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Draft Signings: Marshall, Hillman, Blankenhorn, Davila

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It’s time to get caught up on some draft signings. Slot values courtesy of Baseball America.

  • The Giants have agreed to a well-above-slot, $750K bonus with fourth-round pick Mac Marshall, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. You might remember that Marshall was taken in the late rounds last year by the Astros, who fell short of a rumored last-minute attempt at a deal with him as they tried to work things out with Brady Aiken. Marshall had been set to play for LSU, but ultimately ended up in Junior College so that he could re-enter the draft.
  • Second-rounder Juan Hillman inked with the Indians, the club announced. The deal is for $825K, per Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Cleveland also announced several other signings, including third-rounder Mark Mathias and fourth-round pick Tyler Krieger. MLB.com rated Hillman the 52nd-best player available, noting that the prep lefty is the son of long-time big leaguer Tom Gordon and half-brother of Dee Gordon. ESPN.com’s Keith Law had the highest grade on Hillman, ranking him 31st heading into the draft on the basis of his excellent feel and command at a young age.
  • Twins third-rounder Travis Blankenhorn gets a $650K bonus, Callis tweets. The high school third baseman was taken 80th overall, which came with a $754K slot allotment. Baseball America rated Blankenhorn 75th on its board, citing his athleticism, nice swing, and overall solid tools. Minnesota also added fourth-round pick Trey Cabbage for an above-slot $760K bonus, also per a Callis tweet. His signing was previously reported, but not the bonus amount, which lands well above the slot value of $517,900.
  • The Royals went over $300K above slot ($431,100) to sign high school lefty Garrett Davila, Callis tweets. He receives a $746K bonus after entering the draft rated within Law’s top 100 list. His fastball is not a very impressive offerin at present, but he has an above-average curve and still has some growing to do.
  • Javier Medina, the third-round pick of the Rockies, gets $740K to forego his commitment to the University of Arizona, Callis reports on Twitter. The 77th overall pick came with a $789,700 allotment, so Colorado will pick up some savings to add a pitcher who shows more feel than pure stuff, per Baseball America.
  • Pirates third-round selection Casey Hughston lands a $700K bonus that lands $107,300 above the slot value, per Callis (via Twitter). The Alabama outfielder has good all-around tools in addition to plus raw power, MLB.com wrote in raking him 95th among available players. Pittsburgh fourth-rounder Jacob Taylor, a righty from Pearl River Community College, has agreed to a $500K bonus, Callis tweets. That represents a $60.6K bump over the slot value for the 127th overall pick.
  • The third-round pick of the Tigers, Dallas Baptist pitcher Drew Smith, announced that he has signed (h/t to MLB.com’s Jason Beck). Callis reports on Twitter that the live-armed college righty will take home the slot value of $575,800.
  • The Braves have agreed to a $550K deal with third-round pick Anthony Guardado, Callis tweets. That signing saves the club $106,300 against the slot value of the 89th pick. Callis calls the high school righty a true pop-up prospect, and indeed he did not receive much pre-draft attention.
  • Fourth round pick Demi Orimoloye will sign for a $450K bonus, according to Callis (on Twitter), just shy of the $456,600 allotment for the 121st pick. The Canadian outfielder (who was born in Nigeria) drew rave reviews from BA, which rated him 41st heading into the draft based upon his loud tools and tall ceiling. There’s a lot of polishing that needs to be done, it seems, but Orimoloye looks to be a nice risk for the Brewers at this price tag.
  • Phillies fifth-round pick Bailey Falter, a projectable lefty, gets an above-slot $420K bonus, Callis tweets. Philly took him 144th overall, which came with a $373,100 slot value.
  • The 11th-round pick of the Mets, lefty Jake Simon, has agreed to a $400K bonus, Callis tweets. $300K of that money will count against New York’s overall pool, as any amount over $100K does for players taken after the tenth round.

Minor Moves: Chien-Ming Wang, Joe Benson

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

  • The Braves have released a pair of players from Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. Veteran Taiwanese righty Chien-Ming Wang will be looking for a new home after throwing 62 innings of 6.10 ERA ball, with 4.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He has not seen the big leagues since 2013, and it’s been some time since he was a durable and effective pitcher. Outfielder Joe Benson will also be on the move. The 27-year-old, who has seen only one brief call-up in his career, was slashing .246/.346/.331 over 137 plate appearances.

Podcast: Selling Big Pieces?

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Steve Adams joins the show to discuss the growing departure from traditional “buyers” and “sellers,” the Braves’ expedited rebuild process and the possibility of teams cashing in their biggest assets for younger, more controllable talent. Jeff then takes a closer look at one such hypothetical: the Reds and Aroldis Chapman.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

Heyman’s Latest: Phillies, C. Johnson, Sellers, Harang, Rays

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In his weekly Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports begins by taking a look at a messy situation in Philadelphia. Heyman hears the same rumblings that were first reported by CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury — that Andy MacPhail could very well be in line for an executive role with the Phillies. The hiring of MacPhail would bring into question the status of both GM Ruben Amaro and manager Ryne Sandberg. While one exec notes that no one could have had much success with the hand Sandberg has been dealt, his calm demeanor hasn’t motivated the team much, and he may have lost the clubhouse at this point. Heyman notes that partial owner John Middleton, who is believed by some to be calling the shots in Philly, may have extra impetus to get a new decision-maker in the door so that a lame-duck GM (Amaro’s contract expires at season’s end) isn’t the primary decision-maker on what could be a franchise-altering Cole Hamels trade. Speaking of Hamels, Heyman notes that interested teams will want to see him pitch at least twice now that he had a start pushed back due to a hamstring strain, thinning the window of opportunity to trade him. As far as Jonathan Papelbon goes, the belief is that he’d approve any trade that sent him to a contending team, though the Cubs might be his preferred fit at this point if he had a say in the matter.

Some more highlights from Heyman’s latest (though there’s more in the column than we can cover here)…

  • The Braves have tried to trade Chris Johnson and even offered to substantially pay down the remaining money on his contract, but there’s been little interest. The Johnson deal was widely questioned from the start, and there’s still about $21MM owed to Johnson through the end of the 2017 season. Johnson’s a viable weapon against lefties, but he’s a sub-par hitter against right-handed pitchers and is not well-regarded from a defensive standpoint.
  • Rival teams are beginning to wonder if the Red Sox might sell some pieces this summer, with Mike Napoli, Clay Buchholz and Koji Uehara among the possible names listed by Heyman. Napoli isn’t hitting for average but has shown good power and a nice walk rate. Buchholz has improved after a rocky start and Uehara again has strong numbers in the ’pen.
  • The White Sox are beginning to think about selling, Heyman hears, but they’re not quite ready to move their bigger pieces. Emilio Bonifacio might be the first name they make available, but eventually, Jeff Samardzija’s name could be out there. Heyman writes that while Samardzija isn’t pitching well in 2015, his big arm is so tantalizing to scouts that there will still be interest in him.
  • The Reds aren’t expected to sell until after the All-Star Game and would be very open to shedding Brandon Phillips’ contract, per Heyman, though I have a difficult time envisioning too many teams lining up to take on the remainder of that deal. Phillips is owed about $34.1MM through the end of the 2017 season and has seen his power more or less vanish. Heyman speculates that Everth Cabrera could be a fit in Cincinnati with Zack Cozart out for the year, and there’s some logic to that scenario, though they may first prefer to see what they have in Eugenio Suarez. The Mets aren’t interested in Cabrera, he adds later.
  • The Marlins aren’t selling yet, according to GM-turned-manager Dan Jennings. “We’re in it, we’re not jumping off the ship. No doubt about that,” Jennings told Heyman. If their attitude changes, Heyman thinks they’ll find interest in Martin Prado and Mike Dunn.
  • The Astros like Aaron Harang but are said to be aiming higher when looking at potential trade targets to bolster their rotation.
  • The Dodgers are on the hunt for a top-tier starting pitcher and a late-inning arm to help bridge the gap to Kenley Jansen. In other Dodgers-related news, Heyman hears that No. 35 pick Kyle Funkhouser is strongly considering returning to Louisville. Funkhouser was once looked at as a potential Top 10 pick, but he fell to a slot with a $1.756MM value. He’d have less leverage in 2016 as a senior sign, of course, but he could certainly improve his draft stock and his bonus with a big senior year.
  • Yankees chief international officer/executive vice president Felix Lopez is no longer listed on the team’s web site and some indicate that he’s been gone from the organization for three months, Heyman writes. Lopez was said to have angered Yoan Moncada’s camp after calling to express displeasure with their decision to sign in Boston over New York. The team hasn’t made a statement on his departure.
  • The Rays are looking for first base help with James Loney on the disabled list, but Loney’s said to be returning around the All-Star break. Heyman speculates on the possibility of Ryan Howard ending up in Tampa Bay if the Phillies eat some or all of the contract, but I’d think there’d be something of a logjam there once Loney is activated in that scenario.

Braves Promote Matt Wisler

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The Braves announced tonight that top right-handed pitching prospect Matt Wisler will be promoted tomorrow and make his big league debut against the Mets. Righty Sugar Ray Marimon will be sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett to clear room on the 25-man roster, and the team has an open spot on its 40-man roster. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien tweeted earlier this afternoon that he expected Wisler to get the call for tomorrow’s start.

Acquired from the Padres in the blockbuster trade that sent Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. to San Diego, Wisler entered the 2015 season ranked as the No. 34 prospect in the game, according to Baseball America. Baseball Prospectus ranked Wisler 53rd, while Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked him 69th. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel pegged Wisler 41st overall.

Wisler has pitched reasonably well at Triple-A this season, although his numbers don’t line up with the type of production one might expect from such a highly touted prospect. In 65 innings thus far, he’s worked to a 4.29 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. He’s been plagued by a 64 percent strand rate, which helps to explain why FIP credits Wisler with a much more favorable 3.33 mark.

Per BA, Wisler sits in the 92-94 mph range and tops out at 96 with a two-seam fastball that features above-average sink. He also has a lively four-seamer and control of his entire arsenal — a trait that has manifested itself in his stellar BB/9 rate. McDaniel notes that his slider is a plus pitch, while his changeup is average or better at times, and he can command the ball on both sides of the plate. BA noted that most scouts see Wisler as a No. 3 type of starter on a contending club, and all of the aforementioned scouting reports agreed heading into the season that he could be ready to join the rotation midway through this year.

Wisler will step into the rotation spot that was recently vacated when Atlanta optioned fellow promising righty Mike Foltynewicz to Triple-A. He’ll join Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, Shelby Miller and Williams Perez for the time being. Atlanta has experienced quite a bit of change in its rotation through the first portion of the season, with the jettisoning of struggling veterans Eric Stults and Trevor Cahill, the decision to option Foltynewicz, and a shoulder injury that ended Mike Minor’s season before it began. Given all of that turnover, it would seem that Wisler may have an opportunity to carve out a long-term spot in the Braves’ starting five from this point forth.

If Wisler is indeed here to stay following Friday’s promotion, he’ll accrue 109 days of Major League service time in 2015, which should leave him comfortably shy of Super Two status as he works through the arbitration process. He’d be controllable through the 2021 season in the event that he remained at the big league level from this point forth.

Braves To Sign Austin Riley

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The Braves have agreed to a $1.6MM bonus with supplemental first round pick Austin Riley, a client of MVP Sports, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Riley’s payout is a shade under $100K north of the $1,506,400 slot allocation for the 41st pick.

Riley offers two-way potential out of high school, profiling as a third baseman on the position side. It appears that Atlanta will utilize him at the hot corner, though it’s always nice to have some down-the-line pitching potential if things don’t work out.

The Braves obviously viewed Riley more favorably than did most draft observers. The highest grade placed on Riley came from MLB.com, which rated him the 106th-best player available while noting that his ability to hit pro-level fastballs is a question mark. Baseball America had Riley in the 164th slot, crediting his power upside (and bat speed) while noting that he’ll have work to do to boost his standing in the field.

Riley becomes Atlanta’s earliest  selection to sign. The club has yet to agree to terms with first-rounder Kolby Allard and comp pick Mike Soroka.

Braves Agree To Terms With Second-Rounder Lucas Herbert

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The Braves have agreed to an at-slot, $1,125,200 bonus with second-round selection Lucas Herbert, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Callis calls the would-be UCLA commit the best defensive catcher in the draft.

Herbert, who was chosen 54th overall, was the fourth player taken by the pick-flush Braves. He becomes Atlanta’s highest draft choice reportedly to sign.

Among draft observers, ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated Herbert highest on his board, placing him 45th among eligible prospects. Law notes that the backstop was discovered by scouts who were looking at teammate Kolby Allard, who the Braves took with their first-round choice. Law cites Herbert’s plus defensive potential as his primary calling card, noting that the youngster holds much less promise on offense, where he features “below-average hit and power ceilings.”

Baseball America placed Herbert at 52nd on its pre-draft ranking, with MLB.com putting him in the 69th slot and noting that he does possess “extremely strong hands and wrists” and shows reasonable promise as a hitter. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, meanwhile, took a somewhat dimmer view of Herbert’s future, rating him just inside the top 100.

Draft Signings: White, Maese, Miller, Erwin, Graham

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It’s been a busy day on the draft signing front. Among the notable names locked up today, with slot values courtesy of Baseball America (all links to Twitter):

  • Shortstop Mikey White will receive a $900K bonus from the Athletics, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis. His second round selection spot (63rd overall) came with a $979,600 allocation, so the team will save some cash in the deal. White checked in at 34th on the board of Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, who cites his development at the plate and solid raw power for his position. Other talent evaluators had him further down the board, in the sixties, with some doubting whether he’ll stick at short.
  • The Marlins will pay third-rounder Isaiah White an at-slot $698,100 bonus, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports. Baseball America had White rated the 138th-best talent available, citing his outstanding speed as his best tool. Miami locked up fourth-rounder Cody Poteet with a slot-value $488.7K bonus, per Cotillo. And the Fish also added sixth-round catcher Justin Cohen for a $540K bonus, well above his $274K slot number at the 176th selection, per Callis. BA credited Cohen’s arm and receiving ability behind the plate, noting that he has some power potential with the bat.
  • The Blue Jays have reached a $300K deal with third-round choice Justin Maese, per Callis. That constitutes a somewhat rare below-slot deal for a high school arm, as the slot value was $636,400. While Maese has shown a big fastball and strong slider, Baseball America says he has been inconsistent. Toronto also agreed to a $450K bonus with fourth-round pick Carl Wise, Callis reports, falling just $11,200 of the slot value.
  • The Royals have added Western Kentucky outfielder Anderson Miller for a slot bonus of $581,300, says Callis. Baseball America rated Miller within the top 200 prospects available, citing his solid hitting ability, increased power, and potential to play center field as a professional.
  • White Sox fourth-rounder Zack Erwin will receive a slot bonus of $508K, Callis  reports. The Clemson lefty was the 117th name on BA’s list, calling him a good athlete with the potential to harness three above-average offerings. Chicago also agreed to terms with sixth-round pick Corey Zangari, a power righty, for $510K, Callis adds. He works in the upper nineties when he’s on, per BA, but is inconsistent. He also has some promise as a hitter, though he likely won’t be able to catch (as he has as an amateur) and would profile as a first baseman.
  • The Braves signed their fourth-round pick, Josh Graham of Oregon, for $500K, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. That’s just a shade under $30K over the slot value. Recently converted from catcher to the mound, Graham has a nice low-to-mid-90s fastball, average slider, and “surprisingly decent change,” according to Baseball America.
  • 11th-round pick Brantley Bell has agreed to terms with the Reds for $400k, according to Mayo. Bell, a JuCo shortstop out of State College of Florida Manatee, did not place on any prospect lists.

NL East Notes: Bethancourt, Lavarnway, Wright, Mets, Brown

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Earlier this morning, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported that the Braves would option struggling catcher Christian Bethancourt to Triple-A Gwinnett (Twitter link). While the corresponding move was not reported at the time, Atlanta has since announced that it will select the contract of Ryan Lavarnway to take Bethancourt’s place. Bethancourt, 23, has batted just .208/.231/.297 in 2014 plate appearances this season. While his elite arm behind the plate would be enough to outweigh a reasonable amount of offensive struggles, that batting line translates to the seventh-worst wRC+ in all of baseball among players with 100 PAs. Via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, president of baseball ops John Hart likened the Bethancourt demotion to the 2014 demotions of Kolten Wong and Mike Moustakas. Each, like Bethancourt, was a former Top 100 prospect that had struggled in the Majors but has taken a step toward stardom since returning to the bigs. The Braves will hope that’s the outcome for Bethancourt, but in the meantime, they’ll hand his role to Lavarnway. The 27-year-old Lavarnway is a former Top 100 prospect himself, but he’s never replicated the promise he showed in a 2013 cup of coffee when he batted .299/.329/.429 in 84 PAs with Boston.

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • Via the Record’s Matt Ehalt, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said today that a realistic target date for David Wright’s return will be the All-Star break (Twitter link). The Mets captain has missed all but eight games this season, most of which has been due to a recent diagnosis of spinal stenosis. New York has been said to be looking to acquire a versatile bat that can play third base in the short-term and then move elsewhere once Wright is again healthy.
  • The Mets recently discussed a scenario in which Noah Syndergaard would switch to a relief role in an effort to aid what has been a fragile bullpen, report Mike Puma and Zach Braziller of the New York Post. In that scenario, Steven Matz would have been recalled to take Syndergaard’s spot in the rotation. However, the team has decided against that decision and will remain committed to using Syndergaard as a starter. The story does seem to lend further credence to recent reports that the Mets are itching to get Matz to the Majors. They’ve reportedly discussed Jon Niese and Dillon Gee with other teams, though neither has generated much interest.
  • While many Phillies fans have given up hope on Domonic Brown, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News feels the organization is doing the right thing by giving him a perhaps final shot at proving he’s been anything more than he has shown to this point. Brown, 27, has scarcely hit in the Majors, save for a blistering two-month stretch in 2013, but he still has more growth potential than alternative Phillies options such as Jeff Francoeur and Ben Revere. Brown explained to Murphy his offensive struggles in the minors this season — specifically feeling a lack of strength in his legs early on after returning from an Achilles injury. Brown’s production improved as the strength returned, and he’ll now get some opportunities to force his way into the lineup with regularity, manager Ryne Sandberg implied. Still, Brown is out of options after this season, so Murphy rightly points out that this could effectively be Brown’s last legitimate chance in Philadelphia.

Draft Signings: Minter, Padres, David Fletcher

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The 2015 MLB Draft is in the books, and over the coming weeks we’ll see plenty of picks agree to terms with their new clubs.  With so many players selected in the draft, there’s no way to cover all of them, but we’ll run down some of the more notable picks — either due to the size of their signing bonus, the round they were selected or a significantly over-slot/under-slot deal — as they’re reported. Here are today’s notable mid-round signings (with all slot values coming courtesy of Baseball America)…

  • The Braves have signed second-rounder A.J. Minter, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (via Twitter).  Minter will receive a $814.3K bonus, matching the slot value of the 75th overall pick.  The left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in March and injuries limited him to just 58 innings in his career at Texas A&M.  It’s yet to be determined whether he’ll stick as a starter or reliever when healthy, though Callis notes that Minter can throw a cutter in the low 90’s and has touched 97mph with his fastball.
  • The Padres have signed fourth-rounder Austin Allen ($484K), Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.  Allen, the 117th overall pick in the draft, will receive the $484K bonus that matches his slot value.  The club also made two notable under-slot signings in sixth-rounder Jordan Guerrero ($200K) and ninth-rounder Jerry Keel ($10K), who respectively signed for $71.3K and $151.4K less than their assigned values.  As Lin notes, the Padres are already a combined $310K below slot value after just four signings.
  • The Angels signed sixth-rounder David Fletcher to a $406.9K bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (Twitter link).  This is a sizable bump up from the $228.1K slot value for the 195th overall pick.
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