And That

I am about to run into a problem where I need to get actual work done, so official draft thread updates might be a little sporadic for a few hours.

Perfect Game: One of the premier athletes across JUCO baseball, Howell has had a big season for Kirkwood Community College in Iowa. He slashed .401/.483/.572 with 22 doubles, five triples, two home runs and a remarkable 40 stolen bases. His profile is rested on a ton of fast-twitch athleticism as he's an impact runner who can really change the game on the basepaths. He plays shortstop and is smooth there, with all of the requisite athleticism and tools to stay at the position. He's not a powerful hitter but can make contact and started to drive the ball a little better this year, and some scouts believe there is some untapped power in there that he will get to eventually.

MLB Pipeline: Howell was drafted by the Royals in the 19th round in 2017 out of junior college, but he elected to stay another season. He hit .401 in 60 games for his Kirkwood team, and he stole 40 bases. Howell is extremely athletic, with 70-80 grade speed, but he's very raw, and teams will have to do a lot of projecting on his bat. A 6-foot-2, 180-pound shortstop for now, Howell could be a center fielder in the future. He could also be headed to Iowa next year, depending on the results of the Draft.

Also Perfect Game: Daniel has endured a bit of an up-and-down season for the Tigers, however there are still very attractive MLB tools to the profile with a plus fastball up to 96 mph and offspeed pitches that show promise. Daniel’s pro future offers some reliever risk, but the arm strength alone is worthy of extended looks and his secondary pitches continue to improve with every outing.

Perfect Game report from 5/23: In an extra-inning affair, both Auburn and Kentucky abandoned their freshmen starters in favor of higher-end arms and the Tigers turned to sophomore Davis Daniel in the second inning of the game. The affair certainly had a high stakes feel to it and Daniel exploded onto the season turning in one of his best performances of the season. The energy in the stadium was palpable, and it was evident from the onset that Daniel was certainly feeding off the atmosphere, as Daniel entered with runners on and two outs then proceeded to go 95-95-96-96 for a strikeout. The fastball velocity played well off the previous pitcher Jack Owen, an upper-80s lefthander, as early on Daniel was simply able to power the fastball by opposing hitters as it exploded out of the hand. Daniel has a very physical present build, with strength on the mature frame, and that allows him to hold his velocity deep into games even during his most recent few stints as a reliever. Daniel hasn't had the best of seasons, but you couldn't tell that from his outing on Tuesday. Daniel lived 93-96 mph with his fastball and that was his go to pitch to attack hitters with. The righthanded pitcher has a long, loose arm stroke with whip-like features that allow him to generate arm speed and thus the high levels of velocity. He mostly threw the fastball but he showed both a breaking ball that he could manipulate with both curveball and slider shape in the 77-82 mph range as well as a straight changeup in the 84-85 mph range. The pitchability stood out for Daniel too as his second time through the order he started pitching backwards, landing his breaking ball for strikes, and mixing in his changeup more often. It was very smart from a pitch-calling perspective, as the fastball was a bit hittable as it was mostly straight, and Daniel showed that he can get outs with more than just the fastball later on in the game. Daniel got into some trouble early on in the showing, but settled in nicely and shut down a tough Kentucky offense and left Auburn in a situation to win the game. There are some overall reliever concerns due to effort and size, but Daniel opened eyes during this look and turned in an impressive performance.

Daniel is a sophomore, so he has a little extra leverage in negotiations. Imagine the Brewers sign him though.

‘HE ACTED LIKE A CHAMPION’ – DAVIS DANIEL EMBRACES MOVE TO BULLPEN

Paolo Espino and Charlie Meyer have been moved from Helena's roster to Colorado Springs' DL. Like Jim mentioned, the Brewers have reached the time of year where they can't use the rookie ball rosters to stash players as much. Don't know if either Espino or Meyer are actually injured, probably not, but we'll pass on info if we find out something. The Sky Sox' active roster currently features 14 pitchers and 3 catchers, which is... interesting.

I have nothing on this Luis Gonzalez other than he throws a cutter amongst some other stuff.

Besides my earlier tweet, the only thing I'm going to say about Heimlich is read this essay.

Top 10 remaining (signable?) picks at #185: Zach Waston, OF, LSU Zack Hess, RHP, LSU Matt Mercer, RHP, Oregon Jonathan Childress, LHP, Forney HS (TX) Dominic Pipkin, RHP, Pinole Valley HS (CA) Blaze Alexander, SS, IMG Academy (FL) Landon Marceaux, RHP, Destrehan HS (LA) Isaiah Campbell, RHP, Arkansas D.J. Artis, OF, Liberty Trey Dillard, RHP, San Jacinto JC (TX)

Through round 5, the Brewers have made no selections from any D1 school. The only other team with no D1 picks so far is the Rangers.

Perfect Game on Justin Jarvis: Scouts have been fortunate this year in North Carolina as the state's two top pitchers, Lake Norman HS righthander Justin Jarvis and Carson HS righthander Owen White, go to school about 20 miles from each other. The two standouts are different types of pitchers and athletes, though, with White being older and more mature both physically in his approach to pitching while Jarvis has potentially more dynamic raw stuff and plenty of growth potential left. Jarvis was a well known prospect entering the spring, with an exceptionally long list of premium Perfect Game tournaments and showcases under his belt and a very symmetrical development history since he first appeared at the2014 Atlantic Coast Underclass Showcase. At that event as a 14-year old, Jarvis topped out at 79 mph and showed surprising power on a curveball that worked in the low-70s from an over-the-top arm slot. He gradually progressed through the 80-90 mph range over the few years while retaining his tall and slender build, finally topping out at 93 mph at the 2017 PG National Showcase while showing a very fast arm coming through to go with a tight 76 mph curveball. The question with all young pitching prospects, and especially athletes with Jarvis' slender build, is when their natural physical improvement curve is going to slow down and plateau. From his first start in early March this spring, it's been obvious that Jarvis had not peaked yet. He struck out 18 of 21 batters in an opening day perfect game and has regularly been hitting 95-96 mph with his fastball with increased power to his curveball while maintaining his raw stuff throughout the spring. Jarvis' arm action does draw comments from evaluators, as he's very deep in the back in his takeaway and comes all the way up to a high three-quarters to overhand slot on release, making for lots of length and potential variables in the process. But the arm speed and raw stuff is elite level, and again, there is no real sign that Jarvis is near that natural peak yet as he keeps improving. The results on the mound have been equally impressive, as Jarvis has gone 8-0,1.49 on the season with 89 strikeouts and 23 walks in 51 innings. Jarvis' name isn't tossed about among the top 10-15 high school righthanders in this deep high school pitching class but he is strongly in the next group, along with his fellow North Carolinian, White. Jarvis committed to UNC-Wilmington almost two years ago when he was still pitching in the mid-80s and has remained loyal to that early commitment ever since.

Reminder to please move discussion to the round 6-20 thread beginning with the next pick.

Top 10 remaining (signable?) picks at #155: Zach Waston, OF, LSU Elijah Cabell, OF, TNXL Academy (FL) Raynel Delgado, 3B/SS, Calvary Christian Academy (FL) Zack Hess, RHP, LSU Nick Northcut, 3B/RHP, Mason HS (OH) Chandler Champlain, RHP, Santa Margarita Catholic HS (CA) Kam Guangorena, C, St. John Bosco HS (CA) Jaden Hill, Ashdown HS (WA) Matt Mercer, RHP, Oregon Jonathan Childress, LHP, Forney HS (TX)

Perfect Game on Aaron Ashby: Perhaps the most prolific strikeout pitcher in all of baseball this season, not just at the JUCO level, Crowder's Aaron Ashby struck out 156 hitters in 74 2/3 innings, good for a ridiculous 18.80 strikeouts per nine innings. A solid-sized, athletic lefty, Ashby dominated his opponents all season long with a good mix of funk and stuff. He's capable of working into the low-90s with his fastball and moving it around the zone, and complements the fastball extremely well with a hammer breaking ball that projects to be a bat-missing pitch for the duration of his career. He's viewed more as a reliever in terms of projection, but has legitimate Major League upside with that breaking ball from the left side. He's committed to Tennessee, and if he should make it campus there would almost immediately become one of their top pitchers.

Top 10 remaining college arms at #125: Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech Zack Hess, RHP, LSU Trey Riley, RHP, John A. Logan JC (IL) Cole Sands, RHP, FSU Matt Mercer, RHP, Oregon Jake Irvin, RHP, Oklahoma Isaiah Campbell, RHP, Arkansas Adam Wolf, LHP, Lousville Aaron Ashby, LHP, Crowder JC (MO) Trey Dillard, RHP, San Jacinto JC (TX)

Top 10 remaining (signable?) picks at #125: Nander De Sedas, SS, Monteverde Academy (FL) Zack Waston, OF, LSU Slade Cecconi, RHP, Trinity Prep (FL) Elijah Cabell, OF, TNXL Academy (FL) Raynel Delgado, 3B/SS, Calvary Christian Academy (FL) Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech Zack Hess, RHP, LSU Nick Northcut, 3B/RHP, Mason HS (OH) Trey Riley, RHP, John A. Logan JC (IL) Chandler Champlain, RHP, Santa Margarita Catholic HS (CA)

Tristan Beck to the Braves, for those hoping for Tristan Beck.

Spillane goes to the Reds in round 3... rats.

In addition to Rocker/Wilcox/Siani, Brian Sakowski believes Adam Kloffenstein and Austin Becker are unsignable at this point.

Based on the current fan poll, I'd put him after Peralta and before Erceg, so #7. I still like Lutz more.

I'd like to mention that for the second consecutive year, I will be gravely disappointed if the Brewers do not draft NC State OF Brock Deatherage.

Absolutely - outstanding bat speed.

Here's a video of an Olczak rehab outing last summer with the AZL club. It looks like he might have thrown a changeup or two in there, but I haven't seen him throw one this year. Though I've only seen him a few times.