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2013 Amateur Draft

Red Sox Sign Trey Ball

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3:48pm: Speier adds that Ball signed for $2.75MM, which represents a savings of nearly $500K for the Red Sox (Twitter link).

2:20pm: The Red Sox have officially announced the signing of Ball.

12:02pm: The Red Sox and Ball have agreed to terms, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). His bonus is still unknown at this time.

8:51am: The Red Sox are in the final stages of negotiations with No. 7 overall pick Trey Ball, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, and the deal is expected to be completed today. Ball has passed his physical, and his signing bonus is expected to be slightly below the assigned pick value of $3.246MM. Ball is advised by Frontline Athlete Management.

A high school left-handed pitcher/outfielder out of Indiana, Ball was a consensus Top 10 talent among ESPN's Keith Law (No. 8), MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo (No. 8) and Baseball America (No. 9). Law wrote that Ball could be a first-round talent whether drafted as a pitcher or an outfielder but was currently better suited for pitching: "On the mound, his talent is easier to spot — a 6-foot-6 left-hander with a loose arm, a fastball up to 94, and feel for a breaking ball already." Mayo adds that Ball's changeup is his best secondary offering, but he struggles to repeat his delivery at times.

The Red Sox view Ball as a pitcher, with director of player personnel Dave Finley telling Speier, “Trey’s velocity was pretty remarkable throughout the year. Being in a cold-weather state and having that velocity was pretty promising." Finley likens Ball to 2011 supplemental-rounder Henry Owens as well as a young Jon Lester. All three lefties were selected out of high school by the Red Sox.

It is believed, according to Speier, that the savings on second-rounder Teddy Stankiewicz's signing bonus and Ball's signing bonus will be enough to offset the over-slot deal given to third-round catcher Jon Denney.

Twins Sign Kohl Stewart

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The Twins have issued a press release to announce the signing of No. 4 overall pick Kohl Stewart. The 18-year-old prep right-hander is advised by Darek Braunecker of Frontline Athlete Management. Stewart signed for the full slot value of $4,544,400, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).

Stewart was a consensus Top 10 talent in this year's draft, ranking fourth overall according to ESPN's Keith Law, fifth according to Baseball America and seventh according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. Law wrote that Stewart has four legitimate pitches, two of which have a chance to end up as 70-grade offerings on the 20-80 scouting scale. Those would be his 92-94 mph fastball (which touches 97) and his 85-88 mph slider with late break. In the above tweet, Callis notes that Stewart has drawn comparisons to Justin Verlander when pitching at his best.

Stewart had a football commitment to Texas A&M, where he would have served as a back-up to Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel at quarterback. He is the second consecutive high school player drafted by the Twins. Minnesota selected outfielder Byron Buxton with the No. 2 overall selection in the 2012 draft.

With Stewart's signing, 23 of this year's 33 first-round selections have agreed to terms or signed with their first professional organization.

Astros To Sign Mark Appel

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WEDNESDAY, 12:19pm: The Astros will officially sign Appel this afternoon, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).  The club has put out a press release confirming the deal.

SATURDAY, 4:25pm: It appears that the Astros have accomplished what the Pirates could not last year.  Houston has agreed to terms with first overall pick Mark Appel on a deal worth $6.35MM.  That number falls below the suggested slot value for the No. 1 pick, which is $7.79MM, according to Baseball America.   Appel

Appel, who is advised by Scott Boras, was drafted last year by the Pirates at No. 8 but ultimately did not sign.  The right-hander arguably would have gone higher in the 2012 draft if it weren't for signability concerns.  It was reported that the Bucs offered the right-hander $3.8MM and from a money standpoint, Boras and Appel have come out on top.

Appel was ranked as the top prospect in the draft by ESPN's Keith Law and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.  Baseball America had him pegged as the second-best prospect in his class, behind Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray, who went No. 3 to the Rockies.

The Stanford product shows everything scouts look for in a frontline pitcher, according to BA.  Appel's fastball sits in the mid-90s and gets as high as 98 mph, and he holds his velocity deep into games.  The right-hander has improved in each year at Stanford and figures to move quickly through the minor leagues.

CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman first reported that an agreement was reached while Jim Callis of Baseball America tweeted the value of the deal.  Additional details were provided by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Zach Links contributed to this post.

Draft Signings: Bohn, Salazar, Verbistky, Healy, Moll

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Baseball America's Jim Callis tweeted updates on previous draft signings Bryan Verbitsky and Carlos Salazar today. Verbitsky, a third-round pick by the Padres will receive $400K, while Salazar, the Braves' third-rounder, will receive $625K (Twitter links). The Padres landed Verbitsky $221K under slot, while the Braves went over-slot by nearly $120K. Here are more signings out of the second and third rounds (all slot info courtesy of Baseball America)…

  • The Rockies went $535K over slot to sign sixth-rounder Dom Nunez, according to BA's Jim Callis (on Twitter).  The California high school third baseman/shortstop/catcher boasts a compact swing, sneaky pop, and a strong arm.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a significantly over-slot deal with seventh-round pick Justin Bohn, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned. Bohn, the No. 202 overall selection, signed for $525K, though the assigned pick value for that slot was just $193K. Bohn had been committed to Oregon State.
  • The A's have signed third-round pick Ryon Healy for $500K, tweets Callis. The A's saved about $16K on Oregon's first baseman, who shows good power and has a chance to play third base.
  • Callis tweets that the Rockies signed third-rounder Sam Moll for $600K, meaning they saved about $113K on the Memphis left-hander. Though he stands just 5'11", Moll throws 93-95 mph as a starter. He's likely a reliever in the pros, though.
  • The Royals signed third-round pick Carter Hope for $561K, Callis reports (Twitter link). Hope's bonus is exactly $100K under slot. The prep righty from Texas throws 88-92 mph with an improving curveball. He had been committed to Oklahoma State.

Astros, Boras Meet To Discuss Appel Deal

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Scott Boras, who represents No.1 pick Mark Appel, touched down in Houston today to talk with Astros GM Jeff Luhnow in an effort to wrap up negotiations.  Boras told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that no agreement has been reached, but his pow-wow with Luhnow likely indicates that a deal is close.

“Jeff and I are going to talk about things tonight and we’ll see,” Boras said. “We’re certainly close enough for me to come here and talk, that’s for sure.”

It was reported late last week that the Astros had reached an agreement in principle with Appel on a deal that would pay him $6.35MM, well below the suggested slot value of $7.79MM for the top selection. Appel was ranked as the top prospect in the draft by ESPN's Keith Law and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.  Baseball America had him pegged as the second-best prospect in his class, behind Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray, who went No. 3 to the Rockies.

Diamondbacks Sign Braden Shipley

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The Diamondbacks have signed first-rounder Braden Shipley for an under-slot $2.25MM signing bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The assigned pick value to the No. 15 selection was $2,434,500, according to BA, so the D-backs managed to save about $185K despite getting Shipley much later than most expected him to go. Shipley is advised by Adam Karon and Tripper Johnson of Sosnick & Cobbe.

Shipley was a consensus top 10 talent among ESPN's Keith Law (No. 6), Baseball America (No. 8) and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo (No. 9), so it was surprising that he was on the board for the D-backs with the 15th overall selection. The big right-hander out of Nevada works at 93-95 mph but touches 98 with his heater and has a hard curveball, according to Callis.

Law called Shipley's 83-86 mph changeup his best pitch, but also noted that he's seen Shipley clocked as high as 99 mph with his fastball and added that the Wolf Pack ace features an average curveball.

Shipley becomes the 21st first-round selection from this year's draft to agree to terms or officially sign with his new team. The Diamondbacks have selected a college pitcher with three of their past four first-round picks, also grabbing UCLA's Trevor Bauer and Texas A&M's Barret Loux.

Phillies Sign J.P. Crawford

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The Phillies have signed first-round pick J.P. Crawford for the full slot value of $2,299,300, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Crawford-JPChuck Hixson of Philly Baseball Insider was the first to tweet that a deal was in place. Crawford, a high school shortstop out of California, is advised by Len Strelitz of the Wasserman Media Group.

Callis notes that Crawford was "easily the best" shortstop in this year's draft class, as he has a good bat, speed, good defense and a little power as well. Crawford ranked 14th among draft prospects according to ESPN's Keith Law. Baseball America ranked Crawford 15th on their Top 500, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked him 19th on his Top 100 list.

Law wrote that Crawford was the only shortstop in the draft who had a better than even chance of sticking at the position. Though he's concerned about Crawford's size, Law called him "a shortstop with a chance to hit and add value on defense, great for a team that doesn't mind taking a player who might not see full-season ball until 2015."

The Phillies hadn't had a true first-round pick since 2011 thanks to their free agent signings of Jonathan Papelbon and Cliff Lee. The also lost their 2009 first-rounder when they signed Raul Ibanez as a free agent. Crawford is the third consecutive high school talent taken with the Phillies' true first-round selections, as they grabbed left-hander Jesse Biddle in 2010 and shortstop Anthony Hewitt in 2008. Crawford is one of 20 first-rounders to agree to terms or sign with his new team thus far.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets Agree To Sign Dominic Smith

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2:54pm: Smith's deal is worth $2.6MM, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).  That figure is just below the slot recommendation of $2.8MM for the No. 11 overall selection.

2:23pm: The Mets have reached agreement on a deal with first-rounder Dominic Smith, sources tell Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter).  An official announcement from the Mets is coming soon, according to Carig.

Terms of the deal are unknown, but the slot recommendation for the No. 11 pick is $2,840,300, according to Baseball America.  Smith, a high school first baseman out of California, is being advised by the MVP Sports Group.

ESPN's Keith Law ranked Smith as the No. 11 talent available, while Baseball America ranked him 14th, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo ranked him 15th.  All three noted the tremendous upside of Smith's bat and his plus defense at first, with Law in particular noting how rare it is for high school first basemen to be this highly regarded because they're already at the bottom of the defensive spectrum.

Matt Ehalt of ESPNNewYork.com reported last week that the Mets and Smith were close to a deal.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Pirates To Sign Reese McGuire

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TUESDAY: McGuire received $2.369MM from the Pirates, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis (on Twitter), so the Pirates saved about $200K.

MONDAY: The Pirates have agreed to a deal with first round draft pick Reese McGuire, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.  According to Mark Zender, McGuire's high school coach, McGuire is on his way to Pittsburgh in order to take his physical and will officially sign tomorrow.  The contract is believed to be worth close to the assigned slot value (via Baseball America) for the 14th overall pick, which is just under $2.57MM.  McGuire is advised by Adam Karon and Tripper Johnson of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.

McGuire, a left-handed hitting catcher, was rated as the draft's 10th-best prospect by both MLB.com and Baseball America, and was rated 19th by ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required).  The Kentwood High School product drew praise for his throwing arm, defensive skills and overall game-calling abilities behind the plate.  While his hitting is still somewhat unpolished, BA notes that "even if he doesn't reach his offensive ceiling, McGuire's defense will allow him to be a big league backup, but if he hits he has all-star potential."

Once McGuire's deal is finalized, he will be the 16th of 33 first rounders to sign.  One of the unsigned is Austin Meadows, the Pirates' other first round selection — the Bucs received the ninth overall pick as compensation for failing to sign Mark Appel following the 2012 draft.

Giants To Sign Christian Arroyo

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11:51am: Arroyo signed for the full slot value of $1,866,500, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).

2:30am: Giants first-rounder Christian Arroyo is in Arizona to take his physical and thus is close to signing with the team, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Details of the contract aren't known but as the 25th overall pick in the draft, Arroyo's recommended slot bonus (via Baseball America) is between $1.866MM and $1.867MM.  Arroyo is advised by Tom O'Connell of O'Connell Sports Management.

The Giants see Arroyo as a middle infielder and he was drafted as a shortstop, though there is some debate over which position best suits the Florida high schooler.  Some scouts actually see Arroyo as a catcher, and "those who don't think he can catch see him as a tweener, not quick enough for second and not powerful enough for third base," according to Baseball America (BA subscription required).  Arroyo is considered to be a generally good hitting prospect, though ESPN's Keith Law feels "his offensive upside is somewhat limited" and he has some mechanical issues at the plate. 

Arroyo was something of a surprise first round pick in the pundits' eyes, as Law only ranked him 99th on his list of the 100 best draft prospects and Baseball America ranked him 102nd.  He had committed to attend the University of Florida.  Arroyo will be the 17th of this year's 33 first rounders to sign once his deal is finalized.

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