Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2014 Amateur Draft

Reds Sign Second-Rounder Taylor Sparks

By | at

The Reds have agreed to a $972.8K bonus with second-round (58th overall) choice Taylor Sparks, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). That represents the assigned value of the pick.

Sparks is a third baseman out of UC Irvine. He was the 56th overall prospect in the view of MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, who write that he is strong, athletic, and delivers hard contact at the plate. He is expected to develop some power and be able to stick at the hot corner. ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated him at the 72nd spot, while Baseball America had him as the 87th best player available.

According to the MLB.com signings tracker, Cincinnati has now locked up all of its picks from the first ten rounds with the exception of its first selection (19th overall): Nick Howard, the University of Virginia closer, who just completed play at the College World Series.

Draft Signings: Graves, Laxer, Schuh

By | at

Here are today’s notable amateur draft signings, with all slot information provided by Baseball America…

  • The Athletics have signed third-rounder Brett Graves, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (via Twitter).  Graves signed for a $510K bonus, giving the A’s a slight discount on the $519.2K slot price attached to the 101st overall selection.  Graves is a 6’1″, 173-pound right-hander from the University of Missouri.  He was ranked as the 59th-best draft prospect by ESPN’s Keith Law, 61st by Baseball America and 80th by MLB.com.  The BA scouting report noted that Graves “appeared to be losing steam as the college season wound down,” which could explain why he was still available after the first 100 picks.
  • The Tigers have signed ninth-round pick Josh Laxer, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  Laxer signed for the $143.9K bonus price assigned to the 280th overall pick, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (Twitter link).  Laxer, a right-handed reliever from Ole Miss, has a fastball that can touch 96mph at best, though Baseball America’s scouting report noted that he’ll have to work heavily on his command.
  • The Orioles announced the signing of left-hander Max Schuh, their seventh-round draft choice.  No terms were announced, though the slot value for the 211th overall pick is $179.9K.  Schuh is a 6’4″, 210-pound southpaw out of UCLA.  Baseball America’s scouting report projects Schuh as a reliever since he only has a two-pitch repertoire, though both his pitches (a fastball and slurve) were considered to be very good, and Schuh could add velocity to his 86-91mph heater.

AL Notes: Indians, Santana, Red Sox

By | at

Indians scouting director Brad Grant says he had indications on the first day of the draft that University of San Francisco outfielder Bradley Zimmer would be available when Cleveland picked at No. 21, Fangraphs’ David Laurila reports. “There are a lot of sources who provide information on who is going to go where,” Grant says. “You talk to different sources in order to kind of put that together. … You usually get a pretty good feel from that and can normally narrow it down to one or two players for your first pick.” Grant adds that the Indians became especially interested in No. 31 overall pick Justus Sheffield because they scouted his older brother Jordan, a 2013 Red Sox 13th-round pick who is now at Vanderbilt. Here are more notes from the American League.

  • Astros top prospect Domingo Santana isn’t likely to be promoted this summer, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. “Domingo still has some developing in Triple A, from our perspective,” says GM Jeff Luhnow. “We’re really excited about what he’s done, and I think the higher average at a higher level has been clearly a sign of better development and of him becoming a more complete player. But, the profile of the feast or famine is not something that we want to continue to have.” Santana has hit .305/.383/.508 so far this season for Oklahoma City, but with 94 strikeouts in 350 plate appearances. He’s already on the Astros’ 40-man roster, however, which makes him a good candidate for a September callup.
  • The Red Sox’ options this summer remain wide open, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier writes. The Red Sox, in the midst of a disappointing season but still only 6 1/2 games back in the AL East, could become buyers with a good month, and the recent addition of top prospect Mookie Betts could spark the Red Sox to add talent this July. If they don’t play well, they could sell. They could also pursue a multifaceted strategy in which they move players who are eligible for free agency after the season in exchange for players who might be around for the longer term but still could help this season.

Draft Signings: Daniel Mengden

By | at

Here are Friday’s notable mid- to late-round draft signings, with all slot information coming courtesy of Baseball America…

  • The Astros announced that they have officially signed fourth-rounder Daniel Mengden. The agreement was first reported earlier this week by Tyler Stafford of the Associated Press and the Texas A&M Battalion (Twitter link). According to Stafford, Mengden’s deal is worth $470K, which is a bit south of the $494,800 slot value of the No. 106 overall selection. The A&M right-hander ranked 143rd on BA’s Top 500 list and 101st on MLB.com’s Top 200. BA notes that Mengden features an above-average slider with a fastball that has touched 95 mph and a changeup that is solid-average to above-average. However, BA also notes that he has dealt with back issues that prevented him from throwing his slider much this past season.

Draft Signings: Bryan Dobzanski, Spencer Moran

By | at

Here are the day’s notable draft signings:

  • The Cardinals have signed 29th-round choice Bryan Dobzanski with a $700K bonus, reports Scott Chappelear of NJ.com (h/t to Jim Callis of MLB.com). The righty, who had been committed to Louisville, fell down the board because of signability issues. $600K of his bonus will count against the total allocation for the Cardinals.
  • Righty Spencer Moran, the 11th-round pick of the Rays, has agreed to a $390K bonus, according to John Manuel of Baseball America (via Twitter). As above, the amount over $100K will run against Tampa Bay’s tab. Moran was rated the draft’s 152nd-best prospect by Baseball America.

Twins Sign Second-Rounder Nick Burdi

By | at

JUNE 24: The deal is official, tweets Twins’ director of communications Dustin Morse. Burdi will head to Class-A Cedar Rapids. He will indeed receive a full-slot bonus of $1,218,800, reports John Manuel of Baseball America (via Twitter).

JUNE 17: The Twins and second-rounder Nick Burdi are closing in on a deal, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter links). Burdi, a right-hander who spent this past season as Louisville’s closer, will receive close to the full slot value of $1,218,800, according to Heyman. He adds that Burdi is scheduled to take his physical for the Twins within the week.

Burdi was thought by most to be the top college reliever in this year’s draft class. He ranked 34th on MLB.com’s Top 200 draft prospects list, 36th on Baseball America’s Top 500 and 56th on the Top 100 of ESPN’s Keith Law. Burdi’s blistering fastball has reached otherworldly heights, touching 103 mph and sitting comfortably in the 96-100 mph range. BA’s scouting report adds that he throws a power slider that can run as high as 92-93 mph but sits more in the 87-90 mph range with good depth. Law noted his ability to miss bats and generate ground-balls, adding that he has a good chance to be a big league reliever and perhaps even a closer.

This is actually the second time the Twins have drafted Burdi, as they took him in the 24th round out of high school back in the 2011 draft. He was the first of many high-profile college relievers selected by the Twins. Many reports on the Twins’ draft noted that they landed the two hardest-throwing relievers in this year’s class in Burdi and third-round selection Michael Cederoth. The Twins have already signed Cederoth as well as first-rounder Nick Gordon, so bringing Burdi into the fold would secure their top three picks. Fans that are interested in learning more about Burdi can check out the conversation he had with MLBTR’s own Zach Links for our Draft Prospect Q&A series.

Draft Signings: Kevin McAvoy, Tanner Scott

By | at

Here are the latest draft signings of note:

  • Fourth-rounder Kevin McAvoy has agreed to terms with the Red Sox, tweets Callis. McAvoy will get a $300K bonus, saving the club $77.6K against his 134th slot allocation. Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal profiled the Bryant University righty after he was selected.
  • The Orioles have agreed to sign sixth-round choice Tanner Scott, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). Scott takes home a $650K bonus, which nearly triples the $240K slot value allocated to the 181st choice. Scott, a high school lefty out of Texas, was rated the 184th-best prospect by Baseball America but did not crack the top-200 list of Callis and his MLB.com colleague Jonathan Mayo.

Brady Aiken In Houston To Sign Contract

By | at

JUNE 23: Aiken arrived in Houston today to sign his contract, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 Sports. Aiken acknowledged to Berman that the deal is done, and he’s set to begin his pro career.

JUNE 7, 7:17pm: The sides are “on the same page” regarding the bonus, though the deal still has pieces left to be negotiated, tweets Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle.

5:24pm: The Astros are in agreement with top overall choice Brady Aiken on a $6.5MM bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. As Callis notes, Aiken — who is advised by Excel Sports Management — ties Jameson Taillon (Pirates, 2010) for the largest-ever bonus agreed to by a high school pitcher.

More importantly for Houston, that number falls well shy of the pick’s allotment of just over $7.9MM, leaving the club with ample additional funds to apply to other draft choices. The rest of the team’s day one haul consisted of seven college juniors, one college senior, a JuCo choice (Brock Dykxhoorn, sixth round), and one high-schooler (Jacob Nix, fifth round). One player who could see some money dangled is Mac Marshall, who appears set to attend LSU but was taken by Houston in the 21st round.

Aiken established a clear consensus as the best overall player heading into the draft, though many have noted the shaky recent history of prep arms chosen at the very top of the draft. Of course, focusing only on the players that happened to go at the top of the draft would mean ignoring success stories like that of Clayton Kershaw, who Aiken seems reasonably comparable to at this (early) stage of  his development.

Certainly, draft observers agreed that Aiken was worth the top choice. He landed at the head of the final draft boards of Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law, and Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com. Those experts credit him with a heater that ranges into the mid-90s, plus secondary offerings (curve and change), fluid mechanics, and outstanding command.

Red Sox Sign First-Rounder Michael Chavis

By | at

JUNE 23rd: Chavis’ deal is now official after the infielder passed his physical, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.

JUNE 16th: The Red Sox have agreed to a full-slot bonus with first-rounder Michael Chavis, reports Ryan Hannable of MetroBoston (via Twitter). Chavis, taken with the 26th overall pick, will get $1,870,500 to forego his commitment to Clemson.

Chavis, a shortstop in high school ball who could transition to third (if not the outfield or even catcher) as a pro, is said to impress with his overall abilities more than any single tool. Reports say that he has a strong arm, solid power, good contact skills and bat speed, and decent running ability. That package, along with his reputed effort and work ethic, led Chavis to be rated the 21st overall prospect by MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, 26th by Baseball America, and 28th by ESPN.com’s Keith Law.

The signing of Chavis wraps up a notable day for Boston’s system. The club landed an at-slot deal with second-rounder Sam Travis. Meanwhile, we also learned that compensation round A choice Michael Kopech would indeed sign for just under his slot allocation.

Diamondbacks Sign First-Rounder Touki Toussaint

By | at

MONDAY, 7:18am: Toussaint’s bonus is $2.7MM, well over the pick value of $2.338MM, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

FRIDAY, 6:27pm: The Diamondbacks have officially announced a deal with first-round selection Touki Toussaint. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported that a deal was close (via Twitter). His bonus is expected to exceed the $2,338,200 slot allocation that came with the 16th overall pick, though precise details remain unknown.

The high school righty, who is still just 17 years old, was rated as high as the eighth-best prospect available entering the draft. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, who gave him that top-ten billing, say that Toussaint has a quick, loose arm and big curve ball. It sounds as if he still has work to do in commanding his offerings, repeating his delivery, and developing his third pitch (a change), but MLB.com’s experts feel that his raw stuff and athleticism give him an ample chance at success as a professional.

Baseball America (12th) and ESPN.com’s Keith Law (13th) both had Toussaint somewhat lower down their boards, but still agreed that Arizona received a good talent at its place in the draft. Indeed, in the view of Law, Toussaint arguably has more upside than any other high school right-hander in this year’s draft.

Arizona entered the draft with up to $7,228,300 in total pool space. According to Piecoro, via Twitter, the club has now inked all of its first twelve choices. Checking in at MLB.com’s bonus tracker, it appears that the Diamondbacks have saved $430.8K on their post-Toussaint picks, leaving a good deal of room to accommodate the over-slot spending needed to lure him away from Vanderbilt.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top