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2015 Amateur Draft

Pirates, First-Rounder Ke’Bryan Hayes Agree To Terms

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The Pirates and No. 32 overall selection Ke’Bryan Hayes have agreed to terms, Howard Chen of My FOX Houston reports (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (also via Twitter) that Hayes will receive the full slot value of $1,855,000.

Hayes, a high school third baseman, will forgo his commitment to Tennessee in order to try to follow in the footsteps of his father, Charlie, who spent parts of 14 seasons playing in the Majors (including one season with the Pirates). Heading into the draft, the younger Hayes was most aggressively ranked by Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs and Keith Law of ESPN, both of whom placed him 24th among 2015 draft prospects. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Hayes 44th on their Top 200 list, and Hayes placed 57th on Baseball America’s Top 500.

McDaniel notes that Hayes enjoyed a big spring and could develop into an everyday third baseman based on his promising tools, the strongest of which is a 65-grade arm (on the 20-80 scale). McDaniel projects average-or-better ratings across the board for Hayes’ tools, with the exception of speed. Law calls Hayes a “premium defender at third base with an outstanding approach and swing.” He adds that Hayes has an atypically high floor for a high school hitter. MLB.com notes that he lacks some first-step quickness and speed on the bases. BA notes that while he worked himself into great shape and a legitimate third base prospect, he’ll have to be careful with his conditioning to avoid moving to first base, where his bat wouldn’t play as well. BA lauds Hayes’ “excellent” work ethic and great feel for the game, adding that he’s one of the safest prep bats in this year’s class.

Chen spoke to both father and son about the draft and what it means to the pair. “Whenever I got that phone call, a burden just flew off my chest,” Ke’Bryan told Chen. “…The Pirates are a good baseball club and history shows it. Just to be able to wear the same major league ballclub team that my dad wore is really special and hopefully, I can get up there to the major leagues.”

With this agreement, the Bucs have both of their top picks locked in. Fellow first-rounder Kevin Newman officially signed yesterday, and a team announcement regarding Hayes — who was selected with the compensation pick awarded to Pittsburgh after losing Russell Martin to free agency — should follow in the near future.

Draft Signings: White, Maese, Miller, Erwin, Graham

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It’s been a busy day on the draft signing front. Among the notable names locked up today, with slot values courtesy of Baseball America (all links to Twitter):

  • Shortstop Mikey White will receive a $900K bonus from the Athletics, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis. His second round selection spot (63rd overall) came with a $979,600 allocation, so the team will save some cash in the deal. White checked in at 34th on the board of Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, who cites his development at the plate and solid raw power for his position. Other talent evaluators had him further down the board, in the sixties, with some doubting whether he’ll stick at short.
  • The Marlins will pay third-rounder Isaiah White an at-slot $698,100 bonus, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports. Baseball America had White rated the 138th-best talent available, citing his outstanding speed as his best tool. Miami locked up fourth-rounder Cody Poteet with a slot-value $488.7K bonus, per Cotillo. And the Fish also added sixth-round catcher Justin Cohen for a $540K bonus, well above his $274K slot number at the 176th selection, per Callis. BA credited Cohen’s arm and receiving ability behind the plate, noting that he has some power potential with the bat.
  • The Blue Jays have reached a $300K deal with third-round choice Justin Maese, per Callis. That constitutes a somewhat rare below-slot deal for a high school arm, as the slot value was $636,400. While Maese has shown a big fastball and strong slider, Baseball America says he has been inconsistent. Toronto also agreed to a $450K bonus with fourth-round pick Carl Wise, Callis reports, falling just $11,200 of the slot value.
  • The Royals have added Western Kentucky outfielder Anderson Miller for a slot bonus of $581,300, says Callis. Baseball America rated Miller within the top 200 prospects available, citing his solid hitting ability, increased power, and potential to play center field as a professional.
  • White Sox fourth-rounder Zack Erwin will receive a slot bonus of $508K, Callis  reports. The Clemson lefty was the 117th name on BA’s list, calling him a good athlete with the potential to harness three above-average offerings. Chicago also agreed to terms with sixth-round pick Corey Zangari, a power righty, for $510K, Callis adds. He works in the upper nineties when he’s on, per BA, but is inconsistent. He also has some promise as a hitter, though he likely won’t be able to catch (as he has as an amateur) and would profile as a first baseman.
  • The Braves signed their fourth-round pick, Josh Graham of Oregon, for $500K, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. That’s just a shade under $30K over the slot value. Recently converted from catcher to the mound, Graham has a nice low-to-mid-90s fastball, average slider, and “surprisingly decent change,” according to Baseball America.
  • 11th-round pick Brantley Bell has agreed to terms with the Reds for $400k, according to Mayo. Bell, a JuCo shortstop out of State College of Florida Manatee, did not place on any prospect lists.

Padres To Sign Second Rounder Austin Smith

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The Padres have agreed to a slightly above-slot deal with second-round pick Austin Smith, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Smith will receive a $1.2MM bonus after being taken 51st overall, which came with a $1,178,400 allocation.

The high school righty was regarded as one of the forty to fifty best prospects available by draft observers. MLB.com likes Smith’s “easy” velocity, while noting that he has some work to do in building out his secondary offerings. ESPN.com’s Keith Law calls Smith “a rawer version of Nationals prospect Joe Ross,” noting that he comes with the upside of a mid-rotation starter.

Smith was San Diego’s first pick . The club already went over-slot to add its next choice, righty Jacob Nix, but has saved plenty of money on several other signings and still has flexibility to use in locking up other players.

Dodgers Agree To Terms With Mitchell Hansen

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The Dodgers have agreed to terms with second-rounder Mitchell Hansen, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs reports on Twitter. Hansen will receive a $1MM bonus, per Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Hansen, who had been committed to Stanford, is a high school outfielder out of Texas. He rated as high as 37th on draft boards coming in, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law giving him that tag based on “above-average tools across the board,” including good athleticism, solid raw power, and a strong defensive profile.

The MLB.com team also saw Hansen as a top-forty draft prospect, while Baseball America had him just a peg lower. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs took the dimmest view of Hansen’s future, putting him in the 61st slot.

The reported signing bonus will require the Dodgers to cover $78,900 in overages as against the slot value of the 67th selection. Hansen becomes the highest Dodgers pick to sign thus far, with righties Walker Buehler and Kyle Funkhouser chosen ahead of him and still unsigned.

Rangers Sign Eric Jenkins, Michael Matuella

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The Rangers have signed second-round pick Eric Jenkins and third-rounder Michael Matuella. Both receive $2MM bonuses, per Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter links).

The second and third overall choices of the Rangers came with $1,360,100 and $777,600 slot values. Combined, the two signings require the team to make up for $1,862,300 in pool money. In addition to the $826,500 saved on first-round selection Dillon Tate, the club has reportedly saved on several other signings (links to Twitter reports): Blake Bass (eighth round, $166,300 savings), Peter Fairbanks (ninth round, $64,700 savings), and Leon Byrd (tenth round, $123,700 savings). That leaves $804,800 left to reach par, though the team can exceed its total allotment by up to 5% without losing a future draft pick.

Jenkins, a high school center fielder, drew broad consensus heading into the draft, with Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, MLB.com, and Baseball America all pegging him as between #40 and #43 in terms of pre-draft prospect value. His speed is his best attribute, though he also shows promise with the bat (albeit not much in terms of power projection). ESPN.com’s Keith Law is less bullish, rating Jenkins 78th and questioning whether he’ll be able to adapt to higher-level competition.

Of course, Matuella entered the draft as one of the most interesting names to watch. Regarded by some as a possible top five pick heading into the year, Tommy John surgery cut his season short and made him a questionable signing candidate with another season of college eligibility left. Matuella already faced questions about his back heading into the draft, and his stock dropped accordingly. But he remains an intriguing talent, with Law rating him the 19th-best available player and noting that he has top-of-the-rotation upside if he can get healthy.

Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest & Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Tribune first reported that the deals were nearing finalization (Twitter links).

Brewers Sign Cody Ponce, Nash Walters

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The Brewers have announced the signings of second-rounder Cody Ponce and third-round pick Nash Walters, both right-handed pitchers. The club also confirmed the signing of first pick Trent Clark.

Ponce’s 55th overall slot came with a $1,108,000 allocation while the pick used to take Walters was valued at $646,300. According to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, it appears that Ponce has agreed to a slot bonus while Walters’ deal will pay him close to his allocated amount.

Draft pundits were all in accord on Ponce, a Cal Poly Pomona hurler, with his pre-draft ratings ranging from 32nd to 36th overall. Baseball America credits his big frame, improving stuff, and good athleticism. BA says that a high-80s cutter-slider offering is Ponce’s best, noting that he profiles as a starter with four usable pitches.

Yankees To Sign First-Round Pick Kyle Holder

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The Yankees have agreed to a $1.8MM bonus with first-round pick Kyle Holder, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports on Twitter. That represents a savings of $114,900 as against the allocated bonus money for the 30th overall pick.

Mayo and the MLB.com prospect team praised Holder as a premium defender at shortstop — arguably the best fielder at the position in this year’s draft. The question, then, is whether his bat can improve enough to make him a big league regular. Baseball America was highest on him coming into the draft, explaining that he has shown good contact ability.

Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (66) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (95) are more bearish in rating Holder. The latter says that the collegiate infielder has “a high-effort swing without much explosiveness,” indicating that he has a lot of work to do in building a stroke to match his useful strength and hand-eye coordination.

Padres To Sign Jacob Nix

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The Padres have agreed to terms with righty Jacob Nix on a $900K signing bonus, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The 86th choice in the draft came with a $687,300 pick value, meaning that San Diego went over $200K over slot to add Nix.

Of course, Nix thought he had an even larger bonus locked up last year with the Astros, before he was caught up in the Brady Aiken saga. He ultimately landed at IMG Academy for a year and brought a grievance action against Houston (reportedly settling for a six-figure payout).

Now advised by MVP Sports, Nix drew plenty of top-forty pre-draft ratings. Keith Law of ESPN.com was highest on Nix, rating him the 32nd-best player available and saying he has mid-rotation starter upside. Baseball America and MLB.com concurred that Nix had back of first-round talent, while Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs dropped Nix to 81st on his list.

Cardinals Sign First-Rounder Jake Woodford

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The Cardinals have announced the signing of supplemental first-round pick Jake Woodford, who’ll receive a $1.8MM bonus according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). That constitutes a nice increase over the $1.585MM value that attached to the 39th overall selection.

St. Louis also announced the signing of top selection Nick Plummer, who reportedly agreed to terms several days ago, along with compensatory selection Jordan Hicks. That selection came with a $543,300 slot value, and Hicks received $600K to sign (again, per Callis).

Woodford drew a range of opinion, with Keith Law of ESPN.com putting him the highest on his board — 39th overall, where the righty was ultimately taken. Law says that while Woodford’s stuff remains uninspiring at the present, he has a prototypical body and delivery that leave tons of room for projection. As might be expected, that overall package is laden with risk, and MLB.com was much more bearish in placing him 85th on its board.

Brewers Sign Trent Clark

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JUNE 15: Clark has just put pen to paper on a contract, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports on Twitter. He will receive a bonus of $2.7MM, landing about $7,300 over slot, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.

JUNE 11: The Brewers are “99 percent of the way” to a deal with first-round pick Trent Clark, scouting director Ray Montgomery tells MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The deal will award Clark a bonus that will land “slightly above” the pick’s slot value.

Clark, chosen 15th overall, recently wrapped up his senior season at Richland High School in Texas. The left-handed-swinging youngster previously committed to play collegiately at Texas Tech.

Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs ranked Clark as the seventh-best player available, calling him the “best pure hitter in the draft” and explaining that he could potentially both stick in center and learn to harness his good raw power. Other pundits agreed that Milwaukee did well to land Clark where they did, with ESPN.com’s Keith Law and Baseball America rating him the 10th overall draft prospect. Law is among those who believe Clark may need to shift to the corner outfield, where he’d obviously have less ultimate upside, though he does not figure to be reliant on the glove to have value.

BA also graded Clark with plus speed, making for an impressive overall tool set. If there is an offensive critique, it involves Clark’s unconventional grip and swing, as MLB.com noted in placing him in the 12th spot on its board, though his track record is extensive enough that it doesn’t appear to be much of an issue. Indeed, Montgomery had high praise for the team’s biggest new addition, calling Clark “a prodigal hitter.”

It appears that a physical is the only real hurdle left in finalizing agreement, with sources telling McCalvy that only minor details remained to be ironed out.

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