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2013 Amateur Draft

Phillies To Sign Cord Sandberg

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The Phillies have agreed to terms with third-round pick Cord Sandberg, the outfielder told John Lembo of his hometown Bradenton Herald.

Sandberg, who was selected 89th overall, will receive a $775K signing bonus plus the monetary equivalent of a full scholarship to Mississippi State, where he was committed to attend college. He had been offered a full scholarship as a quarterback recruit for the Bulldogs. The assigned pick value for the No. 89 overall selection was $593,400, per Baseball America, so Sandberg will be signed well above slot value.

Sandberg, who is being advised by Excel Sports Management, has until July 12 to officially sign a contract, though that appears to be little more than a formality at this point. He ranked 40th on Baseball America's Top 500 draft prospects, 53rd on Keith Law's Top 100 and 56th on Jonathan Mayo's Top 100. He projects to have good power from the left side of the plate and has enough speed to be a defensive asset in the outfield.

Twins Notes: Sizemore, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, Draft

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Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN has plenty of Twins-oriented news in this week's edition of his "Scoops" column. Here are the highlights…

  • Grady Sizemore has resumed baseball activities, and there's a "strong belief" that the Twins will be interested when ready to sign with a team in a month or two. The Twins did their due diligence on Sizemore in March, but Sizemore made it clear in January that he preferred not to sign until he was able to play in games.
  • The Twins are one of many teams with interest in Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, Wolfson reports. They will send a scout to attend his showcase on June 20. We learned last night that the Dodgers, Rangers, Red Sox and Cubs are all in on Gonzalez as well, so the Twins will have some deep-pocketed competition.
  • Vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff told Wolfson that the Twins "made an effort" to sign Yasiel Puig last year, but obviously they didn't come close to the Dodgers' seven-year, $42MM offer. Many around the game considered the Puig signing to be a drastic overpay at the time, but the Dodgers clearly aren't complaining right now.
  • The Twins are still planning to select as many as seven pitchers with their first 10 picks. Both Kohl Stewart and Ryan Eades, the Twins' two picks on day one of the draft, are right-handed pitchers. Eades is being advised by Scott Boras, Wolfson reports.
  • Clete Thomas, who was recently promoted based on his strong Triple-A results and ability to play center field, had an opt-out clause in his minor league contract this week. Radcliff told Wolfson that the timing of his promotion was more coincidental than anything else, though. Their first option for a backup center fielder may have been Quintin Berry, whom the team was interested in. The Royals had priority due to their inferior record and claimed Berry.

Draft Links: Day One Winners, Appel, Dodgers, M’s

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Yesterday was the first day of Major League Baseball's amateur draft, and the Astros kicked things off by selecting Houston native Mark Appel with the No. 1 overall pick. MLBTR covered the draft extensively last night; Zach Links kept track of the first round results as well as the results from the first competitive balance round, and I hosted a draft chat that ran for nearly four hours, covering the entirety of the first round. Here's more on the first day of the draft…

  • ESPN's Keith Law (Insider required and recommended for Law's draft work) lists the Rays' selection of Ryne Stanek at No. 29 atop his list of picks he "loves" from yesterday's selections. He also lists his top 10 remaining talents, headlined by high school right-hander Kyle Serrano.
  • Appel gives the Astros a "native son to build the organization around," writes Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. Appel told Smith that being selected by the Astros was "incredibly special" and "very exciting." He recalls the opening of Minute Maid Park as a child in 2000, and adds that most of his family still lives in Houston. GM Jeff Luhnow said Appel won't be rushed to the Majors, and Smith adds that late 2014 or early 2015 are realistic goals for his MLB debut.
  • Dodgers vice president of scouting Logan White told reporters, including MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, that the team views top picks Chris Anderson (Jacksonville University) and Tom Windle (University of Minnesota) as starters (Twitter link). The pair will not be rushed to the Majors as relievers like Paco Rodriguez was in 2012.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick looks at some of the stories from day one of the draft, including the friendly rivalries between Georgia outfielders Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows and California infielders Dominic Smith and J.P. Crawford. "[Crawford is] just a great guy and a great person," Smith told Crasnick. "We're pretty tight. He's like my baseball brother."
  • Mariners scouting director Tom McNamara says that he doesn't prefer any specific type of player, but Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner points out that he leans toward polished college players. In four of his five drafts as scouting director McNamara has chosen Dustin Ackley, Danny Hultzen, Mike Zunino and now D.J. Peterson — all of whom were regarded as "safe bets."

Draft Reactions: Appel, Gray, Cubs, Red Sox

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With the first round of the 2013 draft in the books, here's a look at the latest news on this year's top picks..

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told reporters, including Alyson Footer of MLB.com (via Twitter) Houston viewed Mark Appel as the pick to beat throughout the scouting year and never saw a player who became more appealing than the right-hander.
  • Luhnow went on to say that the Astros won't rush Appel to the big leagues and there's no timetable for when he could eventually make his way up to the varsity squad (Twitter links).
  • Cubs scouting director Jason McLeod wasn't bothered by Jonathan Gray's positive test for Adderall, according to Meghan Montemurro of The Northwest Herald (Twitter link).  The Cubs, of course, selected Kris Bryant with the No. 2 pick.
  • Red Sox's first round pick Trey Ball sounds like he's ready to join the Red Sox rather than attend the University of Texas based on this quote from Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal (viaTwitter).  "Anything can happen, but I feel that Boston is right for me," said the left-hander, who was taken with the No. 7 pick.
  • A's pick Billy McKinney says that the Yankees, Rangers, and Giants also expressed interest in him, tweets Paul Gutierrez of CSNCalifornia.com.

2013 Competitive Balance Round A Results

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We’ll track the results of the Competitive Balance Round A portion of the draft right here.  If you still need to get caught up on the first round, click here..

34. Kansas City Royals – Sean Manaea, LHP, Indiana State

35. Miami Marlins – Matt Krook, LHP, St. Ignatius High School (Calif.)

36. Arizona Diamondbacks – Aaron Blair, RHP, Marshall University

37. Baltimore Orioles – Josh Hart, Parkview High School (Ga.)

38. Cincinnati Reds – Michael Lorenzen, OF/RHP, Cal State Fullerton (announced as RHP)

39. Detroit Tigers – Corey Knebel, RHP, Texas

2013 MLB Draft Results

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After months of anticipation, it's finally time for MLB's amateur draft.  This year's draft is extremely intriguing not just for its talent, but for the lack of clarity we have at the top of the board.

The Astros surprised everyone last year when they selected Carlos Correa No. 1 overall and we know very little about what they might do with the top pick in this year's draft.  We'll use this post to track each first round pick as it comes in..

  1. Houston Astros – Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford University — Agreed to sign for $6.35MM
  2. Chicago Cubs – Kris Bryant, 3B, University of San Diego
  3. Colorado Rockies – Jonathan Gray, RHP, University of Oklahoma — Signed for $4.8MM
  4. Minnesota Twins – Kohl Stewart, RHP, St. Pius X High School (Tex.) — Signed for $4.5444MM
  5. Cleveland Indians – Clint Frazier, OF, Loganville High School (Ga.) — Signed for $3.5MM
  6. Miami Marlins – Colin Moran, 3B, University of North Carolina
  7. Boston Red Sox – Trey Ball, LHP, New Castle High School (Ind.) — Signed for $2.75MM
  8. Kansas City Royals – Hunter Dozier, SS, Stephen F. Austin State University — Signed for $2.2MM
  9. Pittsburgh Pirates – Austin Meadows, OF, Grayson High School (Ga.) — Signed for $3.0296MM
  10. Toronto Blue Jays – Phil Bickford, RHP, Oaks Christian High School (Ca.)
  11. New York Mets – Dom Smith, 1B, Serra High School (Ca.) — Signed for $2.6MM
  12. Seattle Mariners – D.J. Peterson, 3B, New Mexico — Signed for $2.759MM
  13. San Diego Padres – Hunter Renfroe, OF, Mississippi State
  14. Pittsburgh Pirates – Reese McGuire, C, Kentwood High School (Wash.) — Signed for $2.368MM
  15. Arizona Diamondbacks – Braden Shipley, RHP, Nevada — Signed for $2.25MM
  16. Philadelphia Phillies – J.P. Crawford, SS, Lakewood High School (Ca.) — Signed for $2.2993MM
  17. Chicago White Sox – Tim Anderson, SS, East Central CC (Miss.) — Signed for $2.164MM
  18. Los Angeles Dodgers – Chris Anderson, RHP, Jacksonville — Signed for $2.1099MM
  19. St. Louis Cardinals – Marco Gonzales, LHP, Gonzaga — Signed for $1.85MM
  20. Detroit Tigers – Jonathon Crawford, RHP, Florida — Signed for $2.0017MM
  21. Tampa Bay Rays – Nick Ciuffo, C, Lexington High School (S.C.) — Signed for $1.9747MM
  22. Baltimore Orioles – Hunter Harvey, RHP, Bandys High School (N.C.) — Signed for $1.9476MM
  23. Texas Rangers – Alex Gonzalez, RHP, Oral Roberts – Signed for $2.215MM
  24. Oakland Athletics – Billy McKinney, OF, Plano West High School (Tex.) — Signed for $1.8MM
  25. San Francisco Giants – Christian Arroyo, SS, University of Florida — Signed for $1.8665MM
  26. New York Yankees – Eric Jagielo, 3B, Notre Dame — Signed for $1.8394MM
  27. Cincinnati Reds – Philip Ervin, OF, Samford — Signed for $1.81MM
  28. St. Louis Cardinals – Rob Kaminsky, LHP, St. Joseph High School (N.J.) — Signed for $1.8753MM
  29. Tampa Bay Rays – Ryne Stanek, RHP, Arkansas — Signed for $1.7583MM
  30. Texas Rangers - Travis Demeritte, SS, Winder Barrow High School (Ga.) — Signed for $1.9MM
  31. Atlanta Braves – Jason Hursh, RHP, Oklahoma State — Signed for $1.7042MM
  32. New York Yankees – Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State
  33. New York Yankees – Ian Clarkin, LHP, James Madison High School (Ca.) — Signed for $1.6501MM

Astros Select Mark Appel First Overall

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The Astros have officially drafted Mark Appel with the first overall pick in the 2013 draft.  Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter) heard minutes prior to the selection that the Astros were set to take the Stanford product with the first pick.

Appel, who celebrates his 22nd birthday next week, was selected with the No. 8 pick in last year's draft by the Pirates.  However, the Scott Boras client couldn't come to terms on a contract with the Bucs, prompting him to return to school.  The Astros considered taking Appel with the No. 1 pick last year but opted against doing so when their $6MM offer was rejected.  They wound up taking high school shortstop Carlos Correa with the No. 1 pick instead and inked him to a $4.8MM pact.

The Astros have selected first overall on two other occasions.  They selected Phil Nevin over Derek Jeter and others in 1992 and chose Floyd Bannister from a class featuring Alan Trammell in 1976.  The slot recommendation for the top pick in this year's draft is roughly $7.79MM.

While Appel is not subject to the July 15th signing deadline, GM Jeff Luhnow says they'll sign him before then, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Draft Notes: Royals, Cubs, Bryant, Astros, Blue Jays

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In his final installment of his Top 100 Draft Flashback series, Matt Eddy of Baseball America assigned values to each of the top ten picks and gave tiered values to the entire first round.  Eddy lumps the together the picks in groups of five and uses WAR to weigh each tier against one another.  He also identifies the best players to be plucked out of each group, starting with Alex Rodriguez (1-5), Frank Thomas/Derek Jeter (6-10), and Manny Ramirez (11-15).  Here's the latest draft news as we close in on the first pick at 6pm central..

  • Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Astros will take Mark Appel No. 1.
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) isn't sure if the Royals have a deal worked out with Phil Bickford but he's certain that some team does.  The right-hander's adviser kept him from talking to club executives this week.
  • It was reported earlier today that the Royals have reached a deal to take Bickford with the No. 8 pick, but the club is adamant that they have no such agreement, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. 
  • There's some buzz around baseball that the Cubs are leaning towards taking Kris Bryant over a pitcher, tweets David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Twitter link) spoke to one scouting director picking early in first round about how he thinks the top of the draft will play out.  His guess is that the Astros will take Jonathan Gray, the Cubs will grab Mark Appel at No. 2, and the Rockies will draft Bryant with the third pick.  
  • Shi Davidi of Sportsnet broke down the Blue Jays' draft strategy and spoke with Matt Smoral about his draft experience last year.  The left-hander, who saw his stock drop thanks to a stress fracture in his right foot, assumed he was UNC-bound as he didn't expect any club to meet his $2MM asking price.  “Initially, I went, not into panic, but said, ‘Oh crap, I’m going to college,’” the No. 50 pick in last year's draft said. “[The new rules] definitely changed the game but the way I looked at was, I went in there with a number that me and my family and my agent got together, and I was good with going either way."  Toronto found room in the budget for Smoral by essentially punting their picks from rounds 4-10, and Davidi surmises that they'll be open to getting creative this year if another opportunity falls into their lap.
  • Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter) hears that the Mets will draft the best player available at No. 11, rather than target need.

Draft Notes: Bickford, Royals, Stewart, Twins

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We've already had one post's worth of draft news today, and now here's the latest…

  • Other teams believe that the Royals have reached a deal to take right-handed high schooler Phil Bickford with the eighth overall pick, Peter Gammons reports (Twitter link).  Bickford, who is committed to Cal State Fullerton, hasn't been evaluated as No. 8 pick material — Baseball America ranks Bickford as the 20th best prospect in the draft, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has him at No. 26 and ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) has him all the way down at No. 55.
  • The Twins will take right-handed high schooler Kohl Stewart with the fourth overall pick, a source "with a stake in the Twins' draft" tells Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com (Twitter link).  The source says that Stewart, a Houston native, won't be taken first overall by his hometown Astros and that Oklahoma righty Jonathan Gray won't fall to the Twins at #4.
  • The Twins would be "pleased" if Gray or third baseman Kris Bryant made it past the first three picks, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.  It isn't as certain if the club would be happy if Stanford right-hander Mark Appel was still available, as Appel is advised by Scott Boras and would likely be a tougher sign.
  • The Twins were one of the last teams to do extensive medical research on pitching prospects but scouting director Deron Johnson tells 1500ESPN.com's Phil Mackey that the team have been much more thorough over the last three years.  Four MInnesota pitchers taken in the first- or supplementary round between 2008-10 have undergone arm surgeries, three of them Tommy John cases.
  • Several Red Sox executives, including GM Ben Cherington, have scouted high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.  Abraham predicts the Red Sox will take Meadows with the seventh overall pick unless Stewart or possibly Colin Moran are still available.
  • Since the Padres have a number of good arms in their minor league system, MLB.com's Corey Brock predicts the team will take a position player with the 13th overall pick.

Dodgers Notes: Beckett, Elbert, Draft, McCourt

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The Dodgers managed to avoid being no-hit last night by Jason Marquis but that was about the only bright spot of a 6-2 loss to the Padres.  Skip Schumaker broke up Marquis' no-hit bid with a two-out double in the sixth inning.  It was almost exactly a year ago that the Dodgers were last held hitless, when six Mariners pitchers combined for the unique no-hitter on June 8, 2012.

Here's the latest from Chavez Ravine…

  • Josh Beckett is confident that he will pitch again, though the right-hander isn't sure if he will have to undergo season-ending surgery, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports.  Beckett is battling numbness in his pitching hand and has already been shut down for the next four weeks.  Beckett had been thinking about retirement in the wake of the injury, though he felt more optimistic since other pitchers had returned from similar issues.
  • Left-hander Scott Elbert will undergo Tommy John surgery, the team announced.  Elbert underwent elbow operations in September and January and appeared in eight minor league games this season as he attempted to rehabiliate his arm.  A first round pick (17th overall) in the 2004 draft, Elbert posted a 2.32 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 2.33 K/BB rate over 66 relief innings in 2011-12.
  • The Dodgers are likely to draft a pitcher with their first round selection (18th overall) in order to help restock their farm system after dealing several young arms over the past year, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.  "I feel better about our current depth than one might suspect, but I always try to get pitching and that's not going to change. We'll still try to get the highest-ceiling guy," said Logan White, Dodgers VP of amateur scouting.
  • A Los Angeles judge has ordered the Dodgers ownership group to disclose details of its financial relationship with former owner Frank McCourt, The Associated Press reports.  The Dodgers were looking to keep their connections to McCourt private as public disclosure could allegedly harm plans to build another stadium (possibly for an NFL team) on the land around Dodger Stadium, which McCourt and the Guggenheim group co-owns.
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