Brewers: Draft heavy on arms, hard-to-sign players
By Phil Watson
Round 7: George Iskenderian, 3B, University of Miami
A right-handed hitting third baseman at his third school in three years, George Iskenderian has some unfinished business as they will face Florida to open play in the College World Series on Saturday.
Eskenderian was selected in the 34th round last year by the St. Louis Cardinals after playing at Indian River (Fla.) Community College, where he transferred after his freshman season at South Carolina.
He is the Hurricanes’ leading hitter this season at .367/.462/.479 with three homers and 55 RBI and has scored 69 runs in 64 games for Miami (49-15).
“It’s more an offensive profile and he’s a utility defender,” Montgomery told MLB.com. “He was a nice blend of [traditional scouting and] the analytics, that part of what we’re doing. The talent, obviously, speaks for itself.”
He is a native of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and played in 16 games for the Gamecocks in 2013 before transferring to Indian Hills, where he hit .373 with 23 RBI in 40 games.
Round 8: Nate Griep, RHP, Kansas State University
Not a monster right-hander like the Brewers’ earlier choices, Nate Griep, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Omaha, Neb., just finished his redshirt sophomore season for the Wildcats and was 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 starts and 78.2 innings, with 64 strikeouts and was an All-Big 12 second team pick this season.
K-State was 27-30 this season and did not qualify for postseason play.
Griep, 21, was 3-7 with a 4.66 ERA in 15 appearances (10 starts) and 63.2 innings as a freshman in 2014, striking out 32.
Round 9: Karsen Lindell, RHP, West Linn (Oregon) High School
Karsen Lindell, a 19-year-old, is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander who threw 21 innings in five games over 13 days during the state tournament for West Linn.
He threw 111 pitches in a 2-1 loss in the state Class 6A championship game.
“He has a good relationship with our scout up in the Northwest, Shawn Whalen, who signed Clint Coulter a few rounds back as a first-round pick,” Montgomery said. “With that kind of comfort, I think that’s a nice ‘get’ for us there. I’m looking forward to Karsen coming out here and getting his career started.”
Lindell is committed to the University of Washington.
Round 10: Jake Drossner, LHP, University of Maryland
Jake Drossner, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound left-hander, just completed his junior year with the Terrapins and was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 appearances (seven starts) and 32 innings, striking out 27 but walking 26.
As a sophomore, he was 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) and 62.1 innings with 59 Ks.
He was a 23rd round pick out of Council Rock North (Richboro, Pa.) High School in 2012 by the Chicago Cubs.
Next: Rounds 11-20