Brewers add two more high ceiling players

On the first day of the MLB Draft the Milwaukee Brewers selected three high ceiling players. After taking Kodi Medeiros, a left handed high school pitcher from Hawaii, with the 12th overall pick, the Brewers continued to take high school players filled with potential.

The Brewers followed the selection of Medeiros by drafting shortstop Jacob Gatewood with the 41st overall pick.

Gatewood, a two-sport athlete from Clovis (CA) High School, is an extremely athletic player displaying solid footwork and speed for a shortstop. One thing that sets Gatewood apart from all the other shortstops in this draft class is his height. Gatewood stands at 6 feet 5 inches.

Even though he is tall, particularly for the shortstop position, scouts feel that he could still stay at shortstop, and if not, that he would fit nicely at third base.

Besides his height, Gatewood is best known for his enormous amount of raw power. He even gained some national attention last year when he won the junior portion of the home run derby at the All-Star game when he was hitting home runs into the third deck of Citi Field with a metal bat. Gatewood was even knocking balls out of Wrigley Field in the Under Armour All-American Game last August.

Scouts believe Gatewood is capable of producing 30-plus home run seasons in the Major Leagues.

Although he has massive power potential, it sometimes has a tendency to have a negative affect on him. Gatewood is known to sometimes over swinging causing his timing to be off while hurting his ability to hit for contact. He also has struggled to hit off-speed pitches, causing some scouts to feel that he will have trouble to hit for a high average as a professional.

This was a great pick by the Brewers as Gatewood was projected to be a first round pick. If they are able to sign him, he will instantly improve their farm system while giving them an infielder filled with star potential.

Then with their last pick on Thursday evening the Brewers selected Monte Harrison, an outfielder from Lee’s Summit West High School in Missouri, with the 50th overall pick.

Harrison, 6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds, is one of the most athletic players in the draft, and was one of the top outfielders available, coming in as the No. 23 overall prospect by MLB.com.

An elite three-sport athlete in high school, playing football and basketball in addition to baseball, Harrison is committed to play football at the University of Nebraska in the fall.

This will make it difficult for the Brewers to sign him, but if they do this pick could be an excellent selection. Harrison’s ceiling is as high as any position player in this draft.

During his senior season in high school Harrison hit .433 with 45 runs, 35 runs batted in and 16 extra base hits, while stealing 26 bases in 30 attempts in 31 games.

Harrison has great speed, is a solid contact hitter and has the arm strength to play all three-outfield positions. If he decides to sign with the Brewers, which is a major question mark, this will be the first time he is focusing exclusively on baseball. This will allow him to polish his game, especially his batting skills.

Harrison has tons of potential, but now the Brewers will have to wait and see if he wants to play professional baseball or continue his football career at Nebraska.

The Brewers made three excellent selections to begin the draft, and if they are fortunate enough to sign all three, Doug Melvin and Co. may have hit a home run. Stay tuned for how the rest of the draft shakes out for the Brewers as Day Two begins on Friday at 1:00 EST.

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