Archive for August, 2009
Chipola Adds Washington, Eliopoulos



Chipola (Fla.) JC coach Jeff Johnson confirmed via e-mail Wednesday that his program has added two of the top unsigned players from the 2009 draft. Outfielder LeVon Washington and lefthander Jake Eliopoulos will both attend the junior college and be eligible for the 2010 draft.

Washington didn’t sign as the 30th overall selection by the Rays. The Gainesville (Fla.) High product had committed to Florida but didn’t qualify academically. Scouts who like Washington consider him similar to Johnny Damon for his well above-average speed, hitting ability and lack of arm strength. He’s still coming off shoulder surgery to repair a labrum tear that reduced his arm strength considerably during his senior season in high school. Most scouts consider the class of college hitters for the 2010 draft to be fairly uninspiring, and Washington should be able to hit his way back into the first round with a healthy, productive season and improved throwing arm.

An unsigned second-rounder, Eliopoulos follows in the footsteps of many Canadians who have attended Chipola, a group that includes the likes of Adam Loewen, Russell Martin and 2009 Futures Game MVP Rene Tosoni (Twins). The 68th overall selection, Elipoulos is one of three Blue Jays draft picks in the first three rounds who didn’t sign. The lefthander out of Sacred Heart Catholic High in Newmarket, Ontario, has clean, easy throwing mechanics and average present stuff, with good life on his fastball to go with a curveball and changeup.



Spending Vs. Slots



How much money each team spent in the first 10 rounds of the 2009 draft, and how it compares to their estimated slot allowance from the commissioner’s office:

(Updated following the Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers signings of Sept. 17)

Team Picks Signed Bonus Total Slot Total Slot Spent
Nationals 11 10 $10,869,500 $8,211,400 132%
Mariners 12 12 $10,636,600 $7,674,700 139%
Tigers 10 9 $8,857,100 $4,143,900 214%
Padres 10 10 $8,735,500 $5,230,200 167%
Diamondbacks 15 15 $8,548,700 $8,131,600 132%
Pirates 11 11 $8,081,900 $5,701,500 142%
Rockies 12 12 $7,663,300 $5,826,000 132%
Angels 14 13 $6,386,900 $6,621,600 96%
Athletics 9 8 $6,035,900 $3,183,600 190%
Brewers 13 13 $6,005,900 $5,172,600 116%
Giants 10 10 $5,813,500 $4,583,100 127%
Red Sox 10 9 $5,711,400 $2,985,600 191%
Royals 9 9 $5,600,000 $3,256,500 172%
Reds 11 11 $5,182,900 $5,035,800 103%
Orioles 10 9 $5,147,200 $4,783,800 108%
Yankees 9 8 $4,760,000 $2,685,000 177%
Cardinals 10 10 $4,508,500 $3,398,700 133%
Twins 11 10 $4,223,100 $3,998,100 106%
White Sox 12 10 $3,892,100 $4,658,700 84%
Indians 10 10 $3,853,000 $3,644,400 106%
Dodgers 11 11 $3,714,600 $3,582,300 104%
Braves 9 8 $3,714,500 $3,756,900 99%
Blue Jays 12 9 $3,675,700 $4,536,300 81%
Marlins 10 10 $3,544,800 $3,453,600 103%
Astros 11 11 $3,426,800 $3,585,000 96%
Rays 10 7 $3,285,000 $2,916,300 113%
Cubs 10 10 $3,254,700 $2,792,100 117%
Rangers 11 8 $3,161,700 $4,483,200 71%
Phillies 9 9 $2,755,000 $1,876,800 147%
Mets 9 7 $1,864,300 $1,926,300 97%
Average 11 10 $5,430,337 $4,394,520 124%

 


Highest Bonuses In Draft History



 

Player, Pos. Team, Year (Pick) Bonus
Stephen Strasburg, rhp Nationals, 2009 (No. 1) *$7,500,000
Donavan Tate, of Padres, 2009 (No. 3) +$6,250,000
Buster Posey, c Giants, 2008 (No. 5) $6,200,000
Tim Beckham, ss Rays, 2008 (No. 1) +$6,150,000
Justin Upton, ss Diamondbacks, 2005 (No. 1) +$6,100,000
Matt Wieters, c Orioles, 2007 (No. 5) $6,000,000
Pedro Alvarez, 3b Pirates, 2008 (No. 2) *$6,000,000
Eric Hosmer, 1b Royals, 2008 (No. 3) $6,000,000
Dustin Ackley, of Mariners, 2009 (No. 2) *$6,000,000
David Price, lhp Devil Rays, 2007 (No. 1) *$5,600,000
Joe Borchard, of White Sox, 2000 (No. 12) +$5,300,000
Joe Mauer, c Twins, 2001 (No. 1) +$5,150,000
Jacob Turner, rhp Tigers, 2009 (No. 9) *$4,700,000
B.J. Upton, ss Rays, 2002 (No. 2) +$4,600,000
Mark Teixeira, 3b Rangers, 2001 (No. 5) *$4,500,000
*Part of major league contract. +Bonus spread over multiple years under baseball's two-sport rule.

 

 


Bonuses By Round



(Updated following the Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers signings of Sept. 17)

Round Highest Bonus 2009 Avg. 2008 Avg.
1st *$7,500,000 (Stephen Strasburg, rhp, Nats) $2,434,800 *$2,458,714
Supp. 1st $1,250,000 (Tanner Scheppers, rhp, Rangers) $897,138 $943,438
2nd $1,495,000 (Andrew Oliver, lhp, Tigers) $665,576 *$771,759
3rd $2,000,000 (Wil Myers, c/3b, Royals) $504,964 $420,152
4th *$1,500,000 (Max Stassi, c, Athletics) *$361,657 $341,759
5th $680,000 (Jeff Malm, 1b, Rays) $206,979 *$266,286
6th $1,625,000 (Daniel Fields, ss, Tigers) *$281,315 $233,967
7th $975,000 (Madison Younginer, rhp, Red Sox) *$229,655 $223,500
8th *$1,125,000 (Colton Cain, lhp, Pirates) *$142,411 $138,817
9th $625,000 (Kevin James, lhp, Rays) *$139,383 $112,046
10th $750,000 (Brandon Jacobs, of, Red Sox) $125,640 *$138,929
Third round includes one supplemental pick. *Draft record for round.

 



2010 Compensation Picks



Eight unsigned picks from the first three rounds of the 2009 draft will yield compensation choices in 2010:

FIRST ROUND

15. Rangers (for Matt Purke)

31. Rays (for LeVon Washington)

SUPPLEMENTAL FIRST ROUND

38. Blue Jays (for James Paxton)

SECOND ROUND

69. Blue Jays (for Jake Eliopoulos)

79. Rays (for Kenny Diekroeger)

SUPPLEMENTAL THIRD ROUND

tba. Blue Jays (for Jake Barrett)

tba. White Sox (for Bryan Morgado)

tba. Angels (for Josh Spence)


How Much Did Your Team Spend?



Here’s a look at how much each team spent on the top 10 rounds of the 2009 draft. Complete draft budgets will not be available for several more weeks.

(Updated following the Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers signings of Sept. 17)

Team No. of Picks Picks Signed Total
Nationals 11 10 $10,869,500
Mariners 12 12 $10,636,600
Tigers 10 9 $8,857,100
Padres 10 10 $8,735,500
Diamondbacks 15 15 $8,548,700
Pirates 11 11 $8,081,900
Rockies 12 12 $7,663,300
Angels 14 13 $6,386,900
Athletics 9 8 $6,035,900
Brewers 13 13 $6,005,900
Giants 10 10 $5,813,500
Red Sox 10 9 $5,711,400
Royals 9 9 $5,600,000
Reds 11 11 $5,182,900
Orioles 10 9 $5,147,200
Yankees 9 8 $4,760,000
Cardinals 10 10 $4,508,500
Twins 11 10 $4,223,100
White Sox 12 10 $3,892,100
Indians 10 10 $3,853,000
Dodgers 11 11 $3,714,600
Braves 9 8 $3,714,500
Blue Jays 12 9 $3,675,700
Marlins 10 10 $3,544,800
Astros 11 11 $3,426,800
Rays 10 7 $3,285,000
Cubs 10 10 $3,254,700
Rangers 11 7 $3,161,700
Phillies 9 9 $2,755,000
Mets 9 7 $1,864,300

Nats Set New Spending Record



We don’t have all the signing information for all 50 rounds yet, but we have enough to know that the Nationals have spent more money on bonuses than any team ever has in a single draft.

No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg’s $7.5 million was a draft record in itself, and the Nationals also paid $1.6 million to No. 10 choice Drew Storen. Washington spent $1,769,500 million on bonuses for its picks in rounds 2-10, despite not signing fifth-rounder Miguel Pena.

The Nationals signed 12th-rounder Nathan Karns for $225,000 and 27th-rounder Brandon King for $100,000, bringing the total of their known bonus expenditures to $11,194,500. The Royals established the previous draft record last year, when they spent $11,148,000.

In additions to Karns and King, Washington signed at least 18 additional players after the 10th round for whom bonus information isn’t available.


$162.9 Million Spent In Top 10 Rounds



(Updated following the Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers signings of Sept. 17)

Major league clubs combined to spend $162,910,100 on bonuses for players signed in the first 10 rounds, breaking the $161,048,300 teams spent in the same rounds in 2008. The 2009 total surpassed 2008 once first-round pick Aaron Crow signed with the Royals and sandwich-rounder Tanner Scheppers signed with the Rangers on Sept. 17.

That’s not much savings to show for all the effort MLB put into slashing its bonus recommendations by 10 percent, leaning hard on clubs not to exceed those guidelines and restricting the flow of signing information.

Final bonus data won’t be available for a few weeks, but it’s possible that the industry will break its draft bonus record of $188,297,598 set a year ago.

New records have been set for the largest bonus ($7.5 million by Stephen Strasburg), largest guarantee ($15,107,104 by Strasburg), largest bonus for a high schooler ($6.25 million for Donavan Tate) and largest bonus for a high school pitcher ($4.7 million by Jacob Turner). The Boras Corp. represents each of those players.



For You Fans Of The Fine Print



Breaking down the draft’s major league contracts and two-sport deals from the first 10 rounds into their net present value (NPV):

Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (No. 1 overall)
Big league contract: $7.5 million bonus; $15,107,104 total guarantees; $14,196,346 NPV
Draft records for largest bonus, largest guarantee

Dustin Ackley, Mariners (No. 2 overall)
Big league contract: $6 million bonus; $7.5 million total guarantees; $6,793,359 NPV

Donavan Tate, Padres (No. 3 overall)
Two-sport deal: $6.25 million bonus; $5,920,919 NPV
Draft record for largest high school bonus

Jacob Turner, Tigers (No. 9 overall)
Big league contract: $4.7 million bonus; $5.5 million total guarantees; $4,818,245 NPV
Draft record for largest high school pitcher bonus

Aaron Crow, Royals (No. 12 overall)
Big league contract: $1.5 million bonus, $3 million total guarantees; NPV unavailable

Shelby Miller, Cardinals (No. 19 overall)
Two-sport deal: $2.875 million bonus; $2,744,431 NPV

Billy Hamilton, Reds (second round)
Two-sport deal: $623,600 bonus; $574,326 NPV

Kyrell Hudson, Phillies (third round)
Two-sport deal: $475,000 bonus; $447,377 NPV

David Renfroe, Red Sox (third round)
Two-sport deal: $1.4 million bonus; $1,238,663 NPV

Todd Glaesmann, Rays (third round)
Two-sport deal: $930,000 bonus; $849,716 NPV

D’Vontrey Richardson, Brewers (fifth round)
Two-sport deal: $400,000 bonus; $375,204 NPV

Daniel Fields, Tigers (sixth round)
Two-sport deal: $1,625,000 bonus; $1,467,339 NPV

Brandon Jacobs, Red Sox (10th round)
Two-sport deal: $750,000 bonus; $683,924 NPV

Jake Locker, Angels (10th round)
Two-sport deal: $200,000 bonus; $191,073 NPV


A Few More Signings



The Yankees signed 44th-rounder Evan DeLuca, a Immaculata High (Somerville, N.J.) lefthander for $500,000.

The Rangers signed 17th-rounder Paul Strong, a Marina High (Huntington Beach, Calif.) lefthander, for $300,000.

The Nationals signed 12th-rounder Nathan Karns, a Texas Tech righthander, for $225,000.

The Padres signed 17th-rounder Jorge Reyes, an Oregon State righthander, for $200,000.

The Mets signed ninth-rounder Jeff Glenn, a Winter Haven (Fla.) High catcher, for $150,000.

 


Mets Sign Matz For $895,000



The Mets signed their first pick, second-rounder Steve Matz, for a $895,000 bonus. He was the 72nd overall selection, and received $388,300 more than the commissioner’s office’s recommendation for his slot.


Paxton Heading Back To Kentucky



Blue Jays supplemental first-round pick James Paxton did not sign before the deadline and will head back to Kentucky, a source confirmed. Paxton, a junior lefthander, rocketed up draft boards midway through the spring by running his lively fastball up to 97 mph and showing an above-average curveball, but he struggled down the stretch and finished with a 5.86 ERA. Paxton will team with righthander Alex Meyer to form one of the nation’s most talented one-two punches in the Kentucky weekend rotation.


A’s Sign Green For $2.75 Million



The A’s signed first-round pick Grant Green for $2.75 million.


Rangers Unable To Sign Purke



We tweeted this a while back, but the Rangers have sent out their official draft list of who signed and who didn’t. First-rounder Matt Purke, the lefthander out of Klein (Texas) High, did not sign and will attend Texas Christian. That could be good news for supplemental first-rounder Tanner Scheppers, also unsigned, but since he’s an indy ball guy, the deadline doesn’t apply to him.

The Rangers also failed to sign ninth-rounder Jabari Blash, a toolsy outfielder at Miami Dade CC, and 10th-rounder Thomas Lemke, a 6-foot-7 righty out of Northwest Christian High in Arizona.


The Strasburg & Ackley Deals



Stephen Strasburg:

Four-year major league deal, $7.5 million bonus, $7.6 million in salaries (including pro-rated $400,000 salary for remainder of 2009), $15.1 million total guaranteed. Also various incentives based on big league award voting.

Dustin Ackley:

Five-year major league deal, $6 million bonus, $1.5 million in guaranteed salaries, another $2.5 million possible in salaries depending on how quick he reaches the majors, $7.5 million total guaranteed.

 


While We Were Tweeting . . .



Our site crashed for a little while, here’s what we Tweeted:
  1. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaMatt Purke did not sign with the Rangers and will attend TCU. <John Manuel>

  2. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaMariners signed Ackley, no details yet. <Jim Callis>

  3. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaIndians have signed first-rounder Alex White for $2.25 million. <Jim Callis>

  4. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaAaron Fitt reports Strasburg signs. MLB deal worth $15.67 million over 4 years.

  5. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaMinor deal: Mariners sign Tyler Blandford in fifth round for $325,000. <Jim Callis>

  6. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaAaron Fitt reports Strasburg signs. MLB deal worth $15.67 million over 4 years. <John Manuel>

  7. Baseball America

    BaseballAmericaTracy Ringolsby reports Rockies sign Tyler Matzek. Bonus at $3.9 million. <John Manuel>

 


Giants Sign Wheeler For $3.3 Million



The Giants have signed first-round pick Zack Wheeler for $3.3 million.


Krol to A’s, Karns to Nats



• Illinois prep lefthander Ian Krol has agreed to terms with the Athletics, who drafted him in the seventh round. Krol missed his senior season due to a suspension and was committed to Arizona. He signed for $925,000.

• The Nationals signed 12th-round pick Nate Karns, who won’t make up for Stephen Strasburg (if he doesn’t sign) but who does have a live arm, with a 91-94 mph fastball. Karns had a strong summer in the Texas Collegiate League, and BA will name him the league’s No. 1 prospect later this week.

Karns’ bonus was not immediately available; we’ll either follow up with blog posts or post the bonuses in the Advanced Draft Database as soon as we know them.


Twins Sign Gibson For $1.85 Million



The Twins have signed first-round pick Kyle Gibson for $1.85 million.


Tigers Sign Fields For $1.625 Million



Continuing their big night, the Tigers have signed sixth-round pick Daniel Fields to a two-sport deal worth $1.625 million.



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