batman

Round 43: Kyle Eveland - 2B 5'10", 175 lbs - Palmdale HS - California Newspaper and web coverage: He is the younger brother of Dana Eveland. Diamond King Baseball Player Profile: dkings.com/players/report...ayerID=804 Strong, medium frame, middle infielder with broad shoulders and powerful legs. Runs well and is aggressive on the bases, applies pressure to the defense. Offensively, Kyle, is a contact hitter who hits a lot of line drives, has the ability to drive the ball into the gaps. Bat speed was above average with good balance and quick hands. Very consistent defensively, shows above average lateral movement, can get to balls up the middle and in the hole. Arm strength was very good during the combine workout, consistent release point, makes throws that are easy to handle. Stays low and balanced on ground balls with his hands out front. Confident player who competes very hard and is not afraid to make the difficult play. Baseball Resource Player Profile: www.baseballresource.com/...M2Pwhr0D43 (Includes his email address... leave him alone! ) He was named to the All Southern California 2nd Team (Classes 2005-2006). ~Bill

Two Canucks with the most recent two picks, and that. The latest, Chris Copot, is a catcher who actually plays for a school in Canada. EDIT: I knew I recognized that name. Copot was selected by the Brewers in the 2004 draft and was a D&F candidate. ~Bill

Round 42: Chris Copot - C 6'2", 175 lbs - Lethbridge CC - Canada Newspaper and web coverage: Copot was selected by the Brewers in the 35th round of the 2004 draft and was D&F eligible. From Patrick Ebert's DFE Article: Copot, like Patterson, plays for the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge, Alberta. The first of two draft and follow catching candidates, Copot is a similar prospect to Clay Blevins, a draft and follow candidate from a year ago, in that he bats left-handed and is more refined at the plate offensively than he is behind it defensively. He has good size and athleticism at 6'3", 185, and starred in hockey as a hard-hitting defenseman as a Calgary prepster. Copot has the perfect no-nonsense demeanor to don the tools of ignorance. ~Bill

Round 41: Jordan Lennerton - 1B 6'2", 215 lbs - El Paso CC - Texas http://langleyblaze.com/04roster/images/1.jpg Newspaper and web coverage: Another Canadian, Lennerton hails from Langley, British Columbia where he starred on the Langley Blaze in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. Langley Blaze Player Profile: http://langleyblaze.com/04roster/04_rosterview.php?key=1 From Team One: Pure left hitter with power to both fields. Works counts, appreciates balls and strikes. He was rated as a Team One Top-50 HS First-Baseman in 2004 (7th) and a Team One Top-200 High School Senior (110th). He was a teammate of Venndette's on the Canadian National Team. From SLAM Sports, 04-20-2004: The toughest state to hit a home run in is Florida. Why? Because the winds are always blowing, seldom out, and all the minor-league parks are built to hold the home run sluggers who spent six weeks there each spring. The fences at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. held Jordan Lennerton. But just barely as the Single-A Houston Astros edged Team Canada 4-2. Lennerton (Langley, BC) hit three doubles as the Canadian Junior National Team fell to 1-2 on its Florida trip. With the Astros farmhands leading 2-0, Lennerton doubled to right in the third, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a ground ball by catcher Joel Collins (Richmond, Hill, Ont.). Lennerton hit his third double of the game with out out in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate with none out. Two strikeouts and a ground ball to first ended the Team Canada threat. Canada scored its second run earlier in the ninth when Mike Saunders (Victoria, BC) led off with a triple and scored on a balk. Lefty Dan Zehr (Guelph, Ont.) pitched three innings, being touched for a pair of runs in the second inning. Zehr hit a batter and after a bunt single a fly ball out and a stolen base, put runners on second and third. The next hitter delivered the only hit to the outfield -- a two-run single to centre. Right-hander David Clark pitched a scoreless fourth and then the Astros farmhands scored in the fifth against lefty Morgan Carlile (Summerside, PEI). He allowed a one-out double to Alvaro Ezponisa, who stole third and scored on a fly ball. Working in his second inning Sebastien Vendette (Laval, Que.) allowed three-straight singles in the eighth. At the plate, Issael Gonzalez (Montreal, Que.) had a 2-for-3 days, while Cory Wiltshire (Bowen Island, BC) also had a pair of hits. Next, Team Canada plays the Detroit Tigers farmhands. He was selected in the 50th round of the 2004 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He received Honorable Mention honors for the Western Junior College Athletic All-Conference Team. ~Bill

The Crew selected Ryan Crew, a shortstop for UT-San Antonio, in the 40th round. EDIT: We're in the midst of a ten minute break. Derek Jeter would like to remind you that "if you believe in yourself, you can do it." What happened the last two nights, Captain? Didn't you believe? ~Bill

Round 40: Ryan Crew - SS 6'0", 175 lbs - University of Texas-San Antonio - Texas http://www.goutsa.com/images/baseball/2005mugs/crew_ryan_mugw.jpg Newspaper and web coverage: UT-San Antonio Player Profile: http://www.goutsa.com/baseball/bios/crew.asp ~Bill

The Athletics declined to take a 39th rounder... what the heck? They're done. ~Bill

The Brewers again mined that old reliable community college, Cowley County, with 39th round pick Brad Miller (a SS). ~Bill

Round 39: Bradley Miller - SS 6'0", 185 lbs - Cowley County CC - Kansas http://www.cowleytigers.com/images/baseballimages/bradmiller.jpg Newspaper and web coverage: This was his freshman season at Cowley County and he was named the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division Freshman of the Year. He was also named to the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division First-Team at shortstop and to the All Region VI Team. From Cowley County's Player Profile: Dual player with great potential. Will pitch in the starting rotation and play shortstop when he is not scheduled to pitch. Named to the Oklahoma Sunbelt Team and Oklahoma All-State Team as a senior at Latta High School. ~Bill

Good questions, Greg... I'll definitely chime in with my thoughts once the draft is over (too busy at the moment http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ). Chris Jean's stats are very good... he looks like a steal. I would guess that his velocity is terrible or he throws sidearm or something... otherwise he looks like someone who would have gone closer to round 20 than round 40. ~Bill

Wow, Putnam just went now in the 38th. The Brewers took Chris Jean, a RHP from Texas State. ~Bill

Round 38: Christopher Jean - RHP 6'4", 175 lbs - Texas State University - Texas http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/txst/sports/m-basebl/auto_headshot/119802.jpeg Newspaper and web coverage: Texas State Player Profile: http://txstatebobcats.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/jean_chris00.html He played his prep ball at Burleson High School in Texas. He went 7-5 with a 4.24 ERA in 16 games, all starts. In 91 and a third innings, he struck-out 75 and walked 32 while holding opponents to a .262 batting average and just four homers. ~Bill

I would think that they would have signed him as a D&F if they were planning on signing him... my guess is that he'll be DFE again this year at Lake City. The Brewers must really like him. ~Bill

Round 37: Christopher Hopkins - CF 5'11", 170 lbs - Sierra JC - California http://www.sierracollege.edu/ed_programs/physical_education_and_athletics/bb/bbimages/whopkins.jpg Newspaper and web coverage: From the Sierra College website: Year: Freshman High School: Bishop O'Dowd High School Coach: Joel Kaufman Height: 5'10" Weight: 160 Bats: R Throws: R Major: Undecided Parents: Asha & Jerry McDowell Sports Acheivements: 1st team HAAL 2004 baseball: team captain 2004: offensive MVP and 2nd team all HAAL 2003 Football: 2nd team All ANG baseball: went to China when I was 13 to play baseball: voted MVP at Dusty Baker school of baseball at 13. Favorites: Pro Team: Atlanta Braves Pro Athlete: Ken Griffey, Jr. TV Show: MTV Cribs Music:Rap Role Model: My brother ~Bill

Amazingly, the Brewers took the same player in the 36th round this year that they did last year. Stephen Barnes, a right-hander from Lake City CC, must be feeling a little deja vu right about now. ~Bill

Round 37: Stephen Barnes - RHP 6'3", 215 lbs - Lake City CC - Florida http://img117.echo.cx/img117/5681/barnes5cm.jpg (Full-Size Photo) Newspaper and web coverage: Was selected by the Brewers last season in the 36th round (remarkable coincidence). From Patrick Ebert's Draft and Follow Article: Barnes is a good sized righty (6'3", 215) that has shown a powerful arm, but has struggled to consistently pitch in the 90s. His curveball also flashes plus potential, but he needs to tighten his mechanics to become a more consistent pitcher. From his Head Coach at Lake City CC, Tom Clark: "Barnes was shut down for most of the fall with some tenderness in his forearm, so we decided to not take any chances with him. He should be fine for the spring though and hopefully will grab one of our starting rotation spots. When I saw him in the spring he was 89-91 with a curve, slider and a change up. Had excellent control. If he is healthy he should play a large role on our team." Like Johnson, Barnes needs to show consistency, and if he does while staying healthy, there's a good chance he'll be added to the farm system by June. ~Bill

Vendette is another Canuck, and that. ~Bill

Round 35: Sebastien Vendette - RHP 6'0", 165 lbs - Northeastern Oklahoma A&M - Oklahoma http://www.neoam.edu/~baseball/Sebastin_Vendette-w.jpg Newspaper and web coverage: He was selected in the 36th round of the 2004 draft by the Florida Marlins. He hails from Laval, Quebec and went to Ahuntsic College High School. This was his freshman season at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (home of the Horsemen). From SLAM Sports, 05-26-2004: RP Sebastien Vendette was brilliant. RHP Nicolas Bleau (Mercier, Que.) and RP Morgan Carlile (Charlottetown, PEI) weren't bad either. If Team Canada's pitchers hold the opposition to two earned runs, it should be good enough right. Well, it may be early and the pitchers may be ahead of the hitters, or however, that old spring training saying goes. Yet, the Canadian National Junior Team stranded a total of 10 runners in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies Rookie-Class Dominican summer league team at Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. (Boca Chica of course is the where former Blue Jays MVP George Bell, in 1987, has his orange groves.) So, Team Canada won its first game against the Blue Jays and then dropped its next two. Both were winnable games, as they stranded 21 runners in its previous two contests. Vendette (Laval, Que.) pitched three scoreless innings for coach Greg Hamilton (Ottawa, Ont.) The righty had one blemish on his outing -- a base hit -- while striking out four. Vendette impressed with Academie du Baseball Canada on their March trip: Worked two scoreless innings, fanning four, in a game which ended in a 9-9 tie against the Ontario Blue Jays 18s at Cocoa Beach, Fla. Pitching two scoreless, striking out a pair, in a 4-0 ABC win over Team Ontario. Pitching two scoreless innings against the Single-A New York Mets at Port St. Lucie, Fla. Vendette faced only seven hitters, walking one, allowing one hit and striking out a pair. Working two innings in a 20-3 loss to the Single-A Atlanta Braves at Kissimmee, Fla. He allowed three hits, including a homer, while walking one and striking out three. Bleau started and allowed a run in each of the first two innings, one earned, one unearned, as he walked one and struck out two. Carlile allowed two hits in the seventh, a lead-off triple and a one-out single, and one run, while fanning three in his two innings. With the score 3-1 entering the top of the ninth, Steve Hornastaj (Waterloo, Ont.) walked and Tim Smith (Toronto, Ont.) singled, putting the tying run at first. Jordan Lennerton (Langley, BC), the home-run hero against the Jays, lined a hard-hit ball which was turned into a 4-6-3 double play, as Hornastaj moved to third. Issael Gonzalez (Montreal, Que.) singled to score Hornastaj and put the tying run on first, but Carl Moniz (Laval, Que.) grounded out to end the game. Canada cut the 2-0 deficit in half with a run in the fifth when Marc-Olivier Mimeault (St-Constant, Que.) walked and Andrew MacDonald (Charlottetown, PEI) hit a run-scoring double. Team Canada next plays the Cleveland Indians in team in Boca Chica. This eight-game tour was planned Canada in preparation for the XXII World yunior championships, Sept. 3-13 in Taipei, Taiwan. The team is facing Latin American players on minor-league teams of five MLB clubs. ~Bill

Riley Kjeldgaard certainly is the early favorite for the cool name award... he was selected in the 34th round out of Indian Hills CC. He's a right-hander. ~Bill

Round 34: Riley (Brock) Kjeldgaard - RHP 6'5", 215 lbs - Indian Hills CC - Iowa Newspaper and web coverage: He goes by the name Brock but his given name is Riley. He was named to the Region XI All-Academic first-team thanks to his perfect 4.0 grade point average. Predictably, he hails from London, Ontario, Canada. This was his freshman season at Indian Hills. He played in the Premier Baseball League of Ontario on the London Badgers. (LINK) From the London Badgers' website, 03-26-2005: Ex London Badgers A.J. Reed of Lambeth and Brock Kjeldgaard of London recently participated in the Pima Community College Wood Bat Tournament in Tucson Arizona over Spring Break. A.J. and Brock, good friends at home and roommates at Indian Hills Community College in Centerville Iowa, were instrumental in the Falcons 3rd place finish at this yearís tournament. Brock turned in a stellar performance on the mound in the bronze medal game against Cochise Community College of Douglas, Arizona scattering five hits over six innings. He struck out two and didnít walk a single batter. A.J.ís contributions were with the bat and the leather compiling a .611 batting average (11 for 18) including a home run, two triples and two doubles during his ten-day stay as well as providing solid defence at second base. For his efforts A.J. was named to the tournament all-star team along with fellow team-mate, third baseman Brian Joynt of Knoxville, Iowa. A.J. is fresh off a 2004 season at Indian Hills that saw him compile a .353 batting average. This included going 25 for 53 in the post season helping to lead his team to a 4th place finish at the Division I Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. Brock, a year younger, enjoyed similar success playing for the Badgers last summer as the perennial local baseball powerhouse won the bronze medal at the Canadian Midget Baseball Championships held in Edmonton, Alberta. Speaking of Western Canada, the ìboys of summerî have signed on to play for the Medicine Hat Mavericks of the Western Major Baseball League this summer where, amongst others, they will be competing against good friend and ex-Badger Ron Oneson of Ashland University who will be playing first base for the Calgary Dawgs! From the London Free Press, 01-28-2003: There are certain givens when it comes to baseball in London. Minor league professional baseball will come and go with someone always willing to give London yet another chance. The London Majors will be around forever with Arden Eddie owning them. And the London Badgers minor baseball organization will be one of the most successful in Canada, developing at least one outstanding prospect professional organizations would like to have in their systems. This year is no different. Mike Lumley, midget coach and technical co-ordinator for the Badger program, has his teams working out three or four times a week. There are regular conditioning sessions as well as weight training. He has what is becoming an annual trip to North and South Carolina planned for March. He has a core of returning players from a midget team that won the Ontario Baseball Association midget title. Every team needs a centrepiece and in this case, Lumley has several. He always tries to be understated because he knows that in just about any sport, fame can be fleeting. A kid who can hit a baseball now might never be able to hit it once he gets to another level. But Lumley is succinct when it comes to describing third baseman Jamie Romak. "He might be the best we've had," Lumley said. Now that's saying a mouthful, especially when one looks at Badgers alumni. "You look at his size, his projectability and he has unlimited potential," Lumley said. Romak was named the OBA senior player of the year last season. A year earlier, Badger Chris Robinson won the award. Robinson and Romak played on Canada's national junior team. Robinson is playing on a baseball scholarship at the University of Illinois, while Romak has signed a letter of intent to play at NCAA Division 1 South Alabama University. Romak has indicated he'll probably sign if he is offered a professional contract after the major league draft in June. The only player ranked ahead of him is Adam Loewen, a left-handed pitcher from Surrey, B.C., who was the highest Canadian ever drafted by major league baseball. He was taken fourth overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but has not signed a contract with them. If he doesn't sign, he'll go back into the draft. He'll be taken early. At six-foot-one and 215 pounds, he's a powerful player. He's rated the No. 2 Canadian player and is listed in the top 175 high school players by Baseball America. Lumley also has catcher Brian Blackburn in his lineup. Blackburn is a top prospect who hasn't made a decision on what school he will attend. Blackburn, who attended a camp at Western Michigan University recently, threw the ball to second base in 1.88 seconds. "Phenomenal," Lumley said. So the list goes on. It's an impressive list. Other players who are at university on scholarships besides Robinson are John Boom and Jeff Loveys at the University of Buffalo; Kevin Martin and Sean Latimer at Barton College; Chuck Roberts at Tuscalum College; Kevin Macdonald at St. Cloud University and Will Stewardson at Eastern Michigan. All are starters. And don't think the list stops there. Lumley is high on pitcher Brock Kjeldgaard, just turned 17. He's six-foot-four and has been timed at 85 miles an hour. Several of Lumley's players are doing tours at university baseball clinics. "It's the universities' way of recruiting without really recruiting for 17- and 18-year-olds. Kids aren't stupid. They know what's going on. They know the university coach is going to be there. They go down and the coach gets a look at them. We like them to go down because not only do they get exposure but they always learn a few things." As well as offering a good advertisement for the program, providing the other given in London baseball every year: the Badgers guarantee several youngsters the opportunity to obtain a quality education on and off the field. ~Bill

Filling in the recent picks: In round 31, the Brewers took first-baseman Patrick Murray from Marina High School in California. He is the first prep player selected on day two by Milwaukee. William Pennington was the 32nd round selection. He is a left-fielder for the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Finally, the Brewers opted for Puerto Rican Baseball Academy alum Jorge Core in round 33. He looks like a very intriguing pick. ~Bill

Round 33: Jorge Core - RHP 6'2", ? lbs - Puerto Rico Baseball Academy - Puerto Rico Newspaper and web coverage: Coming soon. ~Bill

Round 32: William Pennington - LF 6'4", 225 lbs - University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa - Alabama Newspaper and web coverage: Coming soon. ~Bill

Round 31: Patrick Murray - 1B 6'2", 230 lbs - Marina High School - California Newspaper and web coverage: Coming soon. ~Bill

What's the link to that one, molitor fan? EDIT: I'm gonna take a scheduled break along with the draft folks... I might not be back in time for the 31st pick, but I'll catch up... no worries. Thanks, ~Bill