So let's look at the Denver Brewers picks in the first 5 rounds of the 1978 amateur draft.
With the last pick of the first round the Brewers took high school right-handed starting pitcher
Eric Maisch.
Maisch has three pretty well developed pitches for such a young man but still needs to work hard to harness his control. He's not a hard thrower but he will likely fill out a bit with age and might add some velocity to his already average fastball. But mostly
Maisch is expected to keep batters off-balance with his off-speed pitches, an already above average curveball with room for growth and a solid changeup. His ceiling is probably somewhere in the middle of a big league rotation but for such a young pitcher he is already fairly polished.
The Brewers second round pick was collegiate outfielder
Russell Fleming. Although
Fleming is listed as a center fielder he profiles as most likely a future right fielder with decent range but also a spectacular arm.
Fleming has decent raw speed but poor technique on the base paths. The feeling is that he can develop into an above average contact hitter, with his line drive approach and the projection that he will be a hard guy to strikeout. He is not expected, however, to develop the power bat usually sought after in a corner outfielder. The Brewers management does like his hard working reputation and the feeling is that while he might not be a future starter he could be a useful big league role player at some point in the future.
In the third round the Brewers got another starting pitcher, this time a native of Canada who played his college ball all the way down in New Orleans.
Matt Danton is a right-handed ground ball specialist who will need his subpar changeup to develop at least close to it's potential projection in order to be a big league starter. Even if that happens his lack of stamina might hold him back and his projected skills indicate that a spot in the back end of a rotation, or as a swingman, is perhaps his ceiling. But he does profile as a durable and has a strong work ethic and the feeling is that he has a chance to surprise. (He's a pretty decent hitter, too.)
Denver took a control-challenged relief pitcher in the fourth round, a kid out of New York College named
Wally Kordich. The tall, lean
Kordich is a left-handed thrower who will induce an inordinate amount of ground balls (which fits well in the Denver philosophy of pitching) and will likely not give up many home runs. He projects to have both an excellent cutter and curveball but a changeup with little hope of ever being useful will keep him from ever joining a starting rotation. Still, he could be a multi-inning reliever and with his over the top delivery he isn't expected to be particularly vulnerable to opposite-handed hitters. He's a hard worker and should control the running game very well.
In the fifth round, the Brewers decided to take a chance on a prep third baseman out of Tempe Prep in Arizona named
Brad Griffin. There was much debate in the Brewers front office about this pick. Most Brewers scouts were not in favor of it due to
Griffin's limited defensive upside and questionable makeup (he's likely to rub some people the wrong way) but other members of the front office were attracted to his hit tool, which was better than any other players still available at that point in the draft. He may be destined for first base (he could also possibly be an adequate left fielder) but he might develop into a pretty good contact hitter with a bit of pop in his bat. He has good raw foot speed but needs to improve his technique on the base paths.
The draft hasn't been completed yet (we are in the 10th round) and certainly the club hopes to find a few hidden gems in the late rounds, but if history is our guide most likely any future Brewers will be among the five players shown above.