2014 MLB Draft Results
The 2014 MLB Draft begins tonight at 6:00pm Central, and we’ll keep track of first-round picks here as they happen.
- Houston Astros — LHP Brady Aiken, Cathedral Catholic (CA HS) — Did not sign
- Miami Marlins — RHP Tyler Kolek, Shepherd (TX HS) — Signed for $6MM bonus.
- Chicago White Sox — LHP Carlos Rodon, NC State — Signed for $6.582MM bonus.
- Chicago Cubs — C/1B Kyle Schwarber, Indiana — Signed for $3.125MM bonus.
- Minnesota Twins — SS Nick Gordon, Olympia (FL HS) — Signed for $3.851MM.
- Seattle Mariners — C/OF Alex Jackson, Rancho Bernardo (CA HS) — Agreed to $4.2MM bonus.
- Philadelphia Phillies — RHP Aaron Nola, LSU — Signed for $3.3MM bonus.
- Colorado Rockies — LHP Kyle Freeland, Evansville — Signed for $2.3MM bonus.
- Toronto Blue Jays — RHP Jeff Hoffman, East Carolina — Signed for $3.08MM bonus.
- New York Mets — OF Michael Conforto, Oregon State — Agreed to a $2.97MM bonus.
- Toronto Blue Jays — C Max Pentecost, Kennesaw State — Signed for $2.8883MM bonus.
- Milwaukee Brewers — LHP Kodi Medeiros, Waiakea (HI HS) — Signed for $2.5MM.
- San Diego Padres — SS Trea Turner, NC State — Signed for $2.9MM.
- San Francisco Giants — RHP Tyler Beede, Vanderbilt — Signed for $2.613MM.
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — LHP Sean Newcomb, Hartford — Signed for $2.5184MM.
- Arizona Diamondbacks — RHP Touki Toussaint, Coral Springs Christian (FL HS) — Signed for $2.7MM bonus.
- Kansas City Royals — LHP Brandon Finnegan, TCU — Signed for $2.2MM bonus.
- Washington Nationals — RHP Erick Fedde, UNLV — Signed for $2.511MM.
- Cincinnati Reds — RHP Nick Howard, Virginia — Signed for $1.99MM bonus.
- Tampa Bay Rays — 1B Casey Gillaspie, Wichita State — Signed for $2.035MM bonus.
- Cleveland Indians — OF Bradley Zimmer, San Francisco — Signed for $1.9MM.
- Los Angeles Dodgers — RHP Grant Holmes, Conway (SC HS) — Signed for $2.5MM.
- Detroit Tigers — OF Derek Hill, Elk Grove (CA HS) — Agreed to a $2MM bonus.
- Pittsburgh Pirates — SS Cole Tucker, Mountain Point (AZ HS) — Agreed to $1.8MM bonus.
- Oakland Athletics — 3B Matt Chapman, Cal State Fullerton — Signed for a $1.75MM bonus.
- Boston Red Sox — SS Michael Chavis, Sprayberry (GA HS) — Signed for $1.8705MM.
- Louis Cardinals — RHP Luke Weaver, Florida State — Agreed to $1.843MM bonus.
- Kansas City Royals — LHP Foster Griffin, First Academy (FL HS) — Agreed to $1.925MM bonus.
- Cincinnati Reds — 3B Alex Blandino, Stanford — Agreed to a $1.788MM bonus.
- Texas Rangers — RHP Luis Ortiz, Sanger (CA HS) — Signed for a $1.75MM bonus.
- Cleveland Indians — LHP Justus Sheffield, Tullahoma (TN HS) — Signed for $1.6MM plus $250K Vanderbilt scholarship.
- Atlanta Braves — OF Braxton Davidson, TC Roberson (NC HS) — Signed for $1.705MM.
- Boston Red Sox — RHP Michael Kopech, Mount Pleasant (TX HS) — Signed for $1.5MM.
- St. Louis Cardinals — RHP Jack Flaherty, Harvard-Westlake (CA HS) — Agreed to $2MM bonus.
Minor Moves: Vin Mazzaro
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- Reliever Vin Mazzaro has cleared outright waivers, and the Pirates have sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Mazzaro was a helpful member of the Pirates’ 2013 bullpen, but the Bucs have now outrighted him twice since April. They designated him for assignment late last month after he posted a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 innings for them this season.
Quick Hits: Lane, Francoeur, Rays, Astros
Jason Lane is a former outfielder who’s now a pitcher, and Jeff Francoeur is an outfielder who occasionally pitches. Both of them are with the Padres‘ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, trying to get back to the Majors, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reports. Lane, the former Astros outfielder, converted to pitching two years ago and is still working on it as a 37-year-old, posting a 4.36 ERA with 3.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 64 innings so far this season. He also pinch-hits. Francoeur, who played for the Royals and Giants last season, is hitting .278/.309/.450 for the Chihuahuas and occasionally taking his turn as a reliever, appearing in six games on the mound so far this season. Kepner notes that Francoeur is “pitching for fun,” so presumably he won’t be looking for a similar role in the Majors. Also, he still has hope as an offensive player. “If I keep hitting like this, I’ve got a chance to go to the Futures Game!” he says. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- At 23-34, the Rays‘ season hasn’t gone as planned, but owner Stuart Sternberg isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet, Bill Chastain of MLB.com writes. Sternberg certainly isn’t ready to commit to selling at the trade deadline — not that there’s much urgency on that front at this point. “[I]f you think you’re in striking distance, and more importantly, if you have confidence in the guys here that they’ve got a good stretch of baseball in them, in a week or two, you look back and you could be in a different position,” he says.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is pleased with the results of a recent trip to Japan with pro scouting coordinator Kevin Goldstein, writes MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Luhnow and Goldstein met with Japanese teams and interviewed candidates for a scouting position in Japan. “[W]e really felt like this is an important first step for us in re-engaging our activity in Japan and hopefully, eventually signing some good Japanese players,” says Luhnow, who says one motivation for the trip was that the Yankees had a scout watching all of Masahiro Tanaka‘s starts in Tanaka’s last two years in Japan.
Poll: Best Short-Term Free Agent Signings
A number of players have made big contributions so far this season despite only signing a one-year deal or a minor-league deal this past offseason. Here’s a list of every player who fits that description and who’s produced more than 1 fWAR heading into today’s action. That cutoff excludes a few players clearly having productive seasons (such as Ervin Santana, Joba Chamberlain, Francisco Rodriguez and Emilio Bonifacio), and it excludes the possibility that the newly-signed Stephen Drew will make a big impact in Boston. But it’s as good a cutoff point as any, restricting us to players currently on pace to post seasons of around 3 WAR. Here they are, in alphabetical order.
In April, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd asked you to rank one-year deals in the $4MM-$8MM range. We now have more data on players signed to those deals, plus more information about no-risk minor-league signees we might have overlooked in April, so now is a good time to revisit last year’s free-agent class to see which low-risk deals are netting the most value.
Nelson Cruz, Orioles, $8MM plus roster bonuses. The Orioles also gave up the No. 55 overall pick in next week’s draft. Cruz has hit .315/.383/.675 in 230 plate appearances so far this season. He left today’s game with a hand injury, but he’s hit brilliantly for Baltimore so far, piling up an incredible 20 home runs.
Juan Francisco, Blue Jays, minor-league contract. The Jays signed Francisco after the Brewers dropped him in late March, and he’s hit a remarkable .275/.365/.596, with nine home runs in his first 126 plate appearances.
Jason Hammel, Cubs, $6MM. Hammel has pitched 71 1/3 terrific innings so far thanks to excellent control — he’s only allowing 1.9 BB/9. Hammel’s 2.78 ERA likely isn’t sustainable, but it doesn’t need to be for him to provide the Cubs with great value for $6MM.
Aaron Harang, Braves, minor-league deal, $1MM. Harang’s resurgence with Atlanta has been nothing short of amazing — last year it looked like his days as a productive big-leaguer might be over, but this year he has a 3.29 ERA with peripherals to match (9.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9). The Braves also got two more solid pitchers in Santana and Gavin Floyd on one-year deals last offseason.
Michael Morse, Giants, $6MM. Morse’s poor defense limits his value, but it’s almost impossible not to be an asset when one hits .295/.351/.574. Morse is a big reason the Giants currently have the best record in baseball. His slugging percentage so far is 92 points above his career total.
A.J. Pierzynski, Red Sox, $8.25MM. Pierzynski has produced 1.1 WAR this season while hitting .288/.318/.417 in 174 plate appearances, accumulating much of that value in a recent 10-game hitting streak. He has not, however, won good reviews for his handling of the Red Sox’ pitching staff.
Yangervis Solarte, Yankees, minor-league contract. Solarte has been a highlight of an unsettled Yankees infield, playing decent defense at both third and second while hitting .299/.369/.466. That’s not bad for a 26-year-old who had never played in the big leagues before this season. The Yankees also can control his rights for several more years beyond this one if they choose.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Marlins Likely Not Done Making Moves
The Marlins acquired reliever Bryan Morris from the Pirates for the No. 39 overall draft pick on Sunday, and they aren’t through wheeling and dealing, with MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reporting that at least one more is likely this week. It’s unclear whether that means another trade or some other type of transaction, but Frisaro writes that a move could happen “within the next few days.” He notes that the Marlins’ “proactive” approach is unusual, since teams do not typically make many trades this early in the season.
The Marlins wanted to add bullpen help, particularly after losing Carter Capps to injury, and Frisaro writes that Morris, a hard-throwing righty with big-league experience fit the bill. The Marlins also still possess three of the top 43 picks in the draft, including the No. 2 overall pick.
White Sox Notes: Draft, Signability
The White Sox head into next week’s draft with the No. 3 overall pick and a bonus pool of around $9.5MM. Here’s a look at what they might do, along with a glance ahead at the trade deadline, which the White Sox could conceivably approach as a surprisingly competitive team.
- Scouting director Doug Laumann says the White Sox will probably take a pitcher with the third overall pick, tweets Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune.
- MLB.com’s Scott Merkin goes a bit further, saying that the White Sox’ choice at No. 3 will come down to California high schooler Brady Aiken, NC State lefty Carlos Rodon, Texas high schooler Tyler Kolek or LSU righty Aaron Nola. (Those four are widely considered the top four pitchers in the draft.) It’s very likely that at least one and perhaps two of those players will be gone by the time the White Sox pick, so the White Sox’ selection will likely depend on who’s still available.
- The White Sox will take signability into account with their first-round pick, but they don’t expect it to be a decisive factor, Merkin writes. “Is it a consideration? Sure. We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t explore signability both above our number as well as below our number,” says GM Rick Hahn. “But ultimately, I think it will come down to taking the player that we feel fits the best.”
- At 29-29, the White Sox have played surprisingly well so far. But they don’t plan on making moves that would hamper their goals of winning in the long term, Merkin writes. “[O]pportunities to win are sacred. If we are in a position where we feel we have a real chance to win, we will address whatever needs we feel exist at that time,” says Hahn. “At the same time, we are not going to do anything that’s going to compromise our longer term goals … of putting us in a position where we can win on an annual basis.” Hahn emphasizes that the White Sox will not jeopardize their future for one playoff run.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Pirates Claim Wirfin Obispo
The Pirates have announced that they’ve claimed reliever Wirfin Obispo off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Braves designated Obispo for assignment yesterday. The Pirates’ claim comes hours after their trade of fellow reliever Bryan Morris to the Marlins, so Obispo should help them replenish their relief depth.
Obispo, 29, had pitched 19 1/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett this season, posting a 4.66 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9. The Braves added the hard-throwing righty to their 40-man roster following a 2013 season in which he posted a 3.53 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings. Obispo has never pitched in the Majors, but he pitched in parts of four seasons in Japan from 2007 through 2011.
Quick Hits: Holt, Astros, Bell, Simmons
Infielder Brock Holt was surprised when the Pirates traded him to Boston before last season, but he’s doing his best to provide the Red Sox with value in the deal, writes WEEI.com’s Katie Morrison. “I was expecting to go to big league camp with them [the Pirates] with the chance to make the team,” says Holt. “Then a couple days after Christmas, Neal Huntington called me, and said, ‘Hey, we traded you to the Red Sox,’ so then I didn’t have a clue what to expect.” Morrison points out that the other player the Red Sox received was Joel Hanrahan, who got hurt almost immediately and then left via free agency, so Holt represents the Red Sox’ only chance of recouping value from the trade (a deal that netted the Pirates a very good reliever in Mark Melancon, along with another interesting arm in Stolmy Pimentel). Holt has hit well this year while filling in at third base, with a .299/.349/.390 line in 87 plate appearances this season. Here’s more from around the big leagues.
- The Astros‘ strong month of May suggests they might not be a punch line anymore, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes for FOX Sports. The big differences between this year’s Astros team and the 100-loss teams of years past are, of course, rookie outfielder George Springer and breakouts from starters Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh. Keuchel and McHugh didn’t look like important parts of the Astros’ future before this season, and now it looks like they might be, so the next competitive Astros team might be coming more quickly than we think.
- Heath Bell will opt out of his minor-league deal with the Orioles next Saturday if he isn’t promoted, David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot tweets. Since being released by the Rays, Bell has pitched 6 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk, allowing five runs while striking out five and walking six.
- Reliever Shae Simmons, whose contract the Braves purchased on Saturday, was so good in Double-A that the Braves didn’t feel he needed to go to Triple-A, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Simmons struck out 30 batters in 23 Double-A innings this season, throwing a fastball that reaches into the high ’90s to go along with a good slider. O’Brien notes that Simmons has been compared to Craig Kimbrel and Billy Wagner — like those pitchers, Simmons has great stuff and is a bit small, at 5-foot-11.
Angels Designate Wade LeBlanc For Assignment
The Angels have designated pitcher Wade LeBlanc for assignment, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. They have also purchased the contract of fellow pitcher Jarrett Grube from Triple-A Salt Lake.
LeBlanc agreed to a minor-league deal with the Angels in November. He began the season in Salt Lake’s rotation, posting a 3.69 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 53 2/3 innings there. The Angels purchased his contract earlier this week, and he pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in relief after Garrett Richards failed to get out of the first inning in the Angels’ 9-5 loss to the Athletics yesterday. Since LeBlanc pitched so many innings, he likely would not have been usable for a few more days, which might have been a factor in the Angels’ decision to designate him.
LeBlanc has a career 4.53 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in parts of seven seasons with the Padres, Marlins, Astros and Angels.
Draft Notes: Hoffman, Angels, Indians
East Carolina pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who was universally projected to be a top-of-the-first-round pick before an elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery, isn’t going to enjoy following the first round of the draft, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reports. “The competitor in me makes it hard for me to see, maybe, a bunch of guys get picked ahead of me — guys that I know aren’t better than me, some guys out of high school that don’t really understand the game of baseball yet,” says Hoffman. Nonetheless, he remains confident in his ability, and he hasn’t changed his goal of helping a big-league team within two years. “[E]verything happens for a reason, and whatever team takes the so-called risk and drafts me is going to get the best player in the draft.” Hoffman remains a likely first-round pick. Here are more notes on the draft.
- The best first-round draft pick in Angels history, unsurprisingly, is that of Mike Trout in 2009, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. That’s the case even though the Angels have also drafted Jered Weaver, Troy Glaus and Darin Erstad in Round 1. Gonzalez also names the Angels’ best picks from every other round through Round 15. Those include John Lackey in the second round in 1999, and Tim Salmon in the third round in 1989.
- Having four picks on the first day of the draft (Nos. 21, 31, 38 and 61) gives the Indians an edge this season, Indians amateur scouting director Brad Grant says on a video posted by Dan Labbe of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Grant says that this year’s draft class is heavy on depth, with many similar players falling between the end of the first round through the second round. After sacrificing picks for Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn in the 2012-2013 offseason, the Indians selected Clint Frazier at No. 5 overall last year and then didn’t pick again until No. 79 overall. Grant says there were many players the Indians only watched once, proceeding on the assumption that they wouldn’t get to draft them. With so many extra picks this year, the Indians are spending more resources scouting players who might go in the first few rounds.