Here are the day’s notable draft signings, with pre-draft scouting reports coming courtesy of Baseball America, ESPN.com, and MLB.com:
- Infielder Nolan Jones has signed a $2.25MM deal with the Indians, Matt Mullin of the Philly Voice reports. He was taken with the 55th overall selection, which comes with a $1,159,200 bonus allocation; clearly, it took something extra to draw the high-schooler from his commitment to the University of Virginia. Jones rated as a top-twenty prospect on all of the draft boards linked to above, with the ESPN.com team placing him highest at No. 11. The consensus is that he’ll move to the third or second as a pro, with a good enough glove to be a useful fielder. The real draw, though, is a well-rounded offensive arsenal that includes projectable power.
- The Nationals have agreed with compensation first-rounder Dane Dunning on a just-under-slot $2MM bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. That’s just $34,600 shy of the allocation for the 29th selection. Dunning landed outside of the top fifty on both the BA and MLB.com boards, but checked in at No. 25 on ESPN.com’s version. They credit the University of Florida righty with the potential to start despite spending his time in the pen on a crowded staff. He’ll need to polish his change to accompany a strong fastball-slider combination to reach his upside, though.
- Fellow Gator Buddy Reed is heading to the Padres for an as-yet-unreported bonus, Callis tweets. Taken with the 48th pick, which came with a $1,317,800 allocation, Reed was further down the ESPN.com list but landed in the low-thirties for both MLB.com and Baseball America. Reed is said to be an excellent athlete, with questions remaining about his hitting ability at the next level.
