Question regarding 3B'men

[brettac1]

Mainly to colby, but anyone else is obviously welcome to chime in. I was looking at BA's top 1B and 3B draft prospects. I would prefer Gordon, but it seems highly unlikely that he would make it to #5. Therefore, is there any chance they would take Ryan Zimmerman? He seems to be too much like Sean Burroughs for my liking, with a complete lack of power. Is it pretty much a sure thing that the Brewers would take Gordon, and no other 3B with their first rounder?

[colbyjack]

Zimmerman may very well be a legitimate candidate. As you pointed out, his power production hasn't been ideal for a prototypical 3B, but he has already hit 3 HRs this spring for VA, and I know I keep hearing about how impressed people were with his performance last summer with Team USA, in which he hit .468 with 12 doubles and 4 home runs in 77 ABs with a wood bat. So, he seems to be making the adjustments. Plus, there was this little blurb about Zimmerman's power potential given his swing mechanics from the BA 3B draft notebook that you referred to:

 

With Zimmerman, you have to do some projection. He hasn't hit with a lot of power up to this point but there is looseness and snap in his swing and he showed last summer he can find the barrel consistently with wood. Zimmerman also is arguably the best defensive player in the country."

 

Here's his line for the season so far:

 

.411/.471/.633 in 90 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 9:5 BB:K, 3 Es

 

However, the Brewers have more of a boom or bust mentality when approaching their early draft picks, so as polished as Zimmerman seems, I guess I see them going in a different direction.

 

Bristow is a legitimate candidate to play 3B and be picked #5, and he has to be taken more seriously than what some may give him credit for given Jack Z's preference for athletic, prep players. After Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin, they don't get any more athletic than Bristow. His season started last week, and prep news has been slow to leak out so far this spring.

 

Miami's Ryan Braun may be in the mix by the end of the summer if he keeps hitting like he has so far this spring:

 

.471/.519/.847 in 85 ABs, 8 2B, 8 HR, 11:16 BB:K, 13 for 16 in SBAs, 7 Es

 

Although, there are (and have been) some rumblings that Braun may end up in LF given his defensive shortcomings, as shown by his 7 errors. I've seen him play a few times now, and he's a good athlete, but for some reason he makes a lot of errors. Call it the Rickie Weeks factor, as it may be a case of him not being focused on defense. He has a lot of Nomar-type mannerisms to him, and I don't think there is much question that he is going to hit.

 

It may end after Gordon, I really wish I knew what the Brewers scouting department was thinking about this spring, but there really isn't any evidence that they will change their approach. IMO, I may target someone like Zimmerman, who seems to be a pretty good lock to not only hit, but play very good defense at the hot corner, even if his power is in question. He may never hit in the middle of the order, but he could move up rather quickly, and he could fill the hole at 3B by 2008, maybe late '07.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

As much as the need is there, I can't see the Brewers using #5 on anything but the "Best Availble" pick, at that spot probably a pitcher.

 

But how about the third round?

 

Will there be any quality 3B left at that point?

 

Could you give us any info on Ryan Mount or Josh Bell? (and why so many 3B are named Ryan?)

[colbyjack]

Bell would be an exciting pick in the 3rd round for sure. Here's his profile as part of Brewerfan.net's draft coverage:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewAma...&draftId=3

 

To be honest, I haven't heard a peep about Ryan Mount, and I'm trying to figure out where he came from.

 

I like CA prep 3B/1B Brett Wallace. His body is a little soft, but the guy can hit. He could fall pretty hard given his body type, but he's a guy that is going to hit and hit no matter where he ends up after this year. He's signed with ASU, so he could very well become the next great Sun Devil 3B (oh-oh).

 

Elkins high school's (TX) Carlos Heraud could also be an interesting name in the 3rd round range. he currently plays SS, but a lot of people believe his size will cause him to move to the hot corner at the pro level. He's a good athlete, and some team may give him every opportunity to stay at SS. Good bat.

 

I'll try to refresh my memory tomorrow on some 3B that stand to be good candidates for the 3rd round.

[homer]

Quote:

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He's signed with ASU, so he could very well become the next great Sun Devil 3B (oh-oh).

---

 

Is your 'oh-oh' in reference to Antone or Salvatore? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/happy.gif

 

 

Also, what are the odds that Gordon falls to #5?

[colbyjack]

Also, what are the odds that Gordon falls to #5?

 

I'm going to have to ban myself for repeating myself so much on this topic, but I just don't see any way that Gordon fall to the 5th pick. For it to happen he's going to have to get injured like Teixeira in '01, or ask for an absolutely insane signing bonus. Even with Teixeira's injury in '01, I don't think he would have fell to the Rangers with the 5th overall pick had Boras not been his advisor. Gordon is not being advised by Boras, so that shouldn't be an issue.

 

Just get used to the idea that Gordon won't be there. The same goes for Justin Upton.