Each Monday through the rest of the season, Robert Pannier of the Minor League Sports Report will provide features and analysis of the Biloxi Shuckers, the AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Today, LHP Kodi Medeiros is featured, as we examine how impressive the left-hander has been in his first four appearances since joining the Shuckers.

Kodi Medeiros Goes No. 1 in 2014

The first round selection of a franchise in any sport is probably the most important decision that organization will make in any given year. This is a pick that can not only help to make an immediate impact in the near future, but sets the tone for the franchise overall.

A bad pick can lead to the general manager and scouts being fired. It can set the overall organization back three or fours years in development, and create a great deal of skepticism among fans that the people at the top may not know what they are doing.

In football, it may seem that there is a lot more pressure, because first round picks are expected to make an immediate impact. They are on the field the very next season. This is not true in baseball, where it may take four or five years before a player has developed to the point that he is ready to reach the Majors.

However, that does not put any less pressure on scouts and the scouting department as a whole. In football, a scout has hundreds of hours of college football games to review, making the analysis a whole lot easier, however, that is not true in baseball. The sport does not get the same kind of attention as football, and many of its top players are coming directly out of high school.

This can make some scouts gun shy about choosing a high school kid. Not in the case of the Milwaukee Brewers, however. In 2014, they saw an impressive young 18-year-old lighting it up in Hawaii, and believed that he could be the kind of anchor to build their starting rotation around for years to come. That is why they chose Kodi Medeiros with the 12th overall pick in the 2014 MLB amateur draft.

A True Baseball Warrior

Kodi Medeiros established himself as a star at Waiakea High School (Hawaii). His senior season he was named as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Hawaii after going 7-1 with a 0.97 ERA, striking out a ridiculous 83 in 43.1 innings pitched.

The success earned him a full ride scholarship to Pepperdine University, but it also caught the attention of MLB scouts. Kodi was taken 12th in the first round of the draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and opted to go pro.

Working Out the Kinks

Through the first four seasons of Kodi Medeiros’ professional career, the results have been mixed. He spent 9 games in 2014 with the Brewers rookie league team in Arizona, before moving up to Mid-A Wisconsin in 2015. For the Timber Rattlers, the left-hander posted a 4-5 record with a 4.44 ERA in 25 appearances, 16 of which were starts. He even had a save. In 93.1 innings pitched, he struck out 94.

The last two seasons he has spent at High-A, 2016 in Brevard County (Florida State League) and last year in Carolina (Carolina League). He combined to go 12-21 with a 5.36 ERA, striking 185 213.1 innings pitched.

Maturing Right on Schedule

While the numbers have been solid, they are not as some would think when considering what is expected of a first round pick. Most would expect eye popping numbers and that is what they have gotten this season from the left-hander.

Kodi Medeiros joined a number of top prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers system who moved to AA-Biloxi in 2018, and the results have been everything the team could want and more. The left-hander has made four appearances this season, lasting at least 4 innings in each outing. The Brewers prospect has allowed just 9 hits in 19 innings pitched and enters Monday’s contest 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA.

Medeiros continues to show a lot of zip on his fastball, striking out 18 in 19.0 innings pitched. He is developing into everything that scouts were looking for when they drafted him and, at just 21-years-old, there is a lot growth still left, meaning his upside could be meteoric.

Featured Image Courtesy of Baseball America

By Robert Pannier