Jack Z comments on day one of draft

[molitor fan]

A round-by-round look at the Brewers' Day 1:

 

 

Round 3: William Inman, RHP, Tunstall High School, Dry Fork, Va.

Zduriencik was surprised by a report in Baseball America that said many teams shied away from Inman when his velocity dropped in Virginia's Commonwealth Games last summer. ... He is the state's career strikeouts leader and has a college commitment to Auburn. ... "I know that our guys were in there and saw him a lot," Zduriencik said. "We saw every outing for the last five weeks and we're impressed with the young man."

 

Round 4: Matt Gamel, 3B, Chipola Junior College, Marianna, Fla.

"This kid's got size, he's got strength and he's a pretty good-looking hitter," Zduriencik said. "He may play third base, he may play first base, he may play left field. You never know with these kids. We'll get him in the system and let him run." ... Gamel was named a First-Team All-American by the National Junior College Athletics Association. ... He has signed with the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

 

Round 5: Kevin Roberts, RHP, University of Houston

Wiry at six feet and 185 pounds, Roberts was a two-way standout at Houston who was named to the All-Conference-USA second team. ... "He played second base and he pitched as a starter and a closer," Zduriencik said. "He was a major part of their program and he did a lot of things to help them win a lot of ballgames. He has a real nice arm and a real nice curveball, and he played every day at second base when he wasn't pitching. The thought for us is that he's going to become a pitcher full-time."

 

Round 6: Steven Hammond, LHP, Long Beach State

"He's playing at one of the best programs in the country," Zduriencik said. "I watched him play right at the beginning of the season in late January against Arizona State and our guys continued to follow up with him. As the year went on we saw great progression. He's a little bit older, but in a lot of ways that wasn't bad. He was used primarily in a relief role, as a set-up man, closer. We'll turn him over to Reid [Nichols, the farm director] and see what happens."

 

Round 7: Michael Brantley, CF, Fort Pierce (Fla.) Central H.S.

Brantley's father, Mickey, played four seasons in the Minors and was traded to the Brewers in 1990, but he never played for Milwaukee. ... Mickey Brantley is now the hitting instructor for the Toronto Blue Jays. ... "Incidentally, I had hired Mickey when I was Minor League director of the Mets as one of our roving hitting guys," Zduriencik said.

 

Round 8: Jemile Weeks, SS, Lake Brantley H.S., Altamonte Springs, Fla.

 

Round 9: Carlos Hereaud, 3B, Lawrence Elkins H.S., Missouri City, Texas

The Brewers got a good look at Hereaud in Area Code Games last summer ... According to Baseball America, Hereaud's parents moved their family from Venezuela to get their children a better education, so it may be difficult to sign him away from his University of Houston scholarship. ... "He played shortstop in high school and played some third base and some second base," Zduriencik said. "Carlos, again, is a guy who we think has a chance to be an offensive player, whether he plays third, second or left field. We like the bat. The kid is an athlete and has versatility."

 

Round 10: Steve Garrison, The Hun School, Princeton, N.J.

Has a commitment to the University of North Carolina if he does not sign with the Brewers. "I'd love to play in the pros, but I'd also love to play at UNC," Garrison told the Trenton Times. "I'm kind of neutral right now. I have an idea of what it would take (to skip college). It's not so much the round I'm chosen, as much as the money and whether the team would pay for college later on."

 

Round 11: Brent Allar, RHP, Weatherford (Texas) College

 

Round 12: John Alonso, 1B, Polk Community College, Winter Haven, Fla.

 

Round 13: Ryan Babenau, C, Etiwanda H.S., Alta Loma, Calif.

One of 36 high school players competing in the national All-American Baseball Game on June 13 in Albuquerque, N.M. ... The only catcher selected by the Brewers on Day 1 despite a shortage of catching in the team's minor league system. "You look at the board and there's not a lot of catching up there," Zduriencik said. "You take the players where they are on the board. Catching is what it is."

 

Round 14: Mark James, RHP, Sinclair Secondary School, Ontario

One of two native Canadians selected by Milwaukee, which has a number of prominent Canadians in the front office including general manager Dooug Melvin, assistant GM Gord Ash and advisor Dick Groch. "This is one kid Dick was certainly responsible for," Zduriencik said. "In my first couple years here, we didn't have good information in Canada. The fact that Dick is up there running our Canadian operations is a great benefit to us."

 

Round 15: Michael Bell, 2B, Grayson County College, Denison, Texas

 

Round 16: Andrew Bailey, RHP, Wagner College, Staten Island, N.Y.

Underwent "Tommy John" surgery recently and will be out until next spring. "We liked his arm before the surgery," Zduriencik said. "With some of these things, you roll the dice. Maybe we'll uncover something here that could be good for us."

 

Round 17: Timothy Smith, RF, Midland (Texas) College

Another Canadian native, Smith was drafted by the Mets last season but didn't sign.

 

Round 18: Zach Braddock, LHP, Gloucester (N.J.) Catholic H.S.

[foamboy1]

Nice work on this, Molitor Fan...

[molitor fan]

Sorry, should have noted the brewers website as the source for this information.....

[Katuluu]

Round 7: Michael Brantley, CF, Fort Pierce (Fla.) Central H.S.

Brantley's father, Mickey, played four seasons in the Minors and was traded to the Brewers in 1990, but he never played for Milwaukee. ... Mickey Brantley is now the hitting instructor for the Toronto Blue Jays. ... "Incidentally, I had hired Mickey when I was Minor League director of the Mets as one of our roving hitting guys," Zduriencik said.

 

Am I the only one scratching my head over this?

[H0FFY]

It will be interesting to me to see what becomes of Inman. Maybe Jack just does not 'get it' re HS pitchers. Then again, mabye he just had bad luck with Jones and Rogers and Inman will do OK.

 

I am sure looking forward to seeing these guys suit up ASAP. It will be great fun seeing a shot A team made up of all the college guys.

[ja002h]

Then again, mabye he just had bad luck with Jones and Rogers

 

Are you writing off Rogers after 1 year?

[monty57]

Jack Z. mentioned that Inman is a likely sign for $500m. They apparently talked to him before the draft and he didn't care if he went in the 3rd round as long as he got 2nd round money. Sounds like signability is no longer an issue, and it sounds like he's excited to get going.

[ja002h]

$500m

 

That's rather expensive for one player http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[jackellberry]

Then again, mabye he just had bad luck with Jones and Rogers and Inman will do OK.

 

How can you write off Rogers already, the kids only 19.

[jmon482]

Quote:

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Then again, mabye he just had bad luck with Jones and Rogers and Inman will do OK.

---

 

I'm kind of sort of guessing here, but I think he just had some trouble with punctuation, and meant it more like... Then again, maybe he just had bad luck with Jones, but Rogers and Inman will do OK