Inside The Milwaukee Brewers Players Project: First Round Pitchers That Didn’t Pan Out

Rick O'Keeffe
Rick O'Keeffe was rated as one of the top pitchers going into the 1975 MLB Amateur Draft. Dozens of pro and college scouts attended every game O'Keeffe pitched for Yorktown (New York) High School his senior year. Despite the pressure, O'Keeffe pitched three no-hitters during his final high school season. When draft day came, Milwaukee chose the 6-foot-6 red-headed left-hander with the fifth pick in the first round. He was tabbed before players such as Rick Cerone, Clint Hurdle, and Dale Berra. 

O'Keeffe had two decent seasons in the low minors for Milwaukee but was traded to Cincinnati in his third season. The Reds hoped the southpaw could harness his control, but that didn't happen, as O'Keeffe had a walk rate of 11.4% over five-plus seasons in the Reds organization. Cincinnati gave up and traded him to Toronto. After one forgettable season in the Blue Jays chain, O'Keeffe missed all of 1983 due to injuries. After making one final attempt in 1984, O'Keeffe retired from baseball.

J.M. Gold
J.M. Gold had credentials similar to those of Rick O'Keeffe. Gold was a tall, lanky, right-handed pitcher from the East Coast (Toms River, New Jersey), one of the top prospects as a senior in high school. Peter Gammons had Gold as the #2 high school prospect in the 1998 MLB Draft. Milwaukee grabbed him as the 13th overall pick in the first round. After a tough season at Single-A Beloit, Gold injured his arm in 2000 and underwent Tommy John surgery. Returning to rookie ball in 2001, Gold did well and was promoted to High-A High Desert in 2002. His season began with him being robbed at gunpoint and suffering from pneumonia and ended with shoulder surgery that summer.

In 2003, Gold once again had shoulder woes and had major shoulder surgery in October. After failing to recover from his injuries, the Brewers released Gold in May 2004.

Kodi Medeiros
Kodi Medeiros was the Hawaii Player of the Year 2014 as a pitcher after being named to the 2013 All-State team as an outfielder. Medeiros returned to the mound in 2014, had a monster year, and was picked 12th by the Brewers in the first round. The southpaw had issues with control, allowing walks at a rate of 11.1% over four-plus seasons in the Brewers organization. 

In 2018, Medeiros was part of a trade that saw reliever Joakim Soria come to Milwaukee. Medeiros had an okay season at Double-A Birmingham in 2018, but his 2019 season at the same stop was plagued with wildness and injury. He sat out the Covid season of 2020 and returned the following year but scuffled at Triple-A Charlotte with an ERA of 5.52 in 30 appearances. He was released by the White Sox and signed with the Los Angeles Angels before the 2022 season. After just 10 games at Triple-A Salt Lake, Medeiros was released. He announced his retirement the following March.

O'Keeffe, Gold, and Medeiros all looked like slam-dunk, sure-fire future big leaders, but injuries and a lack of progress scuttled their careers before they could even get a sip of Starbucks at the big-league level. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out how you want it to.

Are you interested in Brewers history? Then check out the Milwaukee Brewers Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Brewers uniform!