The Milwaukee Brewers went young on day one of the 2018 First-Year Playoff Draft, selecting a trio of teenagers.
With their first three picks Monday, the team chose shortstop Brice Turang (Santiago High School, California), outfielder Joe Gray (Hattiesburg High School, Mississippi) and outfielder Micah Bello (Hilo High School, Hawaii). The picks, Nos. 21, 60 and 73, respectively, were made and announced by Director of Amateur Scouting Tod Johnson.
Turang, 18, batted .352 with 5 home runs, 21 RBI and a .464 OBP during his senior season at Santiago High School. According to the club, the left-handed hitter was scouted by Area Scout Wynn Pelzer and Regional Supervisor Josh Belovsky. He is committed to play at Louisiana State University.
Turang's father, Brian, was originally drafted by the Brewers in the 20th round of the 1987 Draft, but did not sign. He was then selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 51st round of the 1989 Draft and went on to play parts of two seasons with the Major League team.
The franchise has picked 21st overall only once prior to this year. The Seattle Pilots selected Gorman Thomas from James Island High School in Charleston, South Carolina No. 21 in the 1969 Draft. The starting center fielder of the 1982 American League champion Brewers spent parts of 11 seasons with the club and hit .230 with 208 HR and 605 RBI.
Here's what CBSSports.com's Mike Axisa had to say about Turang:
Going into the draft season, Turang was a potential No. 1 overall pick candidate and the top high school position player in the draft class. An uneven spring has caused his stock to tumble, however. At his best, Turang sprays line drives from foul pole to foul pole from the left side of the plate, and he's a strong defender with a good chance to remain at shortstop long-term. His upside exceeds his draft slot.
Gray hit a blistering .491 with 6 homers, 36 RBI and a .611 OBP as a senior at Hattiesburg High School. The 18-year-old right-hander was scouted by Area Scout Scott Nichols and is currently committed to play at the University of Mississippi.
The 17-year-old Bello recently completed his senior season at Hilo High School. The right-handed hitter was scouted by Area Scout Shawn Whalen and is committed to play at Saint Mary's College of California.
The MLB draft, which comprises 40 rounds, continues Tuesday for rounds 3-10, concluding on Wednesday for rounds 11-40.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
