Draft Notes: Gray, Appel
The 2013 Rule 4 draft takes place on June 6th, with the Astros, Cubs, Rockies, Twins, and Indians taking the first five picks. You can check out the full draft order here. The latest draft info:
- 6-foot-4, 240 pound Oklahoma righty Jonathan Gray is shooting up draft boards. ESPN's Keith Law had him eighth on March 14th, but now has him as the clear number two player behind another college righty, Stanford's Mark Appel. Gray, who hit 101 in several recent games according to scouts who talked to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, was drafted by the Royals in the 13th round in 2010 and the Yankees in the 10th round in 2011, and now projects to go very early in the 2013 draft. Oklahoma head baseball coach Sunny Golloway told ESPN's Teddy Mitrosilis, "He's going to Houston or the Cubs, No. 1 or No. 2."
- Appel is "still clearly the best player in this draft," in the eyes of Law. Law wonders if the Astros or Cubs can "try to work out a deal less than the recommended bonus number but more than the figure Appel turned down from the Pirates last year ($3.8 million), with the carrot of a big league callup in September if he throws well after signing." Appel is an advisee of the Boras Corporation.
- Prep outfielder Austin Meadows, college lefty Sean Manaea, and prep righty Kohl Stewart are the next three players on Law's draft board, which is ranks players by talent and upside and is not a mock draft.
Quick Hits: Robinson, Andrus, Profar, Appel
Sixty-six years ago today, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier when he made his Major League debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After an 0-for-3 debut, Robinson went on to hit .297/.383/.427 with 12 home runs, a league-leading 29 stolen bases and won Rookie of the Year honors. As MLB.com's Richard Justice writes, the movie "42" introduces Robinson to a new generation of Americans and helps to immortalize the legacy of one of America's most courageous figures: "Robinson paid an incomprehensible price in the pain he endured and the responsibility he carried," writes Justice.
Baseball as we know it would not be the same were it not for Robinson's courage, talent and perseverance. Here's a look at some news from around the league on Jackie Robinson day…
- In his latest MLB.com mailbag, T.R. Sullivan writes that the Elvis Andrus extension, while risky for the Rangers, is still beneficial to the team. He credits Scott Boras for "astutely putting risk" on Texas.
- Within that same piece, Sullivan writes that the Rangers would trade a package of prospects highlighted by Jurickson Profar "in the blink of an eye" if it meant landing David Price from the Rays or Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America feels that Mark Appel has plenty of leverage in the upcoming draft and will likely sign a bonus in the $6MM neighborhood. As Callis notes, teams can't risk offering something like a $5MM "take it or leave it" offer and signing the rest of their picks. Doing so could ultimately lead to paying over slot to sign Appel, costing them future picks. It's in the best interest of whoever drafts Appel to sign him first, and doing so could prove highly expensive.
- Callis also notes that Appel and Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray have established themselves as the clear-cut top two prospects in the draft.
- Major League Baseball is making progress on its investigation of the Biogenesis scandal, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. However, it appears MLB is looking for "a smoking gun" before taking what could be its only chance to question players such as Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun who have been connected to the Miami clinic. Heyman confirms that MLB has purchased Biogenesis documentation, but notes that the MLBPA will be sure to question documents that were produced after a cash transaction.
Quick Hits: Alomar, Phillies, Cubs
Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar is grateful for the December 1989 trade in which the Padres shipped him to Cleveland with Carlos Baerga and Chris James for Joe Carter, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. In 1988, Baseball America named Alomar its Minor League Player Of The Year after a strong year in Triple-A Las Vegas, but he was blocked by Benito Santiago, so the Padres sent him back to Triple-A, and Alomar won the Minor League Player Of The Year award a second time. When the Padres finally dealt him to Cleveland, Alomar says, he "didn't know much about the Indians, I just knew it was the major leagues." But he had an opportunity there, and in 1990 he won the AL Rookie Of The Year award. Alomar spent 11 seasons with the Indians as a player, then returned to the Indians as a coach in 2010. Here are more notes from around the majors.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. shouldn't wait to address the team's problems, Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer argues. "What they can't do is let a handful of spare-part relievers continue to work themselves into dubious shape while the season slow-drips away," Sheridan says, adding that there's a fine line between "maintaining perspective" and doing nothing while a season comes apart. It's early in the year to be making big trades (or drawing radical conclusions from the season thus far), but Sheridan suggests the Phillies might make do in the meantime by cycling through some relievers currently at Triple-A.
- GM Jed Hoyer says the Cubs are honing in on potential choices with the second overall pick in the upcoming June draft, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com reports. "We are narrowing it down," says Hoyer. "We haven’t narrowed it down to hitter vs. pitcher yet. We’ve narrowed it down to a group. We’ll meet next week and decide if that group is big enough (or) if we need to include more players in that group." Stanford pitcher Mark Appel appears to be in that group, along with Georgia high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier.
Quick Hits: Rockies, Indians, Pujols, Cubs
The Rockies' decision to designate Aaron Harang for assignment after trading Ramon Hernandez for him shows that Colorado likes the pitchers it already has, MLB.com's Thomas Harding argues. The Rockies will stick with their rotation of Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Juan Nicasio, Jeff Francis and Jon Garland. Behind them at Triple-A Colorado Springs, the Rockies have youngsters Drew Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich and Tyler Chatwood, along with veteran Aaron Cook. "We're happy with our guys," Rockies senior vice president of Major League operations Bill Geivett says. "Whether it was Chacin who missed a lot of time, or De La Rosa who missed a lot of time, or Nicasio who missed a lot of time, there's some ring-rust that comes with a new season and not having a full season last year. At the same time, we're confident in them." Here are more notes from around the majors.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti and his front office sometimes try to "cram six pounds of smart into a five-pound bag," the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes says. The decision to begin the season short-handed, as they carried Carlos Carrasco on their 25-man roster while he served a suspension, came back to bite the Indians, says Hoynes. The trouble began when Scott Kazmir hurt his ribcage on Monday, which forced the Indians to activate him so they could backdate his stay on the disabled list. That meant they had to option Nick Hagadone, who was supposed to provide bullpen depth in a week in which, as it turns out, they could have used it, as they played an 11-inning game Wednesday and a high-scoring game Thursday. The Indians ultimately had Trevor Bauer start Saturday night, and he walked seven while allowing three runs in five innings.
- Albert Pujols says he won't allow his ten-year, $240MM contract with the Angels to become a burden, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. "God has given me ability and talent, but the day I feel like I can't compete any more on this level, I'm not going to embarrass myself," says Pujols, who hit "only" .285/.343/.516 in the first year of his contract in 2012. DiGiovanna clarifies that Pujols isn't suggesting he has plans to retire, but rather that pride compels him to play his best and try to prove his critics wrong.
- The Cubs are currently looking at six MLB Draft prospects, says MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Their list includes Stanford pitcher Mark Appel (who is currently generally regarded as the top talent available), along with Georgia high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier. The Cubs pick second in the draft, which will be held in early June.
MLB, MLBPA Talking Worldwide Draft
TUESDAY: MLB is willing to make "significant concessions" to the MLBPA in order to implement a worldwide draft, sources tell ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter links). The players could obtain an increase in minimum salary, have a lower service time threshold for arbitration eligibility and more, Olney writes.
MONDAY, 1:26pm: Rob Manfred, MLB's executive VP, said there's a chance of a deal by June 1st, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal reports (on Twitter). The most likely outcomes are a single global draft or the current draft plus a second draft for international players, Mullen reports.
10:37am: Major League Baseball could have a worldwide draft in place sooner, rather than later. MLB and the MLB Players Association are pushing to strike a deal for a worldwide draft by June 1st, Eric Fisher of the Sports Business Journal reports (Twitter links).
If the sides don’t reach a deal then expanded international spending restrictions will take effect. The possibility of increased international spending restrictions exists to encourage talks about a worldwide draft.
Amateur players from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico are now eligible for baseball’s Rule 4 draft, which takes place each June. Instituted in 1965, the draft does not apply to international players. Instead, amateur players from countries such as Venezuela and the Dominican Republic negotiate bonuses with teams.
Baseball’s most recent collective bargaining agreement introduced major rule changes designed to restrict international spending. For example, teams had $2.9MM to spend for the 2012-13 signing period. Though MLB and the MLBPA announced the five-year Basic Agreement just over a year ago, the sides acknowledged from the beginning that talks for a worldwide draft could take place before the expiration of the CBA.
Commissioner Bud Selig has consistently expressed public support for the worldwide draft. The implementation of a worldwide draft has the potential to limit expenses for the owners without presenting a direct threat to the earning potential of MLBPA members.
Quick Hits: Royals, Stanton, Draft, Mets, Nationals
Earlier tonight, the Royals announced the signing of Miguel Tejada to a minor league contract. Whether or not the deal includes an invitation to Spring Training will be announced at a later date, the Royals said in a release. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweeted the addition of Tejada could make Tony Abreu or Irving Falu expendable. Dutton added Falu has options remaining while Abreu doesn't (Twitter link). As the East Coast drops the ball on 2013, let's enjoy another round of MLB news and notes:
- Dutton projects the Royals' payroll to be in neighborhood of $83MM and it's hard for him to see it go much higher (via Twitter). The Royals could free up some salary by moving Luke Hochevar or Bruce Chen, but Dutton doesn't sense any urgency from the club to move either one. Another possibility, although less likely, is Chris Getz (Twitter links).
- The Mariners have contacted the Marlins about Giancarlo Stanton, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. However, one source Morosi spoke with doubts a trade will occur.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis has updated the 2013 amateur draft order. There are four potential compensation free agents remaining on the market (Michael Bourn, Adam LaRoche, Kyle Lohse, and Rafael Soriano). If they change addresses, their former club will get a pick at the end of the first round and their new team will forfeit their top choice (unless it's one of the top 10 overall).
- Within the same piece, Callis remains surprised the Mets were able to obtain Noah Syndergaard from the Blue Jays in the R.A. Dickey trade. By adding Travis d'Arnaud and Syndergaard, which Callis projects as the Mets' second and third best prospects, the club has boosted their farm system into the top 20.
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post listed the Nationals posting the best record in baseball as the club's top storyline in 2012.
Quick Hits: Mariners, D’Backs, Trades, 2013 Draft
The Upton brothers made history tonight as both Justin and B.J. hit their 100th career home runs. They become the sixth pair of brothers to each hit 100 Major League homers and the first to reach the plateau on the same evening. Here are some more news items from around the majors as we head into the weekend…
- Ichiro Suzuki's trade to the Yankees has spurred rumors that the Mariners' ownership group may be considering selling the team, writes CBS Sports' Scott Miller. Team CEO Howard Lincoln recently called the rumors "absolute nonsense."
- The Diamondbacks' search for an ace pitcher at the trade deadline involved a serious pursuit of James Shields and "kicking the tires" on Matt Garza, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D'Backs asked the Red Sox about starting pitching (Piecoro presumes Josh Beckett and Jon Lester) but the talks went nowhere since the Snakes weren't willing to trade their top prospects.
- Garza, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Vargas, Chase Headley and Cliff Lee are five stars who would be on different teams had five deals "that should have happened but didn't" actually taken place before the deadline, writes ESPN's Jim Bowden (ESPN Insider subscription required).
- Jack Moore of Fangraphs looks at three hitters and three pitchers who could be trade targets in August.
- Mark Appel holds the #1 spot on Baseball America's ranking of 2013 amateur draft prospects. In general, the draft class is not thought to be overly deep, given a "generally underwhelming collection" of hitters and a high school class projected to be weaker than last year.
Competitive Balance Lottery Results
Baseball’s first Competitive Balance Lottery took place in New York City today. The lottery, which allocates additional draft picks to small-market and low-revenue teams, provides teams with draft choices they can choose to use or trade. The Diamondbacks, Orioles, Indians, Royals, Athletics, Pirates, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers and Cardinals were eligible to obtain draft picks. The Tigers were also eligible, though only for the group of selections that takes place after the second round. Here are the results, via MLB.com:
Selections Between First & Second Rounds (Round A)
- Royals
- Pirates
- Diamondbacks
- Orioles
- Reds
- Marlins
Selections After Second Round (Round B)
- Padres
- Indians
- Rockies
- Athletics
- Brewers
- Tigers
The Rays and Cardinals did not receive a pick in either of the Competitive Balance Lottery Rounds.
Astros Expected To Select Mark Appel First Overall
The Houston Astros are expected to select Stanford's Mark Appel with the first overall pick in tomorrow's amateur draft, according to ESPN's Jim Bowden (via Twitter).
Appel, a Houston native, pitched Stanford to a 9-1 victory over Fresno State this past Friday in the opener of regional play. Appel tossed a complete game four-hitter and struck out 11 in avenging his only loss of the season. Appel has compiled a 2.27 ERA, 9.6 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 in 119 innings (15 starts) for the Cardinal.