Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2016 Amateur Draft

Dodgers To Sign Third-Round Pick Dustin May

By | at

The Dodgers have agreed to terms with third-round draft pick Dustin May, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. May will receive $1M, significantly above the pool allotment for the No. 101 pick, which is $591K.

May, a 6-foot-6 Texas high school righty, was committed to Texas Tech. Baseball America ranked him the No. 117 prospect in the draft. MLB.com ranked him No. 166, writing that he throws 90-93 MPH, has touched 95, and still has projection remaining. He also throws a slider and curve. He doesn’t yet have much of a changeup and could reportedly stand to work on his mechanics, but that’s not surprising for a high school draftee.

Latest On Zack Collins

By | at

UPDATE: There no formal agreement between the two sides in place as of yet, Murray tweets, retracting his initial report.

10:19am: The White Sox have agreed to terms with first-round pick Zack Collins, per Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray (links to Twitter). The University of Miami catcher was selected with the 10th overall pick, which came with a slot value of $3,380,600. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Collins signed for slot value.

Zack Collins

Collins entered the draft ranked 14th on the Top 200 prospects list from Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com, ranked 16th by Baseball America and ranked 18th by ESPN’s Keith Law. Mayo and Callis note that Collins was a top 100 draft prospect back in 2013 but slid to the Reds in the 27th round due to his strong commitment to Miami. All three scouting reports agree that Collins is a bat-first catcher that may not be able to stay behind the plate, as Law notes that a move to first base or DH is likely. The other two give him more of a chance to remain at catcher, noting that he’s improved his throwing. BA writes that he’ll never be an above-average backstop but has a chance to stay there thanks to the improved throwing.

Collins addressed those perceived defensive shortcomings in an interview with MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom earlier this spring, telling Wasserstrom: “Obviously, I’m an offensive catcher, but I’m working on my defense a lot lately. I think I’ve gotten a lot better defensively … I’ve worked a lot on my blocking and receiving and throwing and footwork – all that kind of stuff. We actually have a new catching coach down here in Miami (Norberto Lopez), and he’s helped me a ton.” Collins also talked about his extremely patient approach at the plate and the importance of recognizing that it’s best for the team to take a walk when he’s not presented with pitches to hit as opposed expanding the zone to try to put a ball in the seats.

In his junior season at Miami, Collins batted an impressive .358/.534/.631 with 13 homers and nine doubles in 176 at-bats. He drew 69 walks against just 48 strikeouts as well, and that display of power and a discerning eye at the plate led MLB.com to peg him as a potential 20-homer bat on a year-to-year basis. Collins is the first player from this year’s first round to reportedly agree to terms with a club, and we at MLBTR will be continually updating our list of first-round and list of compensation/competitive balance round A picks with numbers as the players begin to sign. The White Sox had a draft pool of $9.354MM, so with Collins signing for slot value, they have $5.973MM remaining to spend on their other selections before exceeding their pool (and $6.441MM to spend before incurring the loss of future draft picks for exceeding said pool by more than five percent).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2016 MLB Draft Results — Compensation & Competitive Balance Round A

By | at

With the traditional first-round picks in the books, we’ll use this post to track the “sandwich” selections that come before the second round: compensatory picks awarded to clubs that lost QO-declining free agents as well as Round A of the competitive balance picks (tradeable choices that are awarded by lottery to low-revenue/small market clubs).

Click here for bonus pools and other important context, including links to scouting reports and other assessments. Here are the picks:

Compensation Picks

24. Padres — Hudson Sanchez, SS/3B, Carroll Senior HS, Southlake, TX

25. Padres — Eric Lauer, LHP, Kent State University

26. White Sox — Zack Burdi, RHP, University of Louisville

27. Orioles — Cody Sedlock, RHP, University of Illinois

28. Nationals — Carter Kieboom, SS/3B, Walton HS, Marietta, GA

29. Nationals — Dane Dunning, RHP, University of Florida

30. Rangers — Cole Ragans, LHP, North Florida Christian HS, Crawfordville, FL

31. Mets — Anthony Kay, LHP, University of Connecticut

32. Dodgers — Will Smith, C, University of Louisville

33. Cardinals — Dylan Carlson, OF, Elk Grove HS, Elk Grove, CA

34. Cardinals — Dakota Hudson, RHP, Mississippi State University

Competitive Balance (Round A) Picks

35. Reds — Taylor Trammell, OF, Mount Paran Christian School, Kennesaw, GA

36. Dodgers — Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Vanderbilt University

37. Athletics — Daulton Jefferies, RHP, University of California

38. Rockies — Robert Tyler, RHP, University of Georgia

39. Diamondbacks — Anfernee Grier, OF, Auburn University

40. Braves (via Marlins) — Joey Wentz, LHP, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, KS

41. Pirates — Nick Lodolo, LHP, Damien HS, La Verne, CA

2016 MLB Draft Results — First Round

By | at

The 2016 MLB Draft is underway, and we’ll track the first-round picks as they come in — starting with the first 23 picks (worst-to-first, and excepting teams that sacrificed picks to sign qualifying offer-declining free agents). We’ll fire up another post for the “sandwich” choices: selections awarded to clubs that lost QO-declining free agents and competitive balance Round A picks.

Click here for bonus pools and other important context, including links to scouting reports and other assessments. Here are the picks (links to players who participated in MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A Series):

  1. Phillies — Mickey Moniak, OF, La Costa Canyon HS, Carlsbad, CA
  2. Reds — Nick Senzel, IF, University of Tennessee
  3. Braves — Ian Anderson, RHP, Shenendehowa HS, Clifton Park, NY
  4. Rockies — Riley Pint, RHP, St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Overland Park, KS
  5. Brewers — Corey Ray, OF, University of Louisville
  6. Athletics — A.J. Puk, LHP, University of Florida
  7. Marlins — Braxton Garrett, LHP, Florence HS, Florence, AL
  8. Padres — Cal Quantrill, RHP, Stanford University
  9. Tigers — Matt Manning, RHP, Sheldon HS, Sacramento, CA
  10. White Sox — Zack Collins, C/1B, University of Miami — Agreed to sign for slot value ($3.3806MM)
  11. Mariners — Kyle Lewis, OF, Mercer University
  12. Red Sox — Jason Groome, LHP, Barnegat HS, Barnegat, NJ
  13. Rays — Joshua Lowe, 3B, Pope HS, Marietta, GA
  14. Indians — Will Benson, OF, The Westminster Schools, Atlanta, GA
  15. Twins — Alex Kirilloff, OF, Plum HS, Pittsburgh, PA
  16. Angels — Matt Thaiss, C, University of Virginia
  17. Astros — Forrest Whitley, RHP, Alamo Heights HS, San Antonio, TX
  18. Yankees — Blake Rutherford, OF, Chaminade College Prep HS, Canoga Park, CA
  19. Mets — Justin Dunn, RHP, Boston College
  20. Dodgers — Gavin Lux, SS, Indian Trail Academy, Kenosha, WI
  21. Blue Jays — T.J. Zeuch, RHP, University of Pittsburgh
  22. Pirates — Will Craig, RHP/3B, Wake Forest
  23. Cardinals — Delvin Perez, SS, International Baseball Academy, Ceiba, Puerto Rico

Phillies Select Mickey Moniak With First Overall Pick

By | at

The Phillies have made it official, taking high school outfielder Mickey Moniak with the first overall selection of the 2016 draft. That makes him the first draft choice of GM Matt Klentak.

Philadelphia had been connected with several other players in recent months, including southpaws Jason Groome and A.J. Puk. But the rebuilding organization ended up going with the youngster out of Carlsbad, California, as had seemed increasingly likely in recent weeks. He is currently committed to play at UCLA.

Moniak doesn’t wow with off-the-charts physical prowess, but ESPN.com’s Keith Law says he “appears to have the best hit tool in the high school class.” Baseball America and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis join Law in rating Moniak the fifth-best overall talent in the draft.

While some question whether he’ll ever develop significant power to match his 6’2 frame, the evaluators agree that Moniak ought to be capable of manning center field in the long run, with his good wheels aiding him both in the field and on the basepaths. The 18-year-old draws universal praise for his instincts on the field as well as his work ethic.

It seems likely that the Phils are angling to preserve some of their spending power with the choice. That’s not to say that Moniak isn’t a top talent — by all accounts he is. Rather, somewhat like the Astros did in going with Carlos Correa over Byron Buxton back in 2012, the idea would be to take a more affordable player with hopes of adding yet more talent later in the draft. (Lance McCullers, Rio Ruiz, Brett Phillips, and Preston Tucker were among the other early-round choices that year by Houston.)

Philadelphia has $9.015MM to put towards signing Moniak, but it can allocate any savings to other selections. The club’s total pool adds up to just over $13.4MM, ranking second to the Reds — who just top their National League foes thanks to landing the first overall competitive balance Round A selection.

NL East Notes: Braves, Draft, Johnson, Mets, Bourjos

By | at

Multiple draft outlets have noted the possibility that the Braves could cut a deal with high school right-hander Ian Anderson at No. 3 overall in tonight’s draft with an eye toward over-spending on the No. 40 selection. ESPN’s Keith Law noted as much in this morning’s final mock draft (subscription required and recommended), and Eric Longenhagen or ESPN and Fangraphs tweets that the team could do so with an eye on getting former No. 1 overall candidate Jason Groome at No. 40, though their willingness to do so is dependent on who comes off the board with the first and second selections. D1Baseball.com’s Frankie Piliere tweeted earlier today that Groome’s asking price is extremely high and connected him to the Braves while adding that he’s in a somewhat of a “freefall” as a result of his price tag. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote in today’s draft buzz column wrote that Groome has floated an asking price of $4MM, which could cause some teams to shy away from him. Notably, the MLB.com pair also adds that Groome has now committed to Chipola Junior College in Florida after having previously been committed to Vanderbilt. In doing so, Groome would allow himself to be eligible for next year’s draft if he elects not to sign.

More from the NL East…

  • The Mets could have promoted either Dilson Herrera or T.J. Rivera to the Majors instead of swinging yesterday’s trade for utilityman Kelly Johnson, writes Newsday’s Marc Carig, but assistant GM John Ricco explained that the club wasn’t interested in asking a player to make a notable position switch, as it would’ve had to do with either Rivera, Herrera or Neil Walker (who would move off of second base if Herrera were to slide into his natural position at the MLB level). Skipper Terry Collins lauded the front office for bringing back Johnson, whom he described as an excellent clubhouse presence and a veteran that has been through the rigors of a postseason chase before. Ricco added that while the team waited out some injuries last season, New York’s aspirations of winning it all in 2016 prompted earlier action. Johnson and James Loney, the two players acquired recently, aren’t exactly impact players that would push a team over the edge, of course, but adding role players to plug gaps on the roster in June as opposed to July can indeed make a difference in a tight division race.
  • The Post’s Ken Davidoff was also on hand to talk to Ricco and Collins about the Mets’ acquisition of Johnson, with Ricco stating that the enhanced play of the 2016 Nationals (as compared to last season’s squad) didn’t prompt earlier action. Collins, meanwhile, noted that the addition of a player in an early trade is important in sending a message to the clubhouse that the front office is committed to winning in the current season. Per Collins, last season’s acquisition of Johnson and Juan Uribe “completely” changed the clubhouse atmosphere. Davidoff adds that striking early allows the Mets to reassess later in the summer if Johnson isn’t able to right the ship at the plate.
  • While the Mets are clearly in the need for infield help, as evidenced by the Johnson trade, Carig checked in with a team source in regards to recently released Dodgers infielder Alex Guerrero and was told that the 29-year-old is not on the Mets’ radar at this time (Twitter link).
  • The Phillies have informed Peter Bourjos that he is now a bench player, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Manager Pete Mackanin called the situation “unfortunate” and noted that Bourjos “has got to make a drastic change in his approach offensively.” Mackanin stressed that he “loves” Bourjos’ defensive work, but the 29-year-old’s .195/.226/.282 batting line and near-28 percent strikeout rate aren’t cutting it in the lineup. In his place, extra at-bats figure to be given to Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel, Cody Asche and Jimmy Paredes, writes Gelb, though he notes that the Phils are also hopeful of seeing names like Nick Williams and Roman Quinn impact the outfield alignment later in the season. For Bourjos, the loss of a starting job with free agency so close around the corner is disheartening, though his defensive prowess should land him an opportunity elsewhere this coming winter.

2016 MLB Draft Primer

By | at

The 2016 Rule 4 Amateur Draft will begin tonight at 7pm ET, when the Phillies will be on the clock with the first overall pick. For those who haven’t followed the draft in prior seasons or simply would like a refresher on the intricacies of the system, we’ll provide a quick recap in this post followed by a roundup of some of the top draft resources available to fans online.

Each team has an allotted spending pool from which their signing bonuses come. Major League Baseball has assigned a slot value to each pick in rounds one through 10, and a club’s draft pool is the sum of the slot values for each of their selections. Players selected after the 10th round do not count toward the pool, so long as they receive no more than $100K. Anything over $100K would count toward the pools (for instance, if the Mariners were to sign their 12th-round pick for $150K, then $50K would count against their draft pool). If a team does not spend the entirety of its draft pool, there’s no future bonus involved; leftover pool allotments do not carry over to the following draft, so it’s in a club’s best interest to maximize its allotments in each individual draft.

Exceeding the draft pool, however, is an entirely different story and comes with an escalating range of penalties, depending on the level of excess. Should a team exceed its draft pool by five percent, it will pay a 75 percent luxury tax on the overage. A five to 10 percent overage results in a 75 percent tax and the loss of next year’s first-round pick. A 10 to 15 percent overage results in a 100 percent tax and the loss of a first- and second-round pick in 2016. And, exceeding the draft pool by more than 15 percent results in a 100 percent tax and the loss of two future first-round picks.

However, teams are not bound to the individual slot values. They’re free to sign early picks under slot in order to go over slot for later selections (when some players have fallen due to signability concerns), and doing so is a common strategy for clubs with large pools. For instance, the Astros spent $6MM to sign No. 2 overall pick Alex Bregman last season despite a $7.421MM value for that slot, and they saved about $169K in signing No. 5 pick Kyle Tucker for $4MM. A large number of those savings went to their No. 37 overall selection, Daz Cameron, who had been considered a Top 10 caliber talent but slid to the compensation round as teams were wary of his asking price. Cameron’s slot came with a $1.668MM value, but Houston paid him a hefty $4MM with the savings from its top two selections and some additional under-slot value further down the board.

Under these rules, no team has been willing to pay the price of forfeiting a future pick, so no team has exceeded its pool by more than five percent. Excesses of up to five percent are commonplace, however, as the 75 percent luxury tax isn’t much of a deterrent to big league teams.

All that said, here’s a rundown of the draft order, slot values, the top ranked draft prospects (via multiple outlets) as well as mock drafts from some experts who have devoted seemingly endless hours of their time over the past few months to provide the best insight possible.

Draft Order (Slot Values via MLB.com’s Jim Callis)

  1. Phillies — $9.015MM
  2. Reds — $7.763MM
  3. Braves — $6.51MM
  4. Rockies — $5.529MM
  5. Brewers — $4.382MM
  6. Athletics — $4.069MM
  7. Marlins — $3.756MM
  8. Padres — $3.631MM
  9. Tigers — $3.506MM
  10. White Sox — $3.381MM
  11. Mariners — $3.287MM
  12. Red Sox — $3.193MM
  13. Rays — $3.099MM
  14. Indians — $2.974MM
  15. Twins — $2.817MM
  16. Angels — $2.661MM
  17. Astros — $2.504MM
  18. Yankees — $2.442MM
  19. Mets — $2.379MM
  20. Dodgers — $2.316MM
  21. Blue Jays — $2.285MM
  22. Pirates — $2.254MM
  23. Cardinals — $2.223MM
  24. Padres — $2.191MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Justin Upton, who rejected a qualifying offer)
  25. Padres — $2.160MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Ian Kennedy)
  26. White Sox — $2.129MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Jeff Samardzija)
  27. Orioles — $2.098MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Wei-Yin Chen)
  28. Nationals — $2.066MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Jordan Zimmermann)
  29. Nationals — $2.035MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Ian Desmond)
  30. Rangers — $2.003MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Yovani Gallardo)
  31. Mets — $1.972MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Daniel Murphy)
  32. Dodgers — $1.941MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Zack Greinke)
  33. Cardinals — $1.91MM (Compensation for loss of free agent Jason Heyward)
  34. Cardinals — $1.878MM (Compensation for loss of free agent John Lackey)

Clearly, the bonus pools are skewed by compensatory picks awarded to teams that see a pending free agent reject a one-year qualifying offer and sign elsewhere. This year, the Reds, Phillies, Padres and Braves have the largest bonus pools, and you can see a full breakdown of each pool here.

Draft Rankings/Scouting Reports

  • Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com have ranked the Top 200 players in this year’s draft class and provided free scouting reports on each player for the public. Callis and Mayo have video of each player, where applicable, and they also provide a rating of each prospect’s individual tools on the 20-80 scouting scale.
  • Keith Law of ESPN.com ranks the Top 100 prospects — headlined by Louisville outfielder Corey Ray — and his colleague, Eric Longenhagen, has a penned a full scouting report on each of the 100 players on the list. Their work requires an ESPN Insider subscription, though that’s a highly recommended purchase for this time of the year.
  • Baseball America provides the deepest list of draft prospects you’ll find online, as their rankings span to the Top 500 prospects in this year’s class. The rankings themselves, headlined by Florida left-hander A.J. Puk, are free to the public, but the individual scouting reports require a subscription that we also highly recommend with the Draft tonight and the July 2 international signing deadline looming.

Mock Drafts

  • Callis and Mayo released a side-by-side mock draft today in which they each take a stab at pegging all of the 34 picks listed above. They’re in agreement on the top four picks, believing that the Phillies will select high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, the Reds will select Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel, the Braves will select Ray and the Rockies will select Puk. As is the case with their rankings and scouting reports, the MLB.com duo’s mock draft is free to the public as well.
  • Law’s most recent mock draft was published this morning. For the time being, he’s in agreement on Moniak going 1-1 to the Phillies but feels Puk will go second, with Mercer outfielder Kyle Lewis going third overall to Atlanta. Law’s mock drafts require a subscription as well.
  • While BA’s scouting reports require a subscription, the fifth iteration of John Manuel’s mock draft (and the prior versions) are free for public viewing. Manuel, too, has Moniak as the top pick with Puk and Lewis going second and third overall. Prep righty Riley Pint is his pick at No. 4, and he has Ray going fifth to the Brewers.
  • It’s also worth noting that top draft prospect Delvin Perez, a high school shortstop out of Puerto Rico, has seen his draft stock slide precipitously since testing positive for an undisclosed performance enhancing substance. Perez’s upside initially had him projected as a Top 5 pick, but many believe that he’ll slide down toward the later first round. He’s something of a wild card in tonight’s draft.

Draft Prospect Interviews

MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom sat down with a number of the top names in this year’s draft class and conducted Q&As in which he asked the prospects about their skill sets, their backgrounds, their education, their big league aspirations and more. Those interested in getting a deeper look at some of the top prospects in the draft will want to check out the following interviews from our Draft Prospect Q&A series:

We’ll be tracking the action later tonight on a pick-by-pick basis and providing real-time updates for each selection here at MLBTR, and we will, as always, keep our readers posted as the various picks from this year’s class agree to terms with their new teams between now and the July 15 signing deadline for drafted players.

Top Draft Prospect Delvin Perez Fails Drug Test

By | at

11:08pm: Perez tested positive for “an undisclosed performance enhancer,” according to John Manuel and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Cooper and Manuel cite conversations with “multiple decision makers” in adding that there’s an expectation that he’ll still go in the first round to a team that gets approval from ownership, as his talent will be deemed too enticing to pass up.

Cooper and Manuel also report that University of Kentucky infielder JaVon Shelby tested positive for Adderall, which is considered a performance enhancer despite its common usage as a treatment for ADHD. Shelby isn’t as highly regarded as Perez, though he did rate 260th in BA’s compilation of the top 500 prospects in this year’s draft class.

6:00pm: Top draft prospect Delvin Perez, a shortstop out of Puerto Rico, has been sliding on recent mock drafts from draft experts, and Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that the reason for the slide is a failed drug test. ESPN’s Keith Law tweets that he’s heard the same. It’s not clear whether the substance in question was recreational or performance enhancing, but Law adds that he’s been told the substance was not marijuana. Baseball America’s John Manuel adds further context, tweeting that the Major League scouting bureau tests the top 200 prospects in the draft each year and sends results to teams, but this year’s batch of test results are “unusually late” and have not yet been received by MLB clubs.

Perez, still just 17 years of age (he’ll turn 18 in November), has drawn interest as high as No. 2 overall in the draft (the Reds), according to Heyman. While he was projected to go in the top five to 10 selections of the draft earlier this spring, he fell out of the first round entirely on Baseball America’s most recent mock draft (published earlier today) and slid to No. 13 on Law’s latest attempt to map out the first round.

Baseball America’s scouting report (subscription required and wholeheartedly recommended) pegs Perez as a true shortstop with all the tools to stay at the position from a defensive standpoint as well as plus speed and excellent bat speed. MLB.com’s scouting report on Delvin offers many of the same pluses and minuses, as each outlet notes that he needs work on his pitch recognition and approach at the plate. Earlier today, Law called him “the most tooled-up player in the [draft] class” and added that he’s the “ideal high-ceiling selection” for a patient team that is content to wait for the considerable development and refinement which Perez requires (Insider subscription required and recommended here as well).

Details surrounding Perez’s test remain unclear, so for the time being it’s impossible to determine exactly what type of slide he’ll experience in the draft. It’s not uncommon to see high school players that slide in the draft ultimately attend college instead of signing, but per BA’s scouting report, Perez has not committed to a college. Of course, depending on the substance in question, there may not be any type of slide at all; Rockies right-hander Jon Gray tested positive for Adderall in the weeks leading up to the draft and was still selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft, for instance. Braves righty Aaron Blair, who went 36th overall to the Diamondbacks that same year (roughly in line with many of his initial projections), tested positive for Adderall as well.

NL East Notes: Turner, Phillies, Mets, Walker

By | at

The Nationals optioned top prospect Trea Turner back to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday as the team activated Ryan Zimmerman from the paternity list, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier writes. Manager Dusty Baker contends that “right now there’s no room” for Turner on the big league roster when everyone is healthy, though the struggles of Danny Espinosa certainly seem to create such a spot. Collier writes that the Nats value Espinosa’s glove over a potential offensive upgrade from Turner, though I personally can’t help but wonder how much longer the team will stick with Espinosa, who is hitting just .196/.291/.346 even after homering five times in his past 10 games. While the power surge is nice, Espinosa is hitting just .182 with a .250 OBP in that 10-game stretch, so his overall offensive contributions aren’t as impressive as the power would otherwise indicate. Nats shortstops, as a collective unit, are hitting a dismal .195/.261/.337 on the season. Turner, meanwhile, is batting .312/.365/.452 at Triple-A and went 3-for-3 with a walk and a double in his brief call-up this weekend. Espinosa’s glove is solid, to be sure, but he isn’t Andrelton Simmons on defense, and the Nats rank ninth in NL in runs scored.

More from the NL East…

  • The Phillies hosted a workout for potential No. 1 overall pick Kyle Lewis today, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Lewis, a slugging outfielder out of Mercer University, is batting .395/.535/.731 with 20 homers, 11 doubles, two triples and more walks (66) than strikeouts (48) on the season. The 6’4″, 210-pound NCAA superstar spoke with MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom back in late April as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series. The Phillies have been linked to a number of names atop the draft, with Florida lefty A.J. Puk also being connected to them prominently in recent weeks.
  • Though the Mets currently have David Wright, Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud on the disabled list, the team isn’t keen on parting with prospects or significantly adding to its $135MM payroll to bring in a bat from outside the organization via trade, reports Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. Ackert spoke to two sources within the organization who “absolutely” expect Wright to return this season, and both said they don’t believe that Wright’s neck problem was caused by or even exacerbated by his spinal stenosis. The Mets will receive a 75 percent refund on Wright’s salary for each day he is on the disabled list beyond 60 days.
  • Mets second baseman Neil Walker spoke with Newsday’s Marc Carig about the trade that sent him from his hometown Pirates to New York. A native of Pittsburgh, Walker admitted that while he didn’t feel angry toward the Bucs, he did feel slighted: “I thought, ’Wow, they don’t want me around here anymore.’ … But when that got through, I was like this is an unbelievable opportunity. I just want to make sure I’m prepared to come here and help this team win.” Walker, as Carig writes, was underwhelmed by the Pirates’ attempts at signing him to a long-term deal. “It’s hard to say I feel like I deserve the Andrew McCutchen treatment because Andrew is a better player than I am, you know what I mean?” he said. Walker added that he didn’t feel disrespected but rather that the two sides simply could have had “a little bit more legitimate conversation” about the matter when it was time to talk. Of course, his new environs are treating him just fine; the free-agent-to-be is hitting an outstanding .279/.348/.505 with 13 homers thus far and is well-positioned to land a significant multiyear pact on the open market this winter.

Prospect Notes: July 2, Astros, Bell, Draft

By and | at

Over at Baseball America, Ben Badler provides an outstanding preview of the coming July 2 international signing period. Of particular note, Badler reports that the Astros are expected to exceed their spending limits and incur the maximum penalty (a 100% overage tax and two-year ban on $300K+ bonuses). Houston has been making huge outlays through the draft in recent years, but saw its domestic amateur spending capacity plummet after the club’s excellent performance at the major league level one year ago. With that pipeline now constrained, Badler says the ’Stros will blow past their available $2.2MM or so in pool allocation on just one player — Cuban shortstop Anibal Sierra — while likely adding several other pricey youngsters.

More from Badler’s column and from some other outlets as both the Draft and the 2016-17 international signing period draw near…

  • Badler goes on to detail the latest elsewhere in the market, listing some of the high-dollar prospects attached to the Braves, Padres, Nationals, and Cardinals, which are the other clubs he expects to top their cap this year. He also explains the interesting case of Dominican infielder Freudis Nova, who lost an apparent ~$2.5MM agreement with the Marlins after testing positive for steroid use. He now appears to be up for grabs, with his landing spot and ultimate bonus uncertain. Badler writes that the Padres and Astros make sense as logical possibilities, as each is already expected to shatter their bonus pool, while clubs that are planning to stick within their set limitations have largely allocated most of their funds via verbal agreements already.
  • The Reds, meanwhile, may yet be able to stay within their second-in-the-majors allotment, per Badler. Cincinnati is still expected to give shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez a $7MM bonus, but could still pick up enough slots via trade to keep the total spend within the limits.
  • Sticking with the international free agent scene, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports that Cuban outfielder Alexei Bell, who has been playing in the Mexican League, has asked for his release from los Tigres de Quintana Roo (Twitter link). Per Sanchez, Bell has been hit on both the hand and the arm and doesn’t want to risk a serious injury. It should be noted, too, that Bell was scuffling at the plate in his limited sample, batting just .171/.310/.314 through 42 plate appearances.
  • The Brewers’ top baseball decision-maker, GM David Stearns, has paid visits to watch high-school pitchers Jason Groome and Riley Pint as well as University of Miami catcher Zack Collins, Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs reports on Twitter. Longenhagen also adds (Twitter link) that Rockies GM Jeff Bridich recently took a long look at Groome, who was previously favored to go first overall but has slipped in recent mock drafts.
  • Speaking of mock drafts, there are several new ones worth taking a look at for those interested in prognostication. Frankie Piliere of D1Baseball.com still likes the Phillies to grab University of Florida lefty A.J. Puk at 1-1, which is also the prediction of ESPN.com’s Keith Law (Insider link). Law has Kyle Lewis going second to the Reds and Groome heading to the Braves with the third choice. Baseball America’s John Manuel, meanwhile, now thinks the Phils will go for high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, leaving Cincinnati to grab Puk and setting up Atlanta to take Louisville’s Corey Ray.
Show all

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

hide arrows scroll to top