 60 passes for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns last fall and also ran for 12 touchdowns on only 32 carries. Lee's Summit West went 13-1 on the season and was listed at 22nd in the country in the final MaxPreps rankings.

 

Harrison is signed with Nebraska to play both baseball and football. The Cornhusker football team is thin at wide receiver as a walk-on is currently listed at No. 1 on the depth chart to replace two-year starter Quincy Enumwa, a likely NFL draft pick next month. So, Harrison would have a real shot at competing for a starting position as a true freshman.

 

But while being a four-star football recruit is an impressive ranking, it doesn’t measure up to being the 43rd ranked baseball player in the 2014 Perfect Game class rankings or a Perfect Game All-American. So it is relatively easy to claim that baseball is indeed Harrison’s top sport.

 

Harrison’s overall athleticism at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds stands out on the baseball field as well. He ran the 60-yard dash at the Perfect Game National in 6.65 seconds. His speed will probably play at Major League average as he matures, which ironically is not a high value resume item for someone with a football wide receiver resume, but is still a valuable baseball tool. Unlike many football players, Harrison’s arm strength is a major weapon and ranks only second to Gettys' cannon in the class, and paints him as a plus future defensive right fielder.

 

Given how much time Harrison spends at other sports, it’s understandable that his swing is the most undeveloped part of his baseball package. But very notably, Harrison maxed out his baseball opportunities last summer, playing in multiple WWBA events with the Marucci Elite and even going to the Sunshine South showcase in addition to the PG National, Area Codes Games and the PG All-American Classic.

 

It was clear that Harrison wanted to play as much baseball as possible to make up for lost time and the results were obvious to any scout who followed him over a 10 week period. At the beginning of June Harrison showed raw bat speed and strength at contact but lacked flow and timing to his swing and was inconsistent with his mechanics and balance. He had no batting practice routine and even tried to switch-hit at the Sunshine South without any success.

 

But by August the game was slowing down for Harrison and he was much more consistent with his at-bats and his approach. His front side would still leak out early at times, but even at those times he was able to keep the barrel in the zone long enough to make hard contact to the opposite field. But the top level pitchers who overmatched him early in the summer were now facing a player who was going to battle and have a quality at-bat.

 

A very notable thing about Harrison as a hitter who plays limited amounts of baseball is that he has consistently shown a high level of hand/eye coordination and barrel control. He doesn’t have much swing-and-miss in his results and can get the barrel to the ball consistently. It’s just a matter of the timing and balance and mechanics coming together consistently to produce hard contact with all his quick-twitch strength behind it.

 

Harrison’s final playoff basketball game was on March 21 so he’s barely had a chance to play baseball yet this spring, although scouts are already tracking him and making their way to the Kansas City area. If last summer’s lesson is repeated, they better plan on going back in mid-May as well after the class of 2014’s best athlete gets his swing in shape.

[3and2Fastball]

Harrison is a very highly regarded Wide Receiver committed to Nebraska. How good are the chances that he'll sign with the Crew?

[Fear The Chorizo]

Have to think the Brewers have an under slot agreement in place with Modeiro now, both Gatewood and even moreso Harrison are going to be tougher signs where they were drafted...but, if the Brewers can pull this off AND potentially get Lara in the fold about 1 month from now, it's very likely that their farm system won't be ranked at the bottom of the league anymore - especially with what some of the lower level prospects are currently doing with the Brewers.

 

Exciting night full of draft picks with potential...and likely following a draft night plan that appears to have worked out very well

[narwhalattack]

You're going to see college seniors in, for example, rounds 8-10, because they have no leverage, so they'll sign WAY below slot, allowing the team to sign Gatewood and Harrison.

 

Would it be, could it be....could one of those spots go to Tyler Badamo, to really put me over the moon?

 

Thanks, 3and2...

 

I certainly hope one of our picks is Tyler Badamo. That would make this draft quite magical.

[danzig6767]

So what are the rules again, if the Brewers just blow past their slot allotments?

 

I'm pretty poorly informed on this, but i think the Brewers then have to go cheaper on guys going forward in the draft?

 

I have my own question. If a comp pick doesn't sign, do you get that pick back next year in the same draft slot or is that only on regular first round picks?

[LouisEly]

Because Harrison has a scholarship offer in another sport (football) the bonus pool rules don't apply to that pick. I don't remember exactly what it is, but I know the rules are different if the player has a scholarship offer for another sport.

[TheCrew07]

There are still plenty of high upside pitchers available... but yea there's going to be the usual run on college relievers here at some point to get the bonus pool money back.

[Never Outhustled]

Has Jack Z secretly returned to Milwaukee?

 

Melvin did hint at the desire for more HS selections in recent interviews when he spoke about how much more common it has been for HOFs to come from the HS level.

[FVBrewerFan]

What's the story with Lara? Keeps seeing that name referenced.....

[SRB]

Coulter, Arcia, Gatewood, Lara, Harrison, Taylor all fulfilling their potential and hitting the majors in a 2-3 year window would be amazing.

 

I don't know if they can sign both Gatewood/Harrison, but at least now we can be pretty confident they will get at least one of the two.

[brewcrewdue80]

What's the story with Lara? Keeps seeing that name referenced.....

 

There's a thread devoted to him probably 6 threads below this one. You'll find out.

 

10 topics down to be exact from the pinned thread.

[MillerParkSouth]

Don't know anything about these guys but I love that we're going for high upside, HR picks. The draft is such a crapshoot anyways so may as well go big. I'm feeling pretty good about today if we sign all three of these players.

[colbyjack]

LouisEly, there used to be a rule that you could spread out a bonus to 2-sport guys over 5 years. That changed with the new CBA. No such rules exist anymore.

 

Signing all 3 of those guys will be no easy task, but knowing the Brewers draft history I'm sure they're confident they'll make it happen.

[SRB]

What's the story with Lara? Keeps seeing that name referenced.....

 

Considered the top international prospect for when the international signing window opens on July 2. Strong rumors for the past few months that he has a $3M+ agreement in place to sign with Milwaukee. Toolsy SS/3B.

[fondybrewfan]

Well the Arizona League Brewers might have just become must watches on the link report. Adding Gilbert would be incredible. THey certainly don't need all 4 to pan out; just shoot for .500

[TheCrew07]

So what are the rules again, if the Brewers just blow past their slot allotments?

 

Here's a quick summation, all the websites are understandably slow right now, still efforting the exact verbage.

 

Teams incur progressively steeper penalties for overspending. Exceed your designated limit by 5 percent, and you pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. As the percentage increases, offending teams could be on the hook for a 100 percent tax payment and the loss of two future first-round picks. Those penalties might be worth considering if the prize is a Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg or another once-in-a-generation prospect. But the 2012 draft is one of the weakest in recent memory, so this will not be the year.

 

If you whiff on signing a pick, you can’t use that money on other players. Last year the Blue Jays failed to sign pitcher Tyler Beede, the 21st overall pick, but spent the money budgeted for him elsewhere. If they had the same result this year, they would simply lose the allotted $1.8 million for the slot.

[brewcrewdue80]

LOL Texas with Tiquan Forbes Hey you're a great talent. Take a seat you're #9 on our team's SS depth chart.

 

There goes Varga to TB. Great Pick I promise you! Amazing looking delivery imo.

[TheCrew07]

Here's the blog post I was looking for, everything you need to know about the draft pool system:

 

Putting Draft Changes Under The Microscope

[TheCrew07]

What's the story with Lara? Keeps seeing that name referenced.....

 

Spend more time on the dark side, the non MLB side of the forum and become more educated! A win/win for all!

 

Gilbert Lara discussion (rumored to have agreement in place w/Brewers, post #3)

 

2014 International Signing Thread

[brewcrewdue80]

There goes Verdugo my other pick I had for Brewers at 41/50 with Varga. Of course that wasn't with a little draft strategy magic to get Gatewood/Harrison+Medeiros.

[SoupTown]

Is it possible that Seid is out of the office, and the team is on Autodraft?

 

[TheCrew07]

LOL Texas with Tiquan Forbes Hey you're a great talent. Take a seat you're #9 on our team's SS depth chart.

 

There goes Varga to TB. Great Pick I promise you! Amazing looking delivery imo.

 

Forbes probably isn't a SS long term, but middle IF depth is never a bad thing... *cough* Yuni B disaster *cough*

[FVBrewerFan]

What's the story with Lara? Keeps seeing that name referenced.....

 

There's a thread devoted to him probably 6 threads below this one. You'll find out.

 

10 topics down to be exact from the pinned thread.

 

Thanks brewcrew and SRB. I recall reading about a big potential international signing, name didn't ring a bell though. Looks like Chris McFarland won't last much longer on the bf.net top 20 prospect list.

[heresrobin]

Exciting draft. I just have to remember to be patient with Gatewood and Harrison - seems like they will need some work with their Hit Tool.

[FVBrewerFan]

What's the story with Lara? Keeps seeing that name referenced.....

 

Spend more time on the dark side, the non MLB side of the forum and become more educated! A win/win for all!

 

Gilbert Lara discussion (rumored to have agreement in place w/Brewers, post #3)

 

2014 International Signing Thread

 

 

Spend a lot of time on the MiLB side of the site too. Counting on you guys for the draft/intl stuff so I appreciate all the knowledge here. I'm too old to keep track of all 3!