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2014 Amateur Draft Signings

White Sox To Sign Second-Rounder Spencer Adams

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The White Sox have agreed to terms with second-round pick Spencer Adams, a source tells Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link). The two sides are said to have agreed to the full slot value of $1.282MM.

Adams, who was selected with the 44th overall pick in this year’s draft, was considered a first-round talent by many. Baseball America ranked him 23rd in the final edition of its Top 500, while Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked him 27th, and ESPN’s Keith Law placed Adams 37th on his Top 100.

BA notes that Adams, a former basketball standout, is one of the best athletes in this year’s class with a fastball that sits in the 93 to 95 mph range. A high school right-hander from Georgia, Adams throws from a three-quarter arm slot that he struggles to repeat at times (per Law’s scouting report), sometimes teetering on the brink of sidearming the ball. MLB.com calls his slider his best secondary offering, noting that both his changeup and curveball have the potential to be average or better pitches that will complement his two plus offerings. Adams had been committed to Georgia but will instead embark on his pro career.

Diamondbacks Sign Second-Rounder Cody Reed

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with second-round pick Cody Reed, reports Josh Bean of the Alabama Media Group. Bean’s piece includes video of an interview with Reed on his decision to sign. MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports that he signed for the slot value of $1,034,500 (Twitter link).

Reed, a high school left-hander out of Alabama, ranked as the draft’s No. 52 prospect per Baseball America. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Reed 61st overall, while ESPN’s Keith Law had him 92nd on his pre-draft rankings. Reed, who had committed to Vanderbilt, boosted his draft stock by upping his fastball velocity from 88-90 mph to 92-95 mph, according to MLB.com. BA notes that of his four-pitch mix, his slider and curveball both have the potential to be above-average pitches as well.

Law is among many evaluators to have voiced concern over the 6’3″, 260-pound Reed’s weight, though he notes that Reed has repeated his delivery well in spite of that size. As Mayo and Callis note, however, many scouts are intrigued by the possibility of his velocity increasing even further if he is able to get himself into better shape as a pro.

Dodgers Agree To Terms With Alex Verdugo

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The Dodgers and second-round draft pick Alex Verdugo have agreed to terms on a $914.6K bonus, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link).  The bonus directly matches the assigned value of the 62nd overall pick.  Verdugo had committed to attend Arizona State.

Verdugo, 18, is a Tucson high schooler who was drafted by the Dodgers as an outfielder, though he was also well-regarded as a left-handed pitcher.  Baseball America, in fact, believes that Verdugo’s “professional future is definitely on the mound,” describing him as “a strike-thrower” with two breaking balls and a changeup, plus a fastball in the 88-90mph range.

BA ranked Verdugo as the 55th-best prospect in the draft and MLB.com ranked him 60th, though both rankings may have been made with him in mind as a pitcher.  Dodgers VP of amateur scouting Logan White told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that pitching could still be in Verdugo’s future, as “if he doesn’t hit, he’ll go right to the mound. I think he can be a big league pitcher.”

Draft Signings: Skoglund, Rays, Helmink, Bukauskas

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Here are today’s notable draft news and signings:

  • The Royals have agreed to terms with third-round pick Erik Skoglund, who will get the bonus pool amount of $576K, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Skoglund is a projectable lefty and a junior out of Central Florida.
  • The Rays have signed their sixth- through ninth-round draft choices, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin tweets. Sixth-rounder Mac James, a catcher from Oklaholma, is a junior, but the other three players (RHP Mike Franco of Florida International, 3B Daniel Miles of Tennessee Tech, and RHP Chris Pike of Oklahoma City University) are all seniors, so the Rays will likely save money against their bonus pool with those picks.
  • The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with 12th-round pick Holden Helmink, a righty from a Texas junior college, on a deal worth $100K, Cotillo tweets. $100K is the maximum a team can pay a player drafted after the tenth round without it counting against the team’s bonus pool.
  • The Dodgers have agreed to terms with fifth-rounder Jared Walker, a lefty-hitting third baseman from a Georgia high school, on a deal for the bonus pool value of $297K, Cotillo tweets. Walker was committed to Kennesaw State.
  • The Rangers have signed sixth-round pick Jose Trevino, Trevino himself tweets. Texas selected the Oral Roberts junior third baseman at No. 186 overall. The bonus pool value of that pick is about $229K.
  • The Rockies have agreed to terms with sixth-rounder Max George, Neil Devlin of the Denver Post tweets. The 5-foot-9 shortstop is a local product, hailing from Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora. There was no immediate word on George’s bonus, but the pool value of the pick is about $259K.
  • The Blue Jays have announced the first signings of their 2014 draft class: prep catcher Matt Morgan (4th round) and Florida right-hander Justin Shafer (8th round). No terms were released, but the slot value (per Baseball America) for the two picks are $458K and $159.9K, respectively.
  • Right-hander J.B. Bukauskas tweeted he will honor his commitment to the University of North Carolina and not sign with the Diamondbacks. Bukauskas, rated #33 by Baseball America and #38 by MLB.com, lasted until the 20th round (#600 overall) after asking teams last month not to draft him because he wanted to attend UNC.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Draft Signings: Twins, Royals, Rangers, D’Backs, Cubs

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Here’s a roundup of today’s key news regarding signings from the draft.

  • The Twins have agreed to a slightly below-slot bonus with 9th rounder Max Murphy, tweets Cotillo. The Bradley outfielder will get $130K, just over $20K below his slot amount.
  • A few more drafted players have agreed to terms with the Royals, per Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link), though bonus amounts have not yet been reported. High school shortstop Dawon Burt (fourth round; $420K slot) and Texas A&M righty Corey Ray (fifth round; $314K slot) are both in agreement, joining sixth-rounder Logan Moon (see below).
  • The Rangers have agreed to terms with fourth-rounder Brett Martin on a $475K deal, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. The deal comes in $67K above the $408K bonus pool value of the pick. The lefty Martin hails from a Tennessee junior college.
  • The Rangers have also agreed to terms with tenth-rounder and Abilene Christian catcher Seth Spivey for $10K, tweets MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo. The signing would allow the Rangers to save about $128K against their bonus pool, which would appear to help them balance their budget after the Martin signing is complete.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed third-rounder Matt Railey, the outfielder himself tweets. Railey, a Florida high-schooler, had a commitment to Florida State. There is no immediate word on his bonus, but the pool value of the pick is $603K.
  • The Cubs have agreed to terms with third-rounder and Virginia Tech catcher Mark Zagunis for $615K, Cotillo tweets. The deal saves the Cubs about $100K against the draft pool value of the pick.
  • The Astros have agreed to terms with eighth-rounder Bobby Boyd, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. There is no immediate word on a bonus for the junior outfielder from West Virginia University, but pool value for that pick is around $163K. McTaggart also reports that the Astros have agreed to terms with tenth-rounder Jay Gause, a junior pitcher from Faulkner University. The pool value for Gause’s pick is $142K.
  • Georgia high school lefty Mac Marshall plans to head to LSU rather than going pro, the pitcher himself tweets. MLB.com had ranked Marshall the No. 66 prospect in the draft, but he was not taken until the 21st round by Houston, surely due in large part to teams’ awareness of his reluctance to sign.
  • The Reds have agreed to terms with fifth-rounder Tejay Antone, a tall righty from a Texas community college, at the bonus-pool figure of $308K, Cotillo tweets. Antone had planned to head to Auburn next year if he didn’t end up signing.
  • The Royals have agreed to terms with sixth-round pick Logan Moon, Cotillo tweets. The senior outfielder from Missouri Southern will get less than the bonus pool value of about $235K.

Brewers Agree To Terms With Monte Harrison

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The Brewers have agreed to terms with second-round pick Monte Harrison for a bonus of $1.8MM, well above the bonus pool value of $1.1MM, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. Harrison, a high school outfielder from Missouri, was committed to play both baseball and football at Nebraska.

The Brewers took high school lefty Kodi Medeiros with the No. 12 overall pick, slightly higher than many draft analysts thought he would go. It’s possible the Brewers could sign Medeiros for somewhat less than his pool value of $2.81MM in order to free up money for the Harrison deal. They also drafted four college seniors between the fifth and tenth rounds, and they could free up some pool money there. In addition to Harrison, the Brewers took another high-upside high school talent, infielder Jacob Gatewood, in Competitive Balance Round A.

Indians To Sign Justus Sheffield

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3:15pm: Agent David Sloane of Taurus Sports tells MLBTR that Sheffield has agreed to terms at $1.6MM plus the value of a $250K scholarship with Vanderbilt. Sheffield’s deal is technically under slot, but the additional value of the scholarship money and the fact that the bonus is to be paid up front takes the value of the deal over the slot value while allowing Cleveland to allot roughly $133K to other picks later in the draft.

10:45am: Zach Birdsong of Sheffield’s hometown Tullahoma News tweeted late last night that a “source close to the deal” informed him that Sheffield has neither signed nor agreed to anything. Sheffield himself retweeted Birdsong shortly thereafter, suggesting that there likely isn’t an agreement in place just yet.

12:29am: The Indians and first-round pick Justus Sheffield have agreed to a $1.6MM bonus plus eight semesters worth of tuition to Vanderbilt, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter). The No. 31 overall draft slot carried a value of $1.733MM, meaning Sheffield signed a bit under slot. Cleveland received the No. 31 overall selection as compensation for losing right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez to the Orioles via free agency. Including college tuition as a fallback isn’t uncommon among high school draft signings, though it isn’t always reported, either. That money does not count against the team’s bonus pool.

Sheffield, a high school left-hander out of Tennessee, ranked 21st among draft prospects according to ESPN’s Keith Law, 39th according to Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and 49th according to Baseball America.

Callis and Mayo feel that Sheffield has the chance to develop three plus pitches. His heater already sits 89 to 92 mph and touches 94, and he also features a mid-70s curveball and changeup, both of which the MLB.com duo refers to as advanced for high school. Law feels that Sheffield’s fourth pitch, a slider in the 82-84 mph range, also has a chance to be plus and can already miss bats. BA called him a strike-thrower with a four-pitch mix and a chance for average or better command. All three scouting reports praised his athleticism.

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