Brewer fans - draft thoughts?

[PrimetimeHater]

Is their any chance that any of those 3 closers will be available in the second round?

[homer]

For me, I haven't been as interested due to the lower pick. I'm sure I'll get more involved with the process closer to the draft date.

 

And, of course, I'll be in the chat room on draft day!

[Rightomac13]

I personally would like to know why Tony Butler is not getting as much attention as I think he deserves. I have known Tony since I was 10 and I still talk with him when I see him, going to the same summer camp and all. He is one of the brightest kids I know and he has a great head on his shoulders, very surprising coming from OCHS. But I just see a wonderful future for him. 6'7'' 205 lbs., great work ethic, extremely smart, and he can throw heat! Can someone tell me what they think is going to happen with Tony? I know for a fact he wants to get started right away, but it's going to take some dough to turn down Arkansas. But I am extremely excited to take the 4 min. drive to Abendschien to watch him play this summer. Thanks.

[colbyjack]

Is their any chance that any of those 3 closers will be available in the second round?

 

No chance.

 

As for Tony Butler, how much attention do you think he deserves? He has received plenty of attention around these parts, and is a legitimate prospect to be taken in the top 3-7 rounds. That means he's a really well-known commodity. If you think he should be considered in the first round, well than that's a stretch. He's good, but he's not good, at least not at this point in time, and northern kids always have the elements working against them.

[GagneCY03]

Thanks for the mock, CJ. I know Kevin Goldstein connected the Dodgers with Jeffress about a week and a half ago; have you heard the two mentioned together elsewhere? Also, any chance that you could go to #31 in your next mock? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[colbyjack]

Jeffress to the Dodgers is just a natural fit given Logan White's drafting tendencies.

 

I'll post a few full, first-round mocks in the coming weeks, and I'll be sure to offer my pick for the 31st overall selection at that time.

[GagneCY03]

That's awesome, CJ. Though I'm not sure Jeffress is a great fit for a Logan White type pitcher. By your own admission, JJ doesnt have much to offer in the way of secondary offerings. White likes kids who can throw a breaking ball with some consistency. That makes me think that a guy like Brett Anderson or even Kyle Drabek would be the choice over a hard-thrower like JJ.

 

Oh, and Conger would complete that homegrown infield for the BrewCrew. Impressive kid.

[natedogge7]

conger's a beast. so is max sapp. I think they are very comparable offensively and whoever projects to be the better out of th two defensively should get the nod.

[brettac1]

I'm pretty much for anything but a pitcher in the first round now. I think Cody Johnson is the guy I want, even though he'll probably take a while, they have time to burn with the young OF's they already have.

[Never Outhustled]

I haven't been following the draft as close largely because of the lower pick, but also because this years talent isn't quite as interesting.

 

As for whom I hope the Brewers draft, of course its got to be the best player available. I just hope the best player available is a lefthanded hitter. Any future Brewer lineup we make is becoming extremely righthanded. I'm with Edgardiazrocks and brettac1 in wanting Cody Johnson. I love the power potential, the total athletism, and his experience against top competition. While some consider High School talent along ways away from the bigs, I think top talents like Johnson can be fast risers. I'll point to Prince Fielder as an example. I hope we don't take 1 of those overworked, injury prone college pitchers in round 1. Jack Z has had little success with college pitchers, and like the progress of some of the teams high school arms like Inman and Gollardo. I'm sure the team will find a few more high school arms in rounds 2-3 this year.

[igor67]

I'm not a huge draft follower in any sport. I am interested in who my team picks, but even in the lean years here I didn't get too serious about the draft before hand, with high picks, desperate need, and flashy players pre-draft debating was entertaining, but we've got a lot of second round or later picks on this team, and trying to predict those picks in baseball is really kind of silly in my opinion. That said after I know who we've picked all this info is great and I try to keep up on all of our players. Some of it comes down to a lot of trust in Jack overall, and when your biggest criticism is that he occaisonally can't resist the temptation to draft a high school pitcher in the first round he's doing a pretty good job.

[SoCalBrewfan]

The latest BA mock has the Brewers taking a different HS of/1b guy: Travis Snider from the great state of Washington.

[DHonks]

Colby, why don't teams try letting two way players (like Drabek) do so in the minors? I'm thinking of the Pirates' 1b/P drafted a few years ago in the first, Nick Markakis, etc. Perhaps even Ben Diggins when drafted.

 

It would seem to me that allowing guys to dabble in 2-way play would increase the probability of having an increased return on their signing bonus. Maybe if you like him as a pitcher, let him start and then hit 3-4 days a week (or DH in the low minors), or if you like him as a hitter (Markakis) let him be an available arm in the pen a couple days a week

[colbyjack]

Nick Markakis is in the Orioles' system.

 

I agree with what you're saying DHonks, and it is something that I have suggested before. But I could see why a big-league organization would want a player, particularly one that they have a lot of money invested in, focus on one aspect of the game. You often hear with college players heading to the draft that they are expected to get better either as a pitcher or as a hitter (wherever they're preferred) once they're allowed to focus on that craft.

 

I believe the Indians started Chuck Lofgren's career as a two-way player a few years ago. I can see it in the lower levels, but once they reach high-A I think I would want that player in question to be doing one or the other, but not both.

 

And you have the injury concern. A player like Drabek playing the infield on days in which he's not pitching has a higher risk of getting hurt, at least I have heard that quite a bit from coaches and scouts (Zach Greinke wasn't allowed to play 3B anymore his senior year in high school when he blossomed as a pitcher).

[DHonks]

the Pirates' guy I meant was John Von Benshoeten or however it was spelled. A power guy who could pitch.

[Never Outhustled]

I can certainly understand why teams wouldn't want there young pitching prospect playing the field in his off days, but why not DH? Is it that much extra of a workload? Pitchers already take some batting practice, so its really only a little more batting practice and 4 ABs a game. If the player eventually proves to be a better hitter than pitcher, I think you could catch him up in the defensive part of the game.

[Never Outhustled]

Their profiles aren't up yet, but the Brewers have been reported to be scouting the three top college closers hard: Miami's Chris Perez, UC Irvine's Blair Erickson and Arizona's Mark Melancon. I've talked about this before, but with increased expectations the Brewers might feel inclined to take a player that is a lot closer to contributing at the big-league level.

 

The Brewers took a reliever last year, Steve Hammond, and turned him into a starter. They did the same a few years ago with late round pick Jeff Housman. They also traded for Dave Bush, a collegiate closer who was turned into a starter. Any chance the Brewers see these Collegiate closers they're scouting as future starters? I see these closers as the few college pitchers who have great stuff that have not been abused by high pitch counts.

[colbyjack]

That's a good call X. Mark Melancon does have a good enough repertoire to be used as a starter. He started the year as the closer, and was moved to the rotation briefly once he became the Wildcats all-time saves leader.

 

Blair Erickson was also moved to the rotation, albeit briefly, and has a good enough repertoire (at least two very good pitches) to be at least tried as a starter to begin his professional career.

 

Chris Perez on the other hand I don't like much. Every time I have seen him he has been wild, and his slider isn't consistently enough to allow him to succeed as a starter. He would be a major project in that role, and as a closer he's iffy if you ask me.

[Never Outhustled]

Thanks for the quick response Patrick. Its like I'm carrying Jim Callis around in my pocket. Your work is just awesome and I feel guilty not paying you for it.

[Oldcity]

Quote:

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Its like I'm carrying Jim Callis around in my pocket.

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Classic! I completely agree. I really appreciate everything you do here. I probably wouldn't know when the MLB draft was, much less a thing about it if I hadn't stumbled across this site.

[DHonks]

colby, I think if they were available, I'd be tempted to consider the high school lefties based on what i've read recently. The numbers are mind-boggling (Ryan Anderson/Jeff Allison like). They're lefty, have good stuff, solid builds, etc. Is there any more insight I can squeeze out of you about these guys? I'm thinking of Kershaw and Anderson, specifically. I could see us going for a corner outfielder, as the system is really lacking some big time corner outfield prospect. I'd love to land a college slugger, like the Dbacks did with Quentin.

[colbyjack]

I've talked about Brett Anderson a ton around these parts. Visit my work from last summer covering the Aflac game to see how much I like him.

 

p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...=835.topic

 

Kershaw's good, but there's no way he lasts until the 16th pick.

 

I'd love to land a college slugger, like the Dbacks did with Quentin.

 

Unfortunately there really isn't a good college slugger worthy of the pick, at least not a corner OF. Matt LaPorta and Mark Hamilton have a lot of power, but both are represented by Boras, and both are better off at 1B.

 

Travis Snider is you man if you want a corner OF. He's a prep OF, but he's one of the best sluggers available.

[brettac1]

Patrick, where does it look like LaPorta will end up going right now? What about Cody Johnson?

[colbyjack]

Both guys look as though they could fall into the second round. LaPorta may actually slide to round 3 based on signability, but I doubt he falls any further than that.

 

As for Johnson, I'm not sure. Prep guys like him that were once considered first-round picks often have visions of first-round money in their head. If he's not drafted that high, I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up at FSU. Otherwise, with his power, long swing or not there is no way based on talent that he should fall past round 2.

[GagneCY03]

I think LaPorta is going to be a huge steal for whoever takes a shot on him (And Boras). If it wasnt for Boras, he should go in the first despite his poor season.

 

I'm still on Johnson's bandwagon and hope the Dodgers take a flier on him in rounds 10-15, hoping they could buy him away from FSU.