Diamondbacks Sign First-Rounder Jordan Lawlar
4:19PM: The D’Backs have officially announced their agreement with Lawlar.
3:45PM: As originally reported yesterday by John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix, the Diamondbacks reached an agreement with sixth overall pick Jordan Lawlar. The high school shortstop signed for a hefty $6,713,300 bonus, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter links). This is both well over the $5,742,900 assigned slot price for the sixth pick, and the largest bonus for any position player in the 2021 draft.
The highly-touted Lawlar was seen by some as a potential first overall pick, and as a consensus top-five selection, it was perhaps a bit of a surprise that he fell to the D’Backs. Arizona used the remaining money in its $11,271,900 draft pool to sign Lawlar, so the Diamondbacks didn’t exceed the threshold by more than five percent and thus won’t have to surrender any future draft picks.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo each ranked Lawlar as the best prospect of the 2021 draft class, with McDaniel calling Lawlar “the best combination of skills, hit tool and track record” of all the top high school shortstops available this year. The 19-year-old has strong all-around ability, and Collazo feels that Lawlar has a “regular all-star” ceiling if he develops a bit more power.
Draft Signings: 7/30/21
Today’s most notable signings from last week’s amateur draft. As always, you can get more background on these players via the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
- The Diamondbacks signed first-round selection Jordan Lawlar, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. Lawlar will receive almost $1MM above slot value. As Callis notes, this was the highest number the team could give without exceeding their bonus pool.
- Marlins have also signed their first-round selection Kahlil Watson, pending a physical. Callis expects Watson to get well above slot, similar to Lawlar.
- The Nationals have also signed their first-round pick Brady House, according to a team announcement. Terms were not disclosed. But the slot value is $4.55MM.
- The Red Sox have signed fifth-round pick Nathan Hickey, $1MM on a slot of $410k. As noted by Callis, this is the highest bonus given to any player in rounds 4 through 10 so far this year.
2021 MLB Draft, Day One Results
The 2021 MLB Draft is underway, and we’ll be keeping track of tonight’s picks as they’re announced. The draft will get underway this evening with the first 36 picks — the first round proper, the compensatory round (which consists of just one pick, the Reds’ extra selection granted when Trevor Bauer rejected their qualifying offer last winter and signed with the Dodgers for more than $50MM), and then Competitive Balance Round A.
Rounds 2-10 (plus the included compensation picks and Competitive Balance Round B) will take place on Monday afternoon, and then rounds 11-20 will take place Tuesday afternoon. This year’s draft is to 20 rounds from five rounds in 2020, and the current expectation is that the 2022 draft will return to its old 40-round format, though the draft structure will be one of many topics under discussion when the league and the players’ union negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement this winter.
For more on these stars of the future, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
The selections…
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Henry Davis, C, University Of Louisville
- Texas Rangers: Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt University
- Detroit Tigers: Jackson Jobe, RHP, Heritage Hall High School (OK)
- Boston Red Sox: Marcelo Mayer, SS, Eastlake High School (CA)
- Baltimore Orioles: Colton Cowser, OF, Sam Houston State University
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Jordan Lawlar, SS, Jesuit Prep (Dallas, TX)
- Kansas City Royals: Frank Mozzicato, LHP, East Catholic High School (CT)
- Colorado Rockies: Benny Montgomery, OF, Red Land High School (PA)
- Los Angeles Angels: Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami University (Ohio)
- New York Mets: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt University
- Washington Nationals: Brady House, SS, Winder-Barrow High School (GA)
- Seattle Mariners: Harry Ford, C/OF, North Cobb High School (GA)
- Philadelphia Phillies: Andrew Painter, RHP, Calvary Christian Academy (FLA)
- San Francisco Giants: Will Bednar, RHP, Mississippi State University
- Milwaukee Brewers: Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College
- Miami Marlins: Kahlil Watson, SS, Wake Forest High School (NC)
- Cincinnati Reds: Matt McLain, SS, UCLA
- St. Louis Cardinals: Michael McGreevy, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
- Toronto Blue Jays: Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, University Of Mississippi
- New York Yankees: Trey Sweeney, SS, Eastern Illinois University
- Chicago Cubs: Jordan Wicks, LHP, Kansas State University
- Chicago White Sox: Colson Montgomery, SS, Southridge High School (IN)
- Cleveland Indians: Gavin Williams, RHP, East Carolina University
- Atlanta Braves: Ryan Cusick, RHP, Wake Forest University
- Oakland Athletics: Max Muncy, SS, Thousand Oaks High School (CA)
- Minnesota Twins: Chase Petty, RHP, Mainland Regional High School (NJ)
- San Diego Padres: Jackson Merrill, SS, Severna Park High School (MD)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Carson Williams, SS/RHP, Torrey Pines High School (CA)
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Maddux Bruns, LHP, UMS-Wright Prep (AL)
- Cincinnati Reds (compensatory pick): Jay Allen, OF, John Carroll Catholic High School (FL)
- Miami Marlins (Competitive Balance Round A): Joe Mack, C, Williamsville East High School (NY)
- Detroit Tigers (CBR-A): Ty Madden, RHP, University of Texas
- Milwaukee Brewers (CBR-A): Tyler Black, 2B, Wright State University
- Tampa Bay Rays (CBR-A): Cooper Kinney, 2B, Baylor High School (TN)
- Cincinnati Reds (CBR-A): Matheu Nelson, C, Florida State University
- Minnesota Twins (CBR-A): Noah Miller, SS, Ozaukee High School (WI)