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2014 Amateur Draft

Twins Sign Nick Gordon

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3:00pm: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Gordon also receives scholarship money, which takes the deal’s value to roughly $4MM, though the scholarship’s value doesn’t count against the Twins’ bonus pool.

1:31pm: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that Gordon signed for the slot value of $3.851MM.

1:21pm: The Twins announced, via press release, that they have agreed to terms with fifth overall pick Nick Gordon. The highly touted Gordon will head to Fort Myers, Fla. to participate in Twins mini-camp before joining the Rookie-level Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League. That season begins on June 19.

Nick Gordon

Gordon, a high school shortstop out of Florida, is the son of longtime Major League closer Tom Gordon and the brother of current Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon. He ranked fourth among draft prospects per ESPN’s Keith Law, fifth according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, and sixth according to Baseball America.

Scouts have praised Gordon’s speed, arm and glove as his best tools, noting that he’s a very good bet to remain at shortstop in pro ball. That doesn’t mean that he’s an all-glove prospect, however, as his bat has drawn high praise as well. Law noted that Gordon has “surprising power given his small frame; largely thanks to very strong wrists and above-average bat speed.” Mayo and Callis touched on Gordon’s ability to use the entire field at the plate, while BA called him an above-average hitter with doubles power that many scouts feel will grow into average home run power as he learns to pull the ball. MLBTR’s Zach Links spoke with Gordon prior to the draft as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Gordon was committed to Florida State, though the expectation was that he would sign out of the draft. He is the third consecutive Top 5 pick that the struggling Twins have had; Minnesota selected No. 1 overall prospect Byron Buxton with the second pick in the 2012 draft and picked right-hander Kohl Stewart with the No. 4 overall selection in last year’s draft. Gordon is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

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 Notes: Seniors, Rodon, Archer, Hale

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The number of college seniors taken in the first ten rounds of the draft increased when bonus pools were instituted in 2012, and the trend toward college seniors reached new heights in 2014, Clint Longenecker of Baseball America writes. Teams took a total of 71 seniors in the first ten rounds, including a total of 36 in the ninth and tenth rounds. Since seniors have little leverage, they can often be signed cheaply, and teams can use the pool savings on a senior drafted in, say, the ninth round on players drafted earlier, or even on hard-to-sign talents from Day 3. Here are more notes on the draft.

  • With the third overall pick in the draft, the White Sox drafted lefty Carlos Rodon, and 105 picks later, in the fourth round, they also drafted his catcher at NC State, Brett Austin. Austin is a big fan of his current, and perhaps future, teammate, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports. “I’m going to branch out and say he could be like a Clayton Kershaw one day,” says Austin. “It’s bold to say, but I’ve heard someone say he’s the best amateur pitcher they’ve ever seen over the last 20 years. And me catching him for the last three years, I’ve kind of started to believe that, too.”
  • Many high schoolers who were selected this week have difficult decisions ahead, and Fangraphs’ David Laurila checks in with high school product Chris Archer and college product David Hale to see what led them to decide when to turn pro. “If a company … is willing to offer you a large advance, and is willing to pay the expenses of school if it doesn’t work out … that’s something you probably want to take advantage of, especially if your family can’t necessarily cover all of your school expenses,” says Archer. The Rays pitcher, who was drafted by the Indians in the fifth round in 2006, adds that he also thought signing out of high school would help him develop as a pitcher, given how raw he was when he was drafted. Hale, meanwhile, thought he might be drafted somewhere from the third through eighth rounds out of high school, in which case he wouldn’t get enough money to sway him from going to Princeton. He went to college, signed with the Braves after his junior year, and quickly finished his degree the following offseason.

AL Notes: A’s, Moreland, Rangers, Konerko, Draft

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The Yankees’ offense may be struggling, but former catcher Jorge Posada says that he wouldn’t be much help if he suddenly came out of retirement.  “I can’t play that game anymore,” Posada told Mitch Abramson of the Daily News at last night’s Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez fight at Madison Square Garden. “It’s too fast. They’re throwing too hard. I’m happy. I think my decision was great. I couldn’t play that game anymore. It’s a tough sport.”  More from around baseball:

  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if the A’s might look to add more punch at second base.  Eric Sogard, Nick Punto, and Alberto Callaspo haven’t been doing much offensively so far, but a premium second baseman would require a substantial return.  The A’s won’t part with Addison Russell and minor league right-hander Raul Alcantara is hurt.
  • The Rangers have lost their second first baseman to the disabled list with the news Mitch Moreland will undergo left ankle reconstruction and is expected to miss three months. In the wake of Kendrys Morales’ signing with the Twins, ESPNDallas.com’s Richard Durrett examines the Rangers’ in-house options to replace Moreland.
  • Paul Konerko was caught off-guard when he was traded by the Dodgers on the Fourth of July 16 years ago, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. “I was surprised not because I got traded, but because of the timing of the trade,” said Konerko, who was dealt to the Reds for closer Jeff Shaw. “I don’t think it really mattered what they got at that point. It didn’t seem like they were going to win.” The Dodgers, who finished third in 1998, were 12 1/2 games out of first place and eight games behind in the Wild Card race at the time of the deal. The Reds flipped Konerko to the White Sox seven months later for outfielder Mike Cameron and the rest is history for the South Siders.
  • ESPN’s Keith Law breaks down the draft for each American League club (through Round Ten) in an Insider-only piece (subscription required).

Edward Creech 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.

Astros Close To Deal With Brady Aiken

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The Astros are close to a deal with top overall draft pick Brady Aiken, Mark Berman of FOX Houston reports. Aiken’s father Jim says his son will soon travel to Houston to make the deal official.

“I would say we have a verbal agreement in place,” says Jim Aiken. “Next thing is to hammer out the details of the contract and hopefully that’ll be done in the next week or two.”

The pool value of Aiken’s pick is about $7.92MM. There has been some speculation about the possibility that Aiken will take less, which would allow the Astros to spread some of that money to later picks. Aiken, who hails from Cathedral Catholic High School in California,  is committed to UCLA.

Aiken’s stock rose this spring, and he gradually emerged as the top overall talent in the draft. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted when the Astros picked Aiken, Aiken already has good velocity for a lefty, and he has the potential to have a plus curveball and changeup to go along with a plus fastball. He also has outstanding command for a high school pitcher.

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