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2016 Amateur Draft

Draft Signings: 6/18/16

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Here are the latest notable draft signings from around the majors:

  • The Nationals have signed second-round shortstop Sheldon Neuse to a below-slot pact, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. Neuse will rake in $900K, down from the $1,107,000 allotted to the 58th pick. The righty-swinging Neuse profiles as a third baseman, according to Callis, who adds that he can hit 94 mph on the mound.
  • The Pirates have agreed to a below-slot deal with second-round pick Travis MacGregor, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (Twitter link). MacGregor will receive $900K, which is $48,900 less than the value of his pick (68th overall). Baseball America rated the high school right-hander from Florida as the 186th-best prospect available in the draft, noting that the Clemson commit has bumped his fastball velocity from the high-80s into the low-90s; he also possesses an average changeup and some feel for a breaking ball.
  • The Twins have agreed to sign supplemental second-rounder Jose Miranda and 11th-round choice Tyler Benninghoff, writes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Miranda, a Puerto Rican shortstop, will land $775K. That’s a good deal less than the value of the 73rd pick ($878,500). BA had Miranda as the 113th-ranked player in the draft and praised his offensive abilities, though the outlet expects him to move to second or third base. Benninghoff, BA’s 201st-rated prospect, will collect the highest bonus ($600K) thus far of anyone outside of this year’s first 10 rounds. An early season biceps injury weighed down the Missouri high school righty, who BA notes had the potential to go in the first five rounds had he stayed healthy.
  • The Angels have signed fourth-rounder Chris Rodriguez, the 126th pick, to a significantly above-slot deal. Rodriguez will collect $850K – not the $464,300 his selection called for – according to Callis (Twitter link). The high school righty from Florida earned the 162nd overall ranking from BA, which Rodriguez impressed with his 93 to 95 mph fastball and hard slider.
  • The White Sox have agreed to a $700K deal with sixth-round shortstop Luis Curbelo, per Callis (on Twitter). That’s a far cry from the $286,700 value of the 176th choice. Callis is bullish on the Florida high schooler’s pop at the plate and plus arm, and believes he could be a major league third baseman.
  • Third-rounder Aaron Civale has signed a below-slot contract with the Indians, tweets Callis. The Northeastern right-hander, who went 92nd (worth $655,500), will get $625K. Civale’s best offering is his cutter, says Callis.
  • The Athletics have agreed to an above-slot deal with fourth-round pick Skylar Szynski, a high school right-hander from Indiana, reports Callis (Twitter link). As the 112th pick, Szynski was in line for a $531,500 bonus, but the A’s will give him $1MM. Szynski sits 90 to 95 mph with his fastball, complementing that pitch with a hard curve and a changeup, according to Callis.
  • Third-round shortstop Stephen Alemais, a Tulane product, has signed a below-slot deal with the Pirates, Callis tweets. Alemais will receive $500K, which is $68,400 less than the worth of the 105th pick. The contact-hitting Alemais should be able to stay at short, notes Callis.
  • The White Sox have signed third-rounder Alex Call for $719,100, the exact value of his pick (No. 86), relays Callis (Twitter link). The Ball State outfielder mixes pop at the plate with solid running ability and a capable arm, with Callis adding that he has the potential to play center in the majors.
  • The Rangers have signed fourth-rounder Charles LeBlanc for $415K, which is $36K below the slot value of his pick – the 129th selection – tweets Mayo. BA ranked the shortstop from Pitt as the 452nd-best player available in this year’s draft, lauding his bat but questioning whether the 6-foot-4 LeBlanc will be able to stick at short.

Klentak On Howard, Draft, Cozens, Quinn

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Here’s the latest from Phillies GM Matt Klentak, via Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.

  • Klentak says he sees Ryan Howard staying with the team for the rest of the season, even after losing his first base job to Tommy Joseph. The team does not plan to release Howard. “Ryan has handled it like a true professional,” Klentak says. “I don’t view it as a distraction at all.” Howard has hit just .148/.248/.352 in the last guaranteed year of his contract, although Klentak notes that Howard’s home-run power makes him a threat off the bench. The slugger has ten blasts this season.
  • Klentak was reluctant to divulge details, but noted that the Phillies could complete the signings of key draft picks in the next week. First overall pick Mickey Moniak remains unsigned, as does their second-round pick, California high school righty Kevin Gowdy.
  • The team is not yet ready to promote outfield prospect Dylan Cozens to Triple-A, Klentak says. MLB.com currently ranks Cozens as only the 22nd-best prospect in the Phillies system, but he’s having a tremendous season with Double-A Reading, batting .289/.366/.586 with 19 home runs. (The Phillies would probably like to have him cut down his strikeouts, however — he has 85 in 290 plate appearances so far.) “[F]or most of these guys we want to give them, if we can, a full year’s worth of at-bats at certain levels and I think Dylan could stand to have some more time there,” Klentak says.
  • Klentak adds that he expects another outfield prospect, Roman Quinn, to miss significant time with an oblique strain. “I don’t want to put a timetable on [his absence],” says Klentak. “But it’s going to be a while.” The 23-year-old Quinn, currently ranked the Phillies’ seventh-best prospect, is batting .288/.361/.420 for Reading.

Cardinals Sign Dakota Hudson

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The Cardinals have announced that they’ve signed righty Dakota Hudson, the 34th overall pick in the draft. According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), Hudson will receive $2MM, a bit more than the pool value of the 34th pick, which is $1.878MM. That figure still leaves the Cardinals with surplus pool space with which to sign remaining picks, since another Cards first-rounder, outfielder Dylan Carlson, signed for about $560K less than his pool value.

Hudson, a 6’5 junior from Mississippi State, was ranked the No. 15 prospect in the draft by MLB.com, which notes that he sits 93-95 MPH with his fastball (although he can touch 97) and throws a terrific slider/cutter. He also has a curveball and changeup, giving him a four-pitch mix. This season, he posted a 2.55 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 113 innings. He also excelled last summer in the wood-bat Cape Cod League.

The Cardinals received the 34th overall pick as compensation for the departure of Jason Heyward. Hudson was the team’s third 2016 draft pick, after shortstop Delvin Perez (No. 23 overall) and Carlson (No. 33). All three have now agreed to terms.

Dodgers Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Will Smith

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The Dodgers have agreed to a $1.775MM bonus with 32nd overall pick Will Smith, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. That falls below the slot value of $1,940,700.

Los Angeles added this pick when Zack Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks after declining a qualifying offer. That provided an opportunity to add the Louisville catcher as well as to pad the organization’s bonus pool, with some savings to apply to other selections.

Smith rated as high as 59th on the pre-draft rankings of evaluators, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law giving him that placement. Smith delivers impeccable zone awareness and contact ability, but doesn’t wield a big stick. But he draws high grades for his work behind the dish and also has good wheels.

Others weren’t as impressed with that package, though. Baseball America ranked him 74th, with MLB.com dropping him out of the top 100 of its list at No. 110. Those outlets seem less wowed by Smith’s overall defensive package.

The Dodgers already locked up top pick Gavin Lux for pennies over his slot value, but went over the allocation for third-rounder Dustin May. Their top unsigned draft pick is Vandy right-hander Jordan Sheffield, who went 36th overall.

White Sox Agree To Terms With Zack Burdi

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The White Sox have agreed to terms with their second selection from the amateur draft, Louisville righty Zack Burdi, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Taken with the 26th overall pick, Burdi will receive the full slot value of $2,128,500.

Burdi was a flamethrowing closer for the University of Louisville, much like his older brother, Twins prospect Nick Burdi. In addition to an upper-90s fastball, he delivers what Baseball America calls a plus change and a slider that has shown promise. BA rated him 21st among draft-eligible prospects, based in part on the idea that he could potentially be developed as a starter.

Other outlets were less optimistic on the idea of Burdi moving into a rotation long-term. ESPN.com put him in the 37th slot, while MLB.com rated him 41st. Even if he’s not a starter, Chicago will no doubt like the idea of plugging a potentially fast-moving, high-leverage arm into its system.

Rays Sign First-Rounder Josh Lowe

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The Rays have signed first-round draft selection Josh Lowe, with the team set to announce the deal tonight. MLB.com’s Bill Chastain first reported a deal was imminent yesterday on Twitter.

It’s an under-slot signing, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link), though details on the bonus remain unreported. The Georgia high school third baseman was taken 13th overall, a pick which came with a $3,098,900 slot value.

Baseball America and MLB.com each rated Lowe as the 17th-best draft-eligible prospect, while ESPN.com placed him 26th. He is highly regarded for his athleticism and baseball bloodlines, and features two-way talent. Tampa Bay will try him out as a hitter first, given Lowe’s big-time pop, good wheels, and big arm at the hot corner. His bat needs refining, as is often the case, and some wonder if he’ll be quick enough to stay at third, with a possible shift to right field possibly making sense down the line.

Tampa Bay has also agreed to terms with Ryan Boldt, its second-round pick and the 53rd overall player taken, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Boldt’s $1MM bonus will fall $195,500 shy of the slot allocation, so the club will save some additional money there, as it did with 90th overall pick Austin Franklin as well as its last two selections from the top ten rounds (college seniors Peter Bayer and Spencer Jones). Among the organization’s top choices yet to sign are comp B selection Jake Fraley (an LSU outfielder) and fifth-rounder Easton McGee (a high-school righty).

Orioles Sign First-Rounder Cody Sedlock

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The Orioles have announced the signing of first-round draft pick Cody Sedlock. He’ll receive an at-slot bonus of $2,097,200, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link).

Baltimore took Sedlock out of the University of Illinois with the 27th overall pick. There was a fairly wide range of opinion on his value, with MLB.com ranking him closest (26th) to where he ended up. The MLB.com team was impressed with his “heavy sinker” and three usable secondary pitches.

ESPN.com’s Keith Law was even a bigger fan, placing Sedlock in the 17th slot on his board on the basis of what he credits as “three above average pitches.” Baseball America’s prospect gurus, however, were much more bearish. They rated him 42nd, citing concern with over-use by the Illini coaching staff.

Baltimore still has some work to do with its draft class. Both of its next two picks, lefty Keegan Akin (54th) and righty Matthias Dietz (69th) have yet to sign.

 

Blue Jays Sign First-Rounder T.J. Zeuch

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The Blue Jays have agreed to a $2.175MM bonus with first-round pick T.J. Zeuch, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports on Twitter. Toronto will save $110,100 against the slot value of the 21st pick.

A towering righty out of the University of Pittsburgh, Zeuch drew mixed reviews from prospect evaluators. ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated him 38th, explaining that the collegiate junior’s secondary pitches aren’t as exciting as his body, mechanics, and velocity.

Other analysts were more optimistic. Baseball America was particularly high on him, ranking him 20th on its draft board, citing the same considerations but attributing more value to the solid building blocks. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis placed him 28th.

In announcing the deal, Toronto noted that it has also locked up most of its other top selections. JB Woodman (57th overall), Bo Bichette (66th), Joshua Palacios (132nd), and Cavan Biggio (162nd) are among the new Jays prospects under contract.

Cardinals Sign First-Rounder Delvin Perez

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The Cardinals have agreed to a $2,222,500 bonus with first-round draft pick Delvin Perez, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports on Twitter. That’s precisely the slot value that came with the 23rd overall selection.

Coming into the draft, Perez was viewed as a top ten pick. But his stock began to fall as word got out that he had failed a test for a performance-enhancing drug.

St. Louis ultimately struck with the last pick of the first round, and they’ll get a player with some serious upside in spite of the concerning test results. Baseball America rated him the eighth-best prospect available, explaining that he’s a speed demon and defensive whiz who still needs to refine his approach at the plate. Perez landed ninth on the MLB.com board and ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranked him 15th in the class based upon his “lightning-quick hands, a plus arm, plus range and 70 running speed.”

Perez is one of several interesting players taken by the Cards. The club saved a nice amount of cash in its deal with 33rd-overall pick Dylan Carlson, but has yet to sign its trio of college righties: Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson (34th), Connor Jones of the University of Virginia, and UNC’s Zac Gallen.

Indians To Sign First-Rounder Will Benson

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The Indians have agreed to terms with first-round pick Will Benson on a $2.5MM signing bonus, reports Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (via Twitter). That figure comes in $473,700 south of the No. 14 slot’s assigned value, so Cleveland will pick up some savings that can be applied further down its draft board.

A high school outfielder out of Georgia, Benson entered the draft ranked as the No. 30 prospect on Baseball America’s Top 500 list. He placed 38th on the Top 200 from Mayo and colleague Jim Callis over at MLB.com, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him rated 41st on his Top 100 ranking. The 6’6″, 220-pound Benson has “arguably the best bat speed in the class” and plus-plus raw power, per BA’s scouting report. He also has a strong arm and plus speed but is described by BA as a “boom or bust” prospect due to an aggressive approach at the plate. ESPN’s Eric Longenhagen writes that Benson’s swing has “considerable effort” and writes that a player of his size will almost certainly have to move to first base as he continues to fill out. MLB.com writes that he didn’t have a great spring and often tries to do too much at the plate, but he has plenty of offensive upside.

Cleveland entered the draft with a total signing pool of $7,499,600 (via Callis at MLB.com), so the Benson savings will amount to about six percent of their entire pool, and they’ll be left with just a hair under $5MM to allocate to the remainder of their picks. Those savings could be allocated in large part to second-round pick Nolan Jones — a high school third baseman and Virgina commit that was projected by some to go in the first round but slid to Cleveland at No. 55 overall.

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