Draft and DNF Preview

[IheartRYount]

Any idea when these are coming out? I think the usually show up in mid to late May?

[colbyjack]

The draft & follow preview has already hit the homepage. View the Draft & Follow resource thread for all kinds of good info and links on the Brewers DFE candidates. I don't plan on writing an update story as I've done in the past (I don't think I did one last year either).

 

As for a draft preview story, with all of the profiles I add into the Brewerfan.net draft database, I'm not sure one is necessary. I thought about it last night, but I haven't decided as to whether or not I will pursue that. If I get enough requests, I could be swayed...http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[DHonks]

Colby, I'll ask my usual question...which pitcher profiles the most like Ben Sheets this year?

 

Also, who would profile as the Doug Davis/Jeremy Sowers? I mean a crafty lefty with decent stuff who can rise quickly. I think this year I'd rather go hitting, especially a high school stud.

[colbyjack]

I'll refresh your memory DHonks...Houston's Brad Lincoln and USC's Ian Kennedy are the most Sheets-like. Lincoln more so than Kennedy in his arsenal, Kennedy more than Lincoln in his approach.

 

Lincoln throws in the low-to-mid-90s with a hammer curveball that actually has been compared to Sheets'. Unlike Big Ben, Lincoln is a very talented hitter as well, the leading slugger on the Cougars (he plays DH and bats cleanup even during games he starts).

 

Kennedy pitches fearlessly, and isn't afraid to pitch up in the strike zone, which is usually reserved for power pitchers. Kennedy hasn't enjoyed nearly as much success this year as he has in the past, and his once 89-93 velocity is in the 87-91 range. That is always something to be concerned about, as that slight loss in velocity seems to have made him vulnerable this year.

 

The crafty lefty award goes to UCLA's David Huff this year, whose starts I have been keeping track of in the college baseball thread. He's a bigger guy, has a 88-90 mph fastball with a very good changeup. He gets batters out by changing his speeds, taking something off his pitches for increased movement, and hitting his spots.

 

Brett Anderson is that guy from the HS ranks, but he can dial it up to 94 on occasion. Anderson has gotten quite a bit of love from me around these parts, ever since I saw him throw last summer at the Aflac game. He could move fast given the way he pitches.

 

Alabama's Wade LeBlanc could also fit into this category, who works with a similar velocity as Huff yet uses a big sweeping curve as his out pitch.

[DHonks]

thanks Colby. I just read up on all of the guys you mentioned, and i'm comfortable with nearly all of them. Anderson and Kennedy seem especially intriguing. I'm weary of the catcher a bit, but it's more my personal view. As I've said before, I prefer taking fewer catchers in the draft, and instead taking more arms. I'd rather take my chances with signing a $5 million catcher every few years, or trade for AAAA types for the job. Salome seems to be the exception, but he also sounds a bit too good to be true right now. I remember being enamored with a high school catcher who hit something like .750 in high school...a guy named Belcher. Or I remember believing in a former JuCo home run champ...a guy named Kade.

[colbyjack]

I'm weary of the catcher a bit, but it's more my personal view. As I've said before, I prefer taking fewer catchers in the draft, and instead taking more arms. I'd rather take my chances with signing a $5 million catcher every few years, or trade for AAAA types for the job. Salome seems to be the exception, but he also sounds a bit too good to be true right now. I remember being enamored with a high school catcher who hit something like .750 in high school...a guy named Belcher. Or I remember believing in a former JuCo home run champ...a guy named Kade.

 

Everyone has their biases. You could rule out prep pitchers completely without even mentioning the Brewers recent history in this category. I think that list blows away the catchers list, and in Johnson and Belcher you're talking about a 2nd and 5th round pick respectively, hardly the kind of risk to make you change your approach. Mass Haas has pointed out before that the Brewers haven't had very good luck with their fourth round picks (or maybe it's their third-rounders, or both), but for every Eric Henderson and Jon Steitz there remains promise in Brad Nelson and Charlie Fermaint.

 

In other words, such trends may not have any substance to them, they may just are there to be broken.

 

And signing a $5 million dollar catcher every few years is easier said than done.