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Draft Updates: Strasburg, Braves, Sierra Jr.

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Some more updates and thoughts on the draft as day two continues…

  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman notes that the Braves have taken a different approach this year, selecting seven college players with their first eight picks.
  • Via Byron Kerr of MASN.com we hear that Jim Callis of Baseball America expects Stephen Strasburg to sign for about $17.5MM.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney says GMs want the draft to give the worst teams the chance to sign the best players, or the chance to trade the rights to them away. Teams don't always spend early picks on the best players, so Olney says the issue will surface when it's time for the next collective bargaining agreement.
  • Baseball America reports that the Rangers took a familiar name in Ruben Sierra Jr., a high school outfielder. His father showed flashes of brilliance for the Rangers, before falling off in the mid-1990s.  
  • The Pirates have impressed MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo today. They chose Tony Sanchez earlier than expected with the fourth pick, but have since been aggressive.

MLB Draft Reactions

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Let's round up some reactions to day one of the draft before day two gets underway…

  • There's not much buzz surrounding the players remaining, but, as MLB.com's Matthew Leach points out, Albert Pujols was drafted in the 13th round a decade ago.
  • So which impact players have yet to be picked? Baseball America says Max Stassi, Sam Dyson and Zack Von Rosenbuerg are the best available.
  • Baseball America's Conor Glassey reports that Stassi could go to UCLA if teams don't like his asking price.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says Orioles first rounder Matt Hobgood looks like a young Sidney Ponson.
  • Red Sox first rounder Reymond Fuentes told David Laurila of Baseball Prospectus that his cousin, Carlos Beltran, phoned to congratulate him last night in the midst of the Mets-Phillies game.
  • Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners see Dustin Ackley as an outfielder.
  • In this MLB.com press release, GM Neal Huntington says signability was not the "primary factor" when the Pirates selected Tony Sanchez fourth overall. 
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law was among those who thought the Pirates could have done better with that pick.
  • Law praises the Rockies, Cardinals and Twins for picking Tyler Matzek, Shelby Miller and Kyle Gibson, respectively. Law says all three pitchers have high-impact arms.

Draft Updates: Bonuses, Green, Sanchez, Epstein

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The updates keep flowing in as the countdown to the draft continues…

Heyman On Strasburg, D’Backs, Penny

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Jon Heyman of SI.com anticipates some memorable negotiations between the Nationals, Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg. Here's what Heyman heard about Strasburg along with the rest of his rumors:

  • Boras is still expected to demand $50MM for Strasburg.
  • Think that's a lot? Some think Strasburg would command $100MM as a free agent. 
  • Executives generally guess he'll end up signing for more than $20MM, but not by much.
  • One NL exec said he expects the deal to reach $30MM.
  • Strasburg could always pitch in Japan or for an independent team if he doesn't sign, but Heyman imagines he'd much rather join a major league franchise immediately.  
  • The Pirates could draft catcher Tony Sanchez with the fourth pick.  
  • The D'Backs could deal Chad Qualls and Tony Pena at the deadline.  
  • Boston seems "in a hurry" to deal Brad Penny.  
  • One Red Sox person was not impressed by what he saw from Jeff Francoeur.  
  • It's probably too early for the Rangers to release Vicente Padilla.  

Draft Updates: Strasburg, Nats, Crow

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With tomorrow's draft approaching fast let's take a look at some recent rumors and analysis…

  • MLB.com's Lisa Winston reports that former super prospect Ben McDonald is impressed by Stephen Strasburg's stuff and poise.
  • David Price told Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that Strasburg's stuff is better than his. Like Joe Maddon, Price believes the minors can be helpful and doesn't advocate rushing Strasburg into a big league rotation.
  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post interviewed acting GM Mike Rizzo about the draft and heard that signability won't be a factor for the Nats with their 10th pick, even though they get nothing if they fail to sign the player they choose. After saying for weeks that Strasburg is his choice with the first pick in the draft, Rizzo doesn't confirm it this time.
  • Pete McElroy of MASN.com hears that the Nats will take Chad Jenkins, a big college righty, with their 10th pick if he's available.
  • Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pirates could use the $1.3MM they saved by trading Nate McLouth to sign the player they draft fourth overall. Aaron Crow, who's looking for $4MM, could be an option for Pittsburgh.
  • Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Crow's looking forward to tomorrow's draft after waiting a year.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan says prospects can be over-hyped to the point that we encounter "an uncomfortable reality" when they struggle. 
  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that Kyle Gibson and Tanner Scheppers could fall lower than originally expected because of injury concerns. Other players, like Jacob Turner, could fall because they're expected to demand large bonuses.
  • Follow the draft on Twitter as it unfolds: @mlbtraderumors and @MLBDraft.

Red Sox Inquired On Cabrera, Aren’t Interested

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Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox aren't interested in bringing Orlando Cabrera back to Boston, though they did inquire about the shortstop. McAdam's sources say the Red Sox would have to give up too much "in terms of his remaining salary and prospects." Instead, they're content to play Nick Green and Julio Lugo until Jed Lowrie returns. One team apparently determined that Cabrera, a two-time Gold Glover, is the worst defensive shortstop in the American League.

The Red Sox inquired on "a number of other veteran shortstops," including Jack Wilson, but they decided the asking price was too high. Even if Lowrie struggles once he returns, they'll have time to deal before the July 31st trade deadline.

Red Sox Show Interest In Orlando Cabrera

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According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Red Sox have "had conversations" with the A's about shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who was Boston's shortstop on their 2004 World Series club. Cabrera is hitting just .235/.286/.303 after signing a one year, $4MM contract this offseason. He will receive a $250,000 bonus if traded. Boston shortstops have hit .235-.311-.325 this season.

Olney also says the Red Sox have also talked to the Pirates about Jack Wilson, but says the two teams don't match up well because "the Red Sox probably would prefer to keep some financial flexibility in the event that they need to acquire a DH type" in case David Ortiz doesn't turn it around. Wilson is still owed close to $6MM this season.

Odds & Ends: Phillies, Moore, Draft

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Three years ago today, four current big leaguers were selected on day two of the 2006 MLB Draft: Derek Holland of the Rangers, Daniel Murphy of the Mets, David Robertson of the Yankees, and Clay Zavada of the Diamondbacks. Here's some lazy Sunday afternoon linkage for you.

  • Sam Mellinger tweets that current Royals' and ex-Phillies' executive Mike Arbuckle says that his biggest regret is drafting Reggie Taylor over Roy Halladay in the first round of the 1995 Draft. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Arbuckle isn't alone with that sentiment.
  • Jim Salisbury runs through the Phillies' trade chips.
  • Royals' GM Dayton Moore says that his team isn't in need of any major changes right now, via Bob Dutton. “We are constantly evaluating our internal options to improve our team, and specifically our offense. And we’re always looking for opportunities to improve our team through trades or the waiver wire, and we’ll always be aggressive in trying to do that. But I’m confident that we will begin to perform better and play as we did in the first 30 games of the year. That’s all I can focus on.”
  • Meanwhile, Rany Jazayerli suggests a move for the Royals: trade for Jeff Francoeur. His reasoning: buy low on someone with gobs of talent.
  • Texas high school outfielder Randal Grichuk made a name for himself by hitting a few homers during a predraft workout at Busch Stadium, according to Derrick Goold.
  • Ross Ohlendorf's thesis shows that the rate of return of the top 100 picks from the 1989-2003 drafts was about 60%.

Huntington On Draft

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington answered fan questions about his draft procedure and approach on MLB.com today. It's a decent read. Said Huntington in one response,

"We place an internal value on each player in the Draft, and when our internal value is within a realistic range of the player's legitimate signing-bonus expectations, we will be aggressive in our selection of that player… We believe that, when the signing deadline passes, we will have committed dollars to the Draft that will again rank among the top-10 of all Major League clubs and added a deep and talented class to our system."

Huntington added that this years draft class "is not nearly as strong" as last year, with less "premium talent", which Huntington explains are "present and future abilities to allow evaluators to project them to develop into All-Star caliber players."

Huntingon also added that what happened with Pedro Alvarez won't dissuade them from pursuing Scott Boras' clients.

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