2017 Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

[reillymcshane]

How many picks will the do tonight? Just first round? Competitive balance picks?

[And That]

Through competitive balance round B. So, stopping before the third round. At least that's how they did it last year.

[reillymcshane]

Through competitive balance round B. So, stopping before the third round. At least that's how they did it last year.

Thank you.

[splitterpfj]

I cringe at first round picks with trouble making contact, or trouble throwing strikes - save the projects for later rounds.

 

Hence, I like the pick - best of luck, young man!

[clancyphile]

Jeren Kendall seems to be slipping... I'd be happy with him at 34.

[reillymcshane]

Jeren Kendall seems to be slipping... I'd be happy with him at 34.

nope. dodgers got him.

[LouisEly]

I cringe at first round picks with trouble making contact, or trouble throwing strikes - save the projects for later rounds.

Amen, brother

[JosephC]

Wow Hiura reminds me of Weeks when he was drafted. I wouldn't be surprised if Hiura is a perennial 350/400/600 hitter or basically a Jose Altuve type of a player. Not going to lie I was hoping for Rogers at the 9th pick but I am fine with Hiura.

 

And the Weeks comparison is what scares me. I don't have any concerns about Hiura's bat. However, there were plenty of seasons that Weeks carried a well above-average bat for a second baseman and then "un-did" much of the good he did with some really poor defensive skills. Based on what I'm seeing Hiura hasn't really played much second base at all. Sounds like he was an outfielder that UC-Irvine was looking to transition to second base this year and he came up with a bad elbow and so the transition never happened. So the Brewer's decided to take a player who has a bad elbow and has significant questions about a defensive position. I love the bat. But the rest of it looks like more of a risk than I would be willing to take. I can't figure out why all the experts have been listing him as a second baseman when, from the information I have gathered, it doesn't seem like he's really played much second base? Was he that bad as an outfielder where they all figured, like the college coaches, that he might be better off in the infield?

 

Probably somewhere in my subconscious mind I would like the pick more if he'd been announced as an outfielder. Probably could live with a dead-arm like Khris Davis in left field rather than watching another Rickie Weeks bumble around at second base for a decade. I will say this, if Hiura starts showing any Weeks-like tendencies at second base I hope they don't mess around and move him to the OF right away. And I don't care how crowded the outfield may be. There are still some crazies out there that think Weeks could have been a more valuable player if the Brewers has attempted to make him an outfielder early in his career...and I am one of those crazies. Maybe it wouldn't have worked and if that's the case he could have gone back to second base, but it would have been nice to see an attempt in the outfield rather than watching him play a very sub-par second base for all those seasons.

 

Anyway, I wish Hiura the best and hopefully he'll prove that my concerns about the defense were nothing to be worried about in the first place.

[SRB]

I'm hoping for Tristan Beck and Seth Romero with the next couple of picks.

 

Romero would be amazing. Take Hiura underslot, and give Romero mid-first $ to sign. Am I correct that his off-field stuff was all nonsense like being photographed with a a bong?

[Eye Black]

Jeren Kendall seems to be slipping... I'd be happy with him at 34.

nope. dodgers got him.

Second year in a row the Dodgers popped a player with Wisconsin ties in the first round.

[JosephC]

Jeren Kendall seems to be slipping... I'd be happy with him at 34.

nope. dodgers got him.

 

Back to back Wisconsin kids for the Dodgers. Pretty interesting the way things fall.

[Eye Black]

I'm hoping for Tristan Beck and Seth Romero with the next couple of picks.

 

Romero would be amazing. Take Hiura underslot, and give Romero mid-first $ to sign. Am I correct that his off-field stuff was all nonsense like being photographed with a a bong?

The most public reason for his dismissal was fighting with a teammate or teammates. Also reportedly some teams were turned off by the answers they received during the in-person interviews with him.

[Austin Tatious]

I'm not even sure you would have to pay Romero over slot. His options are limited. You're banking on him maturing though. That's a risk. I'd take that risk.

[And That]

Romero really has no leverage, so I can't imagine he'd cost much above slot.

[SRB]

Romero really has no leverage, so I can't imagine he'd cost much above slot.

 

Can't he just go back to college, have an elite season with no off-field issues all year, and count on top-10 money as a senior? (Easier said than done, but at least he can threaten that)

[And That]

Get kicked off team -> ????????? -> success!

[SRB]

Well, never mind...

 

Romero is a hooligan with no place on the Brewers!!!

[reillymcshane]

Question related to Hiura.

 

He played for UC-Irvine - Big West Conference. How is the competition in that conference? I really don't know much about college baseball - so I was wondering if some of Hiura's stats are padded a bit by lesser competition.

 

Just wondering if anyone knew.

[SRB]

Get kicked off team -> ????????? -> success!

 

If he has top-10 stuff somebody is going to let him pitch.

[ZBTMP]

Romero really has no leverage, so I can't imagine he'd cost much above slot.

 

Can't he just go back to college, have an elite season with no off-field issues all year, and count on top-10 money as a senior? (Easier said than done, but at least he can threaten that)

 

I think he'd have to sit out a year to play D1 so basically NAIA like Erceg ended up.Difficult to raise your stock against that competition.

[reillymcshane]

Romero really has no leverage, so I can't imagine he'd cost much above slot.

 

Can't he just go back to college, have an elite season with no off-field issues all year, and count on top-10 money as a senior? (Easier said than done, but at least he can threaten that)

 

I think he'd have to sit out a year to play D1 so basically NAIA like Erceg ended up.Difficult to raise your stock against that competition.

Yep. And he just got picked by the Nationals. So he's in line for around $2.5M. He may have blown a million or two with his immaturity, but that's still a lot of dollars to pass up. Groome had the same option last year. Take $3.5M or wait until next year and hope you get the $5-6M you thought you were going to get.

[colbyjack]

For people that don't like the Weeks comparison for Hiura, don't worry, he's nothing like Weeks .

 

Toby, I've never seen Hiura's arm, but he threw 77 mph across the diamond in HS (which is well below average) at one of our events, so I doubt it got that much better.

[JosephC]

My top four favorites for #34 and #46 are all still out there. Blayne Enlow, Drew Waters, Tristen Lutz and Brent Rooker. Add in Griffin Canning and Sam Carlson as droppers and that #34 pick is starting to look pretty good.

[Oxy]

Romero really has no leverage, so I can't imagine he'd cost much above slot.

 

Can't he just go back to college, have an elite season with no off-field issues all year, and count on top-10 money as a senior? (Easier said than done, but at least he can threaten that)

 

This is the major question I've had with the slot system. It seems like the hard to sign guys are all HS guys who want to go to college...but most of the college guys are juniors, so couldn't they play the same game? Or are they afraid that as a senior sign the next year a team would just give them a low-ball offer well below slot?

[Patrick425]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what does underslot mean?

Each pick has a slot value for signing bonuses. Players can cut deals with teams so they can get drafted higher. Signing for underslot leaves the team with a bigger portion of their bonus pool which allows them to spread it out more throughout the draft.

 

If some sites like Baseball America and Bleacher Report had him picked as high as 5th or 6th in their mock drafts, why would he agree to a lesser bonus that what his draft slot calls for?