MLB Draft Signings: 6/7/19
Keeping up with the latest MLB draft signings…
- The Marlins have agreed to an over-slot bonus with second-rounder Nasim Nunez (pick 46), Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio tweets. The high school infielder from Georgia will receive $2.2MM, a fair amount more than the recommended value of his pick ($1,617,400). Nunez had previously committed to Clemson. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked the 19-year-old Nunez as the 51st-best player entering the draft, writing he may be the top defensive shortstop in his class. But whether the 5-foot-9, 155-pound switch hitter will complement his irreproachable glove work with big league-caliber offense is in question.
- Thirty-eighth overall pick T.J. Sikkema has agreed to a deal with the Yankees worth full slot value ($1.95MM), per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Sikkema, a left-hander from Missouri, checked in at No. 57 on MLB.com’s pre-draft list. While Sikkema doesn’t seem to come with a ton of upside, he has a high enough floor to potentially make it as a major league reliever or a back-end starter, Callis and Mayo suggest.
- Brewers second-rounder Antoine Kelly, the 65th pick, has signed for full slot value ($1,025,100), Callis reports. The development of the 19-year-old Kelly – a lefty from Wabash Valley College in Illinois – “will require a ton of patience and he ultimately may be more of a reliever than a starter, but he has a rare arm,” Callis and Mayo write. They ranked Kelly 90th overall going into the draft.
Poll: Shopping Matthew Boyd
The Tigers may have helped develop a front-line starter in left-hander Matthew Boyd, whom they acquired from the Blue Jays in a deal for David Price in July 2015. At the time, fellow southpaw prospect Daniel Norris was seen as the best part of the Tigers’ three-player return, but it’s Boyd who has since emerged as the superior major leaguer. Now, with the noncompetitive Tigers amid a rebuild and not likely to return to contention in the near future, they may have to consider trading Boyd this summer.
Boyd debuted with the Blue Jays the same season as the trade and wound up turning in 57 1/3 innings of 7.53 ERA/6.59 FIP ball between Toronto and Detroit. He was much better over the next three seasons, including when he totaled 4.3 fWAR in 305 1/3 frames from 2017-18, yet still didn’t look like much more than an average starter. But Boyd has found another gear in 2019 – his age-28 season.
Across 83 2/3 innings this year, Boyd has already put up a career-best fWAR (2.8) that trails only Max Scherzer among starters. Thanks in part to a lethal fastball-slider combo, Boyd’s also third in the league in K/BB ratio (6.93), sixth in K/9 (11.16) and BB/9 (1.61), eighth in FIP (2.93), 15th in ERA (3.12) and swinging-strike percentage (13.4), and 25th in contact rate (73.2). Furthermore, there’s almost zero difference between Boyd’s weighted on-base average/expected wOBA against (.272 versus .271).
Based on his production to date, the 2019 version of Boyd has been an ace – and a cheap one at that. Relative to his performance, Boyd is earning a pittance ($2.6MM) in his first of four potential arbitration-eligible years. Considering Boyd is breaking through as a top-flight starter who’s under control through 2022, it wouldn’t be remotely surprising to see the Tigers go forward with him. That said, there’s a case for Detroit to cash in its best trade chip this summer, when Boyd would outrank Marcus Stroman, Madison Bumgarner and others as the most desirable starter on the block.
Even with Boyd in the fold, it doesn’t look as if the Tigers have nearly enough quality building blocks in the majors or minors to work their way back into contention over the next couple years. There’s hope in the Tigers’ starting staff in the form of Boyd, Norris and Spencer Turnbull. But the team’s premier reliever, Shane Greene, isn’t signed past this season and may find himself on another roster in the coming weeks. Switching to the offensive side, Brandon Dixon and Nicholas Castellanos have been the Tigers’ only league-average batters this season. The 27-year-old Dixon has struck out 37 times and drawn three walks in 98 plate appearances, indicating his bubble’s going to burst. We know Castellanos can hit, but he’s a free agent-to-be whose overall value is limited by his defensive shortcomings. Down on the farm, the Tigers do have prized righty Casey Mize – the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft – but Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs still don’t see a special system in place.
While the Tigers don’t boast an elite collection of farmhands, trading Boyd would change that to a certain extent. He’d command a massive return right now, though it would be an agonizing call on the Tigers’ part to let him go. However, with Boyd’s value perhaps at its zenith and Detroit seemingly not nearing a return to relevance, general manager Al Avila may have to think about putting his club’s ace on the block. What would you do in Avila’s position?
(Poll link for app users)
Should the Tigers put Matthew Boyd on the block this summer?
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Yes 78% (5,170)
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No 22% (1,498)
Total votes: 6,668
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marlins Place Caleb Smith On Injured List
The Marlins have placed southpaw Caleb Smith on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his left hip, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The injury bothered Smith even before his start against the Brewers on Thursday, per McPherson, but manager Don Mattingly indicated it isn’t serious.
Smith has seen his ERA climb by almost a run and a half since the beginning of May, yet he has still been one of the few bright spots for this season’s Marlins. The 27-year-old has given Miami 66 innings of 3.41 ERA/4.18 FIP ball with 11.18 K/9 and 2.73 BB/9. Although Smith owns the majors’ third-lowest groundball percentage among starters (29.1), he has helped offset that with the league’s sixth-highest K rate.
The absence of Smith means the Marlins will have to go outside their rotation for a starter for the first time this season. Health-wise, the club has been fortunate enough to deploy Smith, Pablo Lopez, Jose Urena, Sandy Alcantara and Trevor Richards for all of its starts this year. With Smith going to the shelf, Triple-A righty Elieser Hernandez is a candidate to move into the Marlins’ rotation, McPherson suggests, though he notes they could rely on relievers in lieu of a traditional starter.
Marlins Sign Yangervis Solarte
The Marlins have signed infielder/outfielder Yangervis Solarte to a minor league contract, Roster Roundup reports.
Miami’s the second team of 2019 for Solarte, who cracked the Giants’ season-opening roster after signing a minors pact with them over the winter. However, the switch-hitting Solarte didn’t prove to be part of the solution for San Francisco’s dreadful offense, slashing .205/.247/.315 (48 wRC+) with one home run in 78 plate appearances. As a result, the Giants released him in early May.
While the 31-year-old Solarte was a solid contributor with the Yankees and Padres from 2014-17, those days appear long gone. His struggles in San Francisco came on the heels of a difficult 2018 campaign spent in Toronto, with which he batted .226/.277/.378 (77 wRC+) with 17 homers in 506 trips to the plate. Solarte has continued to show defensive versatility even as his offense has tanked, though. Dating back to last season, he has logged double-digit appearances at second base, third and shortstop. He also picked up nine appearances in left field with the Giants.
David Bote: Starman?
Cubs infielder David Bote had one of the best offensive games of the 2019 season Wednesday, going 4 for 4 with a home run and seven runs batted in to help his team to a 9-8 win over the Rockies. The 26-year-old failed to reach base in either of the Cubs’ games since then, but he’s still off to a rousing start this season. After hitting .239/.319/.408 (95 wRC+) with six home runs during his 210-plate appearance debut in 2018, Bote has slashed .276/.349/.481 (117 wRC+) with seven HRs in 175 tries this year.
So far, Bote – an 18th-round pick in 2012 – is more than justifying the Cubs’ decision to hand him a five-year, $15MM extension in April. Bote was one of the least known players to receive a new deal during the league’s extension craze back in the spring, though he may be establishing himself as a long-term cog for the Cubs. However, it’s still up in the air whether Bote’s Year 2 improvement is real or a mirage.
As was the case last season, Bote’s walking in better than 9 percent of plate appearances. That’s a bit above the league-average mark (8.7). At the same time, Bote has slashed his strikeout percentage from 28.6 to 25.1, cut his swinging-strike rate a hair and made more contact. So far, so good.
On the other hand, even though Bote possesses better speed than most, he’s unlikely to sustain the .340 batting average on balls in play that has helped prop up his numbers this year. That’s especially true given that Bote has become much more of a fly ball hitter since last season. On that subject, it’s worth noting Bote has hit the ball with far less authority when he has elevated it this year compared to his initial campaign. Bote battered fly balls and line drives at a lofty 96.6 mph average in 2018, but that figure has sunk just below 93 this year, according to Statcast. Given that information, it’s unsurprising Bote’s expected weighted on-base average (.315) comes up well short of his real wOBA (.361).
While stardom doesn’t look as if it’s in the offing for Bote (not yet, at least), his value to the Cubs is apparent. The inexpensive Bote’s ability to chip in respectable offense while playing scratch to plus defense at second and third base is a package most teams would sign up for in a heartbeat. That certainly includes the Cubs, who haven’t recalled infielder/outfielder Ian Happ since demoting him to Triple-A prior to the season, may never see utilityman extraordinaire Ben Zobrist put on their uniform again, and have received woeful production from offseason second base pickup Daniel Descalso.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Finding Potential Trade Targets For Dodgers
What do you get for the team that has just about everything? That’s something Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is going to have to figure out leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. At a major league-best 43-20, the Dodgers are well on their way to a seventh straight National League West title and perhaps a third consecutive NL pennant.
The Dodgers’ offense leads the NL in runs and walk percentage and ranks second in homers and strikeout rate. It’s strong against both right- and left-handed pitchers. And those hitters are hardly a one-dimensional group, judging by the Dodgers’ league-leading Defensive Runs Saved and second-best Ultimate Zone Rating. The club’s exemplary defense helps support a starting rotation that paces baseball in two key categories – fWAR and K/BB ratio – and sits atop the NL in ERA, thanks to Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill.
It’s clear the Dodgers are a team with almost no weaknesses. “Almost” is the operative word, though, because the Dodgers are likely going to have to augment their bullpen if they’re going to win their first World Series since 1988 this season. The Dodgers’ relief unit sits 18th in the sport in FIP and 20th in ERA. Although LA’s bullpen is sixth in the league in K/BB ratio, only closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Pedro Baez have been particularly dependable thus far. Even Jansen hasn’t been the dominant force we’re used to seeing. Meanwhile, Dylan Floro, Scott Alexander, Joe Kelly, Caleb Ferguson, Ross Stripling and Julio Urias have each been somewhat shaky as bridges to Jansen. Alexander, Urias and Ferguson represent the group’s southpaws, but they’ve all had some difficulty against same-handed hitters this year.
Given the struggles of LA’s bullpen so far, strengthening the group may be Friedman’s primary objective over the next couple months. Luckily for him, even after Craig Kimbrel exited free agency Wednesday to join the Cubs, there are plenty of quality relievers who figure to land with new teams in the next several weeks. Three of the best, lefties Will Smith and Tony Watson (an ex-Dodger) and righty Sam Dyson, belong to the non-contending Giants. While they and the Dodgers loathe each other and have rarely been trade partners over the years, times may be changing. First-year Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was previously Friedman’s top lieutenant with the Dodgers, indicated this week that he’d be open to dealing with LA (via Brian Witt of NBC Bay Area).
“I understand there’s all kinds of emotional baggage going with that,” Zaidi said of a potential Giants-Dodgers swap. “Maybe the Dodgers are a special case, and I think most fans would say it’s not maybe, they just are a special case. But in general, I actually think trading in the division has a strategic advantage.”
In Zaidi’s estimation, trading with a division rival would give the Giants an opportunity to bolster their farm system at a hated team’s expense. The Dodgers’ system is among the best in the game, which should give them the upper hand on most teams when it comes to talks with the Giants or any other clubs’ relievers. Aside from the Giants’ potentially available late-game arms, lefties Sean Doolittle (Nationals), Francisco Liriano (Pirates) and Jake Diekman (Royals) and righties Ken Giles (Blue Jays), Alex Colome (White Sox), Shane Greene (Tigers), Ian Kennedy (Royals) and Mychal Givens (Orioles) stand out as relievers who might change hands this summer. Any of them could up in a Dodgers uniform as a result.
While Friedman may be eyeing bullpen help over anything else, that doesn’t mean he’s content with his team’s position player group. Granted, the unit looks set for the most part. Right fielder Cody Bellinger may be on his way to NL MVP honors. Rookie center fielder Alex Verdugo has held down the fort during A.J. Pollock‘s injury-forced absence, which shouldn’t last through the season. Left fielders Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor have made for an effective platoon. Third baseman Justin Turner continues to excel, as do first basemen Max Muncy and David Freese. Catchers Austin Barnes and Russell Martin haven’t matched predecessor Yasmani Grandal, but the former has given the club passable offense and tremendous defense, while Martin’s a highly respected presence who has offered above-average hitting this season. Plus, the Dodgers recently called up quality prospect Will D. Smith, who’s off to a nice start (could we see Will Smith throwing to Will Smith this year?).
If there’s one position the Dodgers could stand to upgrade, it’s second base. Muncy has gotten a decent amount of reps there, but righty-hitting No. 1 option Enrique Hernandez has been abysmal against same-handed pitchers. Meantime, Taylor has taken enormous steps back after a couple productive seasons. That may set the stage for the acquisition of a second baseman. How about Whit Merrifield, whom the Royals would reportedly consider parting with for a significant offer?
The 30-year-old Merrifield would provide the Dodgers with an everyday second baseman – one who’s also capable of playing the outfield if need be – thereby kicking Hernandez and Taylor to the bench. Even amid his struggles, the right-handed Taylor has still notched playable production against southpaws this year. With that in mind, he could continue platooning with the lefty-swinging Pederson in the outfield.
As of now, it’s anyone’s guess which players the Dodgers will acquire in advance of July 31. However, based on Friedman’s history at the helm of the franchise’s baseball department, the Dodgers will be busy. From 2015-18, his first four seasons in LA, Friedman picked up almost 40 players between June and August. Some of them – Hill, Floro, Freese and Taylor – remain important members of the team to this day.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Orioles Likely To Place Dwight Smith Jr. On Injured List
TODAY: Smith is indeed going on the seven-day concussion IL, the club announced. Outfielder Anthony Santander takes his spot on the active roster.
YESTERDAY: The Orioles expect to place outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. on the injured list, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters after Thursday’s loss to the Rangers (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com). Smith crashed into the left field wall in the fourth inning, eventually forcing him to exit the game.
“He’s going to be out for a while,” Hyde said. “He’s going through concussion protocol, they’re going to X-ray his shoulder up here that he banged in the wall and he’s holding his jaw. It was like a car wreck.
The 26-year-old Smith has been one of last-place Baltimore’s best offensive players this season, which admittedly isn’t saying much. Still, Smith has perhaps given the Orioles better offensive production than they could have hoped for when they acquired him from the division-rival Blue Jays in early March.
In his first extensive look in the majors, Smith has hit .249/.296/.462 (98 wRC+) with 11 home runs, a .213 ISO and four steals on five attempts across 243 plate appearances. Smith has not complemented his respectable offensive output with quality defense, however, as evidenced by his minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-3.3 Ultimate Zone Rating and minus-6 Outs Above Average.
The Orioles replaced Smith on Thursday with Stevie Wilkerson, who could take over as their main left fielder if the former does go on the IL. Should Smith miss time, Baltimore would likely summon an outfielder from the minor leagues to take his roster spot. The team’s 40-man outfielders in the minors include Joey Rickard, Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins and one of its top prospects, Austin Hays.
Charlie Blackmon Likely To Return Friday
The Rockies will activate outfielder Charlie Blackmon from the 10-day injured list Friday, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post suggests. Meanwhile, the Rockies lost left-handed reliever Mike Dunn to the 10-day IL on Thursday (retroactive to June 3) because of left AC joint inflammation and transferred fellow southpaw Harrison Musgrave to the 60-day IL, per a team announcement. Musgrave’s 40-man spot went to righty Peter Lambert, who shut down the Cubs in a 3-1 win in his major league debut.
Although Blackmon’s one of their most valuable players, the Rockies (32-29) ripped off 10 wins in 15 games as he sat out with a right calf strain. Colorado’s just half a game behind a wild-card spot thanks to that impressive run, and Blackmon’s return should help the team’s cause as it pushes for a third straight playoff berth. The 32-year-old Blackmon slashed .300/.356/.565 (126 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 219 plate appearances before landing on the shelf.
The IL placement for Dunn, 34, is the latest negative development in a long line of them since he joined the Rockies on an ill-fated contract going into the 2017 campaign. The injury’s all the more troubling given that Dunn missed most of last season with an AC joint issue that required surgery in September.
Now in the last season of his three-year, $19MM deal, Dunn has pitched to a 5.19 ERA/4.83 FIP in 17 1/3 innings. Overall as a Rockie, Dunn has thrown 84 2/3 frames and logged a 5.53 ERA/4.88 FIP with 8.82 K/9, 5.53 BB/9 and a 35 percent groundball rate.
Twins Reportedly “Pushed Hard” For Craig Kimbrel
The Twins “pushed hard” this week for closer Craig Kimbrel before he agreed to a three-year, $43MM contract with the Cubs on Wednesday, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic (subscription link). Minnesota’s offer was “competitive,” but the team was only willing to give Kimbrel two years, Hayes reports.
The Twins had been after Kimbrel dating back to the offseason, per Hayes. At that point, as the Twins sought to upgrade last year’s underwhelming bullpen, they came away with a few inexpensive relief acquisitions in Blake Parker, Ryne Harper and Mike Morin. While the unheralded Harper and Morin have been shockingly effective across a combined 35 innings, Parker has begun to fade after an encouraging start. The ex-Angel boasted a 1.04 ERA entering play May 28, but it’s all the way up to 3.74 through 21 2/3 frames after he allowed at least two earned runs in three of his past four appearances. Parker also yielded four home runs in that four-inning stretch, during which his already below-average velocity fell. With a 5.84 FIP, 7.06 K/9 against 3.32 BB/9, and a 21.7 percent home run-to-fly ball rate, Parker doesn’t look like a strong candidate to break out of his slump in a significant way.
Not only has Parker been unreliable of late, but most of the Twins’ other top relievers are sporting less favorable fielding-independent pitching numbers than their ERAs indicate. With those factors in mind and Kimbrel off the market, the bullpen figures to remain one of the Twins’ highest priorities leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. Speculatively, Shane Greene (Tigers), Ken Giles (Blue Jays), Alex Colome (White Sox), Mychal Givens (Orioles), Will Smith and Tony Watson (Giants) are some of the league’s relief trade candidates who could land on the Twins’ radar over the next several weeks.
As shown by their interest in Kimbrel and starter Dallas Keuchel, who signed with the Braves on Thursday, Twins executives Derek Falvey and Thad Levine seem prepared to act aggressively this summer. Considering Minnesota’s an American League-best 41-20 and 10 1/2 games up in the AL Central, it’s no surprise management wants to boost the club’s World Series chances.
Reds Agree To Over-Slot Deal With 3rd-Rounder Tyler Callihan
The Reds have agreed to an over-slot deal with third-rounder Tyler Callihan, the 85th selection in this year’s draft, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The high school infielder from Jacksonville will receive $1.5MM. That’s worth more than double the recommended value of Callihan’s pick ($710,700).
Callihan had committed to the University of South Carolina, but the soon-to-be 19-year-old’s agreement with the Reds takes him out of the Gamecocks’ plans. Meanwhile, the Reds may have gotten a steal in Callihan, whom MLB.com (No. 35) and Baseball America (No. 37) regard as one of the 40 best players in this year’s draft class. Both outlets agree the lefty-swinging Callihan possesses significant offensive upside, though his future defensive home is in question. While Callihan has garnered experience at catcher, his big league position could be in the infield.
At $9,528,600, the Reds entered the draft with the majors’ 13th-largest bonus pool. The Callihan agreement will leave them with just over $8MM to spend on their other picks – including TCU left-hander Nick Lodolo, whom they chose seventh overall.