Monte Harrison

[3and2Fastball]

I know it is just Rookie Ball, and I know it is just 40 games or so, but Harrison has 25 SB's in those 43 games, only been caught stealing once, and a .381 OBP

 

A pretty impressive start for a player who has a cannon of an arm from the Outfield

[narwhalattack]

Now if he could start hitting for power he would be golden.

[sheetskout]

I wonder how Harrison's speed compares to guys like Dee Gordon and Billy Hamilton.

[colbyjack]

Harrison was a 6.6 (60-yard dash) runner last summer. While that's good (average I believe is around 6.8), that's not close to the Gordon/Hamilton world-class type of speed.

[3and2Fastball]

Now batting .260 with a .400 OBP and he has 30 SB's in just 48 games!

[WV Brew]

He's 6'3", 200 pounds at 18. I'd be shocked if he fails to hit for power at some point. Gordon and Hamilton will never have that size.

[reillymcshane]

I think Harrison could easily be our top prospect within a year.

 

His athleticism is tremendous - and he's never been able to just focus on one sport. So many guys like him come out of HS and are pure hackers. But Monte already appears to have a good eye at the plate (even if he still has a high K rate). A .400 OBP at any level is pretty impressive.

 

Power will come, and when it does, he's a five tool player - something we lack in our organization.

[HiAndTight]

I think Harrison could easily be our top prospect within a year.

 

His athleticism is tremendous - and he's never been able to just focus on one sport. So many guys like him come out of HS and are pure hackers. But Monte already appears to have a good eye at the plate (even if he still has a high K rate). A .400 OBP at any level is pretty impressive.

 

Power will come, and when it does, he's a five tool player - something we lack in our organization.

 

That's the most pleasant surprise to me of all the young guys. I thought he was supposed to be the roughest around the edges, yet his SB percentage tells me he's got very good instincts and his eye at the plate suggests he's far more advanced than many thought.

[colbyjack]

I'm not sure if you read the PG draft reports on Harrison, but he's a special athlete. While he doesn't have Hamilton's or Gordon's speed (few do), he's a completely different kind of athlete. I compare him to Carl Crawford, which isn't the best apple to apples comp, but I like it because Crawford is another guy who was considered a raw multi-sport guy that hit the ground running when he was drafted and signed by the Rays and focused on baseball. Some players just have superior athletic instincts, and Harrison is one of those guys.

 

And while he's still fast, he has excellent quickness and overall body coordination. I agree that he's going to hit for more power as he matures, and that could be the last part of his game to evolve. I also agree that his upside could make him the organization's No. 1 prospect in a couple of years, but the same really could be said for Medeiros and Gatewood as well. Just a huge upside draft overall for the Brewers, and it is fun looking at how well Harrison is handling himself in AZ.

[reillymcshane]

I'm not sure if you read the PG draft reports on Harrison, but he's a special athlete. While he doesn't have Hamilton's or Gordon's speed (few do), he's a completely different kind of athlete. I compare him to Carl Crawford, which isn't the best apple to apples comp, but I like it because Crawford is another guy who was considered a raw multi-sport guy that hit the ground running when he was drafted and signed by the Rays and focused on baseball. Some players just have superior athletic instincts, and Harrison is one of those guys.

 

And while he's still fast, he has excellent quickness and overall body coordination. I agree that he's going to hit for more power as he matures, and that could be the last part of his game to evolve. I also agree that his upside could make him the organization's No. 1 prospect in a couple of years, but the same really could be said for Medeiros and Gatewood as well. Just a huge upside draft overall for the Brewers, and it is fun looking at how well Harrison is handling himself in AZ.

Colby, how about Eric Davis as a Harrison comp? Harrison looks bigger (not necessarily taller) than Davis, but both are/were superior athletes with plus speed and a big arm.

 

Not saying Harrison is going to be Eric Davis, who was a pretty amazing player, especially before injuries. But Davis just oozed with talent - and Monte seems to have that same aura to him.

[fondybrewfan]

The Brewers have a couple guys in the lower minors that carried huge OBP's this year which is very nice to see

 

Harrison was .402 in 2014

Coulter is at .407 in 2014 (.388 Lifetime)

Denson is at .370 in 2014 (.376 lifetime)

 

Taylor and Arcia both at least have respectable OBP's in Brevard County this year as well. Most of the Brewers top hitting prospects know how to take a walk which is very refreshing.

[WV Brew]

Not to steer the thread away from Monte, but the Brewers have some lesser players who are sporting high OBPs too. Nathan Orf at .388 who has led the FSL through some of the season, Michael Reed at .396 and Taylor Brennan at .368. There do seem to be fewer power guys in the system than we are used to though. Hopefully, some of the power guys like Denson and a few others can keep up the OBP while hitting for a bit more power.

[SRB]

Power will come, and when it does, he's a five tool player - something we lack in our organization.

 

We have a pretty good one keeping CF warm for Harrison in Milwaukee

[colbyjack]

reillymcshane, Eric Davis is a solid comparison for Harrison given their overall athleticism to go along with the power/speed combo.

[TheCrew07]

I wonder how Harrison's speed compares to guys like Dee Gordon and Billy Hamilton.

 

I was saving this for my T-Rat summary post but on one of the episodes of Timber Rattlers Field Pass recently (I forget which exact episode without looking it up) I believe Johnny Davis said he was clocked multiple times at 6.0 in the 60... If that's true, and I have no reason to doubt him other than TWC was having a problem and the feed my DVR recorded was glitchy and hard to hear so I may have gotten it wrong. Equating that 60y time to a 40y dash which people are more familiar with is difficult because athletes spend more time at top speed in the 60y and have more time to accelerate but that 60 time is roughly equivalent to 4.20 speed in the 40, as in there are just a couple of guys in the game that fast. Harrison's speed roughly equates more to 4.4-4.5 type 40, as Colby said he'll be above average to plus depending on how he matures, but he's not Hamilton. Speed wise base stealing is mostly about initial acceleration and chances are he's extremely explosive out of the gate, which is exciting in it's own right as it means he's quick out of the box, will get great jumps on balls in the gap, have great success stealing bases, and so on.

 

PG had Omar Garcia at 6.43 in the 60, and while he stole 44 bases this season he was caught 21 times as well, he was only successful 68% of the time in A ball. Davis stole 32 bases but was caught 21 times as well, just 63%. I'd much rather have explosive athletes than straight line speed, but I have a football/basketball/baseball background and was never a track guy. I want players who can change direction in a hurry and accelerate through corners when running the bases. That's why I personally talk about getting the organization to become more dynamic athletically and rarely talk about speed. That there is so much more to base stealing than just being explosive or fast, for example being able to read the pitcher and situation is at least important as anything else.

 

My point here is that much like the Eric Farris conversations of year's past being a good base stealer doesn't necessarily make one extremely fast and being fast doesn't necessarily make one a good base stealer. I hope that made sense.

 

Finally I would hope that Gomez is keeping CF warm for Tyrone Taylor, another explosive athlete, as Harrison will be in R+ next year while Taylor will be in AA. It would be awesome if Harrison progressed enough to start in A ball for his first full season like a similarly raw Denson did this year, but that's quite a projection to throw on him right now. Helena seems like a safer bet, especially with Diaz in front of him and deserving of a promotion to WI. CF is quickly becoming a position of strength with intriguing athletes up and down the chain... D'Vo, Taylor, Davis, Garcia, Diaz, and Harrison.

 

Harrison could play on the same team as Diaz splitting time in CF but I don't see a good reason to push him right now, though he could certainly force the issue next year if his play in the spring is good enough.

[3and2Fastball]

Speaking of how athletically gifted this kid is:

 

 

 

[colbyjack]

Those videos of Harrison are just so much fun to watch. While I'm not a football (or basketball) scout, in addition to his obvious explosiveness, his first-step quickness really stands out.

 

And does anyone know who is quarterback was? #14 looks as though he will be playing college somewhere, if he isn't already.

[3and2Fastball]

Monte's skillset of being able to change direction the instant he catches the football to elude a defender is pretty much elite level. There is a reason Nebraska guaranteed him a starting Wide Receiver spot as a true freshman.

[Outlander]

Have not seen it in a while but is there anything stopping him from playing minor league ball and also college football? The minor league season ends in September so if he is really this good at receiver to be guaranteed a starting spot maybe he should play college ball.

[guylanderfridancies]

Whoa. Almost makes you wonder why he chose the grind of minor league baseball instead of a football or basketball career. Kid has got some unteachable talent.

[jerichoholicninja]

Have not seen it in a while but is there anything stopping him from playing minor league ball and also college football? The minor league season ends in September so if he is really this good at receiver to be guaranteed a starting spot maybe he should play college ball.

 

The Brewers.

 

No way should an organization let a player under contract play football at any level.

[3and2Fastball]

For one thing, Harrison is now a millionaire, having signed with the Brewers.

 

College Football grinds up human beings like a butcher shop. Tons of talented players get injured in college football and never make the NFL

 

I've read that Baseball is Harrison's favorite sport. He could always do something similar to Russell Wilson and go back to Football if Baseball doesn't work out.

 

Harrison has an absolute cannon (throws 90+ mph from the Outfield) and great baserunning instincts. If he can continue to develop his hitting he can be an MLB star.

 

This is from 2013. He has shortened up his swing and made it more efficient since then. Monte is not a mere athlete who happens to be good at Baseball. He is a straight up ballplayer

 

[reillymcshane]

Whoa. Almost makes you wonder why he chose the grind of minor league baseball instead of a football or basketball career. Kid has got some unteachable talent.

For all of Monte's talent, baseball is his big ticket.

 

Last season, he was the 49th ranked high school WR in the country by ESPN. 33rd by Rivals.com. Another site had him at 60th best WR, and the 375th best HS player. That pales next to being ranked 20 or 30 in all of baseball. And let's not forget the injury factor related to playing football. Plus, there's the $1.8 million guarantee he gets now. A mid-3rd round pick in this year's NFL draft makes about $3 million over four years - with about $600,000 guaranteed. Again, that assumes he gets drafted that high, and plays all four years of his contract.

 

Four years of major league baseball will net you a minimum of about $2.5 million (and can be lots more). And beyond four years baseball players make significantly more than football players. The very best football players make about $20 million/year. Baseball has $30 million guys. Finally, baseball players play longer than football players. WRs in the NFL are often washed up by 30, when in baseball, you're playing some of your best ball.

[HiAndTight]

Whoa. Almost makes you wonder why he chose the grind of minor league baseball instead of a football or basketball career. Kid has got some unteachable talent.

For all of Monte's talent, baseball is his big ticket.

 

Last season, he was the 49th ranked high school WR in the country by ESPN. 33rd by Rivals.com. Another site had him at 60th best WR, and the 375th best HS player. That pales next to being ranked 20 or 30 in all of baseball. And let's not forget the injury factor related to playing football. Plus, there's the $1.8 million guarantee he gets now. A mid-3rd round pick in this year's NFL draft makes about $3 million over four years - with about $600,000 guaranteed. Again, that assumes he gets drafted that high, and plays all four years of his contract.

 

Four years of major league baseball will net you a minimum of about $2.5 million (and can be lots more). And beyond four years baseball players make significantly more than football players. The very best football players make about $20 million/year. Baseball has $30 million guys. Finally, baseball players play longer than football players. WRs in the NFL are often washed up by 30, when in baseball, you're playing some of your best ball.

 

It also takes you about 4-5 years to get to the point where you are a major leaguer. Football players are drafted on tools and then handed a spot on a team if drafted high enough. A big physical WR'er like Harrison?

 

And you're comparing apples to oranges. One ranking is ranking the best CFB recruits while the other is ranking the best professional baseball prospects. There are a lot of 5'8 spread WR'ers on that list that would rank well behind a Harrison when it comes to NFL potential given his size, frame and speed. And the highest paid baseball player is making 25 million this year. Given the NFL's CBA, the top paid players will be making 30 million in short order.

 

 

Of course baseball is easier on your body, longer period of time to earn, and he was guaranteed money right now. I just think you're overselling the case with Harrison. I think there was a good chance he developed into a 1st round caliber WR'er. But....he chose Baseball. Good for us.

[Mass Haas]

Swoon, everybody.

 

I mean, really, when has a prospect ever had us this excited?

 

Ceiling? There is no ceiling!

 

VIDEO

 

Well-spoken, too...