In a recurring theme that I bring up each and every year, efficiency has been a big part of the drafts Scouting Director Jack Zduriencik has overseen, as his department signed 32 of the team’s 46 draft picks.

This year the Brewers focused heavily on bats, particularly from the college level in the early rounds, seemingly looking less for tools and more for production for an organization that clearly doesn’t have as much patience waiting for prospects to develop given their postseason aspirations.

For more detailed coverage on the picks from the 2007 draft and to discuss these players while keeping up to date with the team's draft and follow candidates as well as the top prospects for the 2008 draft, please be sure to visit Brewerfan.net's draft forum:

http://brewersfandemonium.yuku.com/forums/69

Bats at the Top
Before the draft I felt that the two biggest weaknesses in the Brewers system were power bats and catching depth. The Brewers addressed those two weaknesses with their first two picks, and continued to add a few more bats with their fourth and fifth round selections. After that their picks evened out. Of their 32 signees, 18 were hitters.

1. (Draft round) Matt LaPorta, LF
.259/.286/.519, 1 2B, 2 HR in 27 at-bats with Helena
.318/.392/.750, 8 2B, 10 HR in 88 at-bats with West Virginia
Most people were surprised to hear LaPorta’s name called with the seventh overall selection, but he made sure to make a big impression early in his professional career. More than half (21 of 35) of his hits were for extra bases, and he hit a home run once every nine-and-a-half at-bats, including one during his first professional plate appearance, and he continued to add big hits during West Virginia’s postseason run. Since his power potential is extremely exciting, complaining about his 8:30 walk to strikeout ratio may seem like nitpicking, but since he was drafted as a 22-year old college senior he is expected to be relatively more polished at the plate, particularly since he made vast improvement in this area this past spring at Florida. He will play with and against some of the more talented prospects in all of baseball as the Brewers have asked him to participate in the Arizona Fall League, and he should continue to be fast-tracked next spring with a placement at either high-A Brevard County or AA Huntsville.

3. Jonathan Lucroy, C
.342/.383/.487, 18 2B, 4 HR in 234 at-bats with Helena
Lucroy is a solid all-around catcher that has the potential to make a difference at the plate with his bat. A productive career at Louisiana-Lafayette led to him being selected in the third round, where the Brewers were thrilled to have him fall in their lap. While he probably will never be a defensive stalwart behind the plate, he does handle himself well, does all of the little things like a seasoned veteran and is lauded for his leadership ability. Lucroy gives the organization yet another legitimate catching prospect, joining Lou Palmisano and Angel Salome, and should open the 2008 season in West Virginia.

4. Eric Farris, 2B
.326/.369/.423, 16 2B, 21 stolen bases in 239 at-bats with Helena
Farris was one of the most interesting selections I’ve seen the Brewers make in recent years, as they typically target the high-risk, high-reward, toolsy types with their early picks. While Farris is a good athlete with some good tools, highlighted by his speed, he is a rather specific type of player for the organization to target. Despite starting the summer slow, he finished the season extremely strong, batting .360 after the month of June and profiles as a scrappy sparkplug type hitting atop the batting order while causing trouble on the basepaths. Look for Farris in West Virginia next year.

5. Caleb Gindl, RF
.372/.420/.580, 22 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR in 207 at-bats with Helena
Gindl was expected to go somewhere in rounds six through 10 as a left-handed pitcher, but the Brewers liked his bat and made sure to pluck him up before other teams had a chance. Gindl rewarded the Brewers by leading the Pioneer League in hitting, using a short yet powerful, compact stroke to lace line drives to all parts of the field. Built shorter and stockier with a very powerful throwing arm, Gindl profiles very similar to Brian Giles at a similar age. If he continues to hit, the Brewers could have a potential sleeper on their hands, and should spend most of next season at West Virginia.

Seven Lefties
The Brewers selected and signed seven left-handed pitchers and seven right-handed pitchers. Let’s start left. Once a strength in the system, the Brewers have thinned out their lefties rather quickly over the last several months dating back to last winter, having dealt Doug Davis, Dana Eveland, Joe Thatcher and Steve Garrison via trades. Manny Parra stepping forward has been encouraging. Chris Capuano stepping back has not.

6. Dan Merklinger
3.95 ERA, 26 hits, 40:16 K:BB ratio in 27.1 innings with Helena
Merklinger is an athletic and cerebral lefty in the mold of Chris Capuano. He has good size and solid stuff, which includes an upper-80s fastball and a solid curve and changeup. He often struggles with control and finds himself nibbling more than he needs to, which leads to the higher walk totals. When he’s pitching aggressively and pitching to contact, as he did over his last several starts at Helena, he works efficiently and can mow down batters quickly. Maintaining that aggressive approach will be key for Merklinger as he moves up the chain, likely moving to West Virginia to open 2008.

7. Efrain Nieves
5.31 ERA, 38 hits, 45:25 K:BB ratio in 40.2 innings with Arizona
0.00 ERA, 3 hits, 4:1 K:BB ratio in 4.2 innings with Helena
Nieves is a work in progress, but he has a very quick arm and aggressive approach with the foundation for three solid pitches that lead many to be excited about what he could be doing in the not-so-distant future. As exhibited by his strikeout totals from this summer, he has swing and miss stuff, highlighted by a 88-90 mph fastball that dives and darts late in the zone. His arm action and overall delivery is so easy that many believe he will add to the radar readings as his light frame continues to mature. Look for Nieves in Helena next summer.

9. Kristian Bueno
7.75 ERA, 49 hits, 33:16 K:BB ratio in 38.1 innings with Arizona
We don’t know much about Bueno, other than that he has very good strong and projectable frame with a live arm, but the Brewers clearly liked him enough to take him in the ninth round. While he struck out quite a few batters this summer, he also proved that he was rather hittable. An interesting prospect to follow, but one we probably won’t get a true read on until this time next year, most likely with another year of rookie ball under his belt.

18. Bobby Bramhall
2.03 ERA, 23 hits, 35:11 K:BB ratio in 31 innings with Helena
9.00 ERA, 2 hits, 4:0 K:BB ratio in 2 innings with West Virginia
Bramhall is a manager’s dream, bringing an enthusiastic and aggressive approach to the game while making the most of his abilities. He is on the shorter side, and is hard-pressed to throw much harder than the mid-to-upper-80s, but he can carve up batters by changing speeds and hitting his spots. While his ceiling may be limited, he could move quickly as a left-handed specialist should the Brewers choose him to develop him that way. Bramhall will land on one of the A-ball team’s rosters next spring.

27. Joshua Trejo
Trejo did not pitch this summer after being drafted and signed in the 27th round. He has a very good three-pitch repertoire but conditioning will likely be a recurring issue with the 6’1”, 220 pound Trejo. Look for him in Arizona next summer.

34. Casey Baron
3.26 ERA, 16 hits, 16:4 K:BB ratio in 19.1 innings with Helena
1.80 ERA, 4 hits, 3:0 K:BB ratio in 5 innings with West Virginia
Baron was drafted out of Maryland as a college senior in the 34th round, so he already has several factors working against him. However, he could fill a specific purpose as a left-handed specialist if he continues to get batters out as effectively as he did during his professional debut. He has a side-arm delivery reminiscent of Mike Myers which will help him neutralize left-handed batters despite not having overpowering stuff.

36. Curtis Pasma
3.80 ERA, 48 hits, 49:5 K:BB ratio in 42.2 innings with Helena
A versatile, rubber-armed pitcher that has thrown in virtually every role possible throughout his career, Pasma was a key part of Helena’s bullpen this summer helping the team through the middle innings and delivering key late-inning victories. He has good command of the strike zone, and a knack for missing bats, but his lack of pure stuff is going to make getting outs more difficult as he moves up.

Seven Righties
While the Brewers did not select a right-handed pitcher within the top 10 rounds, they did sign three high profile righties from their promising DFE class as profiled below. It’s hard to determine whether or not this affected how they approached the draft, but given the overall depth of pitching in the system, or lack of, my money is that the team takes the exact opposite approach next year.

11. Cody Scarpetta
Scarpetta signed a 2008 contract right before the August 15th deadline for $350,000, money that is well above slot value and more in line to what an early third round pick would receive. He did a very good job over the last year conditioning his body into a very solid, 6’3”, 225 pound frame, which also allows him to sit consistently in the low-90s while touching 94. His offspeed stuff needs work, and he will likely begin his career next summer with Helena.

12. Wes Etheridge
15.43 ERA, 10 hits, 5:4 K:BB ratio in 4.2 innings with Helena
Etheridge was a big part of UC Irvine’s success this spring, as the Anteaters made an upstart showing in the College World Series. Built long and slender, Etheridge resembles Matt Wise in stature, and has a similar repertoire with a sinking fastball and soft changeup that he uses to induce early contact. A heavy spring workload led to a light summer workload, and he’s polished enough to start 2008 in West Virginia.

14. Donovan Hand
3.55 ERA, 31 hits, 26:4 K:BB ratio in 33 innings with Helena
2.16 ERA, 32 hits, 17:0 K:BB ratio in 25 innings with West Virginia
Hand enjoyed a tremendous amount of success at Jacksonville State, and that success carried over immediately during his professional debut. While he is very well built at 6’4”, 205 pounds, he is physically mature and maxes out around 90 mph. He relies more on setting up his offspeed stuff with his fastball while controlling the strike zone and not hurting himself. While he’s likely to re-join the Power to open 2008, his savvy could allow him to be promoted aggressively.

16. Joel Morales
8.05 ERA, 56 hits, 29:15 K:BB ratio in 34.2 innings with Arizona
While fellow Puerto Rican Efrain Nieves went nine rounds earlier, many considered Morales to be the top arm from the island in a strong class. Morales has improved quite a bit over the last year, adding velocity to his fastball while tightening his four-pitch repertoire. Despite giving up far too many base hits in Arizona, he did post an encouraging strikeout to walk ratio and should continue to improve at Helena next summer.

29. Travis Nevakshonoff
11.78 ERA, 29 hits, 6:26 K:BB ratio in 18.1 innings with Arizona
Nevakshonoff could very well mean “work in progress,” although despite his struggles this summer he did go 4-0 without giving up an earned run in just over 29 innings of work this spring playing in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. A good overall athlete, he only recently converted to pitching, as he has a very live arm and the foundation for three very solid offerings, with his fastball touching the low-90s on occasion. He will likely return to Arizona next year despite being a sleeper to keep an eye on.

30. Corey Frerichs
6.26 ERA, 30 hits, 37:11 K:BB ratio in 27.1 innings with Helena
Frerichs peripheral numbers are a lot better than what his ERA may suggest, as he showed the ability to miss bats while exhibiting good control. He’s a shorter and stockier pitcher that doesn’t exactly have the most projectable frames, but he has a decent fastball and solid offspeed stuff for him to enjoy some success in the lower levels of the system. Look for Frerichs in West Virginia next spring.

41. Adam Arnold
8.79 ERA, 19 hits, 12:13 K:BB ratio in 14.1 innings with Arizona
Despite not having the most imposing of pitching frames, Arnold has a very good fastball. He doesn’t have much command, nor does he have much of an arsenal past his heater, but that pitch alone gives him some promise, particularly out of the bullpen if he is unable to develop a full and true three-pitch repertoire. He like fellow Canadian Travis Nevakshonoff will continue to build on that promise back in Arizona next summer.

More Bats
As noted above, after the Brewers selected hitters with their first four selections, they divied up the remaining of their draft selections and signings equally between pitchers and hitters at 14 a piece. There was no real rhyme or reason to these bats, so the rest of them will be lumped together here.

8. David Fonseca, SS
.213/.275/.291, 4 2B, 2 HR in 127 at-bats with Helena
Fonseca is built like the prototypical shortstop, and has all of the gracelful actions, range and strong arm to excel at the position defensively. He also has good speed and some power potential in his wiry strong frame, but he’s raw offensively and is going to need time to hone his swing. The Brewers obviously liked him enough to take him in the eighth round and by placing him at Helena to begin his pro career. He may be a candidate to return to Helena to give his bat time to catch up with his glove.

10. Eric Fryer, C
.209/.288/.324, 7 2B, 3 HR in 139 at-bats with Helena
Fryer is a very good overall athlete that is a natural leader behind the plate. He moves extremely well, takes charge of the pitching staff, calls a good game and can even swipe a few bags, something you don’t find very often from a backstop. As much as he is praised for his defense and intangibles, his bat is a big question mark, although he does have the natural athleticism to be able to put it all together.

13. Christopher Dennis, LF
.263/.387/.465, 1 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR in 99 at-bats with Arizona
The 6’1”, 215 pound Dennis is a converted catcher, who is a little stiff athletically and has been moved to left field. His glove is never going to win him any awards, but his powerful left-handed swing could make him a sleeper to keep an eye on. While he didn’t hit especially well at Arizona, he did have five home runs and showed a pretty good eye at the plate. His power could flourish at Helena next summer.

15. Joey Paciorek, 3B/1B
.281/.416/.388, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR in 121 at-bats with Arizona
Paciorek’s father and two uncles played in the big-leagues, and Joey has the size (6’2”, 225 pounds) and strength to out-hit all of them. A very good natural athlete, he projects best at the hot corner despite filling in at first base this past summer. He showed a very good eye at the plate, and was consistently the best hitter on the Arizona ballclub. He should find himself in Helena next summer, and could move up to West Virginia if the Power needs a corner bat.

17. Erik Miller, CF
.214/.279/.254, 1 2B, 2 3B in 126 at-bats with Arizona
A very good athlete with a perfect physique and an exciting blend of speed and raw power, Miller has five-tool potential. He is pretty raw in every aspect of the game however, and is going to need to work hard to reach his lofty ceiling. The organization likely will give Miller another year in Arizona so he can continue to work on his game.

19. Zealous Wheeler, 3B
.300/.398/.411, 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR in 190 at-bats with Helena
Wheeler followed up a very productive year at Wallace State Community College with an impressive pro debut. He doesn’t win any observers over at first glance with a short and stout 5’11”, 220 pound frame, but he shows surprising quickness and athleticism, and earned the respect from the fans for his slick glove at third base and even shortstop in a couple of games when needed. He could continue to form an interesting hot corner tandem with Steffan Wilson at West Virginia next year.

20. Cameron Robulack, 1B
.189/.319/.351, 4 2B, 1 3B in 37 at-bats with Arizona
Robulack benefited from playing on the same team as first-rounder Phillippe Aumont this spring, getting plenty of chances to showcase his skills in front of a large scouting contingent. Robulack has a very large and powerful frame, although his is size limits his athleticism and restricts him to first base, but it is his powerful left-handed bat that is going to carry him. His season was cut short this summer due to injury, but is definitely a sleeper prospect to keep an eye on.

22. Matthew Cline, IF
.301/.345/.346, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR in 136 at-bats with Helena
Short in stature and on tools across the board, Cline may have a lot of obstacles to overcome to be more than an organizational soldier, but few play harder and make the most of their talents. He played a key utility infielder role for Helena this past summer, a role he likely will continue to fill over the next couple of years in the lower levels of the minors.

28. Steffan Wilson, 3B
.328/.392/.612, 12 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR in 183 at-bats with Helena
Many expected Wilson to return to Harvard after having two somewhat disappointing seasons after his impressive freshman campaign. Most of that is due to a broken hamate bone that sapped most of his power potential, but he responded well this summer and seemed to prove that the injury is behind him. He also has a very strong throwing arm, although his lateral quickness is limited, and may prompt a move off the hot corner, with some suggesting catcher as a possible position for him.

32. Miguel Vazquez, SS
A potential five-tool shortstop with the perfect size, range, hands and throwing arm to make all the plays from the position, Vazquez did not play this summer after being drafted and signed by the Brewers.

33. Ryan Jensen, CF
.193/.370/.246, 1 2B, 1 3B in 57 at-bats with Arizona
Despite his smallish stature (5’10”, 180 pounds), Jensen has some pop in his bat from the left-hand side of the plate. He played for the Langley Blaze with Travis Nevakshonoff, hitting .350/.442/.463 in the competitive British Columbia Premier Baseball League. His 13 walks in 57 at-bats during his pro debut are worth mentioning as it does give a hint for his disciplined eye, and while he didn’t hit that well in limited duty this spring, he could turn things around next summer as he’ll return to rookie ball.

35. Curtis Rindal, 1B
.324/.390/.430, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR in 142 at-bats with Helena
The Brewers drafted Rindal as a 23-year old red-shirt senior (he is now 24) out of the University of Washington, so I think it’s clear that Rindal was selected and signed to serve more of an organizational purpose than anything else. That isn’t to take anything away from him, as he has always had a knack for delivering the big hit in college, and ended his career with 27 career bombs. He hit well for Helena, and should provide a stable bat in the Power lineup next year.

38. Kurt Crowell, OF
.289/.348/.479, 17 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR in 190 at-bats with Helena
A good-sized, well built athlete, Crowell is a similar prospect to Rindal in that he is probably more of an organizational soldier that will fill a key need in the lower levels of the system for a couple of years, as he turned 23 years old earlier this month. He did provide some big hits for Helena this summer hitting in the middle of the lineup, and should join Rindal and many to most of the other players on this list in West Virginia next spring.

44. Shawn Zarraga, C
Zarraga and Cody Scarpetta were the two players the Brewers signed right before the newly instituted and mandatory August 15th signing deadline. Zarraga is an extremely athletic player that played every position on the field, including pitcher, in high school on his way to being named Florida’s small school player of the year two years in a row. He signed a 2008 deal, and won’t report until instrux, and will likely play one of the two levels of rookie ball next summer.

2006-07 Draft and Follow signees
2007 marked the last year of the draft and follow process given the institution of the universal signing date of August 15th as part of the new rules regarding the draft with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that was reached late in 2006. The Brewers continued to be extremely aggressive in using this process, and this year’s DFE class may be the most impressive based on pure, raw talent.

12. (draft round from 2006) Chad Robinson, RHP
8.48 ERA, 40 hits, 29:23 K:BB ratio in 28.2 innings with Helena
The Brewers were slow to begin Robinson’s professional career due to some arm tenderness that carried over from the spring. He had his fair share of ups and downs this summer, as he’s going to need to learn how to keep the ball down better after surrendering six home runs, although he does have a knack for racking up lofty strikeout totals. He has a very good frame and very good stuff, and may still be recovering from labrum (shoulder) surgery from the spring of 2005, and should find himself in West Virginia to open 2008.

19. Lee Haydel, CF
.276/.311/.362, 12 2B, 5 3B, 12 SB in 254 at-bats with Helena
Haydel is a very good overall athlete that can fly, as he possesses the second-best speed in the organization to only Darren Ford. The Brewers wanted to see Haydel develop his bat a little over the winter and spring months as a DFE candidate, and he did just that, prompting the Brewers to give him money relative to a second-round pick to get him in the fold. He is still a work in progress in almost all aspects of the game, in particular he needs to walk more, strike out less, and with his speed find a way to be more effective on the basepaths. Look for Haydel in West Virginia next spring.

31. Rob Bryson, RHP
2.67 ERA, 49 hits, 70:12 K:BB ratio in 54 innings with Helena
As Bryson’s stock soared this season, it seemed less and less likely that the organization would be able to sign both Bryson and Haydel before the DFE signing deadline. They did just that, and Bryson rewarded them by carrying his success from the spring over to the Pioneer League, where he was virtually unhittable over the first month of the season coming out of the Helena bullpen. He wasn’t nearly as invincible after he moved to the starting rotation, but he was still really good, using a low-to-mid-90s fastball and improving breaking pitch to mow down opposing hitters. Most of the Helena team should be in West Virginia next year, and Bryson is no exception.

32. Nick Tyson, RHP
2.48 ERA, 29 hits, 36:7 K:BB ratio in 40 innings with Helena
Tyson is a similar prospect to Rob Bryson in body type and stuff. Both enjoyed a spike in velocity this spring while tightening up their breaking pitches. Tyson pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for Helena with very promising results. An athletic frame and easy arm action leads the Brewers to believe that he may continue to add velocity to his fastball while refining the rest of his game, and will take his talents to West Virginia just like most everyone else on this list.

44. Bryan Crosby, 3B
.179/.303/.179 in 56 at-bats with Arizona
While the numbers may indicate otherwise, the Brewers drafted, followed and eventually signed Crosby due to his sweet swing and overall athletic ability. He has been hampered by injuries the past several years, and will need to find a way to stay healthier over the long, professional schedule. Crosby is likely to start next season in extended spring training before being assigned to one of the organization’s two rookie level affiliates.

The Ones that Got Away
This portion of the draft recap doesn’t seem to hold as much water as it has in the past given the end of the draft and follow process, since many of “The Ones that Got Away” from past years were players that the Brewers tried to convince to attend community colleges so that they would still retain their signing rights through the following spring. Since the Brewers were so successful signing their draftees, this list is pretty short as it is (college commitments listed in parenthesis).

21. (draft round from 2007) Connor Hoehn, RHP (Alabama)
23. William Hawn, 3B (Walters State)
24. Jonathan White, OF (Vanderbilt)
25. Chadwick Bell, LHP (Memphis)
26. Benjamin Feltner, OF (Texas A&M)
31. Jonathan Clarence, LHP (Louisville)
37. Richard Hague, SS (Rice)
39. Joseph Scott, SS (Cal State Fullerton)
40. Jordan Tanner, RHP (Potomac State)
42. Chase Reid, RHP (Vanderbilt)
43. Cullen Sexton, RHP (Minnesota)
45. Matt Sergey, RHP (Broward CC)
46. Stewart Ijames, OF (Louisville)
47. Aaron Tullo, RHP (St. Petersburg CC)

Initial Assessment
Last year I was pretty harsh on the Brewers draft efforts, citing the team taking a few chances on high-risk, high-reward talents like Jeremy Jeffress and Brent Brewer early in the draft. This year they took the exact opposite approach, targeting several polished college players that in theory will be able to move more quickly through the system in an effort to help the big-league ballclub, a team that has bigger and better playoff aspirations.

And you have to tip your cap to the team after they signed 32 of their 46 draftees, as well as five of their draft and follow candidates. They dropped nearly two million dollars on their last DFE class while adding a significant amount of talent to the system, and went above and beyond to get Cody Scarpetta in the fold.

Not directly related to the draft, but the organization once again showed its determination to have more of a presence in Latin America by signing outfielder Itaniel Arias Guzman for $450,000.

Most of the Helena team was comprised of ’07 draftees, and those players were key to the Pioneer League Brewers making the postseason. Matt LaPorta’s power helped propel the West Virginia Power late in the season and into the playoffs, and likely will be fast-tracked similar to Ryan Braun in 2006. The entire West Virginia squad, just in case you weren’t reading the individual player capsules above, should once again field a competitive team by gaining most to all of the Helena team.

With the additions of hitters like LaPorta, Lucroy, Farris, Gindl and even Haydel, you can write down a legitimate prospect’s name at every position on the field, which may point to a draft in 2008 that favor pitching early, particularly since the Brewers traded away three young and talented arms (Will Inman, Joe Thatcher, Steve Garrison) to acquire Linebrink, and another (Dana Eveland) as part of the deal for Johnny Estrada.

However, there are several promising arms from this past year’s draft that could elevate themselves into legitimate top 10 prospect by this time next year. Dan Merklinger is probably in the best position to do that if things start to click more consistently for him, while Efrain Nieves and Cody Scarpetta have the best, pure arms from the Brewers draft class.

Overall the Brewers just need to make sure that their player development efforts don’t let up, as they will need to continue to procure a great deal of talent from within to remain competitive. Matt LaPorta alone gives the Brewers an impact player they hope will be an integral cog to the team’s future success, and several other draftees from this past June may be poised to join him.

2008 Draft
At this time last year Vanderbilt left-handed David Price pitcher was identified as the clear favorite for the first overall pick, even if I preferred switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters. Price of course was the eventual first-round pick this past year, and following in his footsteps is his Commodores and Team USA teammate Pedro Alvarez.

After Alvarez the talent at the top of both the college and high school lists is likely to vary drastically from scout to scout. I am encouraged in particular by the number of powerful, polished arms and multi-tooled positional players from the prep level as well as the power bats emerging from the college ranks, but the college pitching, which often defines the relative strength of any prospective draft class, has a fair amount of questions, starting with the talent at the top and continuing to the overall depth. All things that will make next spring that much more interesting.

High School

1. Tim Melville, RHP, Wentzville (MO)
2. Tim Beckham, SS, Kennesaw (GA)
3. Aaron Hicks, OF/RHP, Long Beach (CA)
4. Alex Meyer, RHP, Greensburg (IN)
5. Isaac Galloway, OF, Rancho Cucamonga (CA)
6. Eric Hosmer, 1B, Cooper City (FL)
7. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Santa Ana (CA)
8. Kyle Skipworth, C, Riverside (CA)
9. Harold Martinez, SS, Miami (FL)
10. Ethan Martin, 3B, Toccoa (GA)
11. Kyle Long, LHP, Ivy (VA)
12. Sonny Gray, RHP, Smyrna (TN)

Prep Notes
The Aflac All-American Classic has provided an excellent opportunity for all fans to get a first-hand look at the top prep talent available for the following year’s draft, as all of the names listed above participated in the event (even if a few did not participate in the game itself).

Again, everyone’s number one is likely to be different, but my guy at this point in time is Tim Melville, who shows poise beyond his years on the mound and at the plate, and has the stuff to compete with anyone. Gerrit Cole, Alex Meyer, Michael Palazzone (Marietta, GA), B.J. Hermsen (Masonville, IA), Jack Armstrong (Jupiter, FL), Brett DeVall (Panama City, FL) and Taylor Jungmann (Temple, TX) also stood out at the all-star event. All of these pitchers offer an exciting blend of size, stuff and moxie.

The bats were equally impressive, led by Tim Beckham, Eric Hosmer, Isaac Galloway, Harold Martinez, Ethan Martin, Robbie Grossman (Cypress, TX), Destin Hood (Mobile, AL) and Clark Murphy (Fallbrook, CA). Aaron Hicks could join this group as an electrifying five-tool outfielder if he’s not preferred as a fire-balling right-handed pitcher.

The prep talent for 2007 isn’t restricted to those that participated in this impressive annual event. The shortstop position is an area of strength from the prep class this year, with Casey Kelly (Sarasota, FL), Rolando Gomez (Pembroke Pines, FL) and Cutter Dykstra (Thousand Oaks, CA), son of former big-leaguer Lenny Dykstra, adding to the talent up the middle.

Left-handed pitching also appears to be an early strength. Nick Maronde (Lexington, KY) and Robbie Ross (Nicholasville, KY) give the Blue Grass State a couple of impressive southpaws to follow, while the next best group hails from the West: Kyle Lobstein (Flagstaff, AZ), Jarret Martin (Bakersfield, CA) and Anthony Gose (Bellflower, CA).

College

1. Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
2. Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego
3. Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri
4. Yonder Alonso, 1B, Miami
5. Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina
6. Cole St. Clair, LHP, Rice
7. Lance Lynn, RHP, Mississippi
8. Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
9. Tyson Ross, RHP, California
10. Jacob Thompson, RHP, Virginia
11. Brett Hunter, RHP, Pepperdine
12. Brandon Crawford, SS, UCLA

College Notes
Pedro Alvarez has been the favorite to go first overall in the 2008 draft after his incredibly impressive freshman year at Vanderbilt. Teams looking for an arm with the first pick may turn to either Brian Matusz or Aaron Crow, both of whom would be fine picks at that selection.

The ’08 class is deep with big bats, particularly left-handed ones and particularly first basemen. Miami teammates Yonder Alonso and Dennis Raben are two of the countries more talented pure hitters along with Cal’s David Cooper and Long Beach State’s Shane Peterson. Justin Smoak is a natural run-producing machine, while Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) is one of the most imposing sluggers in the land. Roger Kieschnick (Texas Tech) offers a tool package similar to Jeromy Burnitz in right field.

A few multi-talented infielders such as Brandon Crawford, Jemile Weeks (Miami), Gordon Beckham (Georgia), Conor Gillaspie (Wichita State) and David Adams (Virginia) could all factor into the first round.

Catcher is a notable weakness, as Florida State’s Buster Posey is the only backstop that could sneak into the first round.

Pitching is somewhat of a question mark, as most of the arms projected to go in the first round have several questions to answer next spring. Lance Lynn has a great fastball but needs to shore up his offspeed pitches. Fellow Team USA rotation mates Tyson Ross and Jacob Thompson have nice repertoires and are fairly polished, but max out in the 91-93 range. Aaron Shafer (Wichita State) hasn’t pitched in the 90-94 range like he did his freshman year, Tulane’s Shooter Hunt mysteriously lost his touch this past summer, and scouts are waiting for Vanderbilt’s Brett Jacobson to figure out his entire game.

Notable returning players that were eligible for this past year’s draft include starters David Duncan (Georgia Tech) and Tommy Hunter (Alabama) as well as closers Cole St. Clair and Joshua Fields (Georgia).

Wild cards that could significantly improve their status next spring include Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine), Scott Green (Kentucky) and D.J. Mitchell (Clemson).

Best Guess
With two weeks to go in the regular season, the Brewers will likely select somewhere in the middle of the first round. A few games one way or the other could be the difference between the team losing their first or second round pick should they sign another type A free agent this offseason, but fortunately this year with the playoffs looming, caring about a draft pick is a conflict of competitive interest.

Trying to guess who the Brewers take at this juncture, much less hours before the draft takes place, is nothing more than a waste of time. But that won’t stop me from trying to discern what we do know, as a couple of things are certain given Jack Zduriencik’s drafting history.

For one, he hasn’t taken a college pitcher in the first two rounds of the draft since he took over as scouting director late in 1999.

Secondly, while he loves tools, he has shown that he and his staff prefer polished overall hitters and will take a chance on such a bat without worrying too much about their defense.

The third point would be that the Brewers adhere to the commissioner’s office pre-determined slot values assigned to all draft picks selected in the first five rounds. That means, don’t fool yourself into thinking the team might open their pocketbooks to sign a player that falls due to lofty signing bonus aspirations. It’s just not going to happen.

That said with the aforementioned note of the team’s desire to procure more polished talent we might just see the organization take a college arm in the first round, which would be the first since Ben Sheets was selected with the club’s first-round pick in 1999.

If you follow the Weeks-Rogers-Braun-Jeffress-LaPorta trend, a prep arm is the likely call.

Also keep in mind that in the years the team has drafted within the top 10 picks, outside of 2003 when they selected Rickie Weeks, they have taken a player higher than where many expected. This applies to Prince Fielder, Mark Rogers, Ryan Braun and Matt LaPorta. The selections of Fielder and Braun obviously look to be incredibly astute ones now, but this means that the Brewers eventual first-round pick may be a name that isn’t even mentioned among the early projections of the top 30 players available for next year’s draft.

This is all assuming the team has their first-round pick. Should they sign a Type A free agent this offseason they would forfeit their selection should they finish the season among the top 15 teams in all of Major League Baseball.

On the flip side, they could stand to gain a few picks as well, depending on how they handle a couple of projected Type A free agents of their own, Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink.

So while I’m not going to make any predictions that are sure to be wrong, we can at least take a peek at recent history and have somewhat of an idea of what direction the organization may take come draft day.

Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Brewerfan.net and Perfect Game USA, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.