2021 MLB Draft Thread (Pre-Draft Discussion)

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

#77, actually behind Ozaukee’s Noah Miller (#74).

 

I really hope that the brewers get a corner IF early in the draft. Im not normally a big position guy in the MLB draft but the only way to stop having to get guys like Tellez or signing big $ FA's is to develop your own and they have shown no interest in doing that since Prince

 

The failures of Lucas Erceg and Jake Gatewood have been tough. Those are two guys who were drafted high and should have been penciled in as 1B/3B of the future types.

[patrickgpe]

you are right but Gatewood was drafted in 14 and Erceg in 16. Brewers have been obsessed with up the middle players and power arms and have let corner IF slide.

[Eye Black]

I do think Zavier Warren has a chance to ultimately be a solid corner infielder, but he’s got a lot of levels to go. I know they announced him as a catcher when they drafted him, but I think he’ll end up at either 3B or 1B.

[DR28]

I do think Zavier Warren has a chance to ultimately be a solid corner infielder, but he’s got a lot of levels to go. I know they announced him as a catcher when they drafted him, but I think he’ll end up at either 3B or 1B.

Would love to see Warren as a 3B.

[narwhalattack]

you are right but Gatewood was drafted in 14 and Erceg in 16. Brewers have been obsessed with up the middle players and power arms and have let corner IF slide.

 

Perhaps the rationale is that other than for up the middle guys having more trade value, if they don’t stick at their positions a good bunch of them end up at corner IF positions anyway. Albeit so far we’re still very thin in the corner IF positions.

[balsamlaker]

Only more years will tell, but it wouldn't surprise me if the analytical Brewers treat the draft at the top similar to how NFL teams do trading down to gather more picks. If this is the case, maybe they have a top ten list for 2021 and if they are all gone then they are trying to cut a deal with one of a handful of college pitchers they like that may or may not be there at 33.

[LouisEly]

Burnes was actually projected to go much higher.

By which general managers and scouting directors?

 

He was passed on by every team multiple times, which says that they didn't think he had "electric stuff".

[MilwaukeeBeers]

Baseball America 2021 MLB Staff Draft

 

BA did a staff draft for the 1st two rounds and Ben Badler did the selections on behalf of the Brewers. Below were his Brewers draft picks:

 

[pre]Round Pick Slot Value Selection Pos. BA Rank School

1 15 $3,885,800 Harry Ford C 17 North Cobb HS, Kennesaw, Ga.

CBA 33 $2,202,200 Peyton Stovall 2B 33 Haughton (La.) HS

2 51 $1,436,900 Peter Heubeck RHP 105 Gilman HS, Baltimore[/pre]

Lord that would be a haul with the first two picks! Sign me up!!!

[narwhalattack]

Some new mocks today:

 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/31782968/2021-mlb-mock-draft-30-kiley-mcdaniel-predicts-first-two-rounds

 

Jordan Wicks, LHP, Kansas State

 

Wicks has some similarities with Ethan Small, a recent Brewers first round pick. This is also a pretty open mix, with Hoglund, Will Bednar, Jay Allen, Madden, Harry Ford and Cowser all mentioned.

 

https://theathletic.com/2696906/2021/07/09/2021-mlb-mock-draft-3-0-kumar-rocker-to-the-rangers-jack-leiter-to-tigers-in-keith-laws-latest/

 

15. Milwaukee Brewers: Harry Ford, C, North Cobb (GA) HS

This name has come up a few times with the Brewers already, as they’ve scouted him heavily and seem to buy into his bat, even with questions about his ultimate position.

[nate82]

I was just about to post the athletic piece. I think Wicks is out though he could be the pick if Ford is not there. It seems as though the Brewers have been scouting him heavily.

 

I don't believe Ford will be a catcher and will instead either end up at 1B or 3B. So for all the people who are looking for that corner infielder this would be your guy.

[narwhalattack]

I don't believe Ford will be a catcher and will instead either end up at 1B or 3B. So for all the people who are looking for that corner infielder this would be your guy.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Even if he doesn't stick at catcher, if the bat is legit he'd be a much needed talent at the corner IF positions.

[patrickgpe]

I agree also. I think this is my top guy that could go around the middle of the 1st. WIsh they could get a college corner IF, but that guy doesn't exist on day 1. Also why i have been pushing Binelas as a early Monday guy.

[MilwaukeeBeers]

If not in the comp or even more preferably the second round Jordan Wicks would be as disappointing as it gets for the Brewers. Wicks is safe, but man I just do not believe that he is a first round talent by any means. Middle (ceiling) to bottom of the rotation type of guy with decent stuff. Put the cojones on the table a go for upside here. Doug Nikhazy would be a much better value later if we’re going for that Ethan Small archetype.

 

Harry Ford is an electric bat you can see the ability pop. Such a quiet load, so quick to the ball, and so many tools to work with behind the dish. Absolute unicorn if he sticks at catcher comparable to JT Realumuto when it comes to the tools. Bat plays at any corner spot. We also have arguably one of the best catcher development depts in all of baseball.

[nate82]

If not in the comp or even more preferably the second round Jordan Wicks would be as disappointing as it gets for the Brewers. Wicks is safe, but man I just do not believe that he is a first round talent by any means. Middle (ceiling) to bottom of the rotation type of guy with decent stuff. Put the cojones on the table a go for upside here. Doug Nikhazy would be a much better value later if we’re going for that Ethan Small archetype.

 

Harry Ford is an electric bat you can see the ability pop. Such a quiet load, so quick to the ball, and so many tools to work with behind the dish. Absolute unicorn if he sticks at catcher comparable to JT Realumuto when it comes to the tools. Bat plays at any corner spot. We also have arguably one of the best catcher development depts in all of baseball.

 

I disagree on Wicks. His changeup is a really good pitch and if he can develop a third pitch with the Brewers he can be a #2 or #3 type pitcher. Changeups are one of the better pitches a pitcher can throw as it adds velocity to a pitchers fastball. A really good changeup can add about 5 MPH to their fastball which allows the pitcher to get away with pitches that are normally crushed due to a weak fastball in terms of velocity.

 

Let me expand on this. Wicks if he can develop a third pitch his ceiling is that of Cole Hamels. So if you believe he can develop a third pitch he is very much comparable to someone like Hamels who topped out at 94MPH with his fastball. It all depends on if you think Wicks can develop a third pitch or not. If he can't or it is only an average pitch then yes his ceiling would then be that of Small.

[PDCBalla]

Anyone have any good mlb draft podcasts or brewers related draft podcasts?

[brewers888]

With all that consensus on Wicks you really have to expect him to be the pick.

[nate82]

With all that consensus on Wicks you really have to expect him to be the pick.

 

Again with this there is no consensus on Wicks being the Brewers pick. If you even read what the mock draft pickers are putting in their comments as to why they think the Brewers are taking Wicks you will see it is just a blind guess. They are only picking Wicks because he is similar to a player the Brewers have picked in the past. The only mock draft pick that has even mentioned a player connected to the Brewers was the Ford one.

[CheeseheadInQC]

If you want to make the case that Wicks is the most likely pick, fine. There is a case to be made for it, especially if you are like me and are skeptical Ford lasts until 15. But if someone offers you any player vs the field, take the field. If someone offered you any three guesses vs. the field, I might take the field. I am not sure I have seen a compelling reason to say any player has a better than 15-20% chance of getting picked by the Brewers.

[patrickgpe]

With all that consensus on Wicks you really have to expect him to be the pick.

seems like an obsession at this point. Again these writers / bloggers are not GM's and have no idea what is in the brewers draft brass' head. RELAX

[Eye Black]

Anyone have any good mlb draft podcasts or brewers related draft podcasts?

The Keith Law Show - Talking Draft w/Jonathan Mayo

 

Baseball America Future Projection - Episode 14: A 2021 Draft Preview & Roundtable

 

FanGraphs Chin Music, Episode 21: Giant Pieces of Foam

 

All of those can also be found in the normal places podcasts are available.

 

For Brewers specific draft content check out the “Cold Brew Podcast”, they interviewed Joe Doyle from Prospects Live during the second half of the podcast they released today.

 

Also, if you search “Kiley McDaniel” in the Apple store he has appeared on a number of draft focused podcasts including one Red Sox centric podcast (SoxProspects.com) I occasionally listen to.

[brewers888]

With all that consensus on Wicks you really have to expect him to be the pick.

 

Again with this there is no consensus on Wicks being the Brewers pick. If you even read what the mock draft pickers are putting in their comments as to why they think the Brewers are taking Wicks you will see it is just a blind guess. They are only picking Wicks because he is similar to a player the Brewers have picked in the past. The only mock draft pick that has even mentioned a player connected to the Brewers was the Ford one.

 

How can you say there is no consensus on Wicks when pretty much every mock from multiple sources has him as the pick with Ford the only other player getting serious mention.

[brewers888]

Maybe Wicks won't be the pick and personally I would go with more upside but nearly every outlet that mocks the draft has him as the pick and it would be foolish to outright dismiss it.

[brewmann04]

Could they go with Hogulnd?

[nate82]

 

How can you say there is no consensus on Wicks when pretty much every mock from multiple sources has him as the pick with Ford the only other player getting serious mention.

 

Because they are just guesses at this time. If you look at the ones that were correct in the past you will see that they talk about how the Brewers heavily scouted them and or brought them in for a workout. There is only one pick that has mentioned this and that is the Ford one.

 

All of the others are just picking Wicks because he is similar to Small. So basically just a guess on their part not really a consensus that is who the Brewers will pick at #15.

 

The mocks have not been right since the Brewers picked Ray. They didn't have Medeiros, Hiura, Mitchell or Small going to the Brewers at all they didn't even have Turang going to the Brewers. So again no consensus on who the Brewers are going to take.

[brewers888]

 

How can you say there is no consensus on Wicks when pretty much every mock from multiple sources has him as the pick with Ford the only other player getting serious mention.

 

Because they are just guesses at this time. If you look at the ones that were correct in the past you will see that they talk about how the Brewers heavily scouted them and or brought them in for a workout. There is only one pick that has mentioned this and that is the Ford one.

 

All of the others are just picking Wicks because he is similar to Small. So basically just a guess on their part not really a consensus that is who the Brewers will pick at #15.

 

The mocks have not been right since the Brewers picked Ray. They didn't have Medeiros, Hiura, Mitchell or Small going to the Brewers at all they didn't even have Turang going to the Brewers. So again no consensus on who the Brewers are going to take.

 

It was widely known at least the day of the draft that Medeiros was likely to be the pick.