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2018 Amateur Draft

White Sox To Sign Nick Madrigal

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TUESDAY: Madrigal receives the full slot of $6,411,400, Heyman tweets.

SUNDAY: The White Sox will sign the fourth pick in this year’s draft, Oregon State infielder Nick Madrigal, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. The exact terms of his deal aren’t yet known, but the selection carries a slot value of just over $6.4MM.

Madrigal is coming off a championship-winning season at OSU, where he overcame a wrist injury to slash an eye-popping .367/.428/.511 in 180 at-bats this year. Thanks in part to his outstanding showing in 2018, Madrigal ranked among the top five prospects entering this year’s draft, according to FanGraphs (No. 2), Baseball America (No. 3) and MLB.com (No. 3), while ESPN’s Keith Law placed him at No. 11.

At 5-foot-7, 165 pounds, Madrigal is diminutive, but prospect experts have high hopes for his offense translating to the majors. BA, for example, contends that he “possesses arguably the best hit tool” in this year’s draft class, and adds that he could emerge as a legitimate stolen base threat in the majors. It’s not yet clear, however, whether Madrigal will line up at second base or shortstop in the pros. He has experience at both positions, but he manned the keystone in 2018 at OSU, which had fellow high draft pick Cayden Grenier (No. 37, Orioles) at short.

Reds Sign Jonathan India

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TUESDAY: The deal is official. India receives a $5.3MM bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets.

SUNDAY: The Reds will sign first-round pick Jonathan India, per Jon Heyman of Fancred. India’s bonus isn’t known, but his selection – No. 5 – comes with a $5.9MM slot value.

India was a star third baseman at Florida, where he was particularly excellent in 2018. The 21-year-old concluded his tenure with the Gators by slashing .350/.497/.717 with 21 home runs in 226 at-bats as a junior, leading to both a high selection and top 1o pre-draft rankings at Baseball America (No. 6), MLB.com (No. 8), ESPN (No. 9) and FanGraphs (No. 9).

India will bring an “advanced” offensive approach to the Reds, per MLB.com, which lauds his “excellent plate discipline,” ability to hit for average and decent power. He’s also a threat on the base paths and has the athleticism to play all over the infield, according to MLB.com. India’s defensive versatility could be especially useful for a Cincinnati team which has third baseman Eugenio Suarez locked up for the long haul.

Nationals Sign First-Rounder Mason Denaburg

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11:38am: MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Denaburg received a $3MM bonus, putting him $527K over slot value.

11:19am: The Nationals announced Tuesday that they’ve signed top their pick from the 2018 draft, high school right-hander Mason Denaburg. Fancred’s Jon Heyman first tweeted that the two sides were nearing a deal, while Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post added that the two sides had agreed to terms on an over-slot bonus (Twitter links). Denaburg was advised by and is now a client of the Boras Corporation.

Denaburg was selected 27th overall — a pick that comes with an assigned slot value of $2,472,700. That Nats, it seems, were willing to top that mark as a means of enticing the 18-year-old righty to forgo a college commitment to Florida. Denaburg would likely have gone earlier in the draft had he not missed more than a month of his 2018 season due to biceps tendinitis. He ranked 16th in the class per Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs, while the team over at Baseball America pegged him 22nd. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com rated him 24th in the class, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him 29th on his rankings.

When healthy, Denaburg can reach 97 mph with his fastball, though he sits a few ticks below that. McDaniel and Longenhagen write that he boasts “one of the most consistently 60-grade breaking balls in recent memory,” adding that his changeup has the makings of an above-average pitch as well. Baseball America’s report suggests that Denaburg could be the most athletic pitcher in the class, as he would’ve also been a legitimate prospect as a catcher with a strong arm and impressive raw power. Denaburg’s future, though, is on the mound, and he’ll now join Erick Fedde and Seth Romero among the top-rated arms in the Nats’ minor league ranks.

Royals Agree To Terms With 33rd Overall Pick Jackson Kowar

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Royals compensation choice Jackson Kowar has reportedly agreed to a $2,147,500 bonus. Rustin Dodd of The Athletic first tweeted the news, with MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan and Jim Callis (Twitter links) reporting the value.

Though he was taken with the 33rd overall selection, Kowar ranked higher on many analysts’ boards. Indeed, the MLB.com team tabbed him as the 15th-best prospect available in the draft, with Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law also applying top-twenty grades.

While he is already an accomplished college hurler who comfortably sits in the mid-nineties with his fastball, the University of Florida product is said still to possess some upside. If he can fill out his frame and develop a breaking ball to match his heater and change, Singer could one day turn into a high-quality rotation piece in Kansas City.

Kowar’s bonus sits just over the slot value of $2,118,700. The signing leaves the K.C. organization with two remaining unsigned players from the first ten rounds: fourth-rounder Eric Cole, who just finished up playing in the College World Series with Arkansas, and Kowar’s rotation mate Brady Singer.

Padres Sign First-Rounder Ryan Weathers

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The Padres have signed left-hander Ryan Weathers, the number seven overall pick in this year’s amateur draft. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was first to tweet news of the signing; Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that he’ll receive the full slot amount of $5,226.500 as his signing bonus.

Though the Loretto (Tennessee) High School product was a consensus first-round talent according to MLB.com, Baseball America and Fangraphs, all three of those publications ranked him outside of their top ten draft prospects; MLB.com in particular cited his lack of a “true out pitch” as reason to doubt he’d be taken so high in the draft. As such, it was a bit of a surprise to see the Padres take him with the seventh overall selection, though it’s worth noting that 2018 marks the second consecutive year that the Friars selected a high school lefty with their first round pick (they took MacKenzie Gore third overall last year).

Weathers is well-known for his overall athleticism, having led his high school to their first-ever state championship in basketball prior to pitching for them this spring. Weathers also has a fair amount of pedigree; his father is Dave Weathers, who enjoyed a major-league career spanning a remarkable 19 seasons. The younger Weathers gives a lot of credit for his development to his dad.

It’s generally believed that Weathers has a high floor for a high school selection. His fastball sat in the low nineties this past spring, clocking in at up to 95 MPH on a few occasions. Some scouts believe his big curveball might be an even better pitch than his fastball. Weathers has a good change-up as well, which he utilized often. MLB.com notes that Weathers does a good job of repeating his delivery; as such, many evaluators believe he could develop future plus command, albeit with pitches that largely grade as average or slightly above for the time being.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/30/18

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Here are today’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft.  Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only)…

  • The Orioles have agreed to a deal with the 37th overall pick, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com tweets. Financial details aren’t yet available, but the 37th choice comes with a slot value of $1,923,500. The 21-year-old Grenier was one of the heroes for an OSU team that just knocked off Arkansas to win the College World Series. Grenier hit an impressive .319/.408/.462 in 273 at-bats this season, though Law was the only one of the abovementioned prospect evaluators to place him in the top 50 entering this year’s draft (No. 46). Law noted then that Grenier could end up as a starting shortstop or a quality utility infielder in the majors.

Earlier updates:

  • The Royals have signed 12th-round pick Rylan Kaufman for a hefty $722.5K bonus, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links).  Kaufman is an 18-year-old high school left-hander from Texas, and he stands 6’4″ and owns a fastball in the 92-93mph range.  Since Kaufman was picked beyond the 10th round, $597.5K of his bonus will be counted against Kansas City’s draft bonus pool.  While the Royals entered this year’s draft with the most pool space ($12,781,900) of any team, they already have over $7.6MM of those funds spent (hat tip to Clint Scoles of Baseball Prospectus) and still need to sign their three of their top seven picks.  Two of the unsigned players are Kansas City’s top two selections — 18th overall pick Brady Singer and 33rd overall pick Jackson Kowar.

2018 Amateur Draft Signings: 6/27/18

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft.  Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only)…

  • The Cubs have convinced supplemental second-round choice Cole Roederer to forego his commitment to UCLA, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). It’ll cost the team $1.2M, well over the $775,100 value that came with the 77th overall selection. Though he did not earn any top-100 tabs, Roederer placed 161st on the Baseball America board. BA credits him with “hints of all five tools and growing power,” with solid upside but also questions surrounding his relatively small stature. Clearly, the Cubs believe in Roederer, whose over-slot bonus absorbs most of the savings the team achieved from later selections.

Tigers Agree To Over-Slot Bonus With Second-Rounder Parker Meadows

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The Tigers have agreed to a $2.5MM bonus with second-round selection Parker Meadows, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). His agreement had been signaled by his former high-school team as well as his older brother — Pirates outfielder Austin Meadows.

That payday goes well above the $1,625,500 slot allocation that came with the 44th overall selection. It’ll keep Meadows from attending Clemson University and instead add to the Detroit draft haul. Top overall pick Casey Mize officially joined the organization yesterday. Some savings from his signing (still a record under the new draft system) will help cover today’s deal.

Meadows is not seen as being quite as talented as his brother, but is certainly no slouch as a prospect. It seems the big knock on him is a hitch in his swing mechanics. But perhaps there’s some upside to unlock if that can be sorted. Otherwise, Meadows possesses good speed, arm strength, and defensive chops in center.

Clearly, the Tigers think they can develop Meadows into enough of a hitter to make good on his other tools. The Detroit farm system’s best assets are pitchers, so Meadows could take up an important spot in the organization’s future thinking if he progresses.

With this agreement, the Tigers have locked up all of their selections from the first ten rounds of the draft.

2018 Amateur Draft Signings: 6/26/18

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft.  Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only) …

  • Marlins second-round pick Osiris Johnson has agreed to take the exact value assigned to the 53rd overall choice, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. Johnson, a shortstop from California, will forego his commitment to Cal State Fullerton for a $1,318,500 bonus. A consensus top-100 talent, he received his highest ranking from Law, who placed the youngster 58th on his board. A cousin of both Jimmy Rollins and Tony Tarasco, Johnson is viewed as a future infielder but isn’t seen as being particularly likely to remain at short for the long haul. Still, he is said to possess great hands with excellent bat speed and projectable power at the plate. The Fish have also agreed to a just-over-slot ($645K) deal with third-rounder Tristan Pompey, per Callis (on Twitter), which would give the team agreements with all of its selections from the first ten rounds.
  • The Rockies have agreed to a below-slot bonus with 76th overall selection Mitchell Kilkenny, Callis also tweets. That choice, a supplemental second-round pick that the Colorado organization received as compensation when Greg Holland departed via free agency, came with a $787,200 allocation. After his physical showed that he’d require Tommy John surgery, though, the Texas A&M righty will settle with the Rox for $550K. MLB.com had the highest grade (83rd) on Kilkenny among outlets, calling him a high-floor hurler with a good chance of making it into a MLB rotation. Having just undergone a TJ procedure, of course, Kilkenny will get a delayed start to his professional career and may not even be able to join a Rockies affiliate until the 2020 campaign. With this move, the Colorado organization has also completed its dealmaking with the eleven players it picked in the first ten rounds of the draft.

2018 Amateur Draft Signings: 6/25/18

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Here are today’s most notable signings from the first few rounds of the draft.  Scouting reports and pre-draft rankings can be found courtesy of MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (the latter two available to subscribers only)…

  • The Mets have agreed to a $1,038,000 bonus with third-rounder Carlos Cortes, per MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). That handily tops the $705,300 allocation for the 83rd overall pick. The Fangraphs prospect team was far and away the highest on Cortes, rating him as the 82nd-best prospect on their list. Cortes is best known for being a switch-thrower. While that talent is of limited utility for an outfielder, he is considered a talented hitter. Despite some ups and downs over the years, Cortes has generally been productive at the plate for the University of South Carolina, though he’ll have to hit quite a bit as a pro since he’s expected to be limited to playing left field. According to the MLB.com draft tracker, the Mets have now secured contracts with all of their top ten picks.
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