Kodi Medeiros was picked by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft Thursday, making history for a second time. ADVERTISING Kodi Medeiros was picked by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round
Kodi Medeiros was picked by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft Thursday, making history for a second time.
The recent Waiakea graduate and left-handed pitcher, who went 12th overall, became the first player from the Big Island to be drafted in the first round out of high school.
Kolten Wong, a 2008 Kamehameha graduate, was drafted in the first round in 2011 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of the University of Hawaii. In 2008, the Minnesota Twins selected him in the 16th round.
Medeiros also made history as a sophomore in 2012 when the Warriors beat Baldwin 6-2 for the Division I state championship, winning the school’s first title. He and Quintin Torres-Costa also put their names in the record books with a combined no-hitter in the finale.
The Brewers had the 12th overall pick, with an assigned value of $2,805,700, and the 41st overall selection, with an assigned value of $1,384,900. They also owned the 50th overall pick of the second round, with an assigned value of $1,100,300.
Milwaukee could have played a game of patience, took a more polished college player at 12th overall, and gambled that Medeiros would have been available later for a discount price.
But it’s no surprise that the Brewers tagged him early. Last week at their workout at Miller Park, Medeiros’ fastball was clocked at 97 mph. Also he measured in at 6 feet, 2 inches and weighed 196 pounds.
Not even the MLB.com sites, like so many mock drafts, got his measurements correct. MLB.com had him at 6-2 and 180. MLB TV had him at 6-1 and 195. MLB.com described him as having a “small stature.”
MLB TV analyst John Hart, the former general manager of the Texas Rangers, somewhat matched the analysis of USA Perfect Game scouting supervisor Todd Gold, who said Medeiros has the “best raw stuff in the draft.”
“He can’t throw a fastball straight. It dives, runs and jumps,” said Hart, who didn’t mention Medeiros’ slider, which grades out as a MLB-quality plus pitch by scouts.
“Where Milwaukee was picking you couldn’t see more upside talent. Kodi is the kind of player who’s tough to acquire,” said Gold, who writes for perfectgame.org.
