Brewers To Sign Tom Wilhelmsen
The Brewers have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran righty Tom Wilhelmsen, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. He’ll head to the team’s top affiliate.
As McCalvy notes, Wilhelmsen has an interesting history already with the Milwaukee organization. The Brewers drafted him and welcomed him back after an extended stint away from the game.
Of course, the now-33-year-old Wilhelmsen has never suited up for the Brewers at the game’s highest level, instead plying his trade in the majors elsewhere over the past seven seasons. If he wants to do so now, he’ll need to earn his way back up.
Wilhelmsen became available when he was released recently by the Diamondbacks. He has seen his swinging-strike rate drop all the way to 6.2%, with 17 strikeouts and 12 walks through 26 1/3 innings. But the veteran is still popping 95 with his fastball and getting grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him.
For Milwaukee, it certainly makes sense to add some cheap depth given the club’s recent bullpen struggles. Wilhelmsen will cost only the league minimum during any time he spends in the majors, as the D-Backs will continue to pay the remainder of his $1.25MM salary for the season.
Draft Signings: Reds, Brewers, Yankees, Tigers
Here are some of the day’s notable draft signings:
- The Reds have agreed to terms with three of their top four picks, according to reports from MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (on Twitter) and Jim Callis (also via Twitter). 32nd overall selection Jeter Downs and 38th pick Stuart Fairchild have both signed for at-slot bonuses, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Downs, a high-school shortstop, will receive $2,084,400 to forgo his commitment to the University of Miami. The MLB.com prospect team was the only one to place him inside the top 50, at #37, citing his solid all-around profile and rising status entering the draft. Fairchild, a junior outfielder out of Wake Forest, will take the $1,802,800 slot money. ESPN.com’s Keith Law was the highest pundit on Fairchild, ranking him 31st among eligible players while noting his strength and potential ability to remain in center field as a professional. Meanwhile, third-round pick Jacob Heatherly will land well over the $743,900 slot value of the 77th overall pick. The prep lefty will take home a $1,047,500 bonus, per Callis.
- Brewers second-rounder Caden Lemons has struck a deal with his new team, he tells Kyle Parmley of the Vestavia Voice. The Ole Miss commit elected to turn pro for a still-unreported bonus amount. Lemons was taken 46th overall, a pick that comes with a $1,493,500 allocation. Entering the draft, the righty was ranked as high as 52nd overall. He received that grade from ESPN.com’s Keith Law, who cites Lemon’s projectability as well as concerns about his ability to stick in the rotation with a slight build.
- The Yankees are in agreement with their second-round pick, righty Matt Sauer, pending a physical, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports on Twitter. Bonus terms remain unknown at this time, but the 54th overall pick comes with a $1,236,000 allocation. Sauer, a California high-schooler who had been ticketed for the University of Arizona, drew top-thirty billing from MLB.com, Baseball America, and Fangraphs. While Sauer’s big fastball and slider point towards significant upside, the analysts agree he’ll need to work on a third offering to make it in a MLB rotation.
- Tigers second-rounder Reynaldo Rivera is in agreement on a $850K bonus, Callis tweets. That’ll save the organization nearly $300K against the slot value to utilize on other players. Rivera, a power-hitting first baseman from Chipola Junior College, did not draw any top-100 prospect tabs but did land in the 150th place on MLB.com’s board.
- Diamondbacks supplemental second-round choice Daulton Varsho will receive the slot value of $880,100 that comes with the 68th overall pick, Callis reports on Twitter. The Wisconsin-Milwaukee backstop, who’s the son of former big leaguer Gary Varsho, was the last player to reach the top 100 on Baseball America’s ranking.
- In bonus news, the Rays gave second-round pick Michael Mercado $2,132,400, Callis tweets, which is well over the $1,714,500 bonus allocation for the 40th overall pick. His signing had previously been reported. Angels second-rounder Griffin Canning will indeed receive the slot value of $1,459,200, Callis tweets, as had previously been suggested.
White Sox Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Jake Burger
The White Sox have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Jake Burger, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). Burger, the 11th overall selection, will reportedly take home a $3.7MM bonus. With a slot value of $4,199,200 available at that pick, Chicago will save a bit of cash to put towards other players.
Burger played his college ball at Missouri State, excelling there as a power-hitting third baseman. Scouts note that he succeeds despite lacking smooth baseball actions. Indeed, one who spoke with the MLB.com prospect team “compared him to Hunter Pence for his ability to get the job done in less than pretty fashion.”
MLB.com ranked Burger 16th overall among draft prospects, while Baseball America slotted him at 20th and ESPN.com’s Keith Law had him at 21st and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen placed him 24th on his board. All agree that Burger has significant power potential and a solid overall profile at the plate, though those that are less bullish see a lower likelihood that he’ll be able to handle the hot corner at the major league level.
Athletics Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Austin Beck
9:41am: Oakland has also agreed with supplemental first-round selection Kevin Merrell, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (Twitter link). He’ll receive $1.8MM, leaving the club some savings on the $2,033,500 slot value at the 33rd overall selection.
8:15am: The Athletics have a deal in place with first-round pick Austin Beck, according to Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. He is expected to be introduced to fans at today’s game.
Beck, a high-school outfielder from North Carolina, was selected with the sixth overall pick of the draft. The slot value for that selection is $5,303,000, and that’s just what Beck will receive, per Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky (via Twitter).
Prospect rankings expressed broad agreement on Beck’s placement in the pecking order. Each of Baseball America, MLB.com, and Fangraphs rated him the ninth-best draft-eligible prospect. ESPN.com’s Keith Law placed Beck at 16th on his board, though he didn’t disagree that Beck has significant tools and upside.
Credited with huge bat speed, projectable power, good wheels, and a big arm in the outfield, Beck has the profile of a star. It doesn’t hurt that he has a chance to stick in centerfield. But all of the evaluators cited the relative uncertainty he brings to the table. Beck missed significant time with an ACL tear, robbing scouts of a chance to see him put his tools to the test against the best prep arms with wood bat.
Oakland obviously believes that the youngster can make good on his talent; as Stiglich notes, the club had focused on him after an impressive recent workout out the Coliseum. As for Beck, he’ll forgo his commitment to the University of North Carolina in order to begin his professional career.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/17
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Veteran righty Tom Wilhelmsen is on the open market after clearing waivers, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old carried a 4.44 ERA over his 26 1/3 innings with the D-Backs, posting 17 strikeouts against a dozen walks to go with a 49.4% groundball rate. While Wilhelmsen was still working off of a mid-nineties heater, his swinging-strike rate has fallen to just 6.2% — well below his 10.6% career average.
- The Rangers have selected the contract of righty Tanner Scheppers, per a club announcement. To clear a 40-man spot, the club shifted A.J. Griffin to the 60-day DL. Scheppers, 30, is back in the bigs for the first time this year. He wasn’t especially good in his 16 Triple-A appearances, posting a 4.64 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Through 179 career MLB innings, Scheppers owns a 4.17 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9.
- The Reds recently released reliever Louis Coleman, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. The 31-year-old righty was putting up strong numbers at Triple-A, where he carried a 2.21 ERA through 36 2/3 frames. (In fact, it’s worth wondering whether Coleman exercised an opt-out, though that’s just speculation at this time.) Coleman landed with the Reds organization on a minors deal after giving the Dodgers 48 innings of 4.69 ERA pitching last year after missing much of the prior campaign.
Padres Claim Dillon Overton, Designate Zach Lee
The Padres announced on Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Dillon Overton off waivers from the Mariners and designated right-hander Zach Lee for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Overton has been optioned to Triple-A El Paso, per the Padres.
The 25-year-old Overton was a second-round pick by the Athletics back in 2013 and was traded to Seattle in the offseason. The Mariners, however, designated Overton for assignment this past weekend after a rough start to his 2017 season; through 18 1/3 innings at the big league level, Overton logged a 6.31 ERA with just eight strikeouts, albeit against a mere two walks. His minor league output has been worse, as he’s been rocked for a 9.33 ERA through 27 innings with Triple-A Tacoma.
However, Overton is just a few months removed from wrapping up a strong 2016 season in which he posted a 3.29 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 36.1 percent ground-ball rate through 125 2/3 innings (20 starts) for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate. And with a pair of minor league options remaining, he’s a reasonable add for a Padres team that is thin on pitching depth and brought in most of its current rotation via free agency this past winter.
Lee, also 25, has allowed five runs in eight innings for the Padres this year while tallying more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six). Once regarded as one of baseball’s very best prospects while in the Dodgers’ minor league ranks, Lee’s career has never taken off as many scouts and prospect analysts had envisioned. He’s posted a 5.32 ERA with 15 walks and 14 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season and has compiled a 4.94 ERA across 435 1/3 career innings in Triple-A.
Brewers Release Neftali Feliz
JUNE 19: The Brewers announced that Feliz has been released. At this point, he’s free to sign anywhere for the pro-rated portion of the big league minimum for any time spent in the Majors.
JUNE 14: The Brewers announced that they’ve designated right-hander Neftali Feliz for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for righty Matt Garza, who has been reinstated from the disabled list.
Feliz, 29, signed a one-year deal with the Brewers this offseason and opened the 2017 campaign as the team’s closer. However, after getting off to a hot start to the year (one earned run on two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts through his first seven appearances), Feliz’s performance has plummeted. Over his past 22 appearances, he’s been torched for a 7.17 ERA — yielding 21 runs (17 earned) on 21 hits with a 14-to-13 K/BB ratio. Feliz has served up a staggering eight homers in just 27 innings this season and had lost the closer’s role to breakout reliever Corey Knebel well before being designated.
Back in 2010, Feliz starred with the Rangers as the AL Rookie of the Year, saving 40 games with a 2.73 ERA and a 71-to-18 K/BB ratio in 69 1/3 innings of work. Feliz experienced a dip in velocity for several years following Tommy John surgery, and while he’s reclaimed his 96 mph average fastball velocity over the past two seasons, his control has never returned to pre-TJ form. Moreover, this year’s 30.3 percent ground-ball rate is one of the worst marks of his career. Generally speaking, though, he’s eschewed hard contact — surrendering a 26.6 percent hard-hit rate that ranks 131st out of 177 qualified relievers. Unfortunately for Feliz, when opponents have squared up against him, the damage has been significant, as evidenced by the previously mentioned home run woes.
Feliz was an effective reliever as recently as last season with the Pirates, tossing 53 2/3 innings with a 3.52 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 out of manager Clint Hurdle’s bullpen. That campaign, however, came to an end with a vague arm injury that was never fully disclosed and may have hindered his stock as a free agent.
In the coming days, the Brewers will determine whether they’ll trade Feliz (which would require including some cash to offset his salary) or opt to place him on waivers. It’s extremely unlikely that another team would claim the remaining $3.22MM on Feliz’s $5.35MM salary, so if he’s exposed to waivers he’ll almost certainly clear and be released. At that point, any team could sign him for the pro-rated portion of the Major League minimum. That sum, in turn, would be subtracted from the $3.22MM that the Brewers will pay him through season’s end.
Dodgers Claim Peter O’Brien, Designate Jason Wheeler
The Dodgers have claimed outfielder Peter O’Brien off waivers from the Rangers, according to an announcement from Texas. To make room for O’Brien, the Dodgers have designated left-hander Jason Wheeler for assignment, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Additionally, right-hander Dillon Gee, whom the Rangers designated on Friday, has cleared waivers and elected free agency.
The Dodgers are already the fifth organization of 2017 for the 26-year-old O’Brien, who spent time with the Diamondbacks, Royals and Reds before joining the Rangers in a waiver claim last month. O’Brien only collected 15 plate appearances with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate before the club designated him Saturday, and has stumbled to an overall minor league line of .167/.254/.301 in 209 PAs this year. Although he’s prone to striking out, teams continue to take flyers on O’Brien because of his prodigious power, as the former Yankees farmhand has swatted 122 minor league home runs – including six this season. He saw brief major league action with the D-backs in 2015 and ’16 and hit six long balls in 79 PAs, though he slashed just .176/.228/.446 with a 40.5 percent strikeout rate during that time.
Wheeler, 26, has only been in the Los Angeles organization for two-plus weeks. Since the Dodgers acquired him from the Twins for cash considerations on June 2, Wheeler has thrown 8 2/3 frames of 10-earned run, 16-hit ball with their Triple-A affiliate. Wheeler made his major league debut with Minnesota earlier this season and surrendered three earned runs on six hits and four walks, with no strikeouts, causing the Twins to boot him from their 40-man roster before dealing him to the Dodgers.
As for Gee, the only somewhat established big leaguer of the three, he made four appearances (one start) for Texas this year and tossed 13 innings of 4.15 ERA ball, but he yielded 17 hits and walked six during that short span. Gee fared better with their Triple-A affiliate, logging a 3.88 ERA, 7.59 K/9 and 2.29 BB/9 across 51 frames. The Rangers originally added Gee on a minor league deal over the winter, which came after a 2016 in which he racked up 125 frames of 4.68 ERA pitching with the Royals and then underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The 31-year-old has spent the majority of his career with the Mets and owns a 4.13 ERA, 6.47 K/9, 2.85 BB/9 and a 45.1 percent ground-ball rate in 817 1/3 big league frames.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/18/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Indians announced that right-hander Jarrett Grube has been acquired from the Blue Jays for cash considerations. Grube will report to Triple-A Columbus. Grube spent part of 2016 in the Tribe’s organization before being released in June. The righty had a 6.14 ERA over 55 2/3 IP and 11 starts with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate this season. Over 14 pro seasons, the 35-year-old Grube has pitched for five different organizations and appeared in just one Major League game, back in 2014 with the Angels.
Royals To Sign Second-Rounder MJ Melendez
Here is the roundup of today’s notable draft signings…
- The Royals have signed high school catcher MJ Melendez, their second-round selection, to a deal worth $2.1MM, Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky reports (via Twitter). The bonus is well beyond the assigned $1,295,7000 slot value for the 52nd overall pick, though K.C. accounted for some of that draft pool money with their below-slot deal with first-rounder Nick Pratto. Melendez had already committed to Florida International University where his father is the baseball team’s head coach, so clearly a strong financial incentive was needed for Melendez to begin his pro career. In pre-draft rankings, Melendez was rated 32nd by Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, 52nd by Baseball America, 60th by ESPN’s Keith Law and 72nd by MLB.com.