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Quick Hits: Schedule, Twins, A’s, Minor League Pay

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The Nationals and Yankees are tentatively scheduled to play on July 23, according to Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, which would make for a big Max Scherzer vs. Gerrit Cole pitching matchup to highlight Opening Day.  It might still be at least a week or two before the 2020 schedule is officially finalized, however, as the league is still considering a number of factors, chief among them coronavirus outbreaks around the United States.  “Better, the league believes, to take its time, see how the [COVID-19] testing of personnel goes this week and the preferences expressed in feedback from clubs,” Sherman and Marchand write.  “So the current schedule can change drastically and, if it does, the union will have to provide its blessing again.”

More from around baseball…

  • Tomorrow is the deadline for teams to submit their initial 60-man player pool, and details are already beginning to emerge about which players may or may not be included.  The Twins’ taxi squad will include top prospects Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Brent Rooker,  SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson tweets.  Caleb Thielbar, who rejoined Minnesota on a minors contract last winter, is also expected to be on taxi squad duty.
  • The Athletics will initially split their player pool into two groups, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with much of the big league roster training in Oakland and the taxi squad potentially training in nearby Stockton — the home of the Athletics’ Class-A affiliate — if a deal can be finalized with Stockton city officials.  Offseason minor league signings Ryan Goins, Carlos Perez, Jordan Weems, and Lucas Luetge will all be in Oakland, while taxi squad players include such notable prospects as Tyler Soderstrom, Daulton Jefferies, Nick Allen, Dustin Fowler and (as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez) Robert Puason.
  • Slusser also provides updates on some Athletics players who were battling injuries during the spring but are now on track to be ready for Opening Day.  A.J. Puk “has been throwing bullpen sessions for months” following a shoulder strain in the spring, and looks to be ready to begin the season in Oakland’s rotation.  Right-hander Daniel Mengden is also ready to be part of the pitching mix after recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery in February.  After being sidelined with an intercostal strain during Spring Training, Stephen Piscotty said he is now “100 percent with no limitations.”
  • The Rays and Rangers are the latest teams to commit to paying their minor leaguers through the end of July, as respectively reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Minor leaguers in each organization will continue to receive their $400 weekly stipends for at least another month.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/26/20

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Several more post-Round 1 picks have agreed to deals with their teams. Here’s a look at the newest group of players…

  • The Brewers have locked up a pair of picks – second-rounder Freddy Zamora and fourth-rounder Joey Wiemer – Robert Murray tweets. As the 53rd pick, Zamora’s selection carried a recommended value of $1,370,400, but he’ll collect an under-slot bonus of $1.15MM, per Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Zamora’s a former University of Miami shortstop whom MLB.com placed 100th in its pre-draft rankings. Meanwhile, Wiemer will earn $150K, which falls well shy of the $473,700 slot value of the 121st overall choice, Murray reports. Baseball America ranked Wiemer, an outfielder from the University of Cincinnati, as the 136th-best player in this year’s class. While BA’s bullish on Wiemer’s defense, it writes that he “consistently underwhelmed as a hitter” in college.
  • The Indians announced the signings of second-round left-hander Logan Allen and fifth-round righty Mason Hickman on Friday. Allen, not to be confused with the other lefty named Logan Allen in the Cleveland organization, went 56th overall. Financial details are unknown, but his pick came with a slot value of $1,276,400. The former Florida International hurler rated as MLB.com’s No. 46 prospect before the draft. Hickman, an ex-Vanderbilt Commodore who came off the board at No. 154, signed for the full slot value of $343,400, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. Baseball America pegged the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Hickman as the 161st-best prospect available before the draft.
  • The Rockies have wrapped up second-round righty Chris McMahon – pick 46 – for $1,637,400, Callis reports. That checks in a tad above the recommended slot of $1,617,400. McMahon, yet another former Miami Hurricane, came in at No. 45 on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic going into the draft. Law calls McMahon “a strike-thrower with three pitches, a pretty good delivery, and nothing plus or even consistently above-average.”
  • The Mariners and ex-Mississippi third baseman Tyler Keenan reached a deal Friday, Callis tweets. Keenan, a fourth-rounder and the 107th pick, signed for $500K – down from the recommended value of $543,500. Keenan’s a powerful, high-exit velocity hitter, but he’ll need to improve his quickness as a defender in order to stick at third, Callis writes.
  • The Rays have signed fourth-round shortstop Tanner Murray, according to Callis. His deal means the club has signed all six of its selections from this year. Murray, previously with UC Davis, inked a deal worth $455,600 – full slot value for the 125th pick. He’s a high-contact, high-OBP offensive player who’s versatile enough to play multiple positions, per Callis.

Rays To Add Wander Franco To 60-Man Player Pool

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The Rays will add uber-prospect Wander Franco to their 60-man player pool, according to Jesse Sanchez and Juan Toribio of MLB.com. He’ll participate in the pre-season ramp up and be eligible to continue training with the team during the season.

As with the Tigers, and surely all other teams, the Rays are considering developmental prerogatives alongside competitive demands in deciding which players will participate in Summer Training and be available as the season gets underway. Franco, the consensus top prospect in baseball, will get invaluable experience to help make up for what’s tracking to be a lost minor-league season.

Just because Franco is in the player pool does not mean he’ll debut in 2020. The preternatural hitter could likely hold his own in the majors already, but he doesn’t even need to be added to the 40-man roster until next winter.

It’s certainly possible — expected, really — that Franco will force his way onto the big league club before the team must grant him MLB status to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. And that could yet occur in the sprint of a campaign we’re about to witness.

The odds of a 2020 debut likely went downhill when the coronavirus intervened, as Franco won’t have the chance to get reps (and put up outlandish offensive numbers) in the upper minors. The 19-year-old has been outstanding at every level thus far — in particular, his unmatched plate discipline jumps off the page — but he has yet to appear above the High-A level.

Franco may yet force the hand of the Tampa Bay brass in training, though it’s likelier that any promotion to the active and 40-man rosters would occur if a need and/or opportunity arises. This short season format could give the Rays a stronger chance of toppling the division-favorite Yankees or at least snatching a Wild Card. While service time will surely weigh in the calculus, the ability to call upon a unique talent may prove compelling.

For now, the key point is that Franco’s foot is in the door. At minimum, he’s on track to polish off his development in 2020. If he doesn’t debut this year, it’s reasonably likely we’ll be holding service time manipulation debates next spring.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/25/20

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A look at the latest post-Round 1 signings from this year’s draft class…

  • The Mariners have signed second-round outfielder Zach DeLoach and fifth-round right-hander Taylor Dollard, the team announced. DeLoach, the 43rd overall pick, will make full slot value of $1,729,800, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. The ex-Texas A&M outfielder ranked as MLB.com’s 79th-best pre-draft prospect. Dollard, the 137th choice, also signed for slot value ($406K), Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com tweets. The former Cal Poly hurler was MLB.com’s No. 184 prospect entering the draft.
  • The Rays have signed second-rounder Ian Seymour, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Virginia Tech left-hander reached a deal worth $1,243,600, full slot value for his pick (No. 57), according to Robert Murray. Keith Law of The Athletic rated Seymour as the No. 94 prospect available heading into the draft, writing that he has a “very funky” delivery and could have a chance to amount to something more than a back-end starter if he improves one of his three pitches (fastball, changeup, breaking ball).
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve reached an agreement with Arkansas high school right-hander Tink Hence, the 63rd overall pick. Financial details are unknown, but the recommended slot value checks in at $1,076,300. The Cardinals acquired the Competitive Balance Round B selection they used on Hence in a noteworthy trade with the Rays in January. Hence entered the draft as the 123rd-ranked prospect available at Baseball America. He committed to the University of Arkansas before the draft.
  • The Reds have inked fourth-rounder Mackenzie Wainwright, Callis tweets. The 113th overall pick signed for his full slot value, $512,400. While shin issues have hampered Wright, Callis observes that the Ohio high schooler outfielder and Ohio State recruit possesses “projectable power” and a “solid arm.”

Rays Sign First-Rounder Nick Bitsko

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5:15pm: The signing’s now official, the Rays tweeted.

3:45pm: The Rays will sign first-round right-hander Nick Bitsko, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’ll earn $3MM, an increase over the $2.83MM slot value of the 24th overall selection.

Bitsko is an 18-year-old right-hander from Pennsylvania who graduated high school a year early in order to enter the 2020 draft class. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently profiled Bitsko, writing that a good deal of scouts regarded him as the highest-upside hurler available in the draft.  As McDaniel explained then, Bitsko’s a hard thrower with excellent spin rates, though the coronavirus led to the cancellation of his final high school season and stopped teams from getting extensive looks at him in person. Bitsko did, however, impress clubs by posting workouts on social media and interacting via Zoom. In fact, according to Rays scout Zach Clark, Bitsko’s Zoom call with the team was among the reasons they took him.

“I think the Zoom call sent it over the top for our guys,” Clark said.  “Listen to Nick talk about pitching, preparation, what he’s done in the past, you’re like, ’Man, it’s really hard to believe you’re talking to a 17-year-old.’ ”

Shortly after profiling Bitsko, McDaniel ranked him as the 15th-best prospect in the 2020 class. MLB.com (14) FanGraphs (16), Keith Law of The Athletic (18) and Baseball America (19) placed Bitsko in a similar vicinity before the draft.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/20/20

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Let’s catch up on the latest draft signings …

  • The Astros were able to wrap up all of their draft business, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. In addition to picking up some undrafted free agents, the Houston organization inked its four draftees. The key signing was Alex Santos, a high school hurler who’ll turn pro after being offered $1.25MM — a fair bit over the $870,700 slot he was chosen at. Zach Daniels and Tyler Brown each signed for near their slot amounts, while fifth-rounder Shay Witcomb took just $56K and left the team with room to ink Santos.
  • Also inking for $1.2MM was Rangers’ choice Dylan MacLean. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the news on Twitter. MacLean was a fourth-round pick in the draft, signing for more than double his slot amount. MacLean is a southpaw hurler out of Central Catholic High School in Oregon.
  • The Braves went well over slot to sign fifth-rounder Bryce Elder, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). Elder will receive $850K, far north of the $336,600 allocation for the 156th overall pick.
  • As he said he would, Tigers fourth-rounder Gage Workman has reached agreement on a deal with his new team. The Detroit organization announced the signing, though it isn’t yet known what the Arizona State infielder will receive to forego a return for another run with the Sun Devils. Still just twenty years of age, Workman posted a lifetime .298/.372/.496 mark at ASU. He’s likely to begin his pro career as a shortstop.
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed third-rounder Levi Prater. He’ll earn $575K ($627,900 slot value), Callis tweets. Callils notes that Prater is a right-handed hurler with a 90-93 mph fastball.
  • The Phillies added fourth-rounder Carson Ragsdale and fifth-rounder Baron Radcliff, per Callis (Twitter links). Ragsdale will earn $225K, well under the $497,500 slot value. Radcliff, a Georgia Tech outfielder, is slated to take home $100K, which will also leave some savings since his draft slot came with a $371,600 pool allocation.
  • The White Sox chased some serious mid-round savings. Third-round choice Adisyn Coffee has inked for $50K and fourth-rounder Kade Mechals went for $10K, Callis reports (Twitter links). Both are right-handed hurlers, Coffee from Wabash Valley College and Mechals out of Grand Canyon. It’s not hard to interpret these signings: the White Sox wish to reallocate the rest of the slot money ($733,100 and $517,400, respectively). The club is believed to be lining up a big bonus with second-rounder Jarred Kelley, though he hasn’t yet signed.
  • Rays third-rounder Hunter Barnhart is heading to Tampa Bay on a $585K bonus, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The Rays saved some cash in inning Barnhart, whose third-round slot carried a value of $604,800.
  • High school righty Marco Raya has agreed to terms with the Twins. Callis tweets that he’ll receive a $410K bonus, which isn’t far shy of the $442,900 slot value. Raya is foregoing a commitment to Texas Tech. Though he’s hardly a power hurler, he’s said to have an “interesting four-pitch mix.”

Rays Sign Comp A Selection Alika Williams

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The Rays have announced a deal with their second-highest draft choice, Arizona State shortstop Alika Williams. He’ll earn a $1.85MM bonus, per Robert Murray (via Twitter).

Williams was taken 37th overall, with the Rays’ competitive balance round A selection. That pick came with a $2.00MM pool allocation, meaning the organization has kept a bit of extra draft capital to apply to other chosen players — in particular, first rounder Nick Bitsko, whom the Rays will try to lure away from a commitment to U.Va.

Most draft observers expected Williams to be taken in this range. Baseball America had the loftiest grade on him, placing him 31st among this year’s draft-eligible prospects.

Williams is viewed as a quality glove man at one of the game’s premium defensive positions. While he’s not necessarily expected to become an explosive offensive performer, Williams looks to have a strong hit tool with at least some remaining potential to build into some power.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/17/20

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We’ll keep track of today’s amateur draft signing news here…

  • The Tigers have signed fifth-rounder Colt Keith for $500K, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. It’s an above-slot deal for Keith, the 132nd overall selection whose pick came with a recommended value of $426,600. The Mississippi high school third baseman was an Arizona State recruit, notes Callis, who adds that Keith has the ability to hit for average and power at the plate. His arm’s also so strong that he was a legit pitching prospect, per Callis. Notably, Keith was among the top 100 prospects in the pre-draft rankings of Baseball America (No. 57), MLB.com (87) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (99).
  • The Rockies have reached an agreement with fourth-rounder Case Williams, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. Williams’ pick (110) carried a recommended value of $527,800, but he’ll earn $450K, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. A high school right-hander from Colorado, Williams ranked as FanGraphs’ 231st-best prospect entering the draft.
  • Let’s update a couple previously covered signings that didn’t come with financial information when they were reported: Astros fourth-rounder and 131st overall pick Zach Daniels agreed to a deal worth $400K, down from the slot value of $430,800, according to Callis. Meanwhile, Rays fifth-rounder Jeff Hakanson, the 155th choice, received the full slot value of $340K, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays.

Additional Amateur Draft Signings: 6/16/20

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We caught up on draft signings earlier today, but a few more trickled out this evening …

  • The Tigers have a deal with third-rounder Trei Cruz, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). A shortstop out of Rice University, Cruz will secure a $900K bonus that lands just over the slot value of $857,400. None of the major draft pundits ranked Cruz among the hundred best draft-eligible prospects, but the Detroit organization was obviously intrigued. If you’re a believer in bloodlines, you can’t do much better than this. Cruz will aim to follow his father, grandfather, and great uncles in appearing in the majors.
  • Mets fourth-rounder Matthew Dyer is on board with a $350K bonus, per MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (Twitter link). That’ll save the New York org nearly $230K to apply to other draftees. Dyer, an Arizona product, ranked 333rd on Baseball America’s final draft board. Mayo credits him with a strong throwing arm and good athleticism for a backstop.
  • The Blue Jays have added Zach Britton — not to be confused with Yankees reliever Zack (formerly Zach) Britton. This new Zach Britton landed $97,500 from the Toronto organization, freeing the club to allocate the rest of the $410,100 slot value elsewhere. Britton spent time in the outfield and behind the dish at Louisville. BA graded him just inside the top 200 prospects available for selection this year. Britton was slashing .322/.446/.542 when the season was cut short.
  • Fifth rounder Jeff Hakanson is in agreement with the Rays on a bonus, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Dollar values aren’t yet known publicly, but it seems likely to be an under-slot deal. Hakanson, a righty out of Central Florida, wasn’t ranked on any of the major boards. His slot comes with a $340K bonus pool allocation.
  • The Cardinals announced an agreement with their own fifth-round selection, Long Beach State outfielder LJ Jones IV. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo tweets that Jones has picked up a $100K bonus, meaning the Cards have another $250,300 to work with in signing other players. Jones didn’t merit mention in any rankings either, though the redshirt sophomore never really got a chance to showcase himself in college owing to injuries and the coronavirus situation.

Quick Hits: Bitsko, Tanaka, Moskos, Draft Prospects

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Nick Bitsko was originally slated to be part of the 2021 draft class, so when the young righty took some extra courses to graduate high school after his junior year and thus become eligible for the 2020 draft, the Rays didn’t have a ton of fresh information available, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  The Rays were limited to a three-inning showcase last August, “plus a 50-pitch March bullpen session at a small indoor facility and an hour-long Zoom call last week,” yet were still impressed enough to make Bitsko the 24th overall pick, just days before Bitsko’s 18th birthday.

Working largely off limited video from Bitsko’s high school games, some throwing-session footage posted by Bitsko himself online, and cellphone footage shot by scout Zach Clark during the bullpen session, the Rays became comfortable in the right-hander’s ability.  Clark is still the only Rays employee to speak to Bitsko or his parents in person, as Bitsko’s next meeting with team officials came during the online conversation.  “I think the Zoom call sent it over the top for our guys,” Clark said.  “Listen to Nick talk about pitching, preparation, what he’s done in the past, you’re like, ’Man, it’s really hard to believe you’re talking to a 17-year-old.’ ”

More from around baseball…

  • Of the Yankees’ three veteran impending free agent starters, Masahiro Tanaka is “the favorite to return” to the Bronx in 2021, George A. King III of the New York Post opines.  Tanaka will turn 32 in November, though James Paxton shares almost the exact same birthday and will carry a much more checkered injury history into the open market, while J.A. Happ turns 38 in October and is coming off a rough 2019 season.  Of course, there’s nothing stopping the Yankees from re-signing only one of these hurlers, and there’s also nothing to say that New York couldn’t let all three walk.  The latter scenario seems less likely, however, as that would leave the team with quite a young and unproven rotation mix behind Gerrit Cole, unless the Yankees acquired another veteran starter.
  • Fangraphs’ David Laurila recently caught up with Daniel Moskos, the fourth overall pick of the 2007 draft and currently the pitching coach for the Yankees’ A-ball affiliate in Charleston.  Despite his lofty draft status, Moskos’ MLB career consisted of only 24 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2011 before elbow problems and a Tommy John surgery took their toll.  After bouncing around the minors, the Mexican League, and independent ball, Moskos followed the lead of several pitchers in recent years by visiting the Driveline facility to try and get his career on track.  As it turned out, it led to a career change entirely, as Moskos retired in order to take a job as coach and trainer at Driveline.  That position led to a lot of interest from other organizations about coaching roles, leading to Moskos being hired by the Yankees last November.
  • While teams are now eligible to begin signing undrafted free agents, some notable players who weren’t selected have opted to go back to school rather than take a $20K offer.  The Athletic’s Josh Tolentino reports (Twitter link) that right-hander Tommy Mace will return to Florida for his senior year, which isn’t surprising given that Mace was a consensus top-75 prospect as per this year’s draft projections.  (The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Mace as the 46th-best player in the class, with Fangraphs not far behind in placing Mace 47th.)  As Tolentino notes, another good year from Mace could make him in the top-15 range for the 2021 draft.
  • Infielder Darren Baker will also forego a free agent contract and return to Cal next season, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Baker, the son of Astros manager Dusty Baker, was rated 184th in Baseball America’s draft prospect rankings.
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