The Royals have agreed to a deal with eighth overall pick Blake Mitchell, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). Mitchell will receive a $4.9MM bonus, below the $5,980,100 slot price attached to the eighth overall selection.
The 18-year-old Mitchell is a high schooler from Texas who had committed to LSU, but he’ll now forego college ball and start his pro career. Mitchell and Kyle Teel (from the University of Virginia) were considered the two best catching prospects of this year’s draft class, and Mitchell was taken ahead of Teel on draft night, as Teel lasted until the Red Sox selected him with the 14th overall pick. Mitchell was rated as the 14th-best prospect of the overall draft class by Pipeline, with Baseball America (15th), Keith Law (20th), Fangraphs (20th), and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (29th) all giving somewhat varied first-round evaluations.
The pundits feel Mitchell needs to cut down on his strikeouts and improve his contact hitting in general, but his left-handed swing and approach hints at some quality power potential. Defensively, Mitchell’s natural athleticism lends itself to pitch-blocking, and he has an outstanding throwing arm that will give pause to would-be basestealers. The arm strength is no surprise since Mitchell was also an intriguing pitching prospect, and Pipeline’s scouting report felt he could have been selected as a pitcher alone before the end of the second round. However, Mitchell will stick to catching, and he now projects as Kansas City’s long-term successor to Salvador Perez behind the plate.
Who accepts 1 million less than the slot to play for the Royals? Kid needs a better agent already
He was picked way higher than his projections
Because he knows he got lucky getting drafted that high as a high school catcher. Stupid pick by the Royals in order to save money.
They didn’t save money; they reallocated money to sign other future stars.
And how well has that worked for them in the past?
It doesn’t make much of a difference to fans. I was enraged when Texas tried to “save money” or “reallocate money” by picking Rocker. It worked out with 95th percentile luck, as Texas got Porter, and drafting Elijah Green would have likely meant no Langford this year, but most fans were angry. Telling them the money is being reallocated doesn’t change the fact that the team likely passed up better talent. It’s still disappointing, regardless of how you word it.
They reallocated money from Hunter Dozier to sign Sean Manaea, who they flipped for Ben Zobrist. He was a solid piece of their world championship so I’d say it worked out well.
> Who accepts 1 million less than
> the slot to play for the Royals?
Blake Mitchell
Royals scout gave him a Bryce Harper comparison. Picked him despite knowing that high school catchers drafted that high hardly ever pan out. So he’ll likely be hitting .198 be the end of this season.
I’d take 6 million less to play for the Royals.
You would pay 1.1 million to play for them? Sounds desperate, especially given that many draft picks never make it to MLB
I like paddling around in a Kayak.
By the time he reaches the major leagues, John Sherman will have moved the team to another city because the tax payers of Kansas City won’t pay for a new stadium. I’ve followed and loved the Royals since 1972 but this has to be the most frustrating team I’ve ever watched.
You should try being a Mariners fan….
Once again the Royals draft a guy just to save money. They need to start paying a little more money for better players.
John Sherman is a cancer to KC