Article: 2023 MLB Draft Day 2 Thread

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Jim Goulart]

8th round Indiana University RHP Craig Yoho, though he had eligibility remaining and had earlier declared he was transferring to Arkansas, has made a Brewers-friendly update to his Twitter Bio pointed out by this article.

[Kellerowl]

Austin averaged 95 mph this summer and topped 98. recovering from TJ in April 2022 so he is only 14 months from surgery. Had 20ks against 2 walks in 10 innings and 5 of 6 save opportunities this summer

[homer]

8 minutes ago, Kellerowl said:

Austin averaged 95 mph this summer and topped 98. recovering from TJ in April 2022 so he is only 14 months from surgery. Had 20ks against 2 walks in 10 innings and 5 of 6 save opportunities this summer

welcome to the board! 

[Kellerowl]

2 minutes ago, homer said:

welcome to the board! 

Thanks. Excited to be here

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 minute ago, Kellerowl said:

Thanks. Excited to be here

Glad to have you! If you're into draft stuff, be sure to check out our draft tracker and tomorrow morning, @Smichaelis9 is going to run through an analysis of every pick in the draft (two part series). It's *really* good stuff.

[Kellerowl]

6 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Glad to have you! If you're into draft stuff, be sure to check out our draft tracker and tomorrow morning, @Smichaelis9 is going to run through an analysis of every pick in the draft (two part series). It's *really* good stuff.

Very good stuff. They just released last weeks and for the season had 3 of the 5 fastest. 
Velocity Leaderboard

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Jenkins5]

On 7/12/2023 at 7:35 PM, Kellerowl said:

Very good stuff. They just released last weeks and for the season had 3 of the 5 fastest. 
Velocity Leaderboard

Awesome! What else do you know about him and the the stuff he has? Pitch mix? Being drafted by Brewers you naturally assume he can spin the ball really well. He is a tough one to find much info on. 

[Jim Goulart]

From Spencer Michaelis' Draft Takeaway article: Picks 1 - 10

Round 5, Pick 155 overall

Ryan Birchard, RHP Niagara County CC
"Like Boeve, Birchard was a player that I was a big fan of during the process and another that just felt like he would end up a Brewer. He has fantastic pitch characteristics on all three of his main pitches and was a Junior College arm. Everyone who follows the Brewers drafts knows how much they love those Juco arms. His fastball can reach up to 98 and sits in the 94-96 range with good carry. He was using a slider and changeup as his secondary pitches in the fall, but once he had made it through his season and into the draft league, he seemed to have scrapped the changeup in favor of a curveball. The slider and curveball have different shapes and are in different velocity bands. He should be just fine without the changeup. Some think he will end up in the bullpen long-term, but I personally do believe he can make it as a starter with his three-pitch mix. If he ends up falling back to a bullpen role, it could be a high-leverage type of arm and role."

***

Birchard, who just turned 20 on Wednesday (is very well-spoken), made four appearances for Trenton of the MLB Draft League after his community college season. At Trenton - 9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 16 K.

Here he's interviewed today (Friday AM 7/14) by Dan Tortora of DT Sports Media (focusing on central and upstate NY athletics). Ryan indicates he's flying out Sunday to head to Arizona!

It's nearly a full-hour interview and for Brewers prospect followers, is well worth your time to get to know young Mr. Birchard. Enjoy! (Auburn below refers to the city in NY state, not the campus in Alabama!)

Direct link to YouTube

 

[Kellerowl]

On 7/14/2023 at 11:32 AM, Jenkins5 said:

Awesome! What else do you know about him and the the stuff he has? Pitch mix? Being drafted by Brewers you naturally assume he can spin the ball really well. He is a tough one to find much info on. 

3 pitch mix. 4 seam with high spin and crazy IVB numbers. Change is solid and slider needs more horizontal break. Post Tommy John has become a real strike thrower vs pre TJ. Went to college as catcher and only pitching 3 ish years. Have video if you want

[JDBrewCrew]

 

[Jim Goulart]

AUDIO via the "Pack the Brew" Podcast: Interview with Brewers 10th round RHP Morris Austin out of Houston Christian University (go to the 27:25 minute mark)

Apple Podcast link is above, Spotify link here