Brewers: Draft heavy on arms, hard-to-sign players

Jun 17, 2014; Omaha, NE, USA; Mississippi Rebels pitcher Christian Trent (47) delivers a pitch against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during game seven of the 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Round 21: Jon Olczak, RHP, North Carolina State University

Olczak, 21, just completed his junior season at NC State, where he was 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 23 games (two starts) and 42.1 innings. He also earned a save while striking out 47 and walking 29.

Round 22: Willie Schwanke, RHP, Wichita State University

Schwanke, 21, was a junior for the Shockers, his third school in three years. A graduate of Wakeland (Frisco, Texas) High School, Schwanke played as a freshman at the University of Arkansas before transferring to Grayson (Texas) College. He played third base and pitched at both schools.

This season, he was 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA in seven games (three starts) and 33 innings, striking out 25 and earning one save. At the plate, he was just 4-for-22 with a triple and two RBI before tearing a lat muscle in late March.

Round 23: Donovan Walton, SS, Oklahoma State University

Walton, 21, was a junior for the Cowboys this season. The switch-hitter, also known as “Donnie,” hit .326/.410/.481 in 39 games, with four homers and 29 RBI. He missed more than a month after surgery on his left wrist.

His father, Rob Walton, is the pitching coach at Oklahoma State and played in the Baltimore Orioles organization.

Walton, 5-foot-10 and 174 pounds, was selected in the 36th round of the 2012 amateur draft by the New York Mets after a standout career at Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.) High School.

Round 24: Christian Trent, LHP, University of Mississippi

Trent, who will be 23 in September, is a 6-foot, 190-pound lefty who was 7-7 with a 3.74 ERA in 15 starts and 98.2 innings this season for Ole Miss. He had 72 strikeouts. As a junior, Trent was 9-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 17 starts, striking out 86 in 110 innings.

Trent pitched at Delgado (La.) Community College before transferring to Ole Miss before his junior year. He was selected in the 29th round of last year’s draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Round 25: Justin Hooper, LHP, De La Salle (Calif.) High School

The Brewers rolled the dice on this selection, as the 6-foot-7, 225-pound lefty has committed to UCLA.

The 18-year-old has been clocked in the high 90s at national prep all-star competitions and figures to add more velocity as he gets stronger.

Hooper was ranked as the No. 31 prospect by MLB.com heading into the draft and is believed to have an enormously high ceiling.

His plummeting draft stock was directly attributable to this:

De La Salle High School is well-known as a Bay Area athletic powerhouse located in Concord, Calif., and is the alma mater of former NFL star Maurice Jones-Drew, Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd and catcher John Baker, a seven-year veteran who is currently in the minor leagues with the Seattle Mariners organization.

Round 26: Jonathan India, SS, American Heritage (Fla.) School

India is another who took to Twitter before the draft to declare his allegiance to his commitment to the University of Florida:

And after the draft, a courteous India was again on social media:

India was also a top-100 prospect (No. 92) before the draft and was all over last summer’s showcase circuit. At 6-feet and 190 pounds, he projects more as a second baseman, but he will likely be given a chance to stay at shortstop because of his baseball instincts and feel for the game.

Round 27: Jon Perrin, RHP, Oklahoma State University

The Brewers took a second Cowboy with the 811th overall pick, going for a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander.

Perrin was 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA in 16 starts for Oklahoma State this season, striking out 72 in 84.1 innings.

He was an All-Big 12 first team pick after a junior season in 2014 during which he was 8-5 with a 2.38 ERA in 102 innings. The Detroit Tigers took him in the 33rd round last year.

Round 28: Mitch Ghelfi, C, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Milwaukee stayed close to home with this pick, taking the 22-year-old, 5-foot-11 backstop from the Panthers.

The switch-hitter just completed his junior year at UWM and hit .356/.463/.514 in 47 games, with two homers and 35 RBI, while also cracking 16 doubles.

A native of La Crosse, Ghelfi’s father, Tony Ghelfi, pitched for nine years in the professional ranks with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres organizations from 1980-89. The elder Ghelfi made three starts for the Phillies in 1983, going 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings with 14 strikeouts.

The Brewers also drafted his brother, Drew, in 2013, taking him in the 25th round. He pitches at the University of Minnesota.

Round 29: Donny Everett, RHP, Clarksville (Tenn.) High School

Everett, an 18-year-old right-hander with a big (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) frame, touched 96 mph on the summer showcase circuit.

Everett was the No. 23-ranked prospect by MLB.com, but his stock fell because of a hard commitment to attend Vanderbilt University.

He was 9-1 with a 0.94 ERA in 67 innings this spring, striking out 125 and walking only eight. Opponents hit .139 against him, according to MaxPreps.

Round 30: Charlie Donovan, SS, Westmont (Ill.) High School

The left-handed swinging Donovan, 18, hit .524 with six home runs and 32 RBI, with 39 steals, in 35 games this spring.

The Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois, Donovan is committed to play at the University of Michigan.

Next: Rounds 31-40