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2013 Amateur Draft

Red Sox Agree To Terms With Teddy Stankiewicz

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JULY 6: After his physical revealed a reportedly minor issue, Stankiewicz ultimately signed for $915k, according to a tweet from Baseball America's Jim Callis. This means that Boston has committed to spend $875,500 less than its bonus allotment at present, Callis explains, and can spend an additional $318,770 on top of that before it would have to sacrifice a draft pick. These figures could change if the team signs fourth-round choice Myles Smith for above or below his slot allocation. Should the club attempt to pursue one of its hard-sign, late-round picks, such as 13th-rounder Jordan Sheffield, Callis says it could afford to go as high as $1.3MM. (Twitter links.)

JUNE 10: The Red Sox have reached an agreement with secound-round pick Teddy Stankiewicz that will pay the Seminole State junior college right-hander roughly $1.1MM when finalized, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The deal is pending a physical.

Stankiewicz was selected with the No. 45 overall selection in the draft — a pick which carries a recommended slot value of $1,229,600, according to Baseball America. In other words, Stankiewicz will be signing for about $130K under slot value. He was selected 75th overall by the Mets last year but elected to head to junior college instead.

Red Sox amateur scouting director Amiel Sawdaye spoke highly of Stankeiwicz:

“He’s a big, physical pitcher. He’s got, probably for me, one of the best deliveries in the draft. His arm works really well. He throws three pitches, and he really commands his fastball."

The 19-year-old Stankiewicz, who is being advised by the BBI Sports Group, ranked 77th on Baseball America's list of Top 500 draft prospects, 88th on Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com's Top 100 list and 61st on Keith Law of ESPN's Top 100 list. Law noted that he sits 91-96 mph with his fastball and features a curveball, slider and changeup as well.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Clinton Hollon, Kent Emanuel

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Here are today's notable draft-related news items and non-first-round draft signings (all slot information courtesy of Baseball America)…

  • The Blue Jays have signed second-round pick Clinton Hollon for a $467K bonus that is just 40 percent of the No. 47 overall selection's assigned pick value, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America. There was an issue with Hollon's ulnar collateral ligament on his physical, which caused the prep right-hander from Kentucky to sign well below slot. Hollon can touch 95 mph with his heater and has a sharp slider, according to Callis. The extra money should be especially beneficial to the Jays, who have yet to sign first-rounder Phil Bickford. Bickford is one of just five remaining unsigned first-round picks.
  • Third-round pick Kent Emanuel received the full slot value of $747,700 from the Astros, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). Callis tweets that the UNC left-hander has good command of his 87-91 mph fastball and features a plus changeup as well.
  • Callis also tweets that the Blue Jays ($1.3MM), Astros ($1.077MM), Red Sox ($691K) and Rockies ($491K) are the current bonus pool savings leaders.

Rays Sign First-Rounder Ryne Stanek

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The Rays have signed first-round pick Ryne Stanek for the full assigned pick value of $1,758,300, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The Rays, who have confirmed the signing via press release, received the No. 29 overall selection as compensation for the loss of B.J. Upton to the Braves in free agency. Stanek is advised by Jason Wood of Arland Sports.

Stanek entered the season as a potential Top 5 pick, but his stock fell due to inconsistency througout the year. Still, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo ranked Stanek as the No. 12 prospect in this year's draft, while Baseball America and ESPN's Keith Law each had him ranked 13th. Stanek slipped well past his expectations, and many considered the Rays' selection of Stanek to be one of the best values in the first round.

Mayo writes that Stanek "has as much arm strength as anyone, throwing a plus fastball in the mid-90s while maintaining velocity throughout his starts." Law feels that Stanek's curveball is ahead of his slider, though BA notes that his slider "has real power in the 84-87 mph range when it's right."

Stanek was one of two first-round picks for the Rays, who selected high school catcher Nick Ciuffo with the No. 21 overall pick. The Rays haven't taken a college pitcher this highly since selecting David Price out of Vanderbilt with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. WIth Stanek's deal, 28 of the 33 first-round picks from this year's draft have signed.

Draft News: Lanphere, Farinaro, Bryant

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Last night, the Pirates agreed to terms with first-rounder Austin Meadows. Here are today's draft-related news items and notable non-first-round signings…

  • The Rangers have signed 21st-rounder Luke Lanphere for a $400K signing bonus, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis (Twitter link). That's $300K over-slot for Lanphere, a projectable high school right-hander out of California. The UC Riverside recruit's fastball touches 91 mph presently, according to Callis.
  • Baseball America reports that Cardinals 11th-round pick Steven Farinaro signed for $750K, which is the largest bonus ever for a player drafted after the 10th round under the new CBA's rules. Because the assigned pick value for each pick after the 10th round is $100K, signing Farinaro meant a $650K hit to the Cards' bonus pool. The Cardinals have now exceeded their bonus pool by $325K, resulting in a $243K penalty tax and leaving them just $20,896 shy of the point at which they would forfeit their 2014 first-round pick. Farinaro, a high school right-hander, ranked 423rd on BA's Top 500.
  • While recent reports suggest that the Cubs and No. 2 overall pick Kris Bryant are "nowhere close" to a deal, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweets that he expects a deal to be completed. He does note that Bryant could be the last first-rounder to sign, however.

Marlins Will Not Sign No. 35 Pick Matt Krook

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THURSDAY: Krook is choosing to go to college as a result of an issue with his physical, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. The Marlins found an issue — believed to be in Krook's shoulder — which caused them to drop their offer from slot value to $650K. They will, of course, receive a compensatory pick in the 2014 draft as long as they leave their offer on the table for Krook through the July 12 signing deadline.

WEDNESDAY: Pitcher Matt Krook has decided not to sign with the Marlins and will instead attend the University of Oregon, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  Miami selected Krook with the No. 35 pick which fell into the Competitive Balance Round A portion of the draft.

According to Baseball America, the suggested value of the No. 35 pick was roughly $1.588MM.  Baseball America had the high school left-hander ranked as the 42nd best prospect in the draft, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com had him at No. 55, and Keith Law of ESPN.com was higher on him and had him pegged at No. 30. 

BA notes that the 6-foot-4, 195-pound southpaw  has had consistency issues as of late.  At his best, Krook sits at 90-92 mph, touches 95, and shows flashes of a hard curveball. However, he doesn't have a changeup and there is some effort to his delivery.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Pirates Agree To Terms With Austin Meadows

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8:44pm: Meadows will sign for the full slot value, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis (on Twitter).

7:42pm: The Pirates and Meadows have officially reached an agreement, according to Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It's expected to be close to slot value, and Meadows is in Pittsburgh for a physical right now (All Twitter links).

6:35pm: The Pirates are closing in on a deal with first-round pick Austin Meadows, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Meadows, a high school center fielder from Georgia, was selected with the No. 9 overall pick, which carries an assigned slot value of $3,029,600 according to Baseball America. Meadows is advised by Excel Sports Management.

Meadows ranked as the draft's No. 5 prospect according to both ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, while Baseball America ranked him sixth on their Top 500 list. Law and Mayo note that he has tremendous five-tool potential, though Law cautions that he's a risky commodity because of how much work his hit tool needs. Scouts and evaluators debated whether he or No. 5 overall pick Clint Frazier was a better draft prospect, as they live just a few miles apart in Georgia. The pair grew up playing against each other and have developed a friendly rivalry.

The Pirates received the No. 9 overall pick as compensation for failing to sign Mark Appel in 2012 after they selected him eighth overall. Pittsburgh also picked at No. 14, where they selected Washington prep catcher Reese McGuire.

Draft Signings: Jones, Eades, Overton

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Today's notable draft signings…

  • The Pirates signed third round pick JaCoby Jones for $612K, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America.  That's exactly slot for the Boras Corporation advisee.  A speedy second baseman out of Louisiana State, BA ranked Jones as the 75th best draft prospect and noted that he's said to prefer the outfield.
  • The Twins signed second round draft pick Ryan Eades, tweets director of baseball communications and player relations Dustin Morse.  Eades received the slotted amount of $1,294,100, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.  Eades, a righty out of Louisiana State, ranked 37th on the Baseball America 500.  He's advised by the Boras Corporation.  The Twins have two unsigned picks from the first ten rounds: Indiana righty Aaron Slegers from the fifth round, and his teammate Dustin DeMuth from the eighth.
  • The Athletics agreed to terms with second-round draft pick Dillon Overton yesterday, reported the Associated Press.  The Oklahoma lefty, chosen 63rd overall, signed for $400K according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.  That's well under the slot value of $885,600 for the Jonathan Gray teammate, which makes sense given the report from Yahoo's Jeff Passan that Overton will have Tommy John surgery within the next two weeks.  Overton is advised by The Legacy Agency.  With the signing, the A's have inked their top 13 picks according to BA.  They had a bonus pool of $6,036,800 for the top ten, and spent 93% of it at $5,619,100.  Savings on Overton and going cheap on their ninth and tenth-round picks enabled the A's to go over slot on fifth rounder Bobby Wahl and seventh rounder Dustin Driver.
  • Seven first-round draft picks remain unsigned in advance of the July 12th deadline: Kris Bryant of the Cubs, Colin Moran of the Marlins, Austin Meadows of the Pirates, Phil Bickford of the Blue Jays, Hunter Renfroe of the Padres, Ryne Stanek of the Rays, and Aaron Judge of the Yankees.  The Marlins hope to have a deal worked out with Moran "sooner rather than later," a source with knowledge of the negotiations tells Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

The initial version of this post said that JaCoby Jones signed for under slot; our apologies for the error.

Cubs, Kris Bryant “Nowhere Close” To Deal

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While the majority of first-round picks from this year's draft have agreed to terms or signed, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Cubs and No. 2 overall selection Kris Bryant are "nowhere close to a deal."

Bryant and adviser Scott Boras are seeking a bonus greater than the $6.7MM assigned pick value, while the Cubs are hoping to sign him for just over $6MM, according to Heyman. The Cubs could spend as much as $7MM on Bryant without forfeiting draft picks for 2014, but they can also point to the fact that No. 1 pick Mark Appel signed for $6.35MM and No. 3 pick Jonathan Gray signed for $4.8MM.

Bryant, who hit 31 homers this season for the University of San Diego, could follow the path that Appel took in 2012 and return to college for his senior season to re-enter the draft in 2014. The Cubs wouldn't be able to reallocate the money they'd planned to spend on Bryant, though they would receive a compensatory pick in next year's draft. Heyman reports that talks could go all the way to the July 15 deadline.

Draft Notes: Royals, Jeff Thompson

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Here are today's notable non-first-round signings and draft-related news items (slot info courtesy of Baseball America)…

  • The Royals have finished signing all of their picks but did so by going over-slot by a total of $78,700, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The penalty for the Royals isn't that steep, as they'll have to pay just over $59K (75 percent of the overage). For what it's worth, the new CBA states that the Royals would've needed to exceed their draft pool by more than five percent to lose a first-round pick in 2014, which would've meant going over by $415K.
  • The Tigers have signed third-round pick Jeff Thompson for the full slot value of $549,400, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). A big right-hander out of Louisville, Thompson sits 90-92 mph with his fastball and has a solid slider.

Draft Signings: Farinaro, Franklin, Kozikowski

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Here are today's notable draft notes and non-first-round signings (all slot info courtesy of Baseball America)…

  • After getting fourth-rounder Mason Katz to sign for just $95k (well below his $405,100 slot), the Cardinals were able to ink eleventh-round prep arm Steven Farinaro to a $750k deal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold reported yesterday. As Goold explains, the Cards expect to exceed their $6.91MM spending limit by less than five percent, thus avoiding the substantial penalties (forfeited future picks) that attach at that point.
  • The Reds have locked up second-round choice K.J. Franklin for $675k, which is more than $150k below the slot recommendation, according to a tweet from Baseball America's Jim Callis. The high-school third baseman was a surprise second-rounder given his 232nd overall rank by BA.
  • The Pirates have agreed to a well-above-slot deal with eighth-round pick Neil Kozikowski, tweets Callis. The high-school righty, who has a projectable 6'3" frame, will receive $425k.
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