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2020 Amateur Draft Signings

Royals Sign Asa Lacy & Rest Of Draft Class

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7:09pm: Lacy signed for $6.67MM, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.

2:13pm: The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve officially signed left-hander Asa Lacy. The former Texas A&M ace was the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft after compiling a career 2.07 ERA with 13.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 152 total innings of college ball (21 starts, 21 relief appearances). He’s the highest pick to come to terms so far, and while his bonus figure wasn’t announced by the club, the No. 4 slot comes with a $6.664MM value.

The Kansas City organization didn’t stop there. It also added shortstop Nick Loftin on a $3MM bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. That’s a far sight higher than the $2,257,300 allocation that came with the competitive balance round A selection with which he was chosen. Loftin decided to go pro rather than returning for another year at Baylor.

Righty Ben Hernandez, an Illinois high-schooler chosen in the second round, agreed to a $1.45MM bonus. (Via Callis; Twitter links.) That freed up nearly $400K to help cover the amount due to Loftin. The Royals also saved a bit on third-rounder Tyler Gentry, an outfielder out of the University of Alabama, who inked for $750K ($818,200 slot value). The Royals also agreed to as-yet-unreported bonuses with Christian Chamberlain, LHP, Oregon State (4th round) and Will Klein, RHP, Eastern Illinois (5th round).

The Royals also announced seven undrafted player signings, rounding out a widely heralded incoming class of amateur talent:

While there’s plenty of promise from multiple new prospects, Lacy remains the crown jewel. He was the consensus top pitcher available, which made it rather surprising to see him fall to the Royals at the fourth selection. Virtually all draft pundits graded him as one of the three best prospects up for grabs in 2020.

The Royals will be especially excited with Lacy because of the team’s long-stated intention to engineer a quick rebuild. Having gone heavy on advanced college pitching prospects in recent drafts, with promising early returns, the K.C. club can now look forward to another fast-rising youngster. Lacy possesses and commands an impressive four-pitch arsenal and has already proven himself against top college competition.

Twins Sign First-Rounder Aaron Sabato

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5:20pm: Minnesota has announced the signing.

3:50pm: The Twins will sign their first-round pick, first baseman Aaron Sabato, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’ll make $2.75MM, which is a bit more than the $2.57MM slot value of the 27th choice.

Sabato’s coming off a two-year run at North Carolina, where he batted .332/.459/.698 with 25 home runs in 368 plate appearances over parts of two seasons. The 21-year-old has earned some comparisons to Mets 2019 NL Rookie of the Year winner Pete Alonso, Mayo notes.

High-profile prospect outlets such as MLB.com, Baseball America, ESPN, The Athletic and FanGraphs ranked Sabato in the high 30s or low 40s in this year’s class. FanGraphs called Sabato a “bat-only prospect,” though BA wrote that he has the raw power to rival Spencer Torkelson, whom the Tigers drafted first overall.

Rays Sign First-Rounder Nick Bitsko

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5:15pm: The signing’s now official, the Rays tweeted.

3:45pm: The Rays will sign first-round right-hander Nick Bitsko, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’ll earn $3MM, an increase over the $2.83MM slot value of the 24th overall selection.

Bitsko is an 18-year-old right-hander from Pennsylvania who graduated high school a year early in order to enter the 2020 draft class. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently profiled Bitsko, writing that a good deal of scouts regarded him as the highest-upside hurler available in the draft.  As McDaniel explained then, Bitsko’s a hard thrower with excellent spin rates, though the coronavirus led to the cancellation of his final high school season and stopped teams from getting extensive looks at him in person. Bitsko did, however, impress clubs by posting workouts on social media and interacting via Zoom. In fact, according to Rays scout Zach Clark, Bitsko’s Zoom call with the team was among the reasons they took him.

“I think the Zoom call sent it over the top for our guys,” Clark said.  “Listen to Nick talk about pitching, preparation, what he’s done in the past, you’re like, ’Man, it’s really hard to believe you’re talking to a 17-year-old.’ ”

Shortly after profiling Bitsko, McDaniel ranked him as the 15th-best prospect in the 2020 class. MLB.com (14) FanGraphs (16), Keith Law of The Athletic (18) and Baseball America (19) placed Bitsko in a similar vicinity before the draft.

First-Rounder Nick Gonzales Plans To Sign With Pirates

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Pirates first-round pick Nick Gonzales will take a physical on Wednesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Assuming there aren’t any issues, Gonzales plans to sign with the team, according to Mackey. As the seventh overall pick, he’s expected to sign for the slot value of $5,432,400, per Mackey.

The 21-year-old Gonzales was a star at New Mexico State, where he played in the middle infield (primarily second base) and slashed .399/.502/.747 with 37 home runs in 596 plate appearances from 2018-20.

On the heels of his stellar college career, Gonzales entered the draft as a top seven prospect according to MLB.com (No. 5), Baseball America (No. 5), FanGraphs (No. 6) and Keith Law of The Athletic (No. 7). Gonzales “has as much pure hitting ability as just about any bat in the 2020 class,” per MLB.com, which notes that some compare him to Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura.

Cardinals Sign First-Rounder Jordan Walker

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The Cardinals have announced the signing of first-round draft selection Jordan Walker (h/t Mark Saxon of The Athletic, on Twitter). He’ll forego his commitment to Duke University.

The Georgia high school third baseman will receive a $2.9MM bonus, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He was taken with the 21st overall selection, which came with a $3.13MM slot allocation.

Many draft watchers graded Walker as an early second-round player, but he went a fair bit higher to the Cards. Keith Law of The Athletic had the highest overall grade (#29). That viewpoint is presumably reflected in Walker’s signing value.

That’s not to say there’s a lack of excitement surrounding the big and athletic high schooler. Walker is a fleet-footed masher with a powerful throwing arm. The questions creep in with Walker’s relatively undeveloped hit tool. Here’s how MLB.com frames the situation:

“There are some mixed opinions on his hitting ability because his size creates a naturally long swing and he needs to improve his ability to recognize breaking balls. But he also shows some feel for hitting and the ability to make adjustments, so he should make enough contact to tap into his pop.”

It sounds as if Walker will be a fun player for Cards fans to watch as he develops. There’s upside aplenty, even if he ultimately moves to right field or first base.

White Sox Sign Garrett Crochet

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The White Sox announced today that they have signed their first-round draft pick, southpaw Garrett Crochet. He will receive a $4,547,500 signing bonus.

Garrett Crochet (via Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics)

 

That payday precisely matches the slot value allocated to the eleventh overall selection. The Chicago organization is still working on agreements with fifth-rounder Bailey Horn and second-rounder Jared Kelley, the latter of whom is expected to sign for well north of his slot value.

Crochet is valued for his big left arm. He pumps upper-nineties heat and controls it reasonably well. While his slider and change will both require fine-tuning, there’s said to be some real hope that he could round into a high-grade big-league starter.

If everything doesn’t quite come together? In that case, it still seems reasonable to anticipate that Crochet will be a compelling power arm from the bullpen, perhaps in the sort of multi-inning role he occupied at times at the University of Tennessee.

Most draft pundits (Fangraphs, MLB.com, Baseball America, ESPN.com) graded Crochet as a mid-first round talent. Keith Law of The Athletic acknowledged the upside, but obviously was swayed more by the concerns in grading Crochet as his 39th overall prospect.

Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee athletics department.

Cubs Sign First-Round Pick Ed Howard

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June 22: The Cubs have formally announced the signing. Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that Howard’s exact bonus is $3.7455MM (the full slot value for the No. 16 pick).

June 21: The Cubs have agreed to terms with first-round draft choice Ed Howard, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Howard will receive a $3.75MM bonus, on par with the slot value for the 16th overall pick with which he was chosen. The Cubs entered the draft with an overall pool of $6,721,600.

In Howard, the Cubs got not only the best high-school shortstop in this year’s draft class, but a hometown product as well, with Howard playing his high-school ball in Chicago. He’d been committed to continue his career at the University of Oklahoma, but as a surefire first-rounder, there was little doubt that Howard would instead play affiliated baseball.

Howard’s calling card is his steady, fluid defense at shortstop. With a strong throwing arm and smooth footwork, scouts almost universally think he’ll be able to stick at shortstop in the Majors. There’s less certainty about his offensive game, but evaluators laud his bat speed and believe there’s room for more power with a refined approach and some physical development.

At just 18 years old, Howard and the Cubs will have plenty of time to work on his game before he’s a finished product. Make no mistake, his selection likely has nothing to do with Javier Baez’s future in a Cubs uniform; Howard is an outstanding prospect regardless of the Cubs’ situation at shortstop, and we’ll look forward to seeing him make an impact at the Major League level in the near future.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/21/20

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Let’s check in on some details regarding recent amateur draft signees.

  • The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with fourth-round pick Carson Taylor, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. The former Virginia Tech catcher will receive a $400K bonus, just shy of the #130 pick’s $434,400 slot value, Callis adds. Taylor, a draft-eligible sophomore, hit .290/.389/.413 with 20 walks against 21 strikeouts as a freshman in the ACC in 2019. He was off to a fantastic start in mostly non-conference play this spring before the college baseball season was cancelled. Baseball America, who named Taylor the #219 draft prospect, lauded the switch-hitter’s plate discipline and power from the left side.
  • Tigers fourth-round pick Gage Workman will come in at $1MM, Callis also reports. That’s well above the #102 pick’s $571,400 slot value. As Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs had previously suggested, that reflects Workman’s ample leverage as a young-for-the-class college junior. The toolsy, switch-hitting infielder played his college ball at Arizona State.

National League Draft Signings: Picks & Bonus Info

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Here is the list of every National League team’s picks over the five rounds (plus the free agent compensation sandwich picks and the two Competitive Balance Rounds) of the 2020 draft.  Slot price information and — if available — the amount of the player’s bonus are listed, as well as each club’s total draft bonus spending pool.  If a player doesn’t sign with the team, the slot price attached to the player’s draft spot is removed from the team’s pool.

Teams are allowed to spend beyond their draft pool limit, though at an increasingly steep penalty.  Exceeding the limit by 10 percent or less of the pool value will cost a team a 75 percent tax on the overage, as well as the forfeiture of a future first-round pick if they exceed the pool by between 5-10 percent.  A 100 percent tax on the overage is levied if a team exceeds its pool by more than 10 percent of the total pool value, with heavier pick penalties — a future first- and second-round pick if a team’s extra spending falls between 10-15 percent of the pool limit, and two future first-round picks if the pool is exceeded by more than 15 percent.  Needless to say, it would be shocking if any team topped the five percent threshold, though going over the pool limit by 0-5 percent isn’t uncommon.

For further reference, here is the rundown of draft signings for American League teams. These lists will be frequently updated as more players sign over the coming weeks, so keep the posts bookmarked for future updates!

Braves ($4,127,800 draft pool)

Brewers ($6,078,300 draft pool)

Cardinals ($7,901,100 draft pool)

Cubs ($6,721,600 draft pool)

Diamondbacks ($7,184,900 draft pool)

Dodgers ($5,928,400 draft pool)

Giants ($9,231,800 draft pool)

Marlins ($12,016,900 draft pool)

Mets ($7,174,700 draft pool)

Nationals ($6,647,700 draft pool)

Padres ($10,674,000 draft pool)

  • Robert Hassell III, 1st round, 8th overall. Slot value: $5,176,900
  • Justin Lange, Competitive Balance Round A, 34th overall. Slot value: $2,148,100
  • Owen Caissie, 2-45. Slot value: $1,650,200
  • Cole Wilcox, 3-80. Slot value: $767.8K
  • Levi Thomas, 4-109. Slot value: $533K (Signed for $80K)
  • Jagger Haynes, 5-139. Slot value: $398K (Signed for $300K)

Phillies ($5,444,200 draft pool)

Pirates ($11,154,500 draft pool)

Reds ($8,552,100 draft pool)

Rockies ($10,339,700 draft pool)

American League Draft Signings: Picks & Bonus Info

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Here is the list of every American League team’s picks over the five rounds (plus the free agent compensation sandwich picks and the two Competitive Balance Rounds) of the 2020 draft.  Slot price information and — if available — the amount of the player’s bonus are listed, as well as each club’s total draft bonus spending pool.  If a player doesn’t sign with the team, the slot price attached to the player’s draft spot is removed from the team’s pool.

Teams are allowed to spend beyond their draft pool limit, though at an increasingly steep penalty.  Exceeding the limit by 10 percent or less of the pool value will cost a team a 75 percent tax on the overage, as well as the forfeiture of a future first-round pick if they exceed the pool by between 5-10 percent.  A 100 percent tax on the overage is levied if a team exceeds its pool by more than 10 percent of the total pool value, with heavier pick penalties — a future first- and second-round pick if a team’s extra spending falls between 10-15 percent of the pool limit, and two future first-round picks if the pool is exceeded by more than 15 percent.  Needless to say, it would be shocking if any team topped the five percent threshold, though going over the pool limit by 0-5 percent isn’t uncommon.

For further reference, here is the rundown of draft signings for National League teams. These lists will be frequently updated as more players sign over the coming weeks, so keep the posts bookmarked for future updates!

Angels ($6,397,100 draft pool)

Athletics ($5,241,500 draft pool)

Astros ($2,202,600 draft pool)

Blue Jays ($9,716,500 draft pool)

Indians ($7,662,800 draft pool)

Mariners ($10,265,500 draft pool)

Orioles ($13,894,300 draft pool)

Rangers ($7,083,900 draft pool)

Rays ($7,474,600 draft pool)

Red Sox ($5,129,900 draft pool)

Royals ($12,521,300 draft pool)

Tigers ($13,325,700 draft pool)

Twins ($4,528,600 draft pool)

White Sox ($7,764,800 draft pool)

Yankees ($3.52MM draft pool)

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