When I read this, I threw up in my mouth a little.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/454347Brewers: Crean gets assist on team's No. 1 draft pick
By DENNIS PUNZEL
The Capital Times
dpunzel@madison.com
MILWAUKEE — If that basketball coaching thing doesn’t work out for him, Tom Crean might want to consider a career as a baseball scout.
Crean, the former Marquette University coach now coaching at Indiana, made a pitch for one of his players to his friend Doug Melvin, the Milwaukee Brewers general manager. That player, pitcher Eric Arnett, turned out to be the Brewers’ No. 1 pick in Tuesday’s amateur draft.
While that pick wasn’t based just on that recommendation, Crean’s words didn’t hurt Arnett’s cause. Arnett was a walk-on and served as a practice player for the Hoosiers this season after they came up shorthanded on players. Crean was so impressed with his attitude and athleticism that he felt compelled to pass that on to Melvin, who he had gotten to know during their time together in Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee Brewers home page
• 2009 MLB draft home page
“Tom gets pretty excited when he talks about a player and his athleticism,” Melvin said. “He’s a great young individual who was competitive on the basketball court and he knows he’ll be competitive on the baseball field too. Tom said he knew that (Arnett) would be real excited if we had a chance to draft him. I couldn’t make any promises to Tom, I just said that we have him on our board and we like him and we’ll see how it falls. But Tom gave him a very glowing report.”
Arnett’s draft status soared this season, as did the velocity on his fastball. Arnett was clocked at as high as 97 mph and regularly threw between 93-95 mph, said Bruce Seid, the Brewers’ scouting director.
“This is a 6-foot-6 pitcher who we feel still has some upside,” said Seid. “This kid just blossomed this year. He’s always had some success but his velocity really picked up this year.”
Arnett is the first college pitcher drafted in the first round by the Brewers since 1999 when they took Ben Sheets from Louisiana-Monroe.
While his predecessor, Jack Zduriencik, never drafted a college pitcher No. 1 in his nine years with the Brewers, Seid downplayed the significance of Arnett’s college status.
“We didn’t really look at if this guy was a college guy or a high school guy,” Seid said.
“We looked at the player. It just so happens this is a college guy who is more advanced, but if there was a high school guy who tremendous upside and had the tools we were looking for I don’t think it would’ve made a difference.”
One trait that did work in Arnett’s favor is his eagerness to sign a contract, something of a rarity in the draft these days.
“I’m a fairly signable guy so I don’t think it should take too long,” said Arnett, who estimated that it could be done within 10 days.
That sounds good to Melvin.
“This is a player that wants to get out and play,” Melvin said. “We’re fortunate that a player was on the board that wants to play.”
Arnett had a big year with the Indiana baseball team, compiling a 12-2 record with a 2.50 ERA in 13 games. He pitched six complete games and opponents hit .212 against him. Arnett, Big Ten co-Pitcher of the Year and a first team All-Big Ten selection, was ranked as the 18th best prospect by Baseball America.
That’s the kind of package Seid was looking for and he said that Arnett was the top player on the Brewers’ board when their first pick came up.
“Makeup, signability, instincts … all that stuff comes into play,” said Seid, who said that Arnett impressed the Brewers with his performance at a workout Saturday at Miller Park.
The Brewers had two picks in the supplemental round as compensation for losing free agent pitchers CC Sabathia to the New York Yankees and Brian Shouse to the Tampa Bay Rays.
With the first of those picks (No. 39) they chose outfielder Kentrail Davis of Tennessee, and with the other (No. 47) they took right-handed pitcher Kyle Heckathorn of Kennesaw State.
Davis, a stocky, speedy 5-foot-9, 200-pounder, hit .308 with 9 homers and 30 RBIs as a sophomore this season. The 6-foot-6, 240 pounder Heckathorn was projected to go in the first round by many observers. He had a 4-1 record with a 3.44 ERA this season. His fastball was clocked as high as 99 mph.
The Brewers had back-to-back picks in the second round. They chose two high school players, outfielder Max Walla from Albuquerque, N.M., at No. 73 and catcher Cameron Garfield from Murrietta, Calif., with the next pick. Walla is known for his power and has been compared physically with San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles. Garfield was ranked among the top catchers in the draft and also has shown scouts flashes of power.
Milwaukee’s final pick of the day was third rounder Joshua Prince, a speedy shortstop from Tulane. Walla and Prince also stood out in Saturday’s workout at Miller Park.
