Having finished with the best record in the WPK last season meant the Brewers had to wait until the very end of the 1st round to make their first pick.
Round 1, #22 overall, 18-year old starting pitcher Stephen Brooks.
Not an exciting first pick for Brewers fans but the scouting staff thinks that the young, durable right-hander with a knack for inducing ground balls and high stamina could be a good fit for the organization which has increasingly shown an ability to develop young arms.
Round 2, #64 overall, 21-year old starting pitcher Jose Corpeno.
Another durable arm,
Corpeno had an impressive collegiate career at Worcester College and has a well-developed curveball with the potential to become an out pitch and a good cutter. He will probably give up a good number of home runs and he doesn't look like a future front-end-of-the rotation guy but he could provide some big league depth.
Round 3, #86 overall, 18-year old catcher Carlos Valdivieso.
This was a pick where the head scout won out in the argument about who to chose. There are other members of the front office who aren't thrilled about this one, but at least it is felt that this young catcher with his strong defensive skills (other than his weak arm) and intelligence will help to develop the Brewers pretty large stable of pitching prospects. With his potential power bat and strong arm it is always possible he will eventually earn a back-up role at the big league level in spite of his bat-to-ball weaknesses.
Round 4, #108 overall, 19-year old relief pitcher Adrian Whitney.
The Brewers don't have as good a track record at developing relievers as they do with starting pitchers. Will
Whitney be an exception to the rule? Eh, maybe.
Round 5, #130 overall, 18-year old left fielder Jesse Lopez.
The fifth round is historically when the Brewers tend to find a hidden gem and they are hoping they have done it again. (
Jim Atwell, for instance, was a 5th round pick when the Brewers realized that this two-way player that most teams were scouting as a first baseman would be much better suited to a job as a starting pitcher. And the rest, as they say, is history. Well, history still in the making anyway.)
Jesse Lopez is a young man who lives in the Denver area and has been a high school outfielder, but the Brewers saw him, with his 6'4", 215 lb frame, a hit tool with some promise, and strong leadership, and knew immediately that they would move him to first base and then see how the young man develops.
The draft isn't quite finished yet, with the last six rounds still to be completed. Thus far the Brewers have rounded out their picks with a number of outfielders (rounds 6-8), a small handful of relief pitchers, a slick fielding, light hitting shortstop in round 10, a young strong-armed third baseman in the 14th round, and a small group of other starting pitchers, etc.