Milwaukee Brewers: Six players you didn’t know they drafted

Milwaukee Brewers number one overall pick in 2017, Keston Hiura, is off to a hot start in his professional career, which the team hopes is good for their future as well.

Guys like Hiura, who get drafted in the first round, are locks to sign out of the draft.  It is rare to waste a high pick on a questionable sign.  The later rounds, though bring more questions of who will sign.  That sign-ability is a huge part of how draft prospects are assessed.  If the sign-ability is low, so is the draft stock.

If you have ever watched day two of the MLB Draft, you will hear the draft experts talk about the sign-ability aspect.  Generally, the top ten rounds are all players who have a high likelihood to ink with the team.

With that there are guys who do not sign every year.  And some of these players will get drafted in later years, by other teams, leaving the team wondering what could have been.  These players turn down contracts to pursue an education while refining their baseball skills at the college level.

There are no shortage of players who sign and get traded to become stars elsewhere too. The list of those names around the league can go on and on.  In recent memory the Milwaukee Brewers drafted and signed players like Jake Odorizzi, Brett Lawrie, and Lorenzo Cain.  They all moved on and found success with different organizations.

The biggest example of that for the Brew Crew has to be Gary Sheffield.  He was drafted and even came up with the team as a shortstop.  He was traded after four years in Milwaukee.  Sheffield whined the whole time though.  So he had to be dealt.  That is a long history that is a whole other story.

What about those guys who decided to go a different direction and not sign?  Who are they? The Milwaukee Brewers have become nothing more than a trivia question in these players careers.  But it can forever be said that they drafted them first.

This list are guys who didn’t sign.  The players who wanted try their hand at college, or a different sport.

Brady Rodgers

Most people know that Rodgers has been stellar in the minors for the Houston Astros.  He was their pitcher of the year in 2016 after posting a 2.86 ERA in Triple A.

But he has been working through the minors since being taken in the third round in 2012.  He made his debut last year, and it didn’t go well.

Many do not know that in 2009, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Rodgers in the 39th round.  Of course, considering he is with Houston, he did not sign.  He decided, instead, to go to Arizona State.  The move clearly paid off as he moved up 36 rounds.

As well as he is playing during his professional career, it is put on hold once again.  Back in May he underwent Tommy John surgery.  Effectively ending his season.  He sits as the number 25 prospect in the Astro organization.

It has been a long road for Rodgers, but that could very well the atmosphere we was drafted into.  The Houston Astros have had a crowded farm system for years.  So that could be a contributor to his slow development.

Had he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers out of high school, he very well could have more MLB time under his belt.  While the teams strong farm system is showing through in 2017, there was more opportunity for him to move up quickly as a Brewer.  Not that he wouldn’t spend years in the minors though.  A 39th rounder out of high school will l be expected to spend time growing in the minors.

But, all in all, Rodgers is a very talented arm who the Milwaukee Brewers would greatly have benefitted from.  It is just a question of what could have been.  They were just a few years too early for the sign-ability to be high.

Eric Decker

That is right.  The wide receiver in the NFL was drafted for baseball too.  The Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the 39th round of the 2008 draft.  He was taken as a left fielder.

The choice came after his junior year at the University of Minnesota, where he was a two-sport athlete.  He obviously excelled in both sports enough to be drafted in them.  He is a tremendous athlete.

Decker was coming off a year where he hit.329 with 42 runs and 28 RBIs.  He added nine stolen bases to that mix as well.  It was a great season that showed baseball skill that projected well.  But it was a pick that was doomed from the start.

According to an article on the Minnesota football website, Decker said this of the selection, “It was an honor to be drafted by the Brewers, but I think they knew I wasn’t going to sign.”

“It was an honor to be drafted by the Brewers, but I think they knew I wasn’t going to sign.” -Eric Decker

Those are the kind of players the late rounds are for.  The ones who have some potential with a low chance of actually signing.  At that point the team needs to sell the professional baseball life and hope it sticks.

It was not a successful sell to Decker, though it was not expected to be.  Though he is doing well for himself in the ranks of professional football.  He has established himself as a very solid wide receiver for the New York Jets.

It is a wonder how his career would have gone should he have decided to become a Milwaukee Brewers outfielder.  He could be a staple in a lineup hitting line drives, instead of avoiding linebackers trying to hit him.

Mallex Smith

Speedy outfielders seem to continually be in the eyes of Milwaukee Brewers front office.  Smith is yet another example.  Currently he is consistently hitting leadoff for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Prior to this year he was with the Atlanta Braves, where he hit .238.  He then got traded twice in a day over the offseason.  The first one sent him to Seattle, then a few hours later he was a Ray.  It has been great for his career.  He is hitting .320 on the year.

Before any of that he was taken in the 13th round of the 2011 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.  He did not sign in favor of Santa Fe College.  One year later, the San Diego Padres drafted him and he signed.  That selection came in the fifth round.

In total, the 24 year old Smith has already been traded three times.  He was involved in the deal that sent Justin Upton to the Padres and Drew Smyly to the Mariners.  Smith has proven to be a big part of the Rays lineup this year as well.  His value has been known for years, it was just a question of when.

Had Smith decided to join the Milwaukee Brewers, the outfield would be pretty packed.  Between Ryan Braun, Domingo Santana, Keon Broxton, and the top two prospects being outfielders, it is pretty busy.  But that would be a good problem to have.

Smith has the kind of speed that makes the difference in a lineup.  To miss out on him by a year hurts, but the organization has done a good job collecting other outfield prospects for the future.  One player isn’t going to make or break anything, especially with Smith being so young.  But he would certainly be a nice piece to have during this push to win a division.

Hunter Pence

The attributions of Pence to each team he has been on cannot be understated.  He debut with Houston in 2007 but hitting .322 through 108 games.  He then played for the Phillies and now the Giants.

Pence is a guy known for wild eyes and some funky mechanics.  But it works for him.  He has been selected as an All-Star three times during his career.  He also finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Pence was beat out by Milwaukee’s own Ryan Braun, who won, and Troy Tulowitzki.

Turn the clock back to 2002 and the Milwaukee Brewers called Pence’s name in the 40th round.  Naturally, he turned it down. When the Brew Crew picked him he had just finished at a junior college in Texas.  He enrolled at the University of Texas at Arlington for the last two years.  Once he completed his time there, he had improved enough to be a second round selection in 2004.

This is yet another outfielder who the Milwaukee Brewers saw and was just a little early on.  Had he signed, there could have been a long standing outfield containing Braun and Pence.  A great fielding duo who would be widely feared at the plate.

Pence would  have worked out very nicely too.  Pence has proven himself to be a great supplemental star in San Francisco.  Braun could still be the big name with just a slightly smaller one playing alongside him in the outfield.  Add Prince Fielder and Jonathan Lucroy into the mix and power in the lineup.

Yet another talented player that the Brewers front office was able to spot early.  But as with everyone else on this list, they are too early.  It is both a shame and a testament to the Milwaukee staff.

Jake Arrieta

The right handed pitcher that mesmerized hitters with his cutter for a few years was first picked by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005.  Being the 26th round pick was not what he wanted so he turned them down.

Arrieta’s road to signing was a long one.  In 2004 he was drafted in the 31st round by the Reds out of high school.  Then after one year with a junior college the Brewers took him.  Following that he went to Texas Christian University, where he stayed until he finished school.  It was finally in 2007 when the Orioles took hi in the fifth round he began playing as a professional.

It was 2010 when Arritta debuted with Baltimore.  He looked as if he would be a back end of the rotation pitcher for his whole career after posting a 5.46 ERA in four years with the team.  Then he was dealt to the Cubs and everything changed.

He became dominant.  In 2015 he was a Cy Young winner with 22 wins and a 1.77 ERA.  He also played an integral part in the World Series year winning ten games with a 3.10 ERA, and securing an All-Star selection.

His slow start to the career means he more than likely would be dealt away by the Milwaukee Brewers.  The haul the Orioles got for him included Scott Feldman, so the trade may not have been a bad thing.

If they decided not to trade him, they would have gotten several years of serviceable back end play.  Then the recent stretch dominance.  More what if games can be played with Arrieta.  What if the Milwaukee Brewers had him all this time?

Next: Is there room for a Sonny Gray deal?

That is the nature of the beast.  So many things can happen, but a successful team does not dwell on them.  They move forward, just as the Brewers have.