Check out some of the latest draft signings outside of the first round…
- Fourth-rounder Mike Siani has agreed to terms with the Reds, tweets FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman. The deal will pay Siani $2MM, which comes in over slot value. Siani, notably, is giving up a scholarship offer from the famed University of Virginia to join Cincinnati’s minor league ranks. He’s a catcher coming out of William Penn Charter High School in Pennsylvania; he’s been described by Baseball America as “a plus-plus runner with natural instincts in center field, [and] raw power and bat speed from the left side of the plate.” Indeed, the publication ranked him as the number 53 draft prospect headed in, but clearly he fell due to signability concerns. The Reds, then, will make great use of their fourth-round selection with the addition of Siani.
- The Rays have officially signed second-round pick Tyler Frank out of Florida Atlantic, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 185-pound shortstop was generally ranked around number 70 or so in draft rankings by Fangraphs, Baseball America and MLB.com.
- Darren Wolfson of KSTP reports that the Twins have signed their second- and fourth-round picks. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, taken in round two, was ranked by Baseball America just inside the top 300 draft prospects; they described him as a below-average runner with an average arm behind the plate, though they did note his power as being impressive. Meanwhile, fourth-rounder DaShawn Kiersey Jr. is largely heralded for his contact skills. He came in 82nd in BA’s pre-draft rankings due to that skill. While some scouts worry that a gruesome hip injury suffered last year will cause him to decline faster, his “solid package of tools” give him great upside in MLB. With the above info in mind, perhaps it’s not entirely surprising that Jeffers signed for below slot value, while Kiersey Jr.’s deal exceeded his slot value (per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press).
The scouting report quoted (correctly) says Siani’s a catcher, yet his blurb calls him a catcher
This was a very confusing comment to read
They also reported that he’s a human male, when in actuality he’s a human male
Whoops! Kyle says that Siani’s a catcher from William Penn Charter. In the next sentence, he quotes from BA that Siani’s got “natural instincts in center field.” Meant to point out that Siani’s actually a center fielder, not a catcher, but the idiotic typo on my part made it worse lol
But does Siani being a catcher get some kind of reviews, perhaps of the rave variety?
Siani is a great value for the reds in the 4th round. Arguably a top 30 draft prospect. They still had to sign him overslot but great move by Cincinnati.