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Minor MLB Transactions: 6/17/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Athletics have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Michael Brady from Triple-A Nashville and optioned fellow righty Zach Neal to Nashville. Brady will provide reinforcements for an A’s bullpen that has pitched 12 1/3 innings in three high scoring games in the last three days. The 30-year-old has had a long road to the Majors — the Cal product was drafted by the Marlins as an infielder in the 24th round in 2009 before switching to pitching the following year and slowly grinding his way through the systems of the Marlins, Angels and Nationals. This season, he has a 3.67 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 over 41 2/3 innings with Nashville.
  • The Twins have announced that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Adam Wilk to start the first game of today’s doubleheader against Cleveland. They’ve also announced that they’ve optioned righty Ryan Pressly to Triple-A Rochester and recalled righty Alex Wimmers to serve as today’s 26th man. The 29-year-old Wilk began the 2017 with Triple-A Las Vegas in the Mets organization, briefly pitching for the Mets before being claimed and then outrighted by the Twins. In 44 1/3 innings so far this year at the Triple-A level, he’s posted a 5.48 ERA, albeit with a fine 7.1 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.

Notable Draft Signings: Twins, Rays, Braves, Angels, Reds

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Here’s a roundup of notable recent signings from last week’s draft.

  • The Twins have agreed to terms with compensation pick and outfielder Brent Rooker, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Rooker will receive the slot value of the No. 35 pick, which is $1,935,300. The Twins selected Rooker in the 38th round last year, and he gave them permission to draft him again, Berardino writes. Rooker batted a ridiculous .387/.495/.810 this season for Mississippi State. MLB.com rated him the No. 50 prospect in the draft, noting his track record of performing well with wood bats in summer leagues.
  • The Rays have signed second-round pick Michael Mercado, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Mercado will receive about $2MM, somewhat above the slot value of $1,714,500 for the No. 40 overall pick. MLB.com ranked Mercado 70th-best talent available, noting the California high school righty’s ability to throw four pitches for strikes. He was committed to Stanford.
  • The Braves have announced that they’ve signed their second-round pick, Georgia high school outfielder Drew Waters. Waters will receive a bonus of $1.5MM, saving the Braves about $175K against the $1,674,600 slot value of the No. 41 pick, as Hudson Belinsky of Baseball America tweets. Waters ranked as MLB.com’s No. 42 talent in the draft, praising his speed and the hard contact he makes at the plate. Baseball America was even higher on him, ranking him No. 23 and praising the switch-hitter’s power as both a lefty and righty. He was committed to the University of Georgia.
  • The Angels have agreed to a deal with second-rounder Griffin Canning, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Fletcher notes that Canning will receive close to the slot value for the No. 47 pick, which is $1,459,200. Canning, a righty from UCLA, originally projected to go in the middle of the first round, but his stock reportedly dropped due to concerns over the results of an MRI. MLB.com rated Canning the No. 17 prospect in the draft, praising his simple delivery and describing him as a future mid- or back-of-the-rotation pitcher.
  • The Reds have signed fourth-rounder Cash Case for $1M, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets. The Florida high school shortstop will presumably need some sort of bag or other implement to carry that hefty sum, which comes in at significantly above the pick value of $501,900. Case has the potential to become an offensively-minded second baseman, Callis notes. Case did not rank in MLB.com’s top 200, but Baseball America rated him the No. 324 prospect in the draft. He was committed to Notre Dame.

Twins Outright Chris Heston

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The Twins have outrighted right-hander Chris Heston, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. His roster spot will go to southpaw Adam Wilk, who is scheduled to take the hill tomorrow.

Heston, 29, only ended up making one appearance for Minnesota after being claimed off waivers from the Dodgers and opening the year with the Mariners. He has thrown just 11 total MLB frames since the start of 2016.

Before that, though, Heston turned in an interesting 2015 campaign with the Giants. Over 31 starts and 177 2/3 innings, he carried a 3.95 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. (You may also recall that he recorded one of baseball’s more surprising no-hitters that year.)

Pitching Health Notes: Gray, ERod, Urias, MadBum, Chargois

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Rockies righty Jon Gray made his first rehab start, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. He may need only one or two more minor league outings before rejoining the Colorado rotation, but holds out the promise of providing a significant boost upon his return. Likewise, southpaw Tyler Anderson is making his way back toward the big leagues, meaning the Rox will face some rotation questions in short order.

Here’s more on a few other pitching health matters from around the league:

  • It’s possible that the Red Sox may soon welcome back lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. per an update from manager John Farrell (h/t Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove; links to Twitter). Rodriguez was “ecstatic” after a 33-pitch pen session today, says Farrell, who indicated that the southpaw may be only one rehab start away from returning to the majors. That would surely be excellent news for Boston; Rodriguez’s knee issue seemed rather frightening when it arose, since he has dealt with significant problems in the joint in the past.
  • Likewise, the Dodgers got good news on young southpaw Julio Urias, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). While he’ll still be shut down until the soreness in his shoulder subsides, Urias did not exhibit any structural issues in an MRI.
  • With the Giants back in Colorado, the team is seeing continued progress from ace Madison Bumgarner, who is still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in an off-day dirtbiking accident during the team’s prior trip out to Denver. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, Bumgarner is set to face live hitting on Sunday and report to the organization’s spring facility. After that, he’d only be a rehab assignment away from a return, though the club will undoubtedly exercise ample caution given the club’s unenviable position in the standings.
  • As the Twins continue to hold onto a surprising AL Central lead, despite one of the league’s worst bullpens, the front office is surely at least thinking of ways to bolster the MLB roster while also remaining mindful of the broader organizational mission. Unfortunately, the club seemingly won’t be able to call upon relief prospect J.T. Chargois, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who tweets that a “stress reaction on the outside of his elbow” will keep the young righty out for some time. The fireballer already missed significant time earlier in his career with elbow problems. Minnesota already lost out on another possible mid-season boost to the bullpen when Nick Burdi required Tommy John surgery earlier this year.

Draft Notes: Lewis, McKay, Day 2, Gore, Greene, Wright, Beck

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No. 1 overall draft pick Royce Lewis will take his physical with the Twins soon, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. There aren’t expected to be any hangups in negotiations, per Berardino, who notes that the industry expectation is for Lewis to receive a bonus north of Dansby Swanson’s $6.5MM bonus from the 2015 draft. The top pick in the draft came with a slot value of $7.7MM, and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger wrote this week that Lewis could sign for around $1MM less than that sum. That’d put his bonus in the $6.5MM to $6.7MM range, saving the Twins anywhere from $1MM to $1.2MM from the slot value. FanRag’s Jon Heyman pegs the expected value at “just a tick over” $6.7MM. Rays top pick Brendan McKay, meanwhile, is expected to sign for somewhere between $7MM and $7.2MM, according to Berardino. That’d be the largest bonus ever given to a college player under the current draft structure, surpassing Kris Bryant’s $6.7MM sum.

More notes on the draft…

  • The Twins “crushed” Day 2 of the draft, MLB.com’s Jim Callis opines. Adding high school right-hander Blayne Enlow, a potential first-round talent that dropped due to a strong commitment to LSU, kicked off a day in which Minnesota selected five players that ranked inside MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects. Enlow, Callis writes, has the best curveball in the draft as well as a fastball that has touched 94 mph and has room to grow as his projectable frame grows. Callis also lauds the White Sox, Dodgers, Red Sox and Brewers for the talent they secured in rounds three through 10. ESPN’s Keith Law agrees that the Twins did quite well to land Enlow with the No. 76 pick and also gives quite a bit of praise to the Athletics, who landed a first-round talent (in his estimation) with the 81st pick by taking shortstop Nick Allen. Law opines that the undersized Allen, who is listed at 5’8″, would’ve been a top 10 pick if he were three inches taller.
  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman provides some insight into the progress being made with the top five picks in the draft. The Padres, according to Heyman, are expected to sign No. 3 overall pick MacKenzie Gore, a high school left-hander, for the full slot value of $6,668,100. Reds top pick Hunter Greene, meanwhile, is expected to sign for a deal “close” to the $7,193,200 slot value of his No. 2 overall selection, per Heyman. (Also of note for Reds fans: Heyman spoke to a rival exec who heaped praise on the Reds’ draft, opining that they “won the draft by far.”) And the Braves look to be going well over slot to sign Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, as Heyman reports that they’re discussing a deal worth close to $7MM, while the No. 5 slot carries a value of $5,707,300. Of course, Wright was long rumored to be a potential No. 1 overall pick, so it stands to reason that he’d come with a fairly sizable price tag.
  • Baseball America’s John Manuel reported yesterday that Stanford right-hander Tristan Beck, a potential first-round talent that missed the 2017 season due to a stress fracture in his lower back, will not sign and plans to head back to Stanford (Twitter link). That didn’t stop the Yankees from drafting him late (29th round), though New York would obviously need to give him a massive bonus in order to convince him to forgo a return to college, as a healthy Beck would do quite well in next year’s draft. The Yankees may not have the leftover money even to make a legitimate effort to sign Beck, though he makes for a nice contingency plan if the team unexpectedly finds itself with some extra pool money to play with.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/15/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Twins released left-hander Kevin Chapman and re-signed right-hander Drew Rucinski to a new minor league contract, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Chapman was acquired from the Braves in exchange for Danny Santana following Santana’s DFA and tossed 11 1/3 innings of 5.56 ERA ball in Triple-A prior to his release. He has a career 4.09 ERA in parts of four big league seasons — all coming with the Astros. As for Rucinski, the 28-year-old posted solid numbers in 23 1/3 Triple-A innings before being hit hard in his small sample of work in the Majors. Despite a career 5.50 ERA in Triple-A, he’s pitched 23 1/3 innings of 2.13 ERA ball with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio as a member of Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in 2017.
  • The Royals picked up infielder/outfielder Zach Walters on a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link). Walters, 27, was hitting well for the independent Kansas City T-Bones before returning to affiliated ball. He’s seen time with the Nats, Indians and Dodgers in the Majors and has shown power but struggled to get on base. In 181 Major League plate appearances, he’s a .176/.227/.382 hitter with 10 home runs. He’s been better in his Triple-A career, hitting .262/.309/.475 through 1711 plate appearances in parts of six seasons.
  • Former Orioles outfielder Henry Urrutia has landed with the Red Sox, as Double-A Portland broadcasting and media director Mike Antonellis tweets. Urrutia, a former Cuban star, had struggled in his brief MLB opportunities with the O’s and was released late in May after losing his 40-man spot last summer. Through over a thousand trips to the plate at Triple-A in his career, Urrutia carries a mediocre .277/.327/.374 slash.

Twins Expected To Sign Third-Rounder Blayne Enlow To Over-Slot Deal

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The Twins are expected to sign third-round pick Blayne Enlow for a bonus of roughly $2MM, reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. That sum is more than two and a half times the size of the No. 76 overall selection’s slot value of $755,400.

Minnesota surprised many by selecting prep shortstop Royce Lewis over a more polished college product such as Louisville left-hander /first baseman Brendan McKay or Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright — long rumored as the two favorites to go first overall — but Bollinger notes that Lewis is expected to sign for around $1MM under the $7.7MM slot value at No. 1 overall. That gives the team some added flexibility, and it seems that Enlow will be one of the primary beneficiaries of that maneuvering.

A high-school righty-hander out of Louisiana, Enlow was rated as the No. 14 prospect in the draft by ESPN’s Keith Law but fell to No. 76, perhaps in part due to a reported strong commitment to Louisiana State University. Baseball America ranked Enlow as the No. 29 prospect in the draft, according to Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He ranked 33rd on the lists of both Baseball America and Fangraphs.

Law notes that Enlow was a popular name among teams looking to go overslot later in the draft, which the Twins clearly appear to be doing. He draws praise across the board for his 6’4″, 180-pound frame that leaves him with room to add some size and likely some velocity to a fastball that sits in the low 90s. MLB.com notes that Enlow may have the best curveball of any high school arm in the class, and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen notes that Enlow has the highest-measured breaking ball spin rate in the class. BA’s report on him notes that Enlow “is the kind of pitcher who sometimes makes it to [college], and if he does, blossoms into a potential front-of-the-rotation ace.”

The Twins have a bonus pool of $14.1MM in this year’s draft — the largest of any team in the league. That should give Minnesota the opportunity to spend a bid creatively even further down the line, whether on some of the players selected earlier today in rounds three through ten or tomorrow in rounds 11 and beyond.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/13/17

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves:

  • Right-hander Nick Tepesch, who was recently released by the Twins, is back with Minnesota on a new minor league deal, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old made one start for the Twins earlier this season and lasted just 1 2/3 innings — his second brief stint in the Majors since a lengthier run with the 2013-14 Rangers. Tepesch struggled to a 5.59 ERA in Triple-A Rochester this season but has a career 3.54 ERA in parts of four seasons at that level. He’s been placed on the minor league DL, per the Twins, but he’ll again function as rotation and bullpen depth when healthy.
  • The Yankees announced that they’ve outrighted southpaw Tommy Layne to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Layne, 32, thrived in the Bronx following a midseason pickup in 2016, but he’s had a rough go of it in 2017. Thus far, he’s totaled 13 innings and been tagged for 11 runs on 16 hits and eight walks with nine strikeouts. Layne has been hit hard by lefties and righties alike, but he’s held same-handed opponents to a .187/.286/.230 line through 346 big league plate appearances.
  • Catcher Francisco Pena has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk following his most recent DFA, per a club announcement from the Orioles. The 27-year-old has already been designated for assignment and outrighted once earlier this season, which afforded him the option to reject this assignment in favor of free agency. However, it appears that Pena will remain with the organization in hopes of securing another look in the Majors. A well-regarded defender, Pena has collected five hits (two homers) in 10 at-bats in the Majors this season. His 60 big league plate appearances haven’t been especially productive, though, and he’s had difficulty getting on base despite showing decent pop in his Triple-A career.

Earlier Moves

  • The Angels have announced that outfielder Shane Robinson was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. The eight-year MLB veteran would be entitled to reject the assignment, but it seems he has foregone that option since he’s listed on the Salt Lake roster. Robinson, 32, had a five-game stint in the majors for the Halos after appearing in 65 contests for the organization last year. Over his 772 career plate appearances, Robinson owns only a .227/.295/.300 batting line. But he was slashing a productive .289/.372/.358 in his 183 trips to the plate at Triple-A before his promotion.

Twins Select Royce Lewis First Overall

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The Twins have taken high school infielder Royce Lewis with the first overall pick of the 2017 amateur draft, as Keith Law of ESPN.com suggested on Twitter and John Manuel of Baseball America tweeted would occur. The selection is the first for the organization’s newly installed front office, led by chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine.

With the draft clock ticking down, reports suggested that Minnesota had whittled it down to two possibilities: Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay and Lewis. But McKay’s camp declined to take the bonus that Minnesota was offering him, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), leaving the team to move on.

The 18-year-old Lewis is seen as a highly projectable talent who may thrive in center field even if he can’t stick at short. He hails from California’s JSerra Catholic High School. MLB.com’s team of Callis and Jonathan Mayo joined Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs in ranking Lewis as the fifth overall prospect on the board. Baseball America had him at seventh.

High-school righty Hunter Greene and Vanderbilt starter Kyle Wright have drawn the most votes as the top overall player available. But every team’s assessments are different. And maximizing an overall draft requires bonus pool management. The first overall slot came with over $7.7MM in total spending capacity, some of which will likely be allocated to other selections.

Draft Chatter: Lewis, McKay, College Arms, Mock Drafts, A’s

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With the MLB Draft just a few hours away, there’s some increasing talk that the Twins are giving serious consideration to high school shortstop Royce Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick. John Manuel of Baseball America tweeted today that Lewis is in consideration and adds that he was told by a Twins official that signability is a factor for the Twins up top. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the Twins are down to Lewis and Louisville left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay. Meanwhile, 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson tweeted that as of this morning, a Twins front office source told him that no decision has been made.

For those wondering whether the Twins may cut a deal with Lewis to save money and allow greater spending with their Comp Balance pick and second-round selection, FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Lewis has a high asking price. (Lewis is reportedly being advised by agent Scott Boras.) Adding to the Lewis/Twins steam is La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, who tweeted that with less than three hours until the Twins are on the clock, the Lewis steam is real. McKay and flamethrowing righty Hunter Greene are both in the mix, Neal adds, and money is a significant factor in the decision. Obviously, the Twins will spend their entire allotted draft budget regardless of who they take, but the amount for which the first overall pick signs will determine how aggressive the Twins can be on pick Nos. 35 and 37 as well as with the rest of their selections.

A bit more on tonight’s draft…

  • Fangraphs’ Gerald Schifman takes an excellent look at the usage of some of the top college arms in the draft, examining each pitcher’s average pitches per start, the percentage of starts in excess of 115 pitches and the number of “Pitch Smart” violations. (More details on the Pitch Smart guidelines here.) Notably, projected top picks like Vanderbilt’s Kyle Wright and Louisville’s Brendan McKay have had their pitch counts and rest between starts managed quite well for the most part. On the other end of the spectrum is UCLA righty Griffin Canning, who has throw 115+ pitches in 53 percent of his outings in the past two seasons. Missouri’s Tanner Houck has also had some troubling usage trends, including high pitch counts and a lack of rest between outings.
  • As is always the case on draft day, there are a number of last-minute mock drafts from some industry experts that readers and draft followers will want to check out. Both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com agree that the top five picks will go Brendan McKay (Twins), Hunter Greene (Reds), MacKenzie Gore (Padres), Royce Lewis (Rays) and Keston Hiura (Braves). That, somewhat surprisingly, would leave Kyle Wright out of the top five, though Callis has him going sixth to the A’s, while Mayo has him going seventh to the D-backs. BA’s John Manuel agrees with that top three, though he has high school outfielder Bubba Thompson going to the Rays and Wright going to the Braves at No. 5. ESPN’s Keith Law also published a draft-day mock, listing McKay, Greene, Gore, Lewis and Wright as his respective top five.
  • The Athletics are up with the No. 6 pick in the draft tonight, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle connects them to a number of outfielders and pitchers. High school lefty MacKenzie Gore is on Oakland’s radar, though many project him to go before the A’s are on the clock. High school outfielder Austin Beck is also an Athletics target and recently had a private workout with the A’s. Slusser notes that they’d be thrilled to see Kyle Wright slip to them with the sixth selection, similarly to the manner in which Florida lefty A.J. Puk dropped to Oakland last year after being discussed as a potential 1-1 option. Wright’s teammate, outfielder Jeren Kendall, is also intriguing to the A’s, per Slusser.
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