Cubs To Sign Paul Blackburn
The Cubs agreed to sign supplemental first round selection Paul Blackburn, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets. The high school right-hander, represented by Adam Karon of Sosnick Cobbe Sports, will obtain a $912K bonus.
MLB recommends a $912K bonus for the 56th overall selection, which the Cubs obtained as compensation for losing Carlos Pena to free agency. Blackburn has a clean delivery and the potential for three plus pitches, Callis reports.
Padres To Sign Max Fried
The Padres will announce they've signed first round selection Max Fried, MLB.com's Corey Brock reports (Twitter link). Fried, a high school left-hander, will obtain $3MM, MLB's recommended bonus for the the seventh overall selection, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter).
Fried has a fastball that's been clocked in the 88-95 mph range to go along with a plus curveball and a promising changeup, Baseball America reports. Lucas Giolito, the Nationals' first rounder, was a teammate of Fried's at Harvard-Westlake high school.
Draft Signings: Brewers, Rockies, Red Sox, Mets
So far this year we haven’t seen as many substantial draft bonuses as in years past, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan notes (on Twitter). In the previous five drafts, 16 players obtained $6MM or more, but Byron Buxton may be the only player to sign for $6MM this year, now that the new collective bargaining agreement is in place. Here are today’s noteworthy draft signings from the second round and on…
- The Indians announced that they signed second round selection Mitch Brown. The high school right-hander obtained an over-slot bonus of $800K, MLBTR has learned. Adam Karon and Tripper Johnson of Sosnick/Cobbe Sports represent Brown, who entered the draft as the 44th-best eligible prospect, according to Baseball America.
- The Brewers signed second rounder Tyrone Taylor for $750K, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy had reported earlier in the week that the Brewers were nearing a deal with the athletic high school outfielder.
- The Rockies announced that they have agreed to sign 28 selections, including their top six picks and 12 of their first 14 selections (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox announced that they have signed 11 picks, including second rounder Jamie Callahan and fourth rounder Ty Buttrey. Callahan obtained a $600K bonus, according to Callis (on Twitter). Buttrey obtained an over-slot bonus of $1.3MM, Callis tweets.
- The Mets signed fourth rounder Branden Kaupe for $225K, Callis reports (Twitter link). The switch-hitting shortstop has very good speed, according to Baseball America.
Yankees Sign Austin Aune
The Yankees signed second round selection Austin Aune for a $1MM bonus, Jim Callis of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). The Yankees selected the high school shortstop/outfielder 89th overall in last week's draft.
MLB recommends a bonus of $548K for the selection, so Aune's bonus will account for a disproportionate chunk of the Yankees' draft budget. Aune had been recruited to play quarterback at TCU, Callis adds.
Red Sox Sign Pat Light
The Red Sox have officially signed supplemental first rounder Pat Light, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The hard-throwing right-hander out of Monmouth University agreed to a bonus of $1MM, shy of the $1.394MM bonus earmarked for the No. 37 pick.
Light routinely worked in the mid-90s in college and flashed fastballs of 96 mph and better at the end of games last season. The right-hander posted a 2.40 ERA in his junior year with 102 strikeouts and just 16 walks across 101.1 innings.
The Red Sox also signed second-round pick Jamie Callahan, a hard-throwing right-hander from Dillon High School in South Carolina. The amount of the 17-year-old's bonus is unknown.
Indians To Sign Tyler Naquin
The Indians agreed to sign first round pick Tyler Naquin, Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA reports (on Twitter). The Texas A&M outfielder will obtain a bonus of $1.75MM.
Naquin "was one of the best pure hitters and had one of the strongest outfield arms in this year's draft," Jim Callis of Baseball America writes. MLB recommended a $2.25MM bonus for the 15th overall selection, so the Indians save toward their draft cap with the deal.
Los Angeles Notes: Ethier, Haren, Draft Signings
Here's the latest from the City of Angels (and Dodgers)…
- Andre Ethier would've gotten more than a five-year, $85MM deal as a free agent, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest Hot Corner video. Rosenthal noted that even in a crowded market for outfielders, Ethier's numbers were better than every other potential free agent outfielder (except Josh Hamilton) and Ethier could've found a contract akin to Jayson Werth's seven-year, $126MM deal with the Nationals. Still, Rosenthal calls Ethier's extension good for both sides, as Ethier enjoys playing for the Dodgers and the team gets to keep a big bat at a relative bargain price.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto talks to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times about the trade that brought Dan Haren to Anaheim, a deal that Dipoto swung from the other side while acting as the Diamondbacks' interim general manager.
- The Angels announced they have agreed to terms with 14 draft picks, with fourth-rounder Alex Yarbrough named as the highest-selected of the signees. The Halos have reached deals with 25 of 38 draft picks thus far. The Angels didn't make a selection until the third round, as they lost their first and second-round picks as compensation for signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson last offseason.
Cardinals Sign Michael Wacha
The Cardinals officially signed first-round draft pick Michael Wacha to a contract today. Terms weren't announced, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported (on Twitter) that Wacha received a $1.9MM bonus, which matches MLB's recommendation for the 19th overall draft selection. Wacha himself tweeted that he was flying to St. Louis for his physical on Wednesday.
The Texas A&M right-hander was touted by Baseball America as one of the year's top draft-eligible college pitchers. Wacha's repertoire includes the best changeup in the draft and a fastball that sits in the 90-93 mph range, according to the publication.
Draft Signings: Mariners, Nats, Pirates, Royals, O’s
Here are the latest draft signings from beyond the first round, with the most recent news at the top of the post….
- The Mariners announced that third-rounder Edwin Diaz and third-round compensation pick Tyler Pike have agreed to terms. Figures weren't announced but Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA (via Twitter) reports that left-hander Pike signed for an $850K bonus, well above the recommended slot value of $370.8K. Diaz is a right-handed pitcher and, as the 98th overall pick, has a recommended bonus of $485.7K.
- The Nationals paid second-round pick Tony Renda a $500K bonus, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis (via Twitter). Renda, a second baseman from Cal, carried a recommended bonus price of $630K as the 80th overall pick.
- The Pirates announced the signing of high school pitcher Jon Sandfort, the club's third-round selection. Terms were not disclosed, but Jim Callis tweets that Sandfort signed for his exact recommended bonus of $462.9K.
- The Royals have announced (Twitter link) the signing of Vanderbilt left-hander Sam Selman, the club's second-round draft pick. Selman signed for a $750K bonus, reports Baseball America's Jim Callis, which is below the recommended $781.6K bonus price for the 66th overall pick. The Royals have now signed 28 of 40 draft picks, including all of their picks from the first 11 rounds.
- Another Royals draft signing, fourth-rounder Kenny Diekroeger, will receive a $500K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (Twitter link). The recommended price for Diekroeger's draft position was $346.6K.
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with more than 20 draft picks, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. The club is "in the very early or beginning stages" of negotiations with first-round pick Kevin Gausman and second-round pick Branden Kline.
Rockies Sign Max White
The Rockies have signed second-round pick Max White to a $1MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter). It's an above-slot signing for the Rockies, as Major League Baseball has a $701.7K recommended price for the 73rd overall pick.
White, 19, is a high school outfielder who had been committed to attend the University of Florida. The Rockies have now signed or agreed to terms with their top four picks from the 2012 draft.