Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2011 Amateur Draft

Selig Continues To Support Slotting, Worldwide Draft

By | at

Commissioner Bud Selig still wants MLB to introduce capped bonuses for top picks and develop an international draft, according to Mike Fitzpatrick of the AP (via the Miami Herald). Selig says the draft has worked to establish competitive balance, but he insists the system would work better with some changes.

"I believe in slotting and I believe in a worldwide draft. I think it's important," he said. "I think the draft has worked, but I think there are some things that have happened in the last five or six years that are worrisome."

Selig said owners and general managers have expressed support for a slotting system. However, the players’ association will work to ensure that drafted players obtain substantial bonuses, so it won’t be as easy to convince them that slotting is a good idea (unless the cap for bonuses sits significantly higher than it does now). 

A worldwide draft would pose many logistical issues (some countries might decline to participate, for example). Selig has spoken out in favor of the worldwide draft and slotting on numerous occasions before.

Archie Bradley On Future With D’Backs

By | at

After out-matching the opposition all season long, it was Archie Bradley’s turn to be overwhelmed. The 18-year-old right hander could barely contain himself when the Diamondbacks selected him seventh overall in tonight’s draft. 

“I almost broke down in tears,” he said on a conference call with reporters. “For me to finally hear my name called was amazing.”

The Broken Arrow high school product posted a 0.37 ERA with 137 strikeouts and 11 walks in 71 1/3 innings this year (while hitting .395 and leading the team with nine homers). He’s just a teenager, but D’Backs’ director of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery says he already compares favorably with older players.

“The tools Archie Bradley brings fits with what we were looking at with the guys on the college front, and he happens to be two years younger,” Montgomery said. “Bradley is big, physical, athletic and has the stuff to be in our starting rotation in the future.” 

He also has the stuff to start at quarterback for the University of Oklahoma. The 6’4” 215 pound Bradley has signed a letter of intent to play football at Oklahoma, which gives him a negotiating tool that others don’t have.

Bradley says “the frontrunner has always been baseball,” though he loves football as well. He declined to say whether he and advisor Jay Franklin would accept ‘slot’ money to sign with Arizona.

“I have no comment on that,” he said. “I’m still just enjoying the moment. That comes later down the road.”

The D’Backs have until August 15th to sign Bradley, third overall selection Trevor Bauer and the rest of their picks.

Draft Notes: Bradley, Bundy, Hager, Starling, Cubs

By | at

The first and supplemental rounds are over and teams are reaching out to their top picks and setting up media conference calls with them. Here’s the latest on the draft from the players and teams themselves…

  • Archie Bradley (selected seventh overall by the D’Backs) says fellow Oklahoma high schooler Dylan Bundy (selected fourth overall by the Orioles) pushes him to be a better player. “With his workout and the way he goes about the game, it puts some weight on my shoulders to try to equal that or better that” Bradley said.
  • High school infielder Jake Hager (selected 32nd overall by the Rays) wants to start his pro career soon. Though he sees himself as a shortstop, he remains flexible to playing elsewhere on infield if that’s where the Rays want him to play. Hager describes himself as a hard worker who’s coachable. The Nevada native “had a feeling” the Rays would take him, since they were scouting him hard most weeks.
  • High school outfielder Bubba Starling (selected fifth overall by the Royals) describes himself as an equally good football and baseball player. The Kansas native admits to being a Royals fan, though he says he didn’t have time to see tons of games, since he plays so many sports. Starling says he felt stronger later in the season, after returning from a tweaked quad muscle.
  • Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken explained the selection of Javier Baez (ninth overall). “Javier has a tremendously live bat, is versatile in the field and we are happy to welcome him to the Cubs organization,” Wilken said in a team statement.  “He has a great arm and is a smart baserunner in tune with the game.

Supplemental Round Results

By | at

We'll be live tracking the results of the 2011 supplemental draft right here:

    34. Nationals – Brian Goodwin

    35. Blue Jays – Jacob Anderson

    36. Red Sox – Henry Owens

    37. Rangers – Zach Cone

    38. Rays – Brandon Martin

    39. Phillies – Larry Greene

    40. Red Sox – Jackie Bradley Jr.

    41. Rays – Tyler Goeddel

    42. Rays – Jeff Ames

    43. Diamondbacks – Andrew Chafin

    44. Mets – Michael Fulmer

    45. Rockies – Trevor Story

    46. Blue Jays – Joe Musgrove

    47. White Sox – Keenyn Walker

    48. Padres – Michael Kelly

    49. Giants – Kyle Crick

    50. Twins – Travis Harrison

    51. Yankees – Dante Bichette Jr.

    52. Rays – Blake Snell

    53. Blue Jays – Dwight Smith Jr.

    54. Padres – Brett Austin

    55. Twins – Hudson Boyd

    56. Rays – Kes Carter

    57. Blue Jays – Kevin Comer

    58. Padres – Jace Peterson

    59. Rays – Grayson Garvin

    60. Rays – James Harris Jr.

2011 MLB Draft Results

By | at

After months of anticipation, it's finally time for MLB's amateur draft.  This year's draft may not have anyone who comes with the same hype as Bryce Harper of last year's class, but it's still flush with tons of intriguing prospects.

Here's this year's draft order, from River Ave. Blues, to be updated after each selection:

  1. Pirates – Gerrit Cole
  2. Mariners – Danny Hultzen
  3. Diamonbacks – Trevor Bauer
  4. Orioles – Dylan Bundy
  5. Royals – Bubba Starling
  6. Nationals – Anthony Rendon
  7. Diamondbacks – Archie Bradley
  8. Indians – Francisco Lindor
  9. Cubs – Javier Baez
  10. Padres – Cory Spangenberg
  11. Astros – George Springer
  12. Brewers – Taylor Jungmann
  13. Mets – Brandon Nimmo
  14. Marlins – Jose Fernandez
  15. Brewers – Jed Bradley
  16. Dodgers – Chris Reed
  17. Angels – C.J. Cron
  18. Athletics – Sonny Gray
  19. Red Sox – Matt Barnes
  20. Rockies – Tyler Anderson
  21. Blue Jays – Tyler Beede
  22. Cardinals – Kolten Wong
  23. Nationals – Alex Meyer
  24. Rays – Taylor Guerrieri
  25. Padres – Joe Ross
  26. Red Sox – Blake Swihart
  27. Reds – Robert Stephenson
  28. Braves – Sean Gilmartin
  29. Giants – Joe Panik
  30. Twins – Levi Michael
  31. Rays – Mikie Mahtook
  32. Rays – Jake Hager
  33. Rangers – Kevin Matthews
Robert Stephenson

Pirates Select Gerrit Cole

By | at

The Pirates may be headed for a 19th consecutive losing season in 2011, but if their assessment of Gerrit Cole is accurate, they're a little closer to becoming a winner again. They have officially selected the UCLA right-hander with the first pick of the amateur draft.

Cole stands 6'4" and doesn't turn 21 until the fall. He throws a slider and change-up, plus a fastball that regularly reaches the mid 90s. His stuff didn’t translate into the statistical success you’d expect for a first overall pick (teammate Trevor Bauer posted more impressive numbers). Cole finished the season with a 3.31 ERA, 119 strikeouts and 24 walks in 114 1/3 innings – impressive numbers, but certainly not Strasburg-esque. 

Gerrit Cole - UCLA

Cole has experience as a first rounder. The Yankees selected him out of high school in 2008. He declined to sign, even though he’s a Yankees fan who counts Roger Clemens and Mariano Rivera among his role models.

The Pirates have had the first overall pick three other times in their history. They selected Jeff King in 1986, Kris Benson in 1996 and Bryan Bullington in 2002. Scouting director Greg Smith and GM Neal Huntington also considered Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon, Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen and others with the top pick.

I talked to Cole about his season and the draft in March and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes introduced us to Cole and a number of other college right-handers last week.

The Pirates have until August 15th of this year to sign Cole, who is represented by Scott Boras. The commissioner’s office recommended a $4MM signing bonus for last year’s top pick, which turned out to be Bryce Harper.

Photo courtesy UCLA athletics.

Draft Links: Rendon, Bauer, Cole, Mock Drafts

By | at

We've already learned that right-hander Gerrit Cole will be the Pirates' choice with the first overall pick in today's amateur draft, and it seems that the next two picks are also starting to crystalize.  "Barring huge late surprises," tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the top three look to be Cole, Anthony Rendon (to the Mariners) and Trevor Bauer (to the Diamondbacks).  Here's the latest as we're just hours away from the 2011 draft…

  • Cole, Rendon and Bauer are the first three picks for Baseball America's Jim Callis in his final mock draft.  This represents a reversal for Callis, who said on Friday that "[Danny] Hultzen to Arizona was the biggest lock in the first six picks."  Instead, Callis has Hultzen falling to the Nationals at No. 6.
  • Francisco Lindor had a great workout with the Mariners and there were rumors Seattle could take the high school shortstop with the No. 2 pick, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  Still, Goldstein predicts Seattle to draft Rendon in his latest mock since Jack Zduriencik didn't see much of Lindor in game action and, if the M's did branch out to take a high school player, they might prefer Bubba Starling.
  • Marc Hulet of Fangraphs and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo also have Cole, Rendon and Bauer as the first three picks in their last mock drafts. 
  • Also from Mayo, he names the ten best draft picks in history according to their placement in the draft order.  For instance, Alex Rodriguez is the best first overall pick ever, Reggie Jackson is the best second overall pick ever, etc.
  • Now that it appears Cole will be Pittsburgh's pick at No. 1, the second-guessing has already begun.  "I think history suggests that the Pirates may be making a mistake here," writes Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, who cites the surprisingly weak crop of pitchers taken with the first overall pick.  (The jury is still out, of course, on David Price and Stephen Strasburg.)
  • Meanwhile, Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias asks five scouts and an executive who they would rather draft between Cole and Bauer.  Cole won the informal poll, but only by a 4-2 margin.
  • Nationals owner Mark Lerner says his team won't hesitate to spend to get the draft picks they want, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post (via the Post's Adam Kilgore).  "Last year we had great luck in going after kids with signability issues like A.J. Cole and Robbie Ray, and hopefully we’ll have the same opportunity again this year if the opportunity presents itself," Lerner said.
  • The Rockies are looking at Hawaii second baseman Kolten Wong or UNC shortstop Levi Michael with the 20th overall pick in the first round, tweets ESPN's Keith Law.  Colorado apparently won't be selecting Utah first baseman C.J. Cron.
  • The Tigers have had success finding Major League players in the late rounds of recent drafts, reports MLive.com's Matt Sussman.  Detroit won't have a pick until the 76th overall selection after losing its first round pick to Boston as compensation for signing Victor Martinez.
  • MLBTR's Dan Mennella already posted a set of draft links earlier today, so click here for even more draft news on this busy day in baseball.

Mets Notes: Draft, DePodesta, Wright

By | at

Despite all the drama, ownership issues, trade rumors and injuries at Citi Field this year, the Mets have a 28-31 record and sit just five games out of the NL wild card.  Newsday's David Lennon wonders if "can [Sandy] Alderson afford to deal away the likes of [Jose] Reyes and [Carlos] Beltran if the Mets are still showing a pulse, however faint, for a playoff spot?"  In my opinion, the Mets shouldn't fool themselves into thinking they're true contenders.  Putting off a rebuild for a longshot chance at the postseason is the kind of short-term thinking that has put the Mets in this tough situation in the first place.

Some more Amazin' items…

  • The Mets have traditionally stuck close to MLB's slotting recommendations, but this year are prepared to pay above slot if necessary, reports Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal.  Costa notes that Alderson was one of the MLB executives involved in creating the original slotting system in 2000.
  • As noted in Costa's piece, only the White Sox have spent less on the draft than the Mets have in the last five years.  The Mets spent $3.9MM to sign their picks from the first 10 rounds of the 2010 draft, which was roughly 4% above slot, mostly due to Matt Harvey's $2.5MM bonus.
  • Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger profiles Paul DePodesta, the Mets' VP of scouting and player development and the man in charge of running the club's draft operations.
  • The Mets "owe it" to David Wright to trade him, writes Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.  Madden compares Wright's situation to that of Hubie Brooks, another popular Mets third baseman who didn't want to leave New York when the team dealt him to Montreal in December 1984.  The Mets received Gary Carter back in that trade, however, "and you have to believe Alderson has been entertaining the same thoughts about a Wright deal being potentially similarly transforming," Madden writes.    

Keith Law’s Final Mock Draft

By | at

Keith Law of ESPN.com has written up his final projections for tonight's draft. Here are some of the latest highlights (Insider subscription needed):

  • The D'Backs select UCLA righty Trevor Bauer with the No. 3 pick, meaning two of the first three picks will be Bruins after the Pirates take Gerrit Cole at No. 1 overall.
  • The Orioles, turned off by Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen's hefty contract demands, take prep righty Archie Bradley out of Oklahoma at No. 4. Dylan Bundy then falls to the Royals at No. 5, which Law says would be a steal, and Hultzen slides back to the D'Backs at No. 7, a "dream scenario" for Arizona. That could lead to tricky negotiations considering Hultzen's demands and the fact that the pick is unprotected after Barret Loux didn't sign last year, but Bauer and Hultzen  would represent quite a boon to the D'Backs' rotation in the near future.
  • The Mets meet their organizational mandate to take a pitcher at No. 13, selecting UConn righty Matt Barnes.
  • The Brewers, with an unprotected pick at No. 15, need to take a signable player, and may be looking at Vanderbilt righty Sonny Gray or Oregon lefty Tyler Anderson.
  • The Red Sox probably won't spend too wildly at No. 19 and could focus on a high-probability player like Alex Meyer of Kentucky as they did a year ago with Kolbrin Vitek.

Draft Links: Cole, Orioles, Phillies, Cardinals

By | at

The day of the First-Year Player Draft is finally upon us. Here's the latest news and rumors as tonight's event draws nearer …

AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top