2004 draft

[colbyjack]

I can't go a week without getting ahead of myself http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

 

As it stands right now, the Brewers will draft 3rd next June. The Padres are really stinking with a .286 winning percentage. Having seen them several times just a couple of weeks ago, it was quite evident that the Padres are REALLY going to struggle all season long.

 

Here are the lowest winning percentages in the NL:

 

Arizona: .468-projected 11th overall selection

Florida: .460-projected 9th overall selection

NY Mets: .458-projected 7th overall selection

Pittsburgh: .424-projected 5th overall selection

Milwaukee: .417-projected 3rd overall selection

San Diego: .286-projected 1st overall selection

 

As much as I love the Brewers' recent winning ways, I have a hard time believing they're going to make a strong push at .500. Having seen the Mets, I wouldn't be surprised to see them continue to spiral down. The Pirates have been dropping ever since the first week or two of the season, and Florida might lose some more of their productive players when (not if) they trade Mike Lowell among others.

 

So, while we thought we would be drafting 1st overall next year, we could select anywhere from 3rd to 9th.

 

And next year projects to be a good to great year for college pitching. Old Dominion RHP Justin Verlander, Long Beach State RHPJared Weaver (brother of Jeff) & Vanderbilt lefty Jeremy Sowers highlight a promising class. Rice has a trio of RHPs that could go in round 1 in Phillip Humber, Jeff Neimann & Wade Townsend. Notre Dame's RHP Grant Johnson will attempt to bounce back after missing all of this year after TJ surgery. Alan Horne was a high draft pick of the Indians a couple of years ago that attended Mississippi. Another lefty is at the top of the charts, Tyler Lumsden of Clemson. A couple of pitchers from smaller schools out East, Ross Ohlendorf of Princeton & Chris Lambert of Boston College, also highlight this class.

 

Positional prospects include Florida State's SS Stephen Drew, Oklahoma State's & Wisconsin native C Jason Jaramillo, Arizona State's 1B/3B Jeff Larish, Auburn CF Seth Smith, Stanford C Donny Lucy, UCLA 1B Wes Whisler, and a trio of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 2B Eric Patterson (brother of Corey), 1B (& RHP) Micah Owings & OF Jeremy Slayden.

 

The talent at the high school level isn't quite as defined. There is no Lastings Milledge, Delmon Young or even Jeff Allison that was well known about years before they were draft eligible. That's not to say there isn't talent, but it probably will take a few of the bigger summer showcases for that talent to step forward. Here are the names that are well known, possibly highlighted by RHP Nick Adenhart:

 

Adenhart (MD), SS/RHP Matt Bush (CA), CF Greg Golson (TX), RHP Blake Johnson (LA), RHP Kenn Kasparek (TX), RHP Tyler Kerstan (TX), 3B Jared Kubin (VA), LHP Chuck Lofgren (CA), 3B/RHP Steve Marquardt (WA), SS Chris Nelson (GA), LHP Mike Rozier (GA), RHP Homer Bailey (TX), OF Michael Taylor (FL), RHP Jason Corder (CA) & RHP Andy Gale (NH).

 

My early favorite for our 1st rounder in '04: Jeremy Sowers, a LHP out of Vanderbilt that was one of my favorites in the '01 draft. I hope I don't jinx this selection almost a year out http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif , but there are plenty of promising players to keep an eye on. The college crop looks particularly exciting.

[DHonks]

I saw Weaver on TV yesterday and it was pretty funny. My roommates and I were impressed with how similar this kid's mechanics were to JEff Weaver, then low and behold, we found out his name. He had good stuff, but I'm sure there's someone better out there