Amateur Draft Signings: 7/1/20

We’ll round up most of today’s draft signings in this post…

• The D-backs agreed to an $800K signing bonus with third-rounder Liam Norris, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis. That checks in north of the $658K slot value associated with Norris’ No. 90 overall selection. A high school southpaw out of North Carolina, Norris had been committed to the University of North Carolina but will instead turn pro. Baseball America ranked Norris 143rd in the class, noting that his stuff ticked up early in the 2020 season after fading late in the 2019 campaign. His fastball velocity and curve both impressed scouts, but the season stoppage didn’t allow them the opportunity to see whether the 6’4″, 215-pound lefty could maintain those gains over a full season. Callis and the team at MLB.com ranked Norris 122nd in the draft, also praising his fastball/curveball combo but expressing command concerns.
• The Twins have formally signed fifth-rounder Kala’i Rosario, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North Radio and 5 Eyewitness News tweets that Rosario received a $270K bonus, which lands shy of his $330K slot value. An outfielder from Hawaii, Rosario was ranked No. 88 on Baseball America’s Top 500 list. BA touts his plus-plus raw power, noting that some scouts even grade it at an 80. Despite his huge power, he’s not a major strikeout risk at the moment and can hit the ball the other way. At 6’1″ and 205 pounds already, most expect Rosario to move from center field to left field at some point. Between Rosario and first-round pick Aaron Sabato, the Twins added some considerable right-handed pop to their minor league ranks. With today’s agreement, the Twins have agreed to terms with their entire draft class.