Where do the Brewers go in the Draft?

The Brewers hold the 16th draft pick in Thursday's First-Year Player Draft, and there are speculations flying all over the internet. Why? Mostly because the FYPD is the most unpredictable draft, but I would also suggest that everyone is trying to find out where their organization is going. For the first time in a long time the Brewers have the opportunity to have a big impact in the first two rounds of the draft. In the past they were limited to a couple of picks, but this year, with the losses of free agents like Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink, the Brewers have accumulated six picks in the first 62 selections. What should they do?

I'm not particularly familiar with the prospects that are out there, except for what I've read at BrewerFan and Baseball America, but I do know there are some glaring holes in our system that could use some assurance. First of all, the pitching depth is atrocious. If you look at the numbers of Nashville and Brevard County pitchers, there's a lot to be desired, specifically on the starters front. With the exception of guys like Jeremy Jeffress and maybe Lindsay Gulin, there isn't a prospect at any level that has shown legitimate promise and should be considered for a call-up. As a result, Jack Zduriencik needs to seriously consider finding a legitimate starter out of college, not high school. The Brewers already made that mistake twice with Mike Jones and Jeremy Jeffress. Conceivably a guy out of college can be groomed within three years and tossed out on the mound. I would even be ok with two legitimate starters with those first six.

But that's only two picks. Jack's got four more to work with. At some point you just go with the best player on the board, ala Ted Thompson, and you have to consider signability as well. All things withstanding, Jack will have to work on suring up the 2B spot in the minors with either a college or high school player. The current situation is pretty bleak, with Callix Crabbe, Brent Brewer and Mike Bell not showing a terrible amount of promise. Jemile Weeks, Rickie's brother, will not be available at 16, but if he was, I'd pick him up in a heartbeat considering his speed and glove project him as a leadoff hitter and he would be only three years away from the bigs. Not sure who else is available, but the position needs to be filled.

Beyond that, I'd really have to consider finding a solid left handed pitcher. Zach Jackson has officially proven his worth, or lack there of. He's shown incredible improvement and the move to relief has been a positive one, but he just hasn't been able to pull it all the way together and is on the change of scenery track. With the trades of Dana Eveland and Joe Thatcher, the Brewers have zero major league ready lefties with the exception, maybe, of Chris Narveson, who is struggling in Nashville. Again, I would stick to the college ranks if at all possible because the high school experiment that Jack has done over the last few years has not paid off and there is no way to determine the potential injury risk of high school ball players.

But there is one position I would have no problem with the Brewers going high school, and that's third base. With Gamel likely getting a call up around the trade deadline and the imminent trade of Bill Hall, the Brewers have to develop some more hot corner prospects just in case Gamel's defense completely falters. I doubt Gamel is a fake. Everything I've read and heard, the kid is legit at the plate and the improvement is real as well. As a result, you can afford to delve into the talent of the high school ranks and work on his development in a system that has really proved its worth.

When push comes to shove, this is the MLB draft and there's not a person out there who can predict the first two rounds because it's such a mental thing for GMs and scouts. They have to ask if he's signable, if he's injury prone, if his mechanics will lead to bigger problems, if he faltered as the season progressed, if he controls three or four pitches and so on and son on. In the end, the positions that we need to sure up may or may not make sense at that pick considering the class of prospects coming in. The most important holes are at second and starting pitching. Anything beyond that, I'll trust Jack.