The Angels are closing in on a deal with first-round pick Sean Newcomb, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times hears the same and spoke on the record with Newcomb’s advisor, Greg Genske of the Legacy Agency. “We’re certainly working toward a deal,” Genske told DiGiovanna. “It probably gets done. We’re pretty close, but nothing has been finalized.” Tomorrow afternoon at 5pm ET is the deadline for teams to sign their 2014 draft picks.
The 6’5″, 240-pound Newcomb was electric for the University of Hartford this season, posting an 8-2 record with a pristine 1.25 ERA and a 106-to-38 K/BB ratio in 93 1/3 innings of work. Opponents hit just .162 against him this season.
Newcomb fell to the Halos with the 15th overall pick — a spot at which the Angels assumed the left-hander would be off the board, scouting director Ric Wilson told DiGiovanna. Newcomb’s No. 15 overall slot comes with a value of $2,475,600, according to Baseball America.
According to the Baseball America Draft Database, the Angels have $2,518,800 remaining to sign Hartford without exceeding their bonus pool (they’ve already signed picks No. 2-10). Of course, they can still exceed their pool by less than five percent and be subject only to overage taxes. If they exceed their bonus pool by more than five percent they would lose their first-round pick in the 2015 draft (in addition to paying a 100 percent overage tax). The maximum amount that the Halos can give Newcomb without losing future picks, per BA, is $2,807,500 — roughly 13 percent greater than his slot value.
yay.
This and other pitching picks by the Halos in the last 2 drafts could really boost the value of their farm system as early as next season.
About time….
dd
Sign him and welcome the Newcomber.