Braves Sign Braxton Davidson
MONDAY: Davidson announced (via his Instagram account) that he has officially signed with the Braves. Bowman tweeted earlier today that the agreement was indeed for the slot value.
THURSDAY: The Braves are getting close to a deal with first-round pick Braxton Davidson, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. According to Bowman, Davidson will graduate from high school this weekend and then make the three-hour drive from his home in Asheville, N.C. to Atlanta in order to sign his first pro contract. Davidson is expected to sign near the slot value of $1.705MM, according to Bowman.
Davidson was ranked as the draft’s No. 16 prospect on the Top 100 list of ESPN’s Keith Law. Baseball America ranked the slugging high school first baseman/outfielder No. 35, and MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo ranked him 36th.
Law’s scouting report notes that when Davidson is at his best, he has one of the best swings in the draft class and at one point looked to perhaps have more upside than any hitter — college or high school — in this year’s draft class. Davidson draws praise for his ability to hit the ball to all fields — an element of his game that he discussed with me in depth when I spoke with him for MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series. Last June, Davidson set a tournament record with three homers in four games at the Tournament of the Stars, and that power along with an improved hit tool and a notable drop in strikeouts, helped boost Davidson’s draft stock in 2014. Davidson is regarded across the board as one of the best bats in this year’s class.
The Braves have just $4.5577MM to spend on this year’s draft — the third-lowest amount of any team — which is a reflection of both their strong finish in 2013 and the fact that they forfeited a draft pick to ink Ervin Santana in Spring Training. As Bowman notes, they’ve already agreed to deals with second-rounder Garrett Fulenchek, third-rounder Max Povse and fourth-rounder Chad Sobotka.
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Sizemore/Golden Fleece Media.
Draft Signings: Orioles, Angels, Cousino, Ockimey, More
Here are the day’s draft signings, with slot bonus information by way of Baseball America:
- MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Connaughton, Baltimore’s third-rounder, signed for the slot value of $428,100. Callis and his colleague Jonathan Mayo ranked Connaughton 112th prior to the draft and praised his 95 mph fastball.
- The Orioles have announced the signing each of the first three players selected by the club: lefty Brian Gonzalez (3rd round, 90th overall, $594.2K allocation), righty Pat Connaughton (4th round, 121st overall, $428.1K allocation), and righty David Hess (5th round, 151st overall, $320.5K allocation). Actual bonuses have not yet been reported. Of course, Baltimore gave up the rights to its original first three choices by signing two qualifying offer free agents and dealing away the club’s compensation round A choice.
- The Angels have signed 14 of the team’s selections to undisclosed bonuses, reports Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times. Among the players signed are junior righty Jeremy Rhoades (4th round, 119th overall, $436.5K allocation) and JuCo righty Jake Jewell (fifth round, 149th overall, $326.8K allocation).
- Austin Cousino, the third-round selection of the Mariners, has agreed to terms, reports Cotillo (via Twitter). The University of Kentucky outfielder was taken at 80th overall, which comes with a $693.2K bonus allocation, though financial terms are not yet known.Baseball America and MLB.com valued Cousino in the sixth-round range.
- Fifth-rounder Josh Ockimey has agreed to a $450K bonus with the Red Sox, tweets Cotillo. That represents a $167.2K overage against the slot value of the 164th overall choice. Ockimey is a high school first baseman from Pennsylvania.
Earlier Updates
- The Dodgers have agreed to an at-slot, $534.4K bonus with third-round choice John Richy, tweets MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Richy, a junior righty from UNLV, was listed as Baseball America’s 203rd-best available player entering the draft.
- The Braves have also inked their third-round pick, Max Povse, to a below-slot $425K bonus, Mayo reports on Twitter. That delivers $89.2K in savings against the 102nd pick’s allotted bonus value. Baseball America rated the UNC-Greensboro righty at 142nd on its list of the top 500 draft prospects.
- Sixth-round pick Max George has been added by the Rockies with a well-above-slot $620K bonus, tweets Mayo. His slot value was just $259.2K. The Colorado high school shortstop, who did not appear on the draft boards of any major analysts, had been committed to Oregon State. That overage will account for a decent chunk of the team’s savings from signing first-rounder Kyle Freeland to a below-slot deal.
- Brewers third-rounder Cy Sneed has agreed to an under-slot $400K bonus, tweets Mayo. That represents a $241.8K savings against the 85th overall slot’s assigned value. Sneed, a junior righty from Dallas Baptist, checked in at 158th on Baseball America’s rankings.
- The Marlins have agreed to terms with third-round choice Brian Anderson at the below-slot mark of $600K, tweets Callis. Anderson’s 76th overall slot comes with a $737.2K allotment, meaning that Miami will save about $137.2K while adding a player that Baseball America listed as the 69th best available.
- Fourth-round choice Taylor Gushue will land a full-slot, $388.8K bonus with the Pirates, Callis reports on Twitter. Both Baseball America and MLB.com saw the University of Florida backstop as landing just outside the top 100 draft prospects.
- Milton Ramos, who reportedly agreed with the Mets yesterday, will receive a $750K bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). That represents a $98.3K overage against the slot assessment for the 84th overall pick. Helping to make up for that, the club has also added fifth-round choice Josh Prevost with a $100K bonus that will save $239.6K against the pick’s slot value, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.
Braves Expected To Shop For Bullpen Help
The Braves could be lining up some changes to their pitching staff over the coming months, according to a report from David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A set-up man, in particular another lefty, could be on the team’s wish list at the trade deadline.
Atlanta has not received quite the performances it was hoping for out of some of its middle relievers, as David Carpenter, Luis Avilan (the team’s primary lefty), Ian Thomas, and Gus Schlosser have all posted earned run averages of greater than four per nine. (The latter two are currently working at Triple-A.) Avilan, in particular, has scuffled (including a troubling 4.9 BB/9), and fellow southpaw Alex Wood is heading back down to Triple-A to stretch out again as a starter. The team will hope that recent call-up Shae Simmons can continue his strong start, that Jordan Walden maintains his health, and that Carpenter can regain his form. But none of those arms provide a true alternative to Avilan, and an addition could firm things up and free Wood and perhaps David Hale to work from the rotation.
O’Brien also notes that the club may consider dealing from its rotation, possibly as part of the effort to add to the pen. He says that the team could dangle either Gavin Floyd or Aaron Harang, opining that the former could be the more likely candidate. Of course, while the team does have some depth, O’Brien notes that it may be hesitant to thin the rotation ranks too much — though Wood is certainly more valuable as a starter.
Indeed, it seems like a rather unlikely outcome for Atlanta to flip a starter for relief help. Most hypothetical trade partners that would be willing to part with a quality reliever would presumably not be interested in adding a veteran on an expiring contract. Should the Braves look to add a southpaw to the pen, there appear to be a few likely sellers with decent left handed relief options that could be shopped, such as the Cubs (Wesley Wright and James Russell), Padres (Alex Torres and Troy Patton), Diamondbacks (Oliver Perez and Joe Thatcher), and Astros (Darin Downs and Tony Sipp).
Draft Signings: White, Oliver, LaValley, Greiner
Hundreds of draft-pick signings will be reported over the coming weeks, and we’ll run down today’s most notable agreements in this post…
- Junior righty Chad Sobotka, the fourth round choice of the Braves, has agreed to an above-slot deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. He will receive $400K, slightly more than the 133rd pick’s $381.3K allotment.
- The Marlins have given a $350K bonus to 11th round choice Nick White, a high school righty, tweets Callis. That is the largest bonus for a post-tenth-rounder thus far, says Callis. $250K of White’s bonus will be charged to Miami’s $14.2MM total pool.
- The Phillies have agreed to a $550K bonus with fourth-rounder Chris Oliver, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). That represents a $83K overage as against the $467K pool assigned to the 112th pick. MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo pegged Oliver as the 48th-rated draft prospect, while Baseball America rated the University of Arkansas righty as the 66th best player available.
- Gavin LaValley, the Reds‘ fourth-rounder who was reported to have agreed to terms yesterday, will receive $525K, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com. That is a good bit over the $411.9K slot assignment that came with the 125th overall choice.
- The Tigers and third-rounder (No. 99 overall) Grayson Greiner have agreed to terms at the full slot value of $529,400, reports MLB.com’s Jim Callis (on Twitter). Callis notes that the South Carolina catcher draws more praise for his defense than his bat. Greiner was a Top 100 prospect per MLB.com, Baseball America and ESPN.
- The Diamondbacks saved $202K on their sixth-round selection, as MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets that they inked Middle Tennessee State left-hander Zac Curtis for just $40K. Arizona’s savings on Curtis will come in handy, as they inked Comp Round B pick Marcus Wilson earlier today to a deal that was $179K over slot. Baseball America ranked Curtis 373rd among draft prospects.
- Cotillo also tweets that Reds third-rounder Wyatt Strahan received the full slot value of $588,700. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reported last night that the two sides had agreed to terms.
Braves To Sign Second Rounder Garrett Fulenchek
The Braves have agreed to an above-slot deal with Garrett Fulenchek, the team’s second round draft choice (66th overall), reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Fulenchek will get $1MM, higher than the bonus pool value of the pick of around $860K.
Fulenchek is a Texas high school product who emerged late and is said to have big upside if he can develop his secondary pitches and command behind a heavy sinker. Both MLB.com (which rated him the 57th-best prospect in the draft) and Baseball America (54th) placed the 6’4 right above the place he was taken. ESPN.com’s Keith Law, on the other hand, had Fulenchek in the 78th slot. He had been committed to pitch for Dallas Baptist.
Minor Moves: Worth, Simunic, Mazzaro
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Though the Tigers announced earlier today that infielder Danny Worth has cleared outright waivers, though as Chris Iott of MLive.com reports, Worth has not yet decided whether or not to accept the assignment. Worth, 28, was designated for assignment earlier in the week when Detroit purchased the contract of shortstop prospect Eugenio Suarez.
- Utility man Andy Simunic has inked a minor league deal with the Braves after being released by the Astros, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (via Twitter). Simunic, a former 17th-round pick, is a career .261/.332/.304 hitter in four seasons at the Triple-A level. The 28-year-old’s entire career has been spent in the Houston organization to this point.
- Pirates reliever Vin Mazzaro, who cleared outright waivers yesterday, has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Our own Zach Links initially reported that he was on outright waivers, with Biertempfel reporting last night that he’d cleared.
Post-Draft Links: Aiken, Schwarber, Davidson, Verdugo
The first day of the 2014 draft is complete, and as many expected, the Astros selected high school left-hander Brady Aiken with the No. 1 overall pick. The team is in no hurry to sign Aiken, however, the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich reports (Twitter links). Still,the Astros are understandably excited about the player they drafted. “This is the most advanced high school pitcher I’ve ever seen in my entire career,” says GM Jeff Luhnow. “He has command like I’ve never seen before.”
Here’s more from the draft’s first day…
- The Cubs turned some heads by selecting Indiana catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber with the fourth overall pick, but scouting director Jason McLeod told reporters that Schwarber was No. 2 on the team’s draft board all along. ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers quotes McLeod (on Twitter) as saying that Schwarber trailed only Aiken on their board, though as the Chicago Sun Times’ Gordon Wittenmyer tweets, McLeod did acknowledge that the pick will save them some money. The Cubs are expecting him to sign quickly.
- Braves top pick Braxton Davidson says he will sign rather than attending UNC, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Davidson’s slot — No. 32 overall — carries a $1.7054MM value, per Baseball America. I spoke with Davidson as part of MLBTR’s Draft Prospect Q&A series.
- Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish hears that the Dodgers and No. 62 overall pick Alex Verdugo already have an agreement in place, and the ASU commit will not be attending college (Twitter link). VP of amateur scouting Logan White tells MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that Verdugo, a two-way prospect, will start as a center fielder and convert to pitching if he doesn’t hit well (Twitter link).
- MLB.com’s Corey Brock spoke with Padres scouting director Billy Gasparino and got the impression that the team will shift its focus on jump on some arms tomorrow (Twitter link). San Diego drafted a pair of bats today in UNC shortstop Trea Turner and prep outfielder Michael Gettys.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
NL West Notes: Hudson, Lyles, Pennington, Webb
Giants veteran Tim Hudson clarified recently that he bears no ill will toward his prior team, the Braves, as Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Though he was initially offended when Atlanta offered him only $2MM on a one-year deal, Hudson said that the club ultimately made multiple, “fair offers at the end.” Hudson, who ultimately signed a two-year, $23MM deal, continued: “I totally understand [the Braves’] side of things. I’m not and wasn’t bitter at all.”
Here’s more out of the NL West, with an unfortunate focus on injuries:
- The struggling Rockies received bad news last night with starter Jordan Lyles going down with a broken left hand, reports Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Though the injury was to Lyles’s non-pitching hand, he will hit the DL, though the precise prognosis remains unknown. Colorado has already dipped into its prospect ranks to call up Eddie Butler, and could again look to the minors (or displaced starter Franklin Morales) to cover for the absences of Lyles, Brett Anderson, and Tyler Chatwood. In concert with the team’s slide in the standings, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the Rockies will look to add to the club over the summer; now fully eight games back in the NL West, the team may soon be pegged a seller.
- Diamondbacks middle infielder Cliff Pennington has undergone surgery for a torn ligament in his left thumb, the club announced. He is not expected to begin baseball activities for eight to ten weeks. As I noted yesteday, the injury — especially given its newly-reported severity — could potentially have some impact on how the club proceeds over the summer. It is also bad news for Pennington’s upcoming free agency; the 29-year-old, who is in the back end of a two-year, $5MM deal, has slashed just .242/.313/.312 through 382 plate appearances with Arizona.
- Former Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb looked back at the disappointing run of shoulder injuries that derailed his career, in a piece from MLB.com’s Barry Bloom. His initial shoulder troubles seemingly emerged out of nowhere one afternoon, but Webb never returned to a big league mound despite years of trying. “That was the most frustrating part, never being able to come back, especially when everything seemed to look fine in the pictures and all that,” says Webb. “That was the toughest part, to go from the top of the game, probably one of the best pitchers in the game, to be done.” Then-pitching coach Bryan Price says that it remains difficult to draw any lessons from Webb’s situation. “If you look back at his delivery, there wasn’t a reason,” he said. “He pitched a lot, but he was a low pitch-count guy. It’s one of those things that we’ll be left to guess about.”
Minor Moves: Maloney, Hanzawa, Lopez
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Reds have released left-hander Matt Maloney after just two starts according to a tweet from Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate, the Louisville Bats. Maloney, a former Reds prospect, allowed 16 runs (12 earned) in 6 2/3 innings with Louisville this season, striking out three with no walks. He allowed a staggering 25 hits in that time, however, including two homers. Despite the rough outings, Maloney does have a very strong Triple-A background and has seen Major League action in parts of four seasons with the Reds and Twins.
- The Tigers have released shortstop Troy Hanzawa from Triple-A Toledo, according to the International League transactions page. Hanzawa, 28, collected just three hits and no walks in 30 plate appearances for the Mud Hens. The former Phillies farmhand is a career .248/.300/.324 hitter in parts of seven minor league seasons since being drafted in the 16th round in 2008.
- Former Pirates farmhand Cesar Lopez has signed a minor league deal with the Braves, according to the club’s transactions page. The 23-year-old Cuban-born hurler was pitching for the independent American Association’s Grand Prairie AirHogs prior to this deal. Lopez notched a 4.46 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings across three levels for the Pirates last season, though he topped out at Class-A Advanced.
Pirates Claim Wirfin Obispo
The Pirates have announced that they’ve claimed reliever Wirfin Obispo off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Braves designated Obispo for assignment yesterday. The Pirates’ claim comes hours after their trade of fellow reliever Bryan Morris to the Marlins, so Obispo should help them replenish their relief depth.
Obispo, 29, had pitched 19 1/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett this season, posting a 4.66 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9. The Braves added the hard-throwing righty to their 40-man roster following a 2013 season in which he posted a 3.53 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings. Obispo has never pitched in the Majors, but he pitched in parts of four seasons in Japan from 2007 through 2011.