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2020 Amateur Draft

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/13/20

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Let’s kick off this Saturday morning by checking in on some of the latest post-draft signings from around the league. We’ll update this post periodically throughout the day as more news trickles in…

Latest Signings

  • Cardinals fourth-rounder Ian Bedell will sign with the team, the right-hander told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers.  Terms of the agreement weren’t revealed, though the 122nd overall selection has a $469K slot value.  “I would have gone back to school if the signing bonus wasn’t there, but they made a good offer, and I couldn’t be happier,” said Bedell, who grew up as a Cards fan.  Draft pundits had a pretty wide range of opinions on Bedell’s draft stock (The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked him as the 58th-best prospect in the draft class, Fangraphs 85th, MLB Pipeline 88th, and Baseball America 105th), though those rankings still represent somewhat of a steal for the Cardinals with the 122nd pick.  Bedell drew praise for his command and control of his pitches rather than his pure arsenal, and he pitched very well in the Cape Cod League last summer.

Earlier Today

  • The Phillies and third-rounder Casey Martin have reached an agreement, Martin told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (subscription required).  The 87th overall pick has a $689.3K slot price attached, and while Martin didn’t specify the terms of his contract, the Arkansas shortstop said the deal was a “fair amount for where I was picked and for my value.”  Martin didn’t play well before the 2020 college season came to an abrupt end, which may explain why he fell to the third round despite late-first/early-second round grades from prospect analysts (MLB Pipeline ranked Martin as the 30th-best prospect available in the draft).  There are questions surrounding Martin’s ability to avoid strikeouts and whether or not he could remain at shortstop in the long term, though he carries a lot of hitting potential and outstanding 70-grade speed.
  • The Astros have agreements in place with a couple of their draft picks from this week’s abbreviated MLB draft. Fourth-round selection Zach Daniels has an agreement in place, though the terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros also came to terms with shortstop Shay Whitcomb from UC San Diego, who was the 160th and final pick of this draft (Mark Berman of KRIV Fox 26 had the report).  Though Whitcomb was the final player chosen, the slot value of that pick is still $324.1K, a significant bump from what those undrafted players can command. Players who went undrafted can sign with any team of their choosing, but only for a maximum payout of $20K. 
  • Orioles fifth-round selection Carter Baumler has plans to sign with Baltimore, per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. Baumler is a 6’2″ right-handed pitcher hailing from Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa. The 133rd overall pick of the draft carries a slot value of $422.3K. Baumler’s deal will come in well above slot at $1.5MM, tweets Mason McRae of Prospects 365 (confirmed by Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register). As Birch writes in a full piece, Baumler turned down two other teams before agreeing to sign with the Orioles. Had he not received an offer to his liking, Baumler was ready to play college ball for Texas Christian.
  • Rangers second-rounder Evan Carter will sign his first professional contract rather than attend Duke University, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Carter is a lefty-swinging outfielder out of Elizabethton High School in Tennessee, and was picked by the Rangers with the 50th overall pick in the draft. The financials of his deal have not been disclosed, but the slot amount for the 50th overall selection is $1,469,900.

Team Plans For Signing Undrafted Amateurs

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Now that MLB’s abbreviated 2020 draft is in the books, we can move along to the next phase of this one-off amateur signing season. Undrafted amateur players will now be free to sign with any team of their choosing, though they are capped with a signing bonus of $20K. Thus, the setup here presents a fascinating situation for amateur ballplayers and for us, those interested in parsing the ins-and-outs of roster-building. Here we have a unique situation where money will not necessarily be the driving factor for players choosing their first professional team. As players start to sign, we’ll likely hear stories that shed light on player perspective, which could paint an interesting picture of how young players view different franchises around baseball. For now, we’re starting to hear from teams themselves about spending limits for this class of amateur free agents. We’ll use this post to update those strategies as they trickle in…

  • The Giants have no apparent limits when it comes to signing amateur free agents now that the draft is completed. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a primer for this period of amateur free agents, writing, “The process starts at 6 a.m. Sunday, and the Giants will compete with the other 29 teams for the best available talent. But rather than outspending the others, all they can do is try to outsell them and offer appealing opportunities.” Given the Giants’ current position as a team looking to infuse as much young talent as possible, one would expect them to be aggressive in their attempts to add players from this pool. Obviously, more players than usual will be returning to college or committing to school as high school graduates, but given the volatility of the MLB draft under normal circumstances, it’s fair to expect a quality player or two to emerge from this pool of undrafted amateurs.
  • The Marlins are planning on limiting their pool of undrafted amateur free agents to 10 signings or less, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter links). Along with their six drafted players, all of whom are expected to sign, the Marlins can expect an influx of 16 players max.
  • Similarly, the Mariners don’t expect to go hog wild with this year’s class of undrafted amateur. Per MLB.com’s Corey Brock, the Mariners’ Scouting Director Scott Hunter said the Mariners will only be signing between five and ten amateur free agents.
  • The Royals, meanwhile, are ready to shop, tweets Jeff Rosen of the Kansas City Star. The Royals could be big-time players in this sphere, as they’ve generated some goodwill recently because of their treatment of minor league players. Kansas City might not typically be a major free agent draw, but for amateur players, it’s a different story. The Royals have the opportunity and a long track record of highly valuing their own players. For players looking for their first professional contract, the Royals have a lot to offer. Among other things, they’re ready to be aggressive. GM Dayton Moore has the green light to “sign as many of those guys as we can,” per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/12/20

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Let’s catch up on any draft signing news we didn’t cover already …

  • The Nationals have agreed to terms with fifth-rounder Mitchell Parker, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The bonus agreement isn’t known; his choice came with a slot value of $346,800. Parker was the last of four college hurlers plucked by the Nats in this summer’s truncated draft. This is the third time Parker has been drafted; it sounds as if he’s definitely planning on going the professional route this time around.
  • Angels fifth-rounder Adam Seminaris has agreed to terms, Robert Murray reports on Twitter. He was nabbed with the 141st overall pick, which featured a $390,400 bonus allocation, though Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com tweets he’ll fall well short of that with a sum of $140K. Seminaris, a Long Beach State product, produced big strikeout numbers in college without overwhelming arm speed.

Tigers Fourth-Rounder Gage Workman Intends To Sign

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Tigers fourth-round selection Gage Workman says he fully intends to sign with the club, as Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic reports. While the sides haven’t yet agreed to terms, it appears there’s at least a mutual expectation that’ll come to pass.

While it’s never much of a surprise to see a draft pick join a team — usually, there’s at least some amount of correspondence in advance of the selection to assure as much — there was reason to wonder whether Workman would end up turning pro. The Arizona State product had “lots of leverage due to his age” — Workman graduated from high school early — and the still-appealing possibility returning to school, Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs notes on Twitter.

Workman, you may have noticed, was the infield mate of top overall draftee Spencer Torkelson. The pair will launch their careers with the Detroit organization — perhaps even sharing the left side of the same infield once baseball finally resumes. The Tigers announced Torkelson as a third baseman, the position that Workman played at ASU. Workman is seen as potentially being capable of sticking at shortstop over the long haul and could at minimum begin his professional career there.

These two weren’t the only collegiate hitters selected by the Tigers over the past two days. The club took three more such players in the middle before going for high school third baseman Colt Keith with their sixth and final selection. It seems clear the Detroit organization hopes that some of these new draftees will catch up with the club’s imposing slate of upper-level pitching prospects.

Athletics, First-Rounder Tyler Soderstrom Will Reportedly Reach Agreement

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JUNE 12: Expectations are that Soderstrom will sign for approximately $3.3MM, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. That would indeed check in well above slot, as Glaser reported.

JUNE 10, 10:54pm: There’s no deal yet, according to Soderstrom. However, the A’s are optimistic he will sign, per Slusser.

9:38pm: The Athletics have already reached an agreement with first-round pick Tyler Soderstrom, Kyle Glaser of Baseball America reports. Details aren’t known yet, but it’s worth “considerably above slot,” according to Glaser. Soderstrom’s pick, No. 26, comes with a slot value of $2,653,400. Oakland entered the draft with an overall pool of $5,241,500.

Soderstrom’s a local product out of Turlock High School in California, and he’s also the son of 1993 Giants first-rounder Steve Soderstrom, a former pitcher who had a cup of coffee with San Francisco in 1996. Tyler Soderstrom had been in line to play at UCLA before the draft, but he’ll instead continue his development as part of one of the state’s major league teams.

Oakland’s clearly bullish on the younger Soderstrom, as its scout for Northern California, Kevin Mello, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle: “He’s the best amateur bat I’ve seen in my 15-year career. He’s got a chance to be very, very good. He’s a really special player.”

Mello’s also of the belief that Soderstrom will stick behind the plate, though that may not be a given. MLB.com, which ranks Soderstrom as the 19th-best player in this year’s class, notes that he’s “raw in terms of blocking and game management.” But Soderstrom’s a good athlete who can play third base and the outfield, so those factors and his considerable offensive upside suggest he may be able to carve out a successful MLB career even if he doesn’t last as a catcher.

Orioles, Fourth-Rounder Coby Mayo Agree To Above-Slot Bonus

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The Orioles and fourth-rounder Coby Mayo have agreed to a deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Mayo – the 103rd pick – will earn a bonus worth $1.75MM, which is well above the $565,600 recommended value of his selection. Notably, the Orioles lead the majors with a $13,894,300 bonus pool.

A high school third baseman from Coral Springs, Fla., Mayo had committed to the University of Florida before signing with the Orioles. Mayo didn’t wind up in the top 100 of Keith Law of The Athletic or MLB.com prior to the draft, but FanGraphs (No. 67) and Baseball America (No. 79) are more bullish on the 18-year-old. FanGraphs notes Mayo has “surprising bat control for size,” while BA credits him for his “raw power,” “solid zone recognition and a mature approach at the plate.” There are some questions as to whether the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder will stick as an infielder in pro ball, but the Orioles do view him as “strictly” a third baseman, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets.

With Mayo under wraps, the Orioles still have five other picks to sign, including second selection Heston Kjerstad and 30th choice Jordan Westburg.

Poll: Biggest First-Round Surprise

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The No. 1 pick in this year’s Major League Baseball Rule 4 Draft went as expected: The Tigers took Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson. Otherwise, though, there were some eye-openers in Wednesday’s first round, as Jim Callis of MLB.com and Keith Law of The Athletic were among those to cover. Let’s take a look at some of those moves and then you can vote on the biggest surprise from the opening round.

  • Vanderbilt 3B/OF Austin Martin “falls” to Blue Jays at No. 5: It’s a bit hyperbolic to suggest that someone who went fifth overall actually “fell” down. Martin was regarded by some as the best all-around prospect in the draft and was expected by many to go in the top two picks. Once the Orioles passed on him, though, both the Marlins and Royals opted to do the same, dropping yet another premium position player prospect into the Blue Jays’ laps. Martin will now join a future core that includes Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Nate Pearson, among others.
  • Orioles select Arkansas OF Heston Kjerstad at No. 2: Everyone anticipated that Kjerstad would be a first-rounder, but closer to the middle of the round. Kjerstad is regarded as having some of the best left-handed pop in the class — if not the best left-handed pop. But the Orioles are likely going to look to cut a deal here, thus allowing them to double up on a more balanced pair of high-end prospects.
  • Minnesota RHP Max Meyer goes No. 3 to the Marlins: Meyer was projected as a Top 10 pick, but southpaw Asa Lacy was generally expected to be the top pitcher off the board, with most mock drafts projecting him to go to the Marlins. Miami clearly liked Meyer better, despite concerns about his height (6’0″). The Gopher ace runs his heater up into triple digits and will give the Fish a power arm to pair with an already-impressive crop of young pitching talent.
  • Giants grab another college catcher: Two years after grabbing Joey Bart at No. 2 in the 2018 draft, the Giants used yet another top pick on a backstop. This time, with the 13th choice, San Francisco went with North Carolina State’s Patrick Bailey. Between Bart and Bailey, perhaps the Giants will be able to find at least one successor to franchise great Buster Posey. Regardless, president of baseball Farhan Zaidi simply believes Bailey was too good to pass on in that spot. “You don’t draft for need and you can never have too much catching,” Zaidi said (via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, on Twitter).
  • A Red Sox reach? In a move that J.J. Cooper of Baseball America regards as “the shock of the first round,” Boston used the 17th pick on Nick Yorke, a high school middle infielder from California. Yorke was not regarded by prospect gurus as a first-rounder entering the draft; however, because the Red Sox don’t have a second-rounder this year, they felt it was worthwhile to pick up Yorke when they still could.

(Poll link for app users)

Red Sox Will Reportedly Sign First-Rounder Nick Yorke To Below-Slot Deal

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The Red Sox used the 17th pick in Wednesday’s first round on high school second baseman Nick Yorke, and it appears the two will reach an agreement. It’s “expected” that Yorke will sign for less than the $3.61MM slot value of his selection, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. The Red Sox have a bonus pool of $5,129,900, but they’re working without a second-rounder after losing it as a result of a sign-stealing scandal.

As Matt Eddy of Baseball America notes, Yorke became the first high school second baseman to come off the board in the opening round since LeVon Washington (a former Rays pick who didn’t sign) in 2009. Otherwise, only Rich Puig (1971), Terry Lee (1974) and Blake DeWitt (2004) have done it.

The California-born Yorke came into the draft “as one of the best pure hitters on the West Coast thanks to a well-balanced swing and excellent timing,” J.J. Cooper of Baseball America writes. However, MLB.com only placed Yorke in the No. 139 spot among this year’s draft prospects, citing concerns with his defense and a past shoulder surgery.

2020 MLB Draft Results – First Round

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The 2020 amateur draft kicked off Wednesday. We’ll keep track of the results from Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A here…

1. Detroit Tigers: Spencer Torkelson, 3B/1B, Arizona State
2. Baltimore Orioles: Heston Kjerstad, OF, Arkansas
3. Miami Marlins: Max Meyer, RHP, Minnesota
4. Kansas City Royals: Asa Lacy, LHP, Texas A&M
5. Toronto Blue Jays: Austin Martin, INF/OF, Vanderbilt
6. Seattle Mariners: Emerson Hancock, RHP, Georgia
7. Pittsburgh Pirates: Nick Gonzales, SS/2B, New Mexico State
8. San Diego Padres: Robert Hassell III, OF, Independence HS (TN)
9. Colorado Rockies: Zac Veen, OF, Spruce Creek HS (FLA)
10. Los Angeles Angels: Reid Detmers, LHP, Louisville
11. Chicago White Sox: Garrett Crochet, LHP, Tennessee
12. Cincinnati Reds: Austin Hendrick, OF, West Allegheny HS (PA)
13. San Francisco Giants: Patrick Bailey, C, North Carolina State
14. Texas Rangers: Justin Foscue, 2B, Mississippi State
15. Philadelphia Phillies: Mick Abel, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR)
16. Chicago Cubs: Ed Howard, SS, Mount Carmel HS (ILL)
17. Boston Red Sox: Nick Yorke, 2B, Archbishop Mitty HS (CA)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks: Bryce Jarvis, RHP, Duke
19. New York Mets: Pete Crow-Armstong, OF, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
20. Milwaukee Brewers: Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA
21. St. Louis Cardinals: Jordan Walker, 3B, Decatur HS (GA)
22. Washington Nationals: Cade Cavalli, RHP, Oklahoma
23. Cleveland Indians: Carson Tucker, SS, Mountain Pointe HS (AZ)
24. Tampa Bay Rays: Nick Bitsko, Central Bucks-East HS (PA)
25. Atlanta Braves: Jared Shuster, LHP, Wake Forest
26. Oakland Athletics: Tyler Soderstrom, C, Turlock HS (CA)
27. Minnesota Twins: Aaron Sabato, 1B, UCLA
28. New York Yankees: Austin Wells, C, Arizona
29. Los Angeles Dodgers: Bobby Miller, RHP, Louisville

Competitive Balance Round A:

30. Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Westburg, INF, Mississippi State
31. Pittsburgh Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, South Carolina
32. Kansas City Royals: Nick Loftin, SS, Baylor
33. Arizona Diamondbacks: Slade Cecconi, RHP, Miami
34. San Diego Padres: Justin Lange, RHP, Llano HS (TX)
35. Colorado Rockies: Drew Romo, C, The Woodlands HS (TX)
36. Cleveland Indians: Tanner Burns, RHP, Auburn
37. Tampa Bay Rays: Alika Williams, SS, Arizona State

Tigers Select Spencer Torkelson With No. 1 Pick

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The Tigers have made official what so many have expected to be the case over the past several months: Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson has been selected by Detroit with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Interestingly, the team announced him as a third baseman — where he played in high school but has not appeared in college. The slot value for the top pick checks in at $8.415MM.

Spencer Torkelson | Arizona State Media Relations/Jeremy Hawkes

Torkelson, still just 20 years of age, has wowed scouts with his power, plate discipline and feel for hitting throughout his career with the Sun Devils. A career .337/.463/.729 hitter with 54 home runs, 33 doubles and a 110-to-104 BB/K ratio in 628 college plate appearances, Torkelson was off to his best start yet when the NCAA halted play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through 17 games and 82 plate appearances in 2020, Torkelson had posted a ridiculous .340/.598/.780 slash with six homers and 31 walks against 15 punchouts.

Pre-draft rankings were in agreement that Torkelson and Vanderbilt third baseman/outfielder Austin Martin were the top two talents in this year’s draft. Most gave Torkelson the slight edge — he topped the rankings at Baseball America, ESPN, FanGraphs and MLB.com — although some peg Martin as the slightly better all-around prospect due to his superior defensive value.

There’s little arguing that the Tigers made any sort of misstep, though. Torkelson is widely regarded as a potentially fast-moving bat with off-the-charts power who could hit in the middle of a big league lineup for years to come. That’d be music to the ears for the Tigers and their fans, as the organization’s lengthy rebuild has resulted in a farm system that is deep in high-end pitching talent but has fewer bats on the fast track to the Majors. Right-handers Casey Mize (the No. 1 pick in 2018) and Matt Manning, coupled with southpaw Tarik Skubal, give the Tigers a trio of arms upon which to dream. That trio is backed by several other potential rotation pieces, including Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Franklin Perez.

Torkelson should immediately become the Tigers’ top position prospect — and one of the top position prospects in all of baseball for that matter. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that the 20-year-old Torkelson possesses “sublime hitter’s timing, plus bat speed, and above-average barrel control and ball/strike recognition,” ultimately tabbing him as a future “thumping, heart of the order hitter.” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel calls him the safest pick in the draft, pointing to his previous success with a wood bat in summer league play and calling Torkelson a potentially “above-average hitter with an above-average walk rate and 30+ homers.”

Torkelson is being advised by the Boras Corporation, but there’s no indication that a deal will be difficult to reach. In fact, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News suggested yesterday that the two sides are expected to come to terms on a deal in the vicinity of Torkelson’s slot value without a long, drawn-out negotiation process. Assuming that indeed pans out, the Tigers will suddenly find themselves with five of the top 60 prospects in baseball according to each of MLB.com, FanGraphs, Baseball America and The Athletic (joining the aforementioned pitchers and 2019 first-round outfielder Riley Greene).

It’s been an excruciating rebuild process for Tigers fans, but the team’s next core is coming into focus, and Torkelson should be squarely in the middle of the team’s resurgence.

Photo courtesy of Arizona State University Media Relations.

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