2008 Draft Resource Thread

[DAS1410]

Thanks CJ

[TooLiveBrew]

Jim Callis has his first mock-draft (Rd. 1) up at BA. I'd paste the whole thing, but it'd be a monster-post.

 

Linkage

[splitterpfj]

Here's a good article on the Pirates' recent drafts, and plans for this one.

 

Has any team had worse management in the last decade?

 

http://www.timesonline.com/articles/2008/05/19/sports/pirates/doc48324cf5ebdf3902480966.txt

[Never Outhustled]

Every time someone suggests we should draft college pitchers because HS pitchers get hurt, I'm tempted to post a Pirates logo.

[colbyjack]

I have updated the Brewerfan.net draft database so there are now 100 player profiles for your reading pleasure. I have updated the top 30 prospects, and actually all 100 players listed are ranked as I see them 1-100. I will point out that there are a few players missing in the top 100 that probably should be there (no more than 10), and a couple of players currently listed (Luke Burnett standing out the most) that probably shouldn't, since they were added to the database around the New Year, but at least I reached my goal of 100.

 

http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewDraftArchive.do?draftId=6

 

Look for the annual draft preview story to hit the homepage at some point next week.

[Bambis Bombers]

On his May 25th blog entry, ESPN's Keith Law indicates that Jack Z. reportedly skipped all conference tournaments to watch prep shortstop Anthony Hewitt.

LINK (will need ESPN Insider Access)

[colbyjack]

Thanks for sharing that Bambis Bombers. Hewitt is a natural fit for the Brewers, as are guys like Casey Kelly and Zach Collier.

[Bambis Bombers]

SaberScouting releases it's top 25 draft prospect rankings

 

LINK

It will expand to a top 100 list over the next seven days.

 

EDIT: Top 100 is now posted - LINK

[Bambis Bombers]

According to BA's Matt Blood, the Brewers and Mets have an interest in UNC-Wilmington's Brad Holt.

 

Here is the link to the entire post.

[Bambis Bombers]

Keith Law has just posted his first round mock draft on the ESPN Insiders site. He has the Brewers picking high school RHP Ethan Martin.

 

CJ, he has Brett Lawrie going 22 to the Mets.

 

LINK (will require an Insider password)

[battlekow]

As of last night, Keith Law says Lawrie isn't going to make it to #16.

[Bambis Bombers]

Battlekow, in his June 1 ESPN Insiders blog entry, Keith Law hints that the Reds are considering Lawrie at 7.

[battlekow]

That would suck.

[Bambis Bombers]

In his June 1 ESPN Insider blog entry, Keith Law mentions that the Brewers (and Baltimore) are considering University of San Francisco lefty Evan Fredrickson as a possible second-round pick.

 

LINK (will require an Insider password)

[Bambis Bombers]

In his May 30 chat, BA's Jim Callis indicates the Brewers are considering athletes (Zach Collier, Anthony Hewitt) or high-ceiling high school pitchers (Tim Melville, Ethan Martin) with their first pick.

 

LINK

[Bambis Bombers]

MLB.com's Jonathon Mayo has updated his mock draft this morning. He has the Brewers drafting Brett Lawrie at 16. In the previous version of his mock draft, Mayo had the Brewers selecting Anthony Hewitt.

 

LINK

[Bambis Bombers]

ESPN's Gerry Fraley with a nice artice about the Brewers' early round bonanza in the upcoming draft. The Brewers will have the freedom to make at least one risky, high-upside selection. In the artice, Melvin and Zduriencik both say the club has the financial resources to sign all the picks.

 

The artice also looks at selected instances in past drafts where clubs had multiple early picks, as Milwaukee does this year.

[Bambis Bombers]

The Cap Times just posted this article about the upcoming Brewer draft. BF.net draft guru Patrick Ebert is extensively quoted in the article. Many of the usual suspects (Hewitt, Lawrie, Martin, Melville) are mentioned as first round possibilities.

[tigerbrew]

I'm getting really excited to watch tomorrow's draft. Lots of Brewers' action with six picks in the first 62, one of the most momentous drafts in franchise history indeed.

[battlekow]

Kevin Goldstein's BP Mock Draft

 

[EDIT] Upon reviewing this a bit, I think it kinda sucks. I thought it was widely known that the Pirates were taking Alvarez #2, and the Brewers taking Jason Castro?

[Bambis Bombers]

I agree with Battlekow's low opinion of the BP mock draft. The Castro selection by the Brewers smells like a "need" pick, which is totally contrary to Jack Z's drafting style. It also is sounding like KC is focused on Hosmer at #3.

[Bambis Bombers]

David Rawnsley of Perfect Game Crosschecker posts this article on the eve of the draft. There are a couple of Brewer references. The first is to question the speculation that the Brewers will draft Jemile Weeks:

 

I'm not sure why there is speculation that the Brewers will take Miami second baseman Jemile Weeks with one of their six picks in the first 62. It's a lose/lose situation for the Brewers. They already have a second baseman named Weeks. If Richie learns to hit (he's currently batting barely .200 and has yet to prove he's an every day big league hitter), then there isn't a spot for Jemile. If Richie doesn't hit, then how does Doug Melvin go before Milwaukee fans and say, "The last Weeks didn't hit, but they are brothers and very similar athletes, we think this one will hit.

 

The second Brewer reference is in regard to the selection of LaPorta in the 2007 draft.

Last year's head-scratcher in the first round was the previously-mentioned LaPorta, drafted by Milwaukee with the seventh overall pick. The converted first baseman was hitting .288-13-43 in his first 50 games in Double-A, and has left everyone saying, "Why didn't we think of that?"

 

And just for Battlekow, here what Rawsley had to say about the object of his man crush:

The more and more I hear about Canadian Brett Lawrie and his hitting ability, the more impressed I am. Lawrie could be drafted before the Toronto Blue Jays get a shot at him at No. 17. I had an interesting conversation with righthander Stosh Wawreszek, who has played with Lawrie through the years, at Perfect Game's Pre-Draft Showcase in mid-May. Stosh, who throws 90-93 mph with a 78-mph curveball, pitched to Lawrie on various British Columbia and Team Canada squads since Lawrie took up catching last year. At the beginning, Stosh related, Lawrie couldn't catch a thing and was a danger to himself. But by late this spring, Lawrie had improved so much that he considered him the best catcher he had ever thrown to and had complete confidence in him in all regards.

[Oldcity]

The guy writes for Perfect Game and he doesn't know it's Rickie? Yikes.

 

So are there any final predictions? Sounds like main favorites are Lawrie, Hewitt, Fields, Weeks, Melville?

[Bambis Bombers]

Saberscouting completes its mock draft and has the Brewers taking Brett Lawrie or Ethan Martin at 16, Jemile Weeks at 32 and Aaron Weatherford at 35. They also have more information the draft status of Tanner Scheppers and the bonus demands of Buster Posey.