5:36PM: Both players signed for their exact slot price, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links).
5:05PM: The Orioles have signed two of their picks from the amateur draft, announcing that Competitive Balance Round A pick Jordan Westburg and second-rounder Hudson Haskin have agreed to deals with the club.
Financial terms weren’t announced, though the 30th overall selection (Westburg) has a $2,365,500 slot value and the 39th overall pick (Haskin) has a $1,906,800 slot price. The O’s have already gone notably over slot with two of their other draft signings, though some type of below-slot deal is expected with second overall pick Heston Kjerstad, as Baltimore’s slight reach in taking Kjerstad at that selection was seen as a way to free up more pool money for signings in the rest of the team’s draft class.
Westburg was a consensus top-40 pick among pundits, with Fangraphs being the highest on him as the 32rd-ranked player on their draft board. A 21-year-old shortstop, Westburg has been a big part of Mississippi State’s consecutive appearances in the College World Series, and he also performed well in the Cape Cod League last summer. While seen as something of an inconsistent or raw hitter, Westburg has cut down on his strikeouts over his last three NCAA seasons, and could develop more power as he continues to build on his 6’3″, 203-pound frame. That size could make Westburg a candidate to eventually move to third base, though he is considered to have the athleticism and throwing arm required to earn a look at shortstop.
Haskin, an outfielder out of Tulane, has drawn some comparison to Hunter Pence for, to quote, Baseball America’s scouting report, a swing that “works despite being ugly.” Haskin’s lengthy swing has nonetheless delivered impressive results at the plate, and he could also potentially work as a big league center fielder given his plus speed and solid defense. The Orioles were clearly higher on Haskin than most pundits — the 21-year-old was ranked 51st on Keith Law’s board, 74th by MLB Pipeline, 76th by Fangraphs, and only 211st by Baseball America.
Winning!
Some faulty commas in that last paragraph, surprisingly. Polishuk is the best writer here, and the only one who seems to know how to use punctuation.
Omg, get, a, life, Professor,
This is a baseball site, not online English 101.
Lol, enjoy your evening Kale Salad, comma boy
Mark Richt back again after getting fired from his alma matter. Good luck in your new career as an English teacher! Football didn’t work out!
You can be his T.A. if you can bump the resume a little.
Come on Billy Boy you think Richt is a college professor? He’s teaching 7th grade public school English!
And he wrote, “211st.” That rolls off the tongue!
Being compared to Hunter Pence? That isn’t good. Where is he now?
Isn’t he with Tex? Pence has ~30 career WAR, that’s a pretty good player.
Have to disagree. I think every MLB team would be ecstatic to land a player similar to Hunter Pence in the draft. Pence was a solid player.
Where’s hunter pence after playing 13 years and earning north of 130 million dollars in his career? Probably thinking about enjoying retirement at 37 while you get to work till you’re 65.
Man, reminder to self: never slightly criticize Hunter Pence. Yeesh, such an overreaction
211st
Still stuneed they drafted Hjerstad #2 overall. Espically over Lacy and Martin. Enjoy watching Martin with a division rival O’s..
Waiting for the Jays to sign Martin. Boras and the Blue Jays don’t exactly get along.
Martin is a combination of grant green and Christian colon. Not pick lacy could be regrettable. Hjerstad has a better hitter then Martin and will be a better pro.
I don’t think it was that crazy of a call. Kjerstad is a really solid power bat. Offensively, he’ll probably contribute more as a pro than Martin. Martin comes with more defensive versatility, but at a higher price tag.
When you factor in how aggressive the O’s were able to be later in the draft with the money they saved, it’s a good trade-off.
I hope they have some serious tricks up their sleeve or they are going over and paying the penalty. I don’t like it but as an O’s fan they have to get all 5 in the mix or it’s a failure imo
Not really. If the don’t sign the #2, they will get the 2 or 3 pick next year.
Exactly. I think they’ll get the Kjerstad deal done. If they don’t, however, it’s fine. There are worse spots to be in than getting a comp pick, and most likely selecting twice inside the top 5 next year.
If Kjerstad doesn’t sign they’ll lose the slot value for the pick. If they lose the slot value for the #2 pick; they can’t afford to give out the bonuses they’ve already given out.
I’m sure Kjerstad will sign. He’s going to want whatever is left of the pool of funds.