Angels Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Sam Bachman
The Angels have agreed to a deal with right-hander Sam Bachman, their top pick in this month’s amateur draft, reports Carlos Collazo of Baseball America (via Twitter). The now-former Miami (Ohio) University hurler will take home a $3,847,500 bonus that checks in more than a million dollars south of the $4,949,100 value of Bachman’s No. 9 overall slot.
The 21-year-old Bachman, listed at 6’1″ and 235 pounds, posted ridiculous numbers in his junior season. Through 59 2/3 innings, he pitched to a 1.81 ERA while striking out 41 percent of his opponents against just a 7.5 percent walk rate. He allowed just one home run all season and, in three years of NCAA ball, surrendered just four long balls through a total of 159 innings.
Bachman was seen as a slam-dunk first rounder thanks to some of the best raw stuff in the entire draft. Baseball America’s scouting report on the RedHawks ace indicated that both his fastball and slider have received 70 grades on the 20-80 scale, with some scouts even putting an 80 on both pitches. The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote that Bachman had the “best one-two punch in the draft and should be a top ten pick.” Law ranked Bachman as the draft’s No. 9 player, and he ranked 14th both at Baseball America and at MLB.com. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen had Bachman listed 18th, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him 29th.
Bachman isn’t without his concerns, however. He missed a pair of starts early in the college season due to arm troubles and gives scouts some pause because of his delivery. Bachman has a third offering, a changeup, that some reports grade as above-average, but he rarely used it this season. All of that leads to some concern that he’s a reliever rather than a starter, but he’d have a good chance at being an impact bullpen piece even if he goes that route.
Bachman headlined an Angels draft class comprised entirely of pitchers. The Halos not only exclusively selected pitchers this year but went with college arms for 19 of their 20 picks. The lone exception was high school lefty Mason Albright in the 12th round — a lefty who landed 122nd on MLB.com’s rankings and 135th at Baseball America but is committed to Virginia Tech. It’s possible that the $1.1MM or so in savings on the Bachman pick will be used to try to sway Albright from that commitment and get him into the Angels’ system.
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)