Milwaukee Brewers roundtable: Reviewing Day 1 of the 2018 MLB Draft

2. Which if their three Day 1 picks are you most excited about?

Mike Wendlandt: After doing some more research on him, I have adopted a new prospect crush on Brice Turang. It was this time last year when he was seen as a Top 10 lock and a potential top overall pick as the top prep player in the draft. And as the attention on him ramped up, he continued to excel, but he didn’t dominate like many thought, leading to questions about his ceiling.

I have no such doubts about him. He’s got such a low floor that he could be a quick riser in the system, much like Keston Hiura is this year. He plays very good defense and has a lightning-quick bat with a knack for getting the barrel on the ball more often than not. At his floor, Turang reminds me of Jose Iglesias with his speed and defense. If he hits his ceiling, he could be similar to Barry Larkin. The only worry is whether he’ll sign. He’s committed to LSU currently, so he’ll likely end up signing above slot value, which plays into why the Brewers made some of the picks they did later on Day 1.

Mitchell Reichert: The Brewers second-round pick, Joe Gray Jr., is a player whom I was quite unfamiliar with prior to him being taken 60th overall. Gray was the 61st best draft prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

He has some of the highest upside within the entire draft class, but it is feared that he won’t learn how to hit better pitching. Despite this, Gray has a powerful arm that was actually clocked at 98 mph at an event he participated in within the past year. He also has some very intriguing raw power and is young enough to possibly add more muscle and more power to his game as well. MLB Pipeline also compares him to Torii Hunter, who was an above-average big leaguer in his prime, and I don’t think anyone could complain about that.

Brian Sampson: I don’t think I can pick just one. The Brewers got a little bit of everything and did a very nice job of balancing out their picks.

In Turang, the selected a player with a very safe floor and one who is likely to come around to the MLB level. They then picked Gray at No. 60 and it was probably a bit of a reach. Although, he does have some upside that could make it worth it down the road. Finally, they went with Bello at No. 73 and he’s an absolute swing for the fences. He could end up being a great player or just as easily a bust. Only time will tell.