The Brewers drafted Cutter Dykstra, son of former leaguer Lenny Dykstra, with one of their supplemental picks. We also picked up quite a few pitchers.
Go here to listen to Jack Z's press conference after the first day of the draft and to listen to an interview with our top pick, Brett Lawrie.
Brewers knew Lawrie better than anybody
By Tom Haudricourt
Thursday, Jun 5 2008, 08:15 PM
No major league team had a better scouting report on Brett Lawrie than the Brewers.
As Lowrie toured Florida and the Dominican Republic with the Canadian junior national team, one of his coaches was Marty Lehn. The same Marty Lehn who happens to scout Western Canada for the Brewers.
"Marty called every day or sent an e-mail," said scouting director Jack Zduriencik, who used the 16th pick in the first round of the June draft to select Lawrie today. "He put a show on down there, quite frankly."
The reports Lehn passed along were almost too incredible to believe. Lawrie went 21-for-30 against minor-league extended spring training clubs and college teams, including 14 extra-base hits. He socked three homers against one Dominican Republic summer league team, and five in a doubleheader.
Making those hitting exploits even more eye-popping was that Lowrie, who just turned 18, was using wood bats. Teenagers in the United States use aluminum bats and often have trouble adjusting to wood.
"We've been on this kid a couple of years," said Zduriencik. "We all went in to watch him at different times. We all came back excited about what he can do."
Better yet, Lawrie - who has played various spots in the outfield and infield - wants to catch. And the Brewers aren't about to tell him otherwise.
"We're going to give him that opportunity," said Zduriencik. "He wants to catch. He's a very active player and he's very athletic. We're going to give him a shot to play there.
"Catcher's have a certain mentality. If you draft a kid with that has a catcher's mentality, that's pretty positive."
Beyond the athleticism of the 5-11, 200-pound Lawrie, the live bat and budding power, his aggressive nature on the field, there's his unbridled confidence. In a conference call with members of the Milwaukee media, Lawrie announced he hopes to get to the big leagues "in about a year and a half."
"We had someone else who has that kind of confidence a few years back," said Zduriencik, referring to 2005 first-round pick Ryan Braun, who went on to become the 2007 National League rookie of the year and sign an eight-year, $45 million contract this season.
"He's an aggressive player. He gets after it. He doesn't lack for confidence and when you see this kid physically, you'll understand what I'm talking about. He has reason to be confident."
Zduriencik noted how impressive it was to watch Lawrie drive the ball to all fields with wood bats. Lawrie said he knew that factor worked in his favor with professional scouts.
"I've been using wood bats since I was 14," said Lawrie, a native of Langley, British Columbia, who became the highest-drafted position player ever out of Canada.
"Showing power with a wood bat, I think is a pretty big accomplishment."
As for making the commitment to catch full-time, Lawrie said, "I'm looking forward to competing. Hopefully, I'll be up to the big leagues as quick as possible and it'll be behind the dish."
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Lawrie wants to play in the Junior World Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, Calgary in late July. But that won't stop him from signing with the Brewers and beginning his minor-league career before that tournament.
"We'll let him go for a week and play there," said Melvin. "It's something he really wanted to play in."
Melvin wasn't sure if Lawrie, at his age, would be asked to play in the Olympics for Team Canada in August in Beijing, China.
As for Lawrie's self-assuredness, Melvin said, "That's the kind of confidence hitters have. People who can hit know they can hit.
"He looks like a big-league player now, at 18. This isn't some one that physically, you're waiting to mature. One of the reports said he could step in one of our hitting groups at the big-league level and you wouldn't know he's an 18-year-old player."
Lawrie was the first of six picks the Brewers had among the first 62 in the draft, thanks to compensation for losing free-agent pitchers Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink last winter. Zduriencik and his staff used that bonanza to restock the pitching in the system.
The Brewers used their supplemental picks after the first round to select prep right-hander Jake Odorizzi (No. 32 overall) and University of San Francisco left-hander Evan Frederickson. With their two extra picks in the second round, they chose prep right-hander Seth Lintz (No. 53) and infielder/outfielder Cutter Dykstra (No. 54), son of former big leaguer Lenny Dykstra.
With their own second-round pick (No. 62), the Brewers took Southern Illinois right-hander Cody Adams.
Odorizzi, 18, is a superb athlete who has a football scholarship at Louisville as a wide receiver. He was 11-0 with a 0.00 ERA at Highland (Ill.) High School, with only 18 hits allowed and five walks in 69 innings, and 116 strikeouts.
"He has a terrific delivery with nice arm action," said Zduriencik. "We thought he was a nice selection there with that pick."
Frederickson, a 6-6, 230-pounder, zoomed up the Brewers' draft board after participating in a workout at Miller Park last Saturday. His fastball was clocked in the mid to high 90s (mph), causing Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux to pause and take notice.
"He opened our eyes in the workout the other day," said Melvin. "He made a smart decision flying in here to work out for us."
Frederickson, 21, struck out 98 hitters in 68 innings this spring but also had command issues, walking 57 hitters.
"This isn't a finished product by any means," said Zduriencik. "When you look at the progress this kid made since the fall, when we watched him, to what we saw at the very end, he's got a good body and nice delivery. He's a large kid with a power arm.
"When he gets there with our instructors, one thing I hope you can do is refine this kid. There's something real good to work with here."
Dykstra switched from the middle infield to his father's position, center field, during his senior season at Westlake High School in Westlake Village, Calif. He is an above-average runner (6.58 in the 60) but must shoPublish Postw he can handle his new position defensively.
The 6-2 Lintz was 9-0 with a 0.85 ERA in 11 starts for Marshall County High School in Lewisburg, Tenn., with a whopping 143 strikeouts in 66 innings.
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