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2021 Amateur Draft

Draft Signings: 7/19/21

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A few notable draft signings for Day Two selections:

  • The Braves signed right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach to a $1MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That checks in a bit below the $1.1855MM slot value associated with the 59th overall pick. A two-way star at the University of Nebraska, Schwellenbach was announced as a pitcher on draft day. He pitched exclusively in relief for the Cornhuskers this season because he was the team’s everyday shortstop, but it’s possible the Braves stretch him out as a starting pitcher in pro ball. Keith Law of the Athletic is particularly bullish on Schwellenbach, ranking him the class’ #29 prospect pre-draft and praising his delivery, mid-90s fastball, and promising secondary pitches.
  • The Cardinals have signed second-rounder Joshua Baez to a $2.25MM bonus, Callis reports. That’s well above the $1.3385MM slot value that accompanies the 54th selection. A corner outfielder from a Massachusetts high school, Baez had been committed to Vanderbilt University. He’s a high-volatility prospect, with some of the best raw power in the class but questions about his hit tool given the lack of quality pitching he faced in the Northeast. Baez’s huge upside earned him spots among the top 35 prospects in the estimation of Law, Baseball America, and Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs. St. Louis saved a bit of bonus pool space by going underslot with UCSB right-hander Michael McGreevy in the first round.
  • The Royals came to a $1MM agreement with fourth-rounder Shane Panzini, Callis reports. That’s nearly double the $538.2K slot value that comes with the 108th selection. Kansas City’s clearly more bullish than most public evaluators on Panzini, who came in at #239 in Baseball America’s pre-draft rankings. BA noted that the right-hander can get his fastball into the mid-90s and has a clean delivery, but expressed concerns about his lack of impactful secondary pitches and advanced age for a prep draftee (he turns 20 in October). Nevertheless, the Royals were comfortable offering the New Jersey native seven figures to forego his commitment to the University of Virginia.

Royals Sign Second-Round Pick Ben Kudrna To Overslot Deal

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The Royals have signed second-round draft pick Ben Kudrna for a $3MM signing bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s nearly double the $1.7298MM slot value associated with the 43rd overall selection.

Kansas City managed to meet the LSU commit’s asking price thanks to their underslot agreement with first-rounder Frank Mozzicato. The Royals inked Mozzicato to a $3.55MM bonus last weekend, nearly $2MM south of the slot value accompanying the #7 pick — an unsurprising development since most public evaluators projected the lefty as a late first round talent. By taking Mozzicato and Kudrna, the Royals elected to divide the bulk of their bonus pool nearly equally to a pair off well-regarded prep pitchers, rather than locking in on one blue chip prospect at the top of the class.

As their similar bonuses indicate, Mozzicato and Kudrna are seen by public evaluators as being a similar caliber of prospect. (Keith Law of the Athletic actually had Kudrna slightly ahead of Mozzicato on his pre-draft rankings). Law, Baseball America and Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs all placed Kudrna between 40th and 60th in this year’s class. By all accounts, the Kansas righty’s a fairly prototypical high school projection arm with a good frame and delivery, low-90s velocity, and the makings of a pair of quality secondary pitches.

Padres Sign First-Round Pick Jackson Merrill

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The Padres have come to terms on a deal with first-round pick Jackson Merrill, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’ll receive a $1.8MM signing bonus that checks in well shy of the $2.5701MM slot value associated with the #27 overall selection.

Of course, Merrill’s willingness to sign for less than slot value played a role in the Friars selecting him in that spot in the first place. Each of Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted Merrill between 72nd and 101st in their pre-draft rankings. It’s safe to presume Padres’ evaluators are higher on Merrill than those public prognosticators, but the Friars were no doubt aware he’d be willing to take an underslot deal in the first round to forego his commitment to the University of Kentucky.

Evaluators write that Merrill came on strong towards the end of his high school season. The Maryland native has a prototype infielder’s build with some power projection and bat speed. BA and Law express some trepidation about the consistency of his hit tool, though, and all three outlets agree he’s likely to outgrow shortstop down the line.

Merrill’s underslot agreement saves a little less than $800K for the Padres to reallocate to some of their later selections. Second-rounder James Wood is the only other prep player among San Diego’s top ten picks, so it’s likely he’ll wound up with a bonus significantly above the $1.1MM slot value associated with the 62nd pick.

Rays Sign Cooper Kinney

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The Rays announced they’ve come to terms with Cooper Kinney, whom they selected in Competitive Balance Round A in this year’s draft. Kinney’s signing bonus is at or near the $2.1481MM slot value associated with the #34 overall selection, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).

A high school infielder from Tennessee, Kinney was rated by most public evaluators a bit lower than where he ultimately wound up selected. Baseball America slotted him 69th among the class’ prospects, while Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs placed him 47th. Both outlets praised Kinney’s advanced hit tool from the left side and power projection while expressing some trepidation about his future defensive home since he’s already moved off of shortstop.

Kinney received full slot value to sign away from his commitment to the University of South Carolina, so selecting him wasn’t a ploy by the Rays to save money and cut overslot deals with later selections. Evidently, Tampa Bay’s evaluators are a bit higher on Kinney’s long-term potential than are most in the public sphere.

Tigers Sign Ty Madden

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The Tigers announced Monday that they’ve agreed to terms with No. 32 overall pick Ty Madden. The now-former Texas right-hander signed for a $2.5MM bonus that comes in north of his slot’s $2,257,300 value, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports (via Twitter).

Entering the draft, Madden was seen as one of the top three or four college arms available, but he slid down the board a bit and landed with the Tigers with the second pick of Competitive Balance Round A. The 21-year-old was lights out from 2020-21 with the Longhorns, pitching to a combined 2.34 ERA with a 35.4 percent strikeout rate against an 8.7 percent walk rate through the life of 138 2/3 innings.

Madden ranked as the draft’s No. 9 prospect at MLB.com and was listed 12th both at Baseball America and FanGraphs. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel tabbed him 19th, and Madden landed 23rd on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic. Listed at 6’3″ and 215 pounds, Madden sits in the 95-96 range with his fastball and leans on a slider that draws praise as a plus pitch from scouts. His changeup is a lesser-used offering but gives him a chance at a third average or better pitch to incorporate in his repertoire.

The Tigers were focused on arms early in this year’s draft, selecting pitchers with eight of their first 11 picks — including Madden at No. 32 and high school right-hander Jackson Jobe with their top pick at No. 3 overall.

A’s Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Max Muncy

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The Athletics have agreed to terms with first-round pick Max Muncy, reports Carlos Collazo of Baseball America (via Twitter). Muncy, the No. 25 overall pick, will receive a $2.85MM bonus that sits a bit north of his $2,740,300 slot value.

Not to be confused with the Dodgers slugger (and 2012 A’s draftee) of the same name, Muncy is a high school shortstop out of Thousand Oaks High School in California. A late riser up draft boards, Muncy landed 26th on the pre-draft rankings of ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and was generally ranked in the 35 to 50 range on prospect rankings at Baseball America, MLB.com, FanGraphs and The Athletic. He’d committed to Arkansas but will now forgo his college career to ink an above-slot deal with the A’s.

Muncy, 18, draws praise for his plus power, a strong throwing arm, above-average speed and the athleticism to play multiple other positions if outgrows shortstop. Like most high school draftees, there’s a good bit of projection (and risk) baked into the Muncy selection, but he’ll add a high-ceiling, potential middle infielder to the A’s system. He headlines a position-player heavy crop of Oakland draftees in 2021, as the A’s only took a pair of pitchers in their first 10 selections this year before focusing on arms in the back half of their draft class.

Yankees Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Trey Sweeney

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The Yankees have agreed to terms with first-round pick Trey Sweeney, per Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo (Twitter link). He’ll take home a $3MM signing bonus that checks in $242,900 south of the slot value for the No. 20 overall selection.

Sweeney, a shortstop out of Eastern Illinois, posted a ridiculous-looking .382/.522/.712 batting line during his junior season, adding 14 home runs, ten doubles and a pair of triples in 226 plate appearances. Pre-draft rankings didn’t necessarily foreshadow a first-round selection, as he ranked 54th among Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects, 55th at MLB.com, 63rd at FanGraphs and 89th over at The Athletic. Scouting reports on Sweeney peg him as a candidate for a position change at the pro level — though his plate discipline and raw power could still play at a number of other spots on the diamond.

As Collazo has previously reported, the Yankees have gone under slot with their selections in the second, fourth, ninth and tenth rounds of this year’s draft. The total savings so far have netted them about $623K, which could help them sign high school lefty Brock Selvidge — their third round pick (No. 92 overall) who entered the draft believed to be a tough sign thanks to a strong commitment to Louisiana State University.

Draft Signings: 7/18/21

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Here’s the roundup of some of the latest prominent signings from this year’s draft class.  For more on the 2021 draft, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

  • The Diamondbacks signed second-round pick Ryan Bliss for a $1.25MM bonus, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports (Twitter link).  This represents some noteworthy savings for Arizona’s draft pool, as the 42nd overall pick has an assigned slot price of $1,771,100.  A shortstop from Auburn, Bliss might move to second base in the pros, and he displayed a lot of contact skills at the plate while also flashing some added power potential this year.
  • The Yankees signed second-rounder Brendan Beck, with Collazo reporting that a $1.05MM bonus for the Stanford right-hander.  It’s another below-slot deal, as $1.307MM is the assigned price for the 56th overall selection.  Beck does a good job of mixing a four-pitch arsenal and he already has good command, and Baseball America feels Beck “projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter who has a chance to be more.”
  • The Orioles announced the signing of second-rounder Connor Norby on Friday, with The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli reporting (via Twitter) that Norby received a $1.7MM bonus.  The 41st overall selection has a $1,813,500 assigned price, so Norby signed for slightly below slot.  Fangraphs and Keith Law each had the East Carolina second baseman ranked 25th on their boards, as Norby received praise for his well-rounded approach at the plate.

Cardinals Sign First-Round Pick Michael McGreevy

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TODAY: McGreevy received an $2.75MM bonus, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter link).

JULY 16: The Cardinals announced this evening that they’d come to terms on a contract with first-round pick Michael McGreevy. Terms of the deal remain unclear. The slot value for the #18 overall selection, with which McGreevy was selected, is $3.4813MM.

McGreevy dominated hitters over his three-year career at UC Santa-Barbara. The righty worked to a 2.33 ERA across 189 1/3 innings as a Gaucho, striking out 25.1% of batters faced while walking only 4.0% of opponents. The Big West isn’t among Division I baseball’s few best conferences, but there’s still little doubt McGreevy was one of the top performers in the country.

There’s a bit more divisiveness among public evaluators about where exactly he fit among the draft’s top arms, though. Baseball America was extremely bullish on the 21-year-old, naming him the 16th most talented player in the class. BA lauded his elite control and plus curveball in calling him a potential mid-rotation starter.

Each of Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs, and Keith Law of the Athletic slotted McGreevy between 35th and 50th on their respective draft boards. Those outlets expressed some concerns about McGreevy’s below-average velocity (90-93 MPH range), although he draws unanimous praise for his athleticism and strike-throwing acumen.

Pirates Sign First Overall Pick Henry Davis

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The Pirates announced this morning they’ve come to an agreement with first overall draft pick  Henry Davis. Davis will receive a $6.5MM signing bonus, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

The #1 overall pick came with an accompanying slot value of $8.4153MM, so Davis’ bonus lands a little less than $2MM under slot. Pittsburgh was surely aware of his willingness to sign for less than slot value before selecting him, with his bonus demands playing a role in their eventual choice.

The Pirates’ collection of picks came with a cumulative bonus pool of $14.394MM, the largest amount in this year’s class. Teams are permitted to exceed their bonus pool by up to five percent without forfeiting future draft choices, giving Pittsburgh around $15.11MM to allot to their draftees among the top ten rounds. With Davis signed, the Pirates still have around $8.61MM to spend on their crop of Day Two selections.

Davis, a 21-year-old catcher out of Louisville, catapulted himself into the mix for the No. 1 overall selection with a massive junior season. The Bedford, N.Y. native raked at a .370/.482/.663 clip and clubbed 15 home runs to go along with nine doubles — all while walking (31 times) more than he struck out (24).

Davis wasn’t the consensus or even the expected top pick in the draft, although the majority of pre-draft rankings listed him as a Top 5 overall talent. He ranked No. 2 at FanGraphs and at The Athletic; No. 4 at Baseball America and ESPN; and No. 5 at MLB.com, for instance. The Pirates’ decision to opt for Davis saved them a little bit of money with respect to the top overall draft slot, but any savings figure to be reallocated to an impressive crop of top-ranked talent they managed to secure at draft slots further down the board.

As Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper highlights, the Pirates’ first four selections — the fourth of which came at No. 72 overall — were all regarded as first-round talents in BA’s rankings. Left-hander Anthony Solometo, outfielder Lonnie White Jr. and right-hander/shortstop Bubba Chandler all ranked within BA’s top 32 players. Not every outlet was quite as bullish on that trio, but all were considered Top 75 talents; Chandler, in particular, was highly regarded. Specific rankings aside, it’s an impressive crop of talent to carry away from a single draft.

The Bucs will need to sign all four, of course, in order for that impressive group to pay dividends, but it appears they have a decent chance at doing so. Chandler, who was Clemson recruit as a quarterback, already told ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren this week that he intends to sign with the Pirates (Twitter link). Pittsburgh likely also saved some money with their picks in the fifth, sixth and ninth rounds by drafting college seniors, who frequently sign well below slot.

The selection of Davis immediately adds one of the game’s most highly regarded catching prospects to a Pirates system that second-year GM Ben Cherington and his front office are rapidly working to rebuild. Davis is lauded for his blend of hit tool, excellent power and plus or plus-plus arm strength. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen calls him a “rare offensive talent for a backstop.” Both Longenhagen and The Athletic’s Keith Law acknowledge some elements of his defensive game that need polish, but Law opines Davis will “outwork everyone to become an above-average defender.” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel calls him the draft’s “best college hitter by a good margin,” and virtually every report on Davis notes that he has more than enough bat to make it work at another position even if he doesn’t stick behind the dish.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was first to report the sides had reached an agreement.

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