MLB has ruled that the Aug. 17 signing deadline doesn’t apply to players drafted out of independent leagues. That means that two righthanders, Royals first-round pick Aaron Crow (Fort Worth Cats) and Rangers supplemental first-rounder Tanner Scheppers (St. Paul Saints), can sign up until a week before the 2010 draft.

MLB and the MLB Players Association reached an agreement that the deadline won’t apply to any player who is: 1) drafted after his junior year of college; 2) doesn’t sign with the team that selected him before the deadline; 3) signs a professional contact with a non-MLB-affiliated team after he has been drafted; and 4) doesn’t play college baseball again between the two drafts.

The deadline also doesn’t apply to college seniors who have exhausted their eligibility. All college seniors selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2009 draft already have signed.