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Hi Patrick- I'm sure you're right on Alex Jackson, he's projected as a top 5 pick anywhere you look, I have him at 5. I've moved Chavis from the fringe of the first round, to solidly in the first round - do you think the Brewers would actually take him at 12? My personal favorite bat, among those that should be available for Milwaukee, is Max Pentecost. The team has Lucroy in Milwaukee, and Coulter in the system, so they may look past a catcher in round one this year, but I like that kid.

This is my updated mock draft: Mock Draft 3.0 I say there's no way the Brewers take a high school bat where they are, it's not how things line up this year. Nick Gordon is the only HS bat I could see fitting where the Brewers pick, but it looks as though he'll be picked ahead of the Brewers' spot. A college bat is possible, I have no idea if the team likes Trea Turner enough to take him, or guys like Conforto, Schwarber and Pentecost. It could happen, but with the pitching talent available this year, I'd bet against it. A high school arm - maybe, I guess it depends on who goes in the first 11 spots. I would bet big on a college arm this year, that really looks like the most likely position on top of the draft board when the Brewers' first pick comes up. I think Kyle Freeland may have pitched his way ahead of the Brewers' pick, so I'll say the team picks from Finnegan, Newcomb, and Weaver. If it's not a reach, there's logic behind taking a bat first this year, because there are so many top pitchers this time. If there's a hitter the team thinks is worth their first pick, it looks like they could grab a pitcher with their Competitive Balance pick. I'll bet on the college arm in round one at this point.

I promised I wouldn't name the teams, but one MLB team invited Tyler to their predraft workout today, and a second contacted him to say they will be inviting him to theirs as well. The team that invited him today holds their predraft in a minor league stadium, the second team hold theirs in their MLB stadium, so you can imagine, Tyler is over the moon right now. A third team, hey let's go with the ever popular, "mystery team" sent him their questionnaire today, basically a psychological profile. This one was an AL team that Tyler had never heard from before. They'd been to see him more than once, and he didn't even know it, because they'd never spoken to him. Me: "Tyler how are you feeling, the arm, emotions, all of it?" Tyler: "Arm's great, emotions are in check, I have a season to finish. Goal at the beginning of the season was to be an All-American, didn't matter which team. Now, I want everything possible, and first team All-American. I'll worry about the draft when I'm done."

Jonathan Mayo's latest draft prospect rankings... http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2014/#list=draft

1. I don't care what Keith Law thinks. 2. The Brewers have done a nice job of working around failed draft picks, using free agency, trades, the signing of Aoki, and the Rule 5 draft to bring in talent. 3. In Peralta, Thornburg, Gennett and Davis, the Brewers are proving they haven't whiffed, they are getting as much as can be expected out of that group, with Jimmy Nelson knocking on the door. The team absolutely does deserve some credit for developing contributors. Still, there is no doubt, the team dug a hole in the farm system when too many top picks missed the mark. Arnett, Heckathorn, Jungmann, and Bradley - I don't think the team reached for any of them, but collectively, to this point, they've been a waste of time. Maybe the team will still get something out of some of these guys, I sure hope they do, but their failure to live up to the spots they were picked in, on the heels of so many young players being traded out, left the team with far too little to work with on the farm. In the last two drafts, the team has added Coulter, Roache, T Williams, Haniger, D Williams, Neuhaus, and Brent Suter, young kids who all may have a big league future. Williams and Neuhaus are a million miles away right now, but they were sound picks, and the others I just listed all look like they may have a shot. The team has also gotten much more aggressive in Latin America, it's too early to know, but that should have a positive impact as well. I can see why the system is seen as weak right now, most of the best talent is in the bottom half of the system at this point, with a lot left to prove. If the team hits on a kid or two from the international signings, and the kids at Brevard and Appleton get to the point where they look good in AA, the rankings will change quickly. That time is not now, those players need to develop at the correct pace. They'll get there...just go forward from here, and the worst may already be over for the system.

http://dowlingathletics.com/news/2014/4/25/BB_0425141325.aspx?path=baseball Tyler's streak of consecutive IP without an ER is now at 69.2, and today he broke his school's all-time single season strikeout record.

One NL team has told me flat out, "Badamo should have been picked last year, we have him in for this year."

bump

Naturally. http://espn.go.com/mlb/powerrankings I get it, small sample, etc, and I know most of the world thought the Brewers would be a pretty vanilla team this year, but the hot start has forced people to show some respect....sort of.

Here's where I'm at right now. Mock Draft Mac Marshall and Michael Chavis just missed the first round for me, I also don't have Gillaspie or Bukauskus in there. I think Bukauskus is the most interesting of the four, for the reason Patrick gave. When is the last time you saw a kid add 10 MPH to his fastball in one season? I think he'll probably go in the first round, but I honestly don't know where to put him right now. This is a unique situation, those of you who want a safe pitcher, and those of you who want an upside pitcher, may all wind up happy. With so many pitchers pushing higher up the board, the Brewers may very well end up with a safer pick than the stereotypical upside guy, while also getting more raw talent than the typical safe pick. Right now, I absolutely do not see the Brewers taking a high school bat in round one. I suppose a college bat is at least possible, but matching the scouting reports I'm seeing with the spot the Brewers pick in, at number 12, I suspect the Crew will be picking from a short list of pitchers when their turn comes up.

Colby, I have Newcomb going right ahead of the Brewers, to Toronto at #11. Assuming that, and also assuming the Brewers will select a pitcher first, I went with Weaver. You've got a great point with Freeland, I hadn't realized how much his stock has risen until you suggested him here as the Brewers' pick. For those of you who don't know, Kyle Freeland, of Evansville, has gone from, "might be a first round pick", to, "might be gone by the time the Brewers pick." I'll stick with Weaver as my guess, but the more I look at things, the more convinced I become that Milwaukee will take a pitcher in the first round, whether that was their intent or not. Right now, I have 11 pitchers going in the first 15 picks.

Tyler just texted me, he said, "Philly seems happy." That's the first time I've heard they even knew his name.

That's so awesome! I hadn't seen that, but I sent the story to Dayn Perry today.

A lot of scouts have watched Tyler this season, and not all of them have come over to talk with him. It's possible Milwaukee has been there, but if they have, he doesn't know it. I know the Angels are taking another look, they watched him a ton last year, and there are at least six teams who aren't hiding their interest at this point. I don't know how this stuff works, I've never been close to a kid with this talent before, so I don't really know what to expect. Honestly, there is NO WAY this young man should not be drafted this year...forget that, but I have no idea where teams think he projects.

He hasn't heard anything from them at any point. FWIW, I just messaged Jerry Augustine to say something about him...whether he will, I have no idea, but he's someone I could reach, so I did.

HEY OUT THERE! (banging spoon on bottom of pan), BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Tyler Badamo of Dowling University now has 60 consecutive innings without an earned run....season ERA stands at 0.48! Last start, vs CW Post, 8 innings, 1 hit, 10 Ks.

My Magic 8 Ball says.... Absolutely gone before the Brewers pick... Brady Aiken, Tyler Beede, Jeff Hoffman, Alex Jackson, Tyler Kolek, Carlos Rodon Probably gone before the Brewers pick...Nick Gordon, Grant Holmes, Aaron Nola, Bradley Zimmer Possibly gone before the Brewers pick...Jacob Gatewood, Sean Newcomb, Luis Ortiz, Trea Turner, Luke Weaver In my first mock draft, I had the Brewers taking Nola, but I think he's moved into the top ten picks. Most likely Brewers picks - High School Arm - Luis Ortiz (if healthy) High School Bat - Jacob Gatewood College Arm - Luke Weaver College Bat - Trea Turner I'll say the Brewers won't be completely sold on either Gatewood or Turner, and if there's any question at all about Ortiz, they'll pass. Today, I'll say the most likely pick for the Brewers is, Luke Weaver, RHP, Florida State.

I remember after the game they asked Cal Ripken Sr if he thought Murray's ball was going to be a hit when it left the bat, and he said, "Yes, until I saw who he hit it at."

I think Grant Holmes would be an excellent pick, but I also think he may be gone before Milwaukee's selection. I agree with those who don't see a bat fitting where the Brewers pick, it just looks like the highest rated players on the board when they're up will be pitchers this year. Toussaint has been projected all over the place, and he sounds like the ultimate risk/reward pick, for those of you who want an "upside guy."

Eye Black, this stuff goes on WAY too often, and not just at the college level, there are plenty of guilty high school coaches too. I wish I'd saved the email I got once from Patrick Ahearn, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Ahearne, Pat has taught pitching all over the world. US, Europe, Asia, Australia, you name it...this issue drives him nuts. In the Tyler Badamo thread, I mentioned how Tyler struck out 17 guys on Friday night, when I heard that, I cringed, fearing 130-140 pitches....he threw 110. I do think this will have to be mandated, human nature creeps in, and you get coaches and players going for the win.

Tonight's start... 9 IP, one run, unearned, 6 hits, 0 BB, 17 K...that was, 17 K

I'm putting this discussion in this forum, because I want to make sure it is seen by those of you who are involved with showcases, youth ball, player development, etc. They just had a roundtable discussion on MLB Network, in which they said the explosion in Tommy John surgeries among pitchers under age 25 is due to showcase tournaments, travel ball, etc. They quoted Dr James Andrews, and then went around through their own analysts, and they all pretty much agreed, having kids focus on one sport as young as they do, and having them pitching to show off for scouts, coaches, etc in their attempt to attract attention is the root of the problem. One quote was, "Star athletes used to play several sports, today they focus on one sport, and these kids are pitching from February to November." I have no idea if that's the case. I would like to hear opinions on this, some of you work in the field, others certainly have knowledge of it. Do you think the current system of travel ball, showcases, etc, is hurting young arms?

Updated for 2014.

Mr Badamo... http://baseballontheisland.blogspot.com/2014/04/tyler-badamo.html

It's impossible to have too many pitchers, and nearly impossible to have too many catchers, so if there's a guy the team is really sold on at those positions, I never object to taking them. I always want the best guy out there, but I understand why some don't want an outfielder first this year. With the abundance of pitchers at the top this time around, I really think that's where the Brewers will go first.