Brody Brecht

ANALYSIS
Brecht could have turned pro out of high school, but he chased his dream of playing wide receiver for Iowa instead. With that career path not working out, he opted to focus on baseball last spring, and he's shown high-end stuff and poor control. He had a 14.2 percent walk rate in 78.1 innings as a junior after walking 18.4 percent of batters in 77 innings as a sophomore. Naturally, for a pitcher with such poor accuracy to be taken this high in the draft, Brecht has tantalizing pure stuff, headlined by a an upper-90s fastball that touches 101 mph and an upper-80s slider that touches 91 mph. Some scouts think Iowa's coaching staff is to blame for some of Brecht's issues, and given that he hasn't been focused fully on baseball for long, there could be untapped potential with the 6-foot-4, 235-pound righty. Until further notice, however, he has extreme bullpen risk.