Awild102

From the JS Online article: Are the Brewers mishandling their pitching prospects? Do other organizations have this much trouble developing pitching prospects? What can be done to prevent these types of injuries to our developing young arms?

Pat Gillick is unlikely to trade Shane Victorino. Despite all appearances of a "friendship" with our Assistant GM Gord Ash, many believe that Gillick has never quite forgiven Ash for the Blue Jays' demise once Ash ascended to the GM spot as Gillick's successor.

The real question regarding the Rogers as the #1 pick is WHY didn't Jack Z pick Homer Bailey?

In 2002, Jack Zduriencik drafted 1st-rounder 1B-Prince Fielder (#7 overall, $2.4 million) and 2nd-rounder SS-Josh Murray (# 48 overall, $825,000). Murray played at Tampa (FL) Jesuit HS, while right across Tampa Bay, Cubs 2nd-rounder 1B-Brian Dopirak (#56 overall, $740,000) played at Dunedin (FL) HS. Dopirak (2004 stats below) was the Cubs 2004 Minor League Player of the Year and is headed to AA in 2005. Although Fielder is headed to AAA, Murray has failed to produce. For $1 million less than the $3.25 million Zduriencik spent on the Fielder/Murray combo, he could have gotten Dopirak and Padres 1st-rounder SS-Khalil Greene (#13 overall, $1.5 million). For a low-budget team like the Brewers, $1 million saved is a lot. Also, in 2002, 10 out of Zduriencik's 42 draft picks were from the state of Florida. Isn't that an awfully high percentage of Florida kids? www.baseballamerica.com/t...ign02.html www.baseballamerica.com/c...%2C+prince www.baseballamerica.com/c...k%2C+brian www.baseballamerica.com/c...ay%2C+josh

Looks like the Brewers beat the odds. Isn't the Baker family heir to the Swanson Foods' fortune? Rumor has it that Berkman was the one who had to sign a pre-nuptial agreement when he married Baker's sister, not the other way around. Glad to see that Baker was the first (maybe only?) of his Rice teammates to sign and play. More power to him.

Josh Baker 2004 Stats Baker ended his first pro season with a 3.66 ERA in 51.2 IP with 20 BB and 44 SO.

I look forward to part 2 colbyjack. Thanks for the welcome.

Thanks for the link colbyjack. As a new poster, I appreciate the tip.

Besides Weeks' brother Jemile, the list includes Tampa Bay 1st-rounder BJ Upton's brother Justin at #1 and Texas 1st-rounder John Danks' brother Jordan at #7.

Whatever happened to Brewer's 2001 7th-round pick Taylor McCormack? McCormack appears to have been overdrafted by Jack Z. for a $175,000 signing bonus. According to player stats found on www.milb.com, McCormack spent all of his 3 pro seasons at the Rookie level Arizona League with very disappointing results. BA: Brewers 2001 Draft Taylor McCormack Signed by Brewers for $175, 000

Good article. Experts generally agree that drafts can be properly evaluated after about 5 years, making this a very timely article. Zduriencik's 2000 draft has a glaring lack of worthwhile pitching which continues to be a problem through 2004. Krynzel and Hart are the two last men standing, so it will be interesting to see what happens with them in 2005. BA: Brewers 2000 Draft List