A pair of top ten picks, Gavin Cross and Elijah Green, agreed to terms with their teams today. A host of other high picks are set to enter pro ball, as well. We’ll round up other signings among the top 40 here:
- The Angels are in agreement with #13 overall pick Zach Neto, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter). He receives a $3.5MM signing bonus, below the $4.41MM slot value associated with the pick. A 21-year-old shortstop out of Campbell, Neto was ranked the #16 prospect in the draft class by Baseball America. A well-rounded infielder, the righty-hitting Neto is seen as a possible hit-first shortstop at the major league level. He dominated Big South pitching over his three years with the Camels, including a .407/.514/.769 showing in 256 plate appearances as a junior.
- The Mets announced they’ve reached an agreement with #14 selection Jett Williams. The 18-year-old infielder signs for a $3.9MM bonus, reports Tim Healey of Newsday (on Twitter). That’s a bit below the $4.24MM slot value that accompanies the #14 pick. Williams, a switch-hitter from a Texas high school, had been committed to Mississippi State. The #15 prospect in the class according to BA, he’s credited with advanced bat-to-ball skills and surprising bat speed for a player who’s listed at 5’8″ and 185 pounds. The outlet raises some questions about whether he can stick at shortstop but suggests he’s athletic enough to play up-the-middle in some capacity.
- The Braves have an agreement with #20 selection Owen Murphy, Callis reports (Twitter link). It’s a $2.5569MM bonus, below the $3.4MM slot value. A right-hander out of an Illinois high school, Murphy will forego his commitment to Notre Dame. BA rated the 18-year-old as the #45 prospect in the class, writing that he relies heavily on an upper 70s breaking ball that has the potential to be a plus offering.
- The Cardinals announced they’ve signed #22 pick Cooper Hjerpe. Callis reports (on Twitter) that he’ll receive a $3.1822MM signing bonus that matches the pick’s slot value. Hjerpe was one of the top college pitchers in the country, tossing 103 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball with a 39.6% strikeout rate during his junior season at Oregon State. BA rated Hjerpe as the #33 prospect in the class, praising the life he gets on his fastball at the top of the strike zone and his strike-throwing ability.
- The Brewers announced an agreement with #27 pick Eric Brown Jr., which Callis reports is worth $2.15MM (Twitter link). The slot value for the selection is $2.7MM. A shortstop from Coastal Carolina, Brown was the draft’s #55 prospect according to BA. The outlet coincidentally likens his unusual hitting setup to the one Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell utilized as a player, but notes that Brown consistently posts solid exit velocity numbers and has a chance to stick at shortstop. The 21-year-old hit .330/.460/.544 during his junior year in Conway.
- The Braves agreed to terms with #35 selection J.R. Ritchie, Callis reports (Twitter link). It’s a $2.4MM bonus, above the $2.0232MM slot value. A right-handed pitcher from a Washington state high school, Ritchie had been a UCLA commit. BA slotted the 19-year-old as the #52 prospect in the class, crediting him with a solid three-pitch mix (headlined by an above-average slider) and advanced control.
- The Pirates announced a deal with #36 selection Thomas Harrington. The right-hander out of Campbell receives a $2.05MM signing bonus, reports Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). That’s a hair south of the $2.15MM slot value. Harrington was the #45 prospect available, according to BA, which projects him for a pair of above-average secondary offerings (slider and changeup) and possible plus control. The 21-year-old worked 92 2/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball this season, fanning 30% of batters faced with a sparkling 4.9% walk percentage.
I think the Braves had a A+ draft. And I’m liking how they are spreading their money around.
Looks like they were saving up for their 6th rd selection: high school SS Seth Keller (VA) who signed for $422,400 overslot.
Braves replenishing farm. Many prospects promoted or traded from farm. AA wise to work and build but makes me really interested on what this deadline looks like for Braves.
A starter would help but just don’t see the prospects to snag the names in the headlines.
With that said a bad contract could work. Mike Minor, Thor, MadBum?? MadBum being the really bad contract… I really don’t see the moves like last year in the ATL
That pick up by the Angels looks promising.
Agreed. He has such a quick bat and that leg kick in his swing should be fun to see in game.
For sure Prov, it’s been a long time since the Angels had a bat first SS. It appears like he can play pretty got D also. Hope he turns out.
Too bad Ohtani will be gone by the time Neto makes the majors.
Watching Shohei pitch a gem right now but the bats have gone cold.
Braves just got to Ohtani.
For Ozuna!!! 1-1 trade. Crazy.
Poor Shohei couldn’t do it all himself tonight.
Crazy! Thru 6 he was making the Braves look like little leaguers, then just lost control. It looked like this was going to be a 1-0 Angels lose in extra’s.. haha
What if that’s better for the Angels? One of the reasons they were able to sign him is because they were willing to unleash his two-way player ability and not force him to choose one side of the ball. Although, I think that was Arte Moreno using his marketing instincts over everything else. On the field, it put the team in a position to using a 6 man rotation. At one point in June, I looked at their team page on BR and saw that their first 5 starters (Ohtani, Thor, Lorenzo’s, Sandoval, Detmers) all had ERA’s UNDER 4.00 at the time. This was even long after their collapse had started. That made think of how much better their record could possibly be if they had a 5 man rotation. Because it eliminates the need to force Jose Suarez, Chase Silseth, and Jhonathon Diaz into the rotation, which is where much of their pitching problems occurred outside of that funk that Raisel Iglesias, Aaron Loup, and Ryan Tepera suddenly had. At the time, they would’ve had 2-3 more starts per starter. If course, the astronomical amount of strikeouts from their offense is a whole other side of it. That’s the biggest issue. But at what point do the Angels look at having to use a 6 man rotation as a possible problem? And do they finally make a decision to trade Ohtani for a haul of good prospects? Or does Ohtani finally make a choice to hit or pitch? I think Trout and Ohtani could possibly be the Angels’ biggest problems on the roster. Because Trout forces the Angels into feeling like they’re in win now mode going into every season, and Ohtani adds to that, with the 6 man rotation issue on top of that. At what point do you bite the bullet with your PR, and make a decision to unload the two best players in the game over the last decade for a major haul of good prospects that enriches your organization’s future in several areas instead of being so top heavy? But it’s Arte Moreno we’re talking about here.
@ryan Angels might be the smart ones to go 6 man. Record may not show it though. This new era of Baseball has starters going 6 innings and burnt out by September or injuries to their arm by August. These pitchers are not like it use to be. Your Verlander, Kershaw, Mainswright and few others, are becoming extinct. 7-8 inning most nights by the names above, is irrelevant now. They want kids throwing 95-105 mph continuously. Which shortens their innings of work and creates fatigue to the arm when you throw in off speed pitches like slider and/or curve ball. It can blow out any arm. Owners rather have 3 years of flaming throwing Adonis Chapman, than 15 years of a Justin Verlander.
piratesfan – I agree. Baseball is being forced to change under Manfred with the goal of shortening the game as the leading cause. It seems pitchers have become more fragile as the years pass. Gone are the days of starters pitching into the 100s and into the 8th or beyond.
ryanw-2 – Interesting take. Not sure I agree with the 6 man being bad, on paper at least. Our problem is we have no one of quality to take the ball on the 6th day as you pointed out. Fix that and the 6 man rotation is not a problem.
As for Trout, he does create a win now mode, as you said, which in recent years has turned into panic. I don’t think Moreno had any intentions of building a team around Trout based on his actions. The baseball world knows winning begins and ends with pitching. He’s dabbled with decent arms but that’s about it. Then he signs an over the hill bat. People throw out the “trade Trout” comment like it’s even possible. First, Trout chose to play his career in Anaheim, albeit perhaps under fake promises by Moreno. Second, Trout has a full no trade clause which means he is the only person who can make that happen.
If I were Trout, I would force Moreno’s hand, maybe even tag team it with Ohtani. Moreno would lose his mind under the threat of losing both players. Or at least use the rumor mill as a strategy. Or maybe Trout is happy with his 36m a year in Anaheim. I don’t think Ohtani stays around though.
Didn’t realize Neto and Harrington were both from Campbell U.
Impressive. A few pundits were saying campbell is starting to really make a name for itself in collegiate baseball, two 1st round picks definitely stakes a flag.
Pirates drafted the wrong Harrington. Should’ve gotten Steve.
Disagree
The Mets continue to impress with their draft selections.
Who knows?!?!?!
Agreed. Would’ve preferred a college kid at 14 that’s closer to the majors (potential of trading current assets to restock, quicker impact and replacement of others), but nonetheless still a solid pick. If he turns out to be an Altuve with more speed, I’d say that’s pretty damn good.
And Parada falling to them at #11 (was ranked potential Top 5 pre-draft) was nice. Glad they took the best player available there, rather than trying to fit a need right now.
I wonder why Neto received a deal so far under slot value. $3.5MM signing bonus, below the $4.41MM slot I would have thought at least $4m. Drafted 13th rated as 16th best.
Upperclassmen. Easier to underpay upperclassmen in the earlier rounds and use the savings to sign HS in later rounds over slot.
I doubt college juniors and seniors expect to get full slot bonus in these cases because if they didn’t they can expect to slip to later rounds for less money and they couldn’t complain.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Hjerpe in the majors soon. Great pick by Flores, as the Cardinals need pitching to supplement the young core thats developing.
Cardinals got Herpes.
Neto’s the wave of the future. Mike Trout who?!
Mike Trout. That’s who.
$650k below slot make the Brown pick look better. Maybe one of the late rd HS players will sign now for the Brewers
Pack your bags Will Smith
You are toast