The 2017 MLB Draft Thread (#9 Pick + #34 & #46)

[ZBTMP]

Here is SI article discussing current top prospects.

 

Bleacher Report Article

 

2017 Baseball America Draft Watch List

[And That]

Of the 8 teams currently "above" the Brewers in the race for the #1 pick, the only team I'm modestly certain on having a better record than the Brewers at the end of the year is the Diamondbacks. Then again, they could decide to sell off, too.

 

Right now, it looks to me like the Brewers' ceiling is the 3rd pick, and even that seems to be a bit of a stretch. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

[patrickgpe]

well obviously it depends on who they sell off in July. Remove JJ, Sleepie, Braunie, and Lucroy off of this roster and it would help their draft stock

[DougJonesChangeUp]

Ideally, I would like them to keep playing competitive ball until late July, then put Capuano, Boyer, and Peralta in the starting rotation to really tank this baby.

[brewcrewdue80]

When the Lucroy trade happens that right there is probably a 7-9game difference in the 16 record.

 

I won't get in to the 2017 search and drool over SP potential, or the next Ryan Braun potential. Just list the Top 5 OF prospect rankings now and I'm sure one of them will be Milw's pick.

[SRB]

#1 target should obviously be Blake Beers. Then we can draft Seth Beer two years (?) from now and fulfill our destiny.

[narwhalattack]

#1 target should obviously be Blake Beers. Then we can draft Seth Beer two years (?) from now and fulfill our destiny.

 

If only the Brewers drafted Riley Pint. Then they could pursue the alcoholic trifecta.

[molitor fan]

Can someone talk me out of the idea of not signing Corey Ray, using that money to sign McClanahan, Clark and others if possible and then having 2 picks in the top ten for the 2017 draft?

[1992casey]

Yeah. If the Brewers don't sign Ray, that money is lost from this year's pool.

 

For reference, the rules are pretty much nailed down and explained in the Signing Bonus tracker thread.

[MrTPlush]

Yeah. If the Brewers don't sign Ray, that money is lost from this year's pool.

 

For reference, the rules are pretty much nailed down and explained in the Signing Bonus tracker thread.

 

And even if we could we can't just not sign Corey Ray. The Players Union would destroy us and likely lose more picks in the future.

[SRB]

And even if we could we can't just not sign Corey Ray. The Players Union would destroy us and likely lose more picks in the future.

 

How? It's not prohibited by the contract as far as I know, and in any event the team could just make up some excuse (kind of like Houston did a couple years ago).

 

Corey Ray is an elite talent though, I don't see any reason to think anyone we picked at #6 next year would be better.

[MrTPlush]

And even if we could we can't just not sign Corey Ray. The Players Union would destroy us and likely lose more picks in the future.

 

How? It's not prohibited by the contract as far as I know, and in any event the team could just make up some excuse (kind of like Houston did a couple years ago).

 

Corey Ray is an elite talent though, I don't see any reason to think anyone we picked at #6 next year would be better.

 

Yes but you would need a legitimate excuse. Which with player physicals these days isn't the hardest, but you can't come up with it out of thin air.

 

Also regretting your selection or intentionally drafting a guy to end up not signing them is probably way more unethical than any team wants to get. You could cost a person millions etc for your teams own personal gain. I'm guessing such a move would end up similar to the Astros situation a few years ago. Where they only would sign the one player if Aiken took the underslot deal. When he didn't they ripped up the agreement with the other player. I know that player filed a grievance, but I can't recall the outcome. Though I think the issue there was the fact he used an agent and that threatened his ability to go back to school. Regardless a grievance would definitely happen if we opted not to sign Ray.

[logan82]

The player's union has made it pretty clear it doesn't care about nonmembers at all. You don't have to look any further than the minor league salaries and per diem to see how much they care. If I had to bet, I would say that much of the draft structure is based on negotiations between small and big market clubs.

[brewcrewdue80]

Yeah. If the Brewers don't sign Ray, that money is lost from this year's pool.

 

For reference, the rules are pretty much nailed down and explained in the Signing Bonus tracker thread.

 

And even if we could we can't just not sign Corey Ray. The Players Union would destroy us and likely lose more picks in the future.

 

 

In order to get the draft pick back the Brewers have to at least offer something like 65% of the Slot allotment. If Ray doesn't sign to that offer, the offer was made, Players Union not going to do a thing about it and we are not losing picks due to the low offer. Now if we did nothing literally, and not sign Ray we get absolutely nothing for next draft. That effect is why the Players Union won't get involved. The penalty is already in place.

[1992casey]

40% of slot is the minimum offer to receive a compensation pick the following year. The union did express its displeasure over the Brady Aiken situation, but because the Astros were within the rules, there was little it could do beyond that.

[brewcrewdue80]

Thanks Casey I wasn't up for the research on exact percentage.

 

I do expect Milwaukee to slide down in the standings once Lucroy is gone, and especially so if Braun is traded. Atlanta is a sure fire #1 or 2. What's going on in Minnesota I dunno, but they aren't as bad as their record. Still it's a big hurdle to fall down below them so I'd say #1 or 2 for them. We'll fall somewhere in the 3-10 range. The good news is that with this start, 100 games lost doesn't seem possible anymore. I'd imagine 92-95 is the low with 84-86 the High.

[MrTPlush]

This team could really decline fast if they trade enough pieces. Lucroy, Carter, and Hill all being traded would be a big hit to the offense. If they trade Braun along with them...yikes. All of those players don't have very good replacements waiting in the wings.

 

Take them away from this already poor offense, paired with this awful pitching, and you can see how we could be pretty bad. Though I don't know how much of a difference it can make in just two months of games.

[DHonks]

I really only see them trading Hill at this point in time. I can see Carter, but I just don't know if anyone is desperate for his bat right now. It's weird, I love seeing us competitive, but I don't mind us losing 1-run games to the Giants and Dodgers.

[Boomer5]

Picking 10th primarily riding the backs of Luc and Braun is insane. The team's record is better than I thought it would be, no doubt about that. I'd be fine with that if this was a young team building talent but other than Villar, Davies, and Nelson, the top performers are not young. Jeffries at 28 I guess you could call young though that's borderline.

 

The difference between picking 3rd and 10th to a rebuilding team without meaningful funds is huge. Let's hope the hot start by by Luc and Braun will make their trade packages worth the drop in draft position and associated pool dollars.

 

I do agree that once Luc and possibly Braun are dealt the losses will pile up.

[paul253]

I fully expect the Brewers to be sitting with a top five pick come September then finish the season like 21-8 to go from 5 to 12. That's what they do.

[Austin Tatious]

The 2018 pick is where Milwaukee should be picking super high. After some trades, I'd expect the 2017 season to be dismal, wall to wall. Then, in 2018, hopefully some young players start putting it together but, really, the 2018 season could net yet another top 10 pick for 2019. That ought to be four consecutive top ten picks.

 

None of this will ever matter, though, unless the Brewers draft elite talents at the top of the draft. While there is some system depth, the organization likely doesn't have the next elites in place yet. These next three drafts should not be about saving money at the top and horsing around with slot savings but rather grabbing true difference makers. System depth is fine. We don't need extra money to pay the 73rd pick. What is needed is big time star talent at the top of the draft. You aren't beating the Cubs for the next decade without them.

[Austin Tatious]

I fully expect the Brewers to be sitting with a top five pick come September then finish the season like 21-8 to go from 5 to 12. That's what they do.

 

Yeah, that is funny. We were a terrible ball club the year that happened, and what do we have to show for it? Kodi Medeiros! That is not going to get it done. Bad season should lead to a very good piece. This organization has to get away from the middling talent guys in the first round.

 

Aside from atrocious drafting, there are significant questions about the talent development in the lower, developmental minors. We've had too many guys with tools not develop. Other than Charlie Greene, I hope Stearns is not afraid to take a good long look at each coach and instructor in rookie and class A. It's not going well down there. When you couple bad drafting with bad player development, it's not a good recipe.

[hyerbro1]

AT - your comments about the development of players in the lower minors got me thinking about the 2014 draft again. I big part of the Brewers rebuild will hinge on this draft.

 

Draft Picks from 2014 - All high schoolers

 

Kodi Medeiros -12th overall

Jacob Gatewood - 41

Monte Harrison - 50

Isan Diaz - 70

Trey Supak - 73

Troy Stokes - 116

Jordan Yamomoto - overslot late round guy

 

*Cy Sneed traded for Villar

[Boomer5]

The 2014 draft is real proof this team just wasnt very good at drafting, picking 12th or otherwise. I am hoping that is changing, but that remains to be seen.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2014/drafttracker.jsp

[And That]

The 2014 draft is real proof this team just wasnt very good at drafting

It is way way way way way way too early to make any concrete judgment on the 2014 draft.