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2014 MLB Draft Results

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The 2014 MLB Draft begins tonight at 6:00pm Central, and we’ll keep track of first-round picks here as they happen.

  1. Houston Astros — LHP Brady Aiken, Cathedral Catholic (CA HS) — Did not sign
  2. Miami Marlins — RHP Tyler Kolek, Shepherd (TX HS) — Signed for $6MM bonus.
  3. Chicago White Sox — LHP Carlos Rodon, NC State — Signed for $6.582MM bonus.
  4. Chicago Cubs — C/1B Kyle Schwarber, Indiana — Signed for $3.125MM bonus.
  5. Minnesota Twins — SS Nick Gordon, Olympia (FL HS) — Signed for $3.851MM.
  6. Seattle Mariners — C/OF Alex Jackson, Rancho Bernardo (CA HS) — Agreed to $4.2MM bonus.
  7. Philadelphia Phillies — RHP Aaron Nola, LSU — Signed for $3.3MM bonus.
  8. Colorado Rockies — LHP Kyle Freeland, Evansville — Signed for $2.3MM bonus.
  9. Toronto Blue Jays — RHP Jeff Hoffman, East Carolina — Signed for $3.08MM bonus.
  10. New York Mets — OF Michael Conforto, Oregon State — Agreed to a $2.97MM bonus.
  11. Toronto Blue Jays — C Max Pentecost, Kennesaw State — Signed for $2.8883MM bonus.
  12. Milwaukee Brewers — LHP Kodi Medeiros, Waiakea (HI HS) — Signed for $2.5MM.
  13. San Diego Padres — SS Trea Turner, NC State — Signed for $2.9MM.
  14. San Francisco Giants — RHP Tyler Beede, Vanderbilt — Signed for $2.613MM.
  15. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — LHP Sean Newcomb, Hartford — Signed for $2.5184MM.
  16. Arizona Diamondbacks — RHP Touki Toussaint, Coral Springs Christian (FL HS) — Signed for $2.7MM bonus.
  17. Kansas City Royals — LHP Brandon Finnegan, TCU — Signed for $2.2MM bonus.
  18. Washington Nationals — RHP Erick Fedde, UNLV — Signed for $2.511MM.
  19. Cincinnati Reds — RHP Nick Howard, Virginia — Signed for $1.99MM bonus.
  20. Tampa Bay Rays — 1B Casey Gillaspie, Wichita State — Signed for $2.035MM bonus.
  21. Cleveland Indians — OF Bradley Zimmer, San Francisco — Signed for $1.9MM.
  22. Los Angeles Dodgers — RHP Grant Holmes, Conway (SC HS) — Signed for $2.5MM.
  23. Detroit Tigers — OF Derek Hill, Elk Grove (CA HS) — Agreed to a $2MM bonus.
  24. Pittsburgh Pirates — SS Cole Tucker, Mountain Point (AZ HS) — Agreed to $1.8MM bonus.
  25. Oakland Athletics — 3B Matt Chapman, Cal State Fullerton — Signed for a $1.75MM bonus.
  26. Boston Red Sox — SS Michael Chavis, Sprayberry (GA HS) — Signed for $1.8705MM.
  27. Louis Cardinals — RHP Luke Weaver, Florida State — Agreed to $1.843MM bonus.
  28. Kansas City Royals — LHP Foster Griffin, First Academy (FL HS) — Agreed to $1.925MM bonus.
  29. Cincinnati Reds — 3B Alex Blandino, Stanford — Agreed to a $1.788MM bonus.
  30. Texas Rangers — RHP Luis Ortiz, Sanger (CA HS) — Signed for a $1.75MM bonus.
  31. Cleveland Indians — LHP Justus Sheffield, Tullahoma (TN HS) — Signed for $1.6MM plus $250K Vanderbilt scholarship.
  32. Atlanta Braves — OF Braxton Davidson, TC Roberson (NC HS) — Signed for $1.705MM.
  33. Boston Red Sox — RHP Michael Kopech, Mount Pleasant (TX HS) — Signed for $1.5MM.
  34. St. Louis Cardinals — RHP Jack Flaherty, Harvard-Westlake (CA HS) — Agreed to $2MM bonus.

Astros Select Brady Aiken First Overall

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The Astros have officially selected high school left-hander Brady Aiken with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft. Aiken was rated as the top draft prospect on the board by Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com. Other players thought to be in the mix with the first overall selection were North Carolina State left-hander Carlos Rodon, high school right-hander Tyler Kolek, high school shortstop Nick Gordon, high school catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson and Louisiana State right-hander Aaron Nola.

Aiken becomes the first high school left-hander taken in the Top 5 picks since the Orioles selected Adam Loewen fourth overall in 2002, and he’s the first high school pitcher to go 1-1 since the Yankees selected Brien Taylor back in 1991. While those facts illustrate some of the risk and uncertainty with high school pitchers, scouts tend to agree that Aiken is among the best talents — if not the best talent — in this year’s class.

Aiken’s fastball sits in the 92-94 mph range and has touched 97 mph, per Mayo and Callis. BA praises his athleticism — he was his football team’s quarterback earlier in high school — as well as his “fluid delivery with minimal effort” and his ability to command all three of his pitches. Law notes that Aiken’s changeup might be his best pitch, adding that his fastball and curveball give him a chance for three plus pitches when he’s at his best.

Aiken will only further bolster an Astros farm system that has become one of the best in the game over the past few years under GM Jeff Luhnow, scouting director Mike Elias and the rest of the Houston front office. The Astros have selected first overall for three straight years now, with Carlos Correa and Mark Appel being their previous No. 1 overall picks in that stretch. Some of their highly regarded prospects, such as George Springer and Jon Singleton, have graduated to the Majors this season, giving Houston fans hope of a bright future. Aiken and the remainder of Houston’s picks will join a farm system that still includes Correa, Appel, Michael Foltynewicz, Lance McCullers Jr., Delino DeShields Jr., Domingo Santana and many other well-regarded prospects.

The No. 1 overall spot in the draft this year carries an assigned pick value of $7,922,100, per Baseball America. The Astros don’t have to spend the entirety of that sum on Aiken if they can reach a deal with him and his adviser (he is reportedly being advised by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management). However, the team is also free to go over slot should it be necessary, from a negotiation standpoint. As BA’s J.J. Cooper reported in April, the Astros have $13,362,200 to spend on their draft pool this season, and they’re free to use that money as they see fit within the first 10 rounds.

AL West Notes: Ogando, Moss, Butler, Carbonell

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It almost doesn’t seem fathomable, but the Rangers received even more bad news on the injury front today, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes that Alexi Ogando will be shut down for three weeks and could miss up to two months with inflammation and some minor ligament damage in his right elbow. An MRI showed “wear and tear” on the ligament, but not enough to require surgery, he adds. Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest tweets that the Rangers are officially terming the injury “acute inflammation.”

Here’s more from the American League West…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports takes an excellent in-depth look at Athletics slugger Brandon Moss, who admits that he almost quit the game on multiple occasions before latching on with the A’s. Moss tells Rosenthal that he initially chose to sign with Oakland because he knew he’d be hitting in the Pacific Coast League at Triple-A after his minor league deal, and he thought that league’s notoriously hitter-friendly environments would boost his power numbers and draw some interest from Japanese teams. Moss adds that he was preparing to become a firefighter in his native Georgia, should his last attempt with the A’s not pan out.
  • The Mariners could be a potential landing spot for Billy Butler if the Royals end up moving him, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The team has long coveted Butler but would need to be convinced that his season-long slump is just that — a slump — rather than the beginning of a decline. Some scouts have told Dutton they don’t see diminished bat speed for Butler, which is a good sign. He adds that Kansas City has shown interest in Nick Franklin, though clearly a Butler-for-Franklin 1-for-1 swap isn’t realistic.
  • Dutton adds that Mariners officials dismissed previous reports that have connected the team to Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell. It’s been reported previously that Seattle is one of two finalists for Carbonell’s services. Dutton does note that the Seattle front office’s denial could merely be gamesmanship.

Minor Moves: Vin Mazzaro

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • Reliever Vin Mazzaro has cleared outright waivers, and the Pirates have sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Mazzaro was a helpful member of the Pirates’ 2013 bullpen, but the Bucs have now outrighted him twice since April. They designated him for assignment late last month after he posted a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 innings for them this season.

Kendrys Morales Expected To Sign Soon

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The Major League Baseball amateur draft is just hours away, and once it commences, free agent Kendrys Morales will no longer be burdened by the weight of draft pick compensation. While fellow draft-pick free agent Stephen Drew returned to the Red Sox recently, Morales elected to remain on the market and become the first free agent under the current CBA to wait beyond the draft to shed his associated compensation. He may not be waiting long, however, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that Morales is likely to find a new home within the next day or two.

The Yankees have been connected to Morales of late, but Heyman reports that the team asked agent Scott Boras and Morales to wait on signing as they evaluate the health of injury-plagued switch hitters Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira. Morales isn’t inclined to play that waiting game, however, which makes other clubs more likely to end up with Morales.

Heyman lists the Brewers and Mariners as more likely destinations than the Yankees, noting that another team or two is in the mix at this time. The Rangers have indeed shown interest, he adds, but they aren’t as likely to sign Morales as Milwaukee, Seattle or the alleged “mystery team”(s). Morales has generated some interest on two-year deals, according to Heyman, but he may prefer a one-year deal to hit unencumbered free agency next winter.

Of course, many other reports have indicated that the Mariners simply don’t have the financial flexibility to add Morales after the large amounts they spent this offseason. The Orioles were said to have interest at one point, but executive VP Dan Duquette essentially closed those doors in an on-record interview with ESPN’s Buster Olney. Heyman also reported recently that the Royals could join the Morales bidding, though they’d likely need to clear some payroll first in order to make that happen.

Draft Rumors: Rodon, Marlins, Freeland

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As the draft approaches, we’ll keep tabs on the latest news and rumors right here:

  • Top college arm Carlos Rodon is said to be asking for a bonus of over $6MM, reports Scout.com’s Kiley McDaniel (via Twitter). In McDaniel’s view, that makes Brady Aiken a strong favorite to go first overall to the Astros. The top overall slot comes with an approximately $7.9MM allotment, with the second choice landing at just over $6.8MM.
  • Sitting at number two, the Marlins “appear to be focusing” on Rodon, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Rodon, who was born in Miami and is of Cuban descent, has been widely tied to the second slot in recent mock drafts. The Fish will not hesitate to add power arms due to the recent injury to Jose Fernandez, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. If we saw a guy who looked like Jose out there again, we’d go right after him,” said VP of scouting Stan Meek. “We want exactly that kind of guy.” Meek said that there was little to take away from Fernandez’s Tommy John procedure, other than the inherent risk in hard throwers: “[W]ith the velocity guys are throwing with today, you just can’t predict who is going to go down.”
  • Evansville southpaw Kyle Freeland has “bad” medicals, a scouting director tells McDaniel (Twitter link). That has led some teams sitting late in the first round to decide to pass on Freeland, says McDaniel, who notes that the Rockies could still grab him with the eighth choice (potentially at a cut rate). In the introduction to its most recent mock draft, Baseball America noted that a clean MRI for Freeland has not cleared up concerns with his elbow for all clubs.
  • Here are some more general draft sources to read through as you warm up for the evening: In a post that ties together all of his draft materials, McDaniel provides a wealth of information, including the latest on the rumored signability situations of various well-regarded prospects. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca cites several industry sources who like the draft’s pitching depth, especially at the high school level, and breaks down the best available players. In a piece for Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Whitaker explores what he calls the “coattail effect”: the tendency of less-touted players to see a bump in their draft stock by playing with higher-rated teammates. Rob Neyer of FOX Sports provides a fascinating oral history of the Cardinals’ productive 2009 draft, including plenty of information from current Astros GM Jeff Luhnow. Dave Cameron of Fangraphs writes that, while the data shows that high school arms are generally riskier than those that have seen time at college, it does not suggest that a prep pitcher should never be taken first overall. Colleague Tony Blengino explains how teams’ draft boards are put together and utilized.

NL West Notes: Hudson, Lyles, Pennington, Webb

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Giants veteran Tim Hudson clarified recently that he bears no ill will toward his prior team, the Braves, as Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Though he was initially offended when Atlanta offered him only $2MM on a one-year deal, Hudson said that the club ultimately made multiple, “fair offers at the end.” Hudson, who ultimately signed a two-year, $23MM deal, continued: “I totally understand [the Braves’] side of things. I’m not and wasn’t bitter at all.”

Here’s more out of the NL West, with an unfortunate focus on injuries:

  • The struggling Rockies received bad news last night with starter Jordan Lyles going down with a broken left hand, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Though the injury was to Lyles’s non-pitching hand, he will hit the DL, though the precise prognosis remains unknown. Colorado has already dipped into its prospect ranks to call up Eddie Butler, and could again look to the minors (or displaced starter Franklin Morales) to cover for the absences of Lyles, Brett Anderson, and Tyler Chatwood. In concert with the team’s slide in the standings, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the Rockies will look to add to the club over the summer; now fully eight games back in the NL West, the team may soon be pegged a seller.
  • Diamondbacks middle infielder Cliff Pennington has undergone surgery for a torn ligament in his left thumb, the club announced. He is not expected to begin baseball activities for eight to ten weeks. As I noted yesteday, the injury — especially given its newly-reported severity — could potentially have some impact on how the club proceeds over the summer. It is also bad news for Pennington’s upcoming free agency; the 29-year-old, who is in the back end of a two-year, $5MM deal, has slashed just .242/.313/.312 through 382 plate appearances with Arizona.
  • Former Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb looked back at the disappointing run of shoulder injuries that derailed his career, in a piece from MLB.com’s Barry Bloom. His initial shoulder troubles seemingly emerged out of nowhere one afternoon, but Webb never returned to a big league mound despite years of trying. “That was the most frustrating part, never being able to come back, especially when everything seemed to look fine in the pictures and all that,” says Webb. “That was the toughest part, to go from the top of the game, probably one of the best pitchers in the game, to be done.” Then-pitching coach Bryan Price says that it remains difficult to draw any lessons from Webb’s situation. “If you look back at his delivery, there wasn’t a reason,” he said. “He pitched a lot, but he was a low pitch-count guy. It’s one of those things that we’ll be left to guess about.”

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Draft Notes: Negotiations, Mocks, Wall, White Sox, Twins, Padres

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As noted last night, the exchange of information between teams and draftee advisers is a widespread, critical component of the MLB amateur draft process. It is also, of course, one that takes place in something of a gray area, owing largely to the NCAA rules that threaten the amateur status of players who retain advisers. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has obtained and published an interesting memorandum sent by MLB to its member clubs, which was later forwarded by the MLBPA to certified agents, setting forth the rules by which parties are expected to engage one another. According to the memo, clubs cannot enter into pre-draft agreements or understandings. Teams are permitted to ask what a player would sign for, but cannot condition a selection on a promise that the player will accept a certain bonus. Likewise, advisers are forbidden from saying that a player has a deal with another club or threaten to do so if demands are not met. Passan calls the document “a farce,” writing that “both parties drawing up these rules ignore them fundamentally.”

Here’s the latest as the hours tick down to the draft, which is set to begin at 6:00 central time (with the Astros’ first overall pick expected to be made at 6:12 CST):

  • The MLB.com prospect team has published its latest mock draft, with both Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis agreeing that Brady Aiken, Carlos Rodon, and Tyler Kolek will go 1-2-3. They disagree on the next choice, with Mayo tabbing catcher Kyle Schwarber to the Cubs and Callis predicting that Chicago will instead go with outfielder Michael Conforto. (Each prognosticator predicts just the opposite result with the Rockies’ in the eighth slot.)
  • In its latest iteration, the Baseball America mock largely concurs with MLB.com through pick eight, but begins to differ at that point.The biggest disconnect occurs at the tenth slot, where BA expects the Mets to take high school second baseman Forrest Wall. MLB.com sees Wall lasting until the Rangers select 30th overall, while noting that he could be nabbed by New York.
  • White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper says that he likes all four of the arms rated most highly by the team, including the three mentioned above along with Aaron Nola, but prefers Aiken, reports Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. “I liked them all,” said Cooper. “I liked the kid Aiken maybe the best. But a high school kid, that’s going to be a little longer. The closest to the big leagues Rodon and the second closest was Nola. It’s hard not to like the stuff coming out of the hand of Kolek. Those high school kids, there’s work to be done there.”
  • Expectation is building that the Twins will go with shortstop Nick Gordon at fifth overall, with Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reporting (Twitter links) that the team has seen him more than any other. Indeed, two key team executives have watched him in action more than ten times apiece, says Wolfson.
  • The Padres are eyeing a position player with the 13th overall pick, likely from the college ranks, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. “We’ve tried to go back and get to know and see these college players more,” said scouting director Billy Gasparino. “We have been really aggressive with high school guys, but this year feels like a good college crop.” Of course, as Brock notes, the team’s ultimate direction remains very much dependent upon who goes before they are on the clock, and it would not be surprising to see the club add an arm.
  • If you haven’t already, remember to check out MLBTR’s Q&A sessions with top draft prospects Braxton Davidson, Aaron Nola, Jacob Gatewood, Michael Chavis, Nick Gordon, Nick Burdi, and Bradley Zimmer.

Yankees Designate Scott Sizemore Off Active Roster

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12:06pm: The Yankees announced via press release that Sizemore has, in fact, been designated off the active roster and optioned to Triple-A. It would appear, then, that he will remain under team control, though it is not yet clear whether he has cleared optional assignment waivers. Because Sizemore does not have five years of MLB service, he would not have the right to refuse an optional assignment.

11:24am: Sizemore has actually been outrighted, according to the MLB.com transactions page. That would take him off the club’s 40-man (and active) roster, and leave Sizemore with the right to decline the assignment, since he has previously been outrighted.

10:57am: Sizemore has only been designated off of the 25-man roster, it would appear, as Dan Barbarasi of the Wall Street Journal tweets that he will be placed on optional assignment waivers.

10:09am: The Yankees have designated infielder Scott Sizemore for assignment, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The move creates active roster space for Carlos Beltran, who was activated from the DL.

Sizemore, 29, registered five base knocks for New York in 16 plate appearances over six games. He carries a .265/.333/.361 triple-slash in 165 trips to the dish at Triple-A on the year. Sizemore has seen time in parts of four MLB seasons, with his best work coming in 2011 when he compiled a .245/.342/.399 line through 429 plate appearances with the Tigers and Athletics.

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