DFE story posted

[SenatorShriv]

Any word on any of the DFE's from last year's draft?

[colbyjack]

That happens to be my next story, hopefully to be out within a couple of weeks. I do have the updated list of who the candidates are:

 

13. (round they were drafted in last June) Luke Cannon-OF

15. Joel Rivera-OF

25. Jared Theodorakos-LHP

26. Hasan Rasheed-OF

31. Sheldon Catchot-LHP

33. Chad Miller-1B

37. Justin Wilson-LHP

39. Wesley Yeary-RHP

40. Robert Hinton-RHP

41. Peter Baubles--C

44. Rayner Robles-Encarnacion-IF

45. Tim Grubbs-RHP

46. Clay Blevins-C

48. Calvin Thompson-OF

49. Michael Sarka-RHP

[mothershipconnection]

13. (round they were drafted in last June) Luke Cannon-OF

I'm still planning on making the short trip up to Gainesville to check Cannon out, hopefully in 3 weeks over my spring break.

[foamboy1]

Luke Cannon-OF

 

He better have a plus arm....

[lynchmobster]

Luke Cannon:

www.nctc.edu/Athletic_pro...htm#cannon

Luke has received a scholarship to play at Texas State University next year.

But he doesn't appear to be on the Texas State roster:

www.athletics.txstate.edu...roster.htm

scbaseball.vista.com/userimages/Txst.htm

[colbyjack]

I saw that too, and I'm 99.9% certain that's for the school year starting in 2004, meaning this coming September.

[lynchmobster]

Yeah -- he's on the roster at North Central Texas College (I missed that eariler):

www.nctc.edu/Athletic_pro...roster.htm

 

I'll stop now and wait for the article....

[cressj]

Where did Rivera end up going to school? Also, any word on Theodorakos? I believe Baylor has played 8 games and Jared has not pitched in any of them.

[colbyjack]

Can't wait for the story, huh http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ?

 

Rivera went to Brookdale CC, but has since withdrawn from school. The Brewers are still interested in signing him, but are going to wait to do so until after the JC season and handle him like the rest of their DFE candidates.

 

Theodorakos is currently pitching intrasquad games, and his HC Steve Smith hopes to get him into real game situations soon. He's throwing at about 80% right now.

[colbyjack]

Just so people know, I'm getting some nice responses from the coaches of our DFEs. I hope to have most to all of them in by the end of the weekend so I can get the story out next week.

 

Luke Cannon is off to an incredibly hot start. In 40 ABs so far he has 5 homers & 4 doubles. He's hitting .375 overall with a .490 OBP. I think he's trying to prove that his freshmen season was not a fluke.

 

I'm going to boldly predict that Mr. Cannon (no, not Geoff Jenkins) will be one of Helena's starting corner OFs (opposite Adam Mannon) come June. Actually, that Helena OF could be fairly exciting if Fermaint is patrolling CF.

[colbyjack]

A few more notes of interest during my searches for info on our DFE candidates...

 

I came across a box score of a game between Lake City CC & Chipola JC. Between those 2 teams the Brewers have 4 DFE prospects (Rasheed & Grubbs at Lake City, Catchot & Encarnacion at Chipola). Grubbs started the game & pitched quite well:

 

8 IP, 7 H, 9 K, 3BB, 0 R

 

Chipola came back in the 9th to win the game (once Grubbs was removed). Encarnacion played at 3B and went 2 for 4. Catchot played RF and was 0-4. Leading off for Lake City, Rasheed went 2 for 5.

 

Box scores & stats on most of these sites are extremely slow, late, or it's just not an option. Fortunately many of the CCs are finally updating their sites, as I've seen a big change from the info that was provided last year vs. what I've found this year.

 

Making it somewhat easier is above instances like the Lake City/Chipola game since 8 of our DFE candidates are playing for 6 different CCs in Florida, often playing one another.

 

I also discovered that LHP Ray Liotta plays for the same team as Justin Sarka, our 49th round pick from a year ago. Liotta was a 12th rounder from our 2001 draft that went unsigned & headed for Tulane, but has since transferred to Gulf Coast CC. He's a tall & strong lefty with good stuff, and I don't remember the exact reason as to why he transferred (he's listed as a sophomore, so I'm not sure if he missed a year to injury). Anyway, he has pitched extremely well so far this spring:

 

4-0 w/ a 1.54 ERA in 5 games, all starts; 35 IP, 23 H, 56 K, 11 BB, 6 ER, .180 BAA. 3 of his 5 games have been complete games with 1 shutout.

 

With his size & stuff he's going to garner a lot of interest posting those kind of numbers.

[Katuluu]

Patrick, how does the draft process work with draft eligible sophmores that are not attending community colleges? Are they treated similar to DFE's and you retain their rights up until the following draft, or do you lose the rights to them if they return for their Junior year?

[colbyjack]

If draft eligible sophomores return to school you lose the controlling rights (so, if we draft Glen Perkins, we have to sign him this summer http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ).

 

The only players on 4-year programs that are handled like DFEs are 5th-year seniors, like Jared Theodorakos.

[Katuluu]

Jared Theodorakos

 

Gazoontite.

[colbyjack]

The DFE story has now been posted on the homepage.

[igor67]

It would appear that Theordorkas and Cannon are this year's Eveland and Barnes the bigger names to follow. Cannon really sounds like he could be another big bat, or perhaps Bill Scott. Interesting that despite your positivity a couple of the players already are showing signs they might not be ready for prime time. Still nothing like seeing a lot of pitchers with good frames in that DFE list! Anybody know when BA is going start talking about potential DFE guys?

[cressj]

I would say that Cannon is by far the #1 prospect of the bunch. You would guess that Rivera would sign without much leverage. It will be interesting what the other 13 do. The great thing is that as of right now, the team has only lost 9 of 40 and 1 of the top 20.

[colbyjack]

Interesting that despite your positivity a couple of the players already are showing signs they might not be ready for prime time.

 

I think the 2 CGCC guys, Chad Miller & Justin Wilson, need to turn things around quickly if they want to be signed. Wilson obviously just needs to get himself healthy & on the field. Miller needs to hit better than what he has, although the Brewers did still like Adam Mannon despite hitting somewhere around the mid-.200s last year. However, I do know the Brewers really liked Mannon's overall athleticism, as Miller isn't quite the 5-tool talent.

 

If you haven't noticed from some of my other posts, while I always root for the little guys I'm not so sure the organization needs to add wee little speed merchants like Hasan Rasheed to the system. Between Kennard Bibbs & Dallas Bates I think we have that position covered. Given the organization's interest in these kinds of players Rasheed could be a lock.

 

Still nothing like seeing a lot of pitchers with good frames in that DFE list!

 

Not only the pitchers, but the 2 outfielders other than Rasheed, Rivera & Thompson have great size & physical tools.

 

Anybody know when BA is going start talking about potential DFE guys?

 

I believe the top JC & DFE prospects are brought up in BA's issue with their midseason college draft report, which I believe comes out in early to mid-April. This is the issue that got us excited about Parra 2 years back.

 

And I would agree that Cannon is easily the top prospect of all of our candidates, and really that's not a surprise since he was drafted the highest of all of these guys.

[cressj]

The one that got away is batting .282 with 3 homers in 39 at bats for the Cal Bears.

[colbyjack]

A late update from Lake City HC Tom Clark:

 

Tim Grubbs has been strong of late, overall 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA, 24 K & 8 BB in 40 IP. Hit 89 on first pitch yesterday. Has been very stable on an otherwise young team.

 

His comments on Rasheed:

 

Rasheed has turned into one of the most exciting players in the state.  Has hit safely in all 19 games. Has cut way down on his strikeouts and has learned to hit the ball with authority to the opposite field.  Current stats: .428, 22 Sb's, 4 2b, 3 3b, 1 hr.

 

Nice to know that Rasheed is improving in some of the areas he needed to.

[MassBrew]

Patrick, awesome job as always! I've always loved the DFE-related tidbits here since your coverage began. I know how much effort goes into contacting the coaches, area scouts, etc., on your part -- very much appreciated.

 

One small suggestion -- I was wondering how a New Jersey kid like Evan Baubles made his way to New Mexico for community college ball -- until I learned via some web browsing that Santa Fe Community College is in Florida -- gee, silly me http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif .

 

Considering that some of these schools might be right in the backyard of our readers (spread out all over the country), could you include a city and state designation along with the school name going forward? Thanks!

[colbyjack]

Thanks for the suggestion MB. I'll try to remember to add that info next time.

[hardballersdad]

A question that was asked of me about the DFE players of the 2001 draft. Where are they now and what are they doing?I had no idea how to go about finding that information without some extensive research. Is there an easy way to find out?

[colbyjack]

Do you mean the players that signed or the ones that didn't? From our 2001 draft the Brewers ended up signing 2 players as DFEs, Manny Parra & Stephen Hunt.

 

Parra was a 26th rounder in 2001 and vaulted up the charts the following spring when he was clocked as high as 97 mph. Previously he threw in the mid-80s, so that was quite the spike.

 

Hunt was a 35th rounder in '01 and had a good '02 spring for Chandler-Gilbert CC, hitting over .300 with decent gap power. I believe he retired at some point last year.

 

The Brewers did re-draft two of their DFEs from that year. In the 2002 draft they took Tim Dillard in the 34th round after he missed most of the 2002 season due to injury. The Brewers ended up signing Dillard as a DFE last spring. Last June they took LHP Justin Wilson in the 37th round after selecting him in the 17th round in '01. His career has been riddled with injuries.

 

Josh Smith was supposed to be a promising DFE candidate, but he attended Arizona State at the last minute I believe. I think he was drafted last year out of Central Arizona JC.

 

As for the DFE candidates from the '01 draft that didn't sign, you would have to do some piece by piece homework to find out what happened to any of those guys.

 

And prior to the 2001 draft, I don't recall the Brewers having many, if any DFE signees worth mentioning.

[hardballersdad]

"As for the DFE candidates from the '01 draft that didn't sign, you would have to do some piece by piece homework to find out what happened to any of those guys.

 

colbyjack, That is what I assume about finding out about them. Thanks for the information on the others. It gave me sime food for thought. One Idea is that the DFE system may become more important in the future for all the clubs. Also, It was interesting how the Brewers signed a greater percentage of DFEs this past year.

 

Your information on who had signed and who was redrafted was exactly what I wanted to know.