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Blue Jays Sign Brentz, Tellez; Do Not Sign Bickford
The official signing deadline for this year's draft has now passed, and the Blue Jays made some last-minute splashes. Toronto signed 11th-rounder Jake Brentz for a hefty $700K bonus and 30th-round pick Rowdy Tellez for a record-setting $850K bonus, according to Baseball America's Callis (Twitter links). However, Callis also tweets the team was not able to reach an agreement with first-round pick Phil Bickford, who will attend college at Cal State Fullerton.
Reports that the Blue Jays were unlikely to sign the No. 10 overall pick first surfaced yesterday. The team will now be awarded the No. 11 pick in the 2014 draft as compensation for failing to sign the right-hander. Bickford is the only first-rounder from this year's draft not to sign.
The assigned slot values of all picks after the 10th round is $100K, meaning that the Blue Jays went $750K over slot to sign Tellez and $600K over slot to sign Brentz. Tellez's bonus is the largest ever under the new CBA for a player selected after the 10th round of the draft. However, the Blue Jays' total spend is still within the confines of their draft pool, even without Bickford's money, as noted in Baseball America's draft database.
Tellez ranked 59th on Baseball America's list of Top 500 draft prospects and 99th according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. BA called him the "best left-handed power bat in this year's draft class," noting that he also has a good feel for hitting and moves well for his 6'5", 230-pound frame. While he's seen time in the outfield, Tellez profiles as a first baseman. Tellez is advised by Phil Ortiz of the Primo Sports Group.
Brentz's signing comes just one day after reports stated that he was unlikely to sign. The prep lefty out of Missouri ranked 45th among draft prospects according to ESPN's Keith Law and 80th on BA's Top 500. In fact, Law actually had Brentz ranked ahead of Bickford. Law wrote that Brentz may be "the best pure left-handed arm in the draft class," praising his upper-90s fastball but noting that his curveball is a work in progress. Brentz is advised by Jason Wood of Arland Sports.
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