Key positions for this year's draft?

[brewcrewkid14]

I was wondering what positions you all thought the Brewers would look at getting in this years draft? IMO,they should consider a college, a third baseman, or a catcher.

 

I really think they need to find another Sheets esque type of player that has that much potential and that could reach the majors by '06 and for good be in the majors bye '07.

 

What are your guys' thoughts?

[colbyjack]

I'm not sure what you mean by a college repeat, but if you read some of the recent threads within this forum you'll find that a lot of people too would prefer a college 3B, C or pitcher. However, many have also stated that we should not reach for a position of need, and the scouting dep't. should continue to select the best player available. Really, outside of 2B & 1B, and I wouldn't even limit myself there, the Brewers could take anyone and address a need.

 

really think they need to find another Sheets esque type of player that has that much potential and that could reach the majors by '06 and for good be in the majors bye '07.

 

Way easier said than done. Of course it would be great to find another Sheets-esque type of player, but you just can't count on that. While high school players take longer to develop, college players often take 3-4 years to make it to the big leagues. Plus, if we draft a college pitcher, there's a good chance that pitcher won't toss a single inning this summer since he would already have 130 or so innings under his belt. Another matter to deal with is the Scott Boras factor. Boras represents 3 of the top 4 college pitchers overall. Look no further than Jered Weaver and Stephen Drew, who aren't even signed yet. Are you prepared to be sitting here exactly one year from now with our first rounder unsigned?

[filthyfrog]

I'm not sure what you mean by a college repeat...

 

I think he was just emphasizing the word college, in case the underline wasn't enough.

[BillScottCanRake]

If there is one thing I've learned from Colby its this:

 

Best Player Available

[UWRyan428]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but as of right now, the top 5 position players (because, outside of Townsend, I don't see a pitcher for us) would fall something like...

1. Justin Upton SS(hands down)

2. Cameron Maybin CF

3. Alex Gordon 3B

4. Jeff Clement C

5. Justin Bristow 3B (maybe a bit of a reach)

Now any of those 5 would instantly be a top 5 prospect for us and fill one of the 2 biggest holes in our minors system. Which leads me to my question... How does Jeff Clement compare with Captain Lou? It would seem that Clement has the most power of any prospect in this draft and his ability to call a game has to have flourished somewhat while at USC.

[colbyjack]

UWRyan, be sure to check out Brewerfan.net's rankings:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewDra...?draftId=3

 

And here's a good thread that discusses Jeff Clement in greater detail:

 

p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...=705.topic

 

Re: Jeff Clement vs. Lou Palmisano:

 

They're really two different types of hitters, in that Clement offers a pure pull power bat from the left side while Palmisano is a gap to gap hitter from the right side. They are similar in that there are some questions about their defense, and both of them likely will always be considered better hitting backstops. I think Clement has erased some concerns about his ability behind the plate, particularly with his ability to throw out baserunners. Clement currently is catching one of the best pitchers in all of college baseball in Ian Kennedy, and he has caught even more top level college pitchers while playing for Team USA the past two summers. There was a comment from BA that mentioned he was more of a AL type of player, so there still is somewhat of a stigma about his ability to stay behind the plate.

 

outside of Townsend, I don't see a pitcher for us

 

Why not? Unless you're automatically eliminating the Boras guys (which is understandable), there could be several talented pitchers that would be more than worthy of selecting fifth overall. While many don't have Cal State Fullerton LHP Ricky Romero very high at this point in time, I think he's going to be drafted much earlier than what most people think at this point in time.

 

Since Jack Z. always says he lets a draft dictate to him whom he will select, I agree that at this point in time the pick likely will be a positional prospect. However, if it weren't for the Boras affiliation, I would be all over Luke Hochevar and even Mike Pelfrey. If it weren't for the high school pitcher thing, Sean O'Sullivan is another guy I really like, and he could even be used as a 2-way guy at the lower levels of the minor leagues.

[squarepusher]

As far as hitters go, the only position i'd really shy away from, if at all, would be 1B. Take someone like Weeks for example.... while the system is richer at 2B than most other positions, it's much easier for a 2B to be shifted to 3B or the OF (normally) than a 1B. Or, it's usually easy for a corner OF to be shifted to 1B.

 

With that said, if you have a talent like Prince Fielder on the board, you don't want to pass him by solely because he was a 1B (although, i'll be the first to admit I wasn't happy about the Fielder signing at the time).

[brewcrewkid14]

Yeah I know that it is definitely easier said than done. I haven't looked too much into depth in this year's draft and plan on doing so from now up till the draft.

 

I say take Townsend if available and if not take Clement or a third baseman which are definitely the two biggest needs in our farm system right now.

[DHonks]

I'd shy away from catchers and take more 3b/arms. My reason is simple. If your farm system is well stocked at most positions, then you either trade for a C or sign an elite FA catcher. With out luck with catchers, I'm almost ready to give up on them in the top 10 rounds