What Happened At The Deadline



With 15 minutes to go before today's Friday 5 p.m. Eastern signing deadline, 15 picks in the top 10 rounds remained unsigned. From top to bottom, here's what happened with them:

Kevin Gausman (Orioles, first round, No. 4 overall): Signed for $4.32 million. That made him one of the few players to get more than his assigned pick value ($4.2 million ) in the first round. He got the third-highest bonus in the draft, behind No. 2 overall pick Byron Buxton ($6 million) and No. 1 overall choice Carlos Correa ($4.8 million).

Mark Appel (Pirates, first round, No. 8 overall): Did not sign. A source said Pittsburgh offered him $3.8 million, the most it could without forfeiting a 2013 first-round pick. Considered the likely No. 1 overall choice before the draft, he will return to Stanford for his senior season.

Lucas Giolito (Nationals, first round, No. 16 overall): Signed for $2,925,000. He likely would have gone in the top three picks had he not injured his elbow in March. While he didn't get the money he would have commanded at the top of the draft, he got well in excess of his $2,125,000 pick value.

Nolan Sanburn (Athletics, second round): Signed for $710,000, slightly above his pick value ($691,000).

Teddy Stankewicz (Mets, second round): Did not sign. A source said New York never came within 10 percent of his $680,400 pick value. Originally committed to Arkansas, he now plans to attend Seminole State (Okla.) JC.

Alec Rash (Phillies, second round): Did not sign. Philadelphia pulled its offer to Rash a week ago after he didn't pitch as well in Iowa's summer high school season as he had in the spring.

Avery Romero (Marlins, third round): Signed for $700,000. His pick value was $458,400, and the difference between those two figures and Miami's reluctance to pay a penny of draft tax cost the club promising 19th-rounder Cody Gunter. Gunter would have signed for $200,000 and will  head to Grayson (Texas) CC.

Kyle Twomey (Athletics, third round): Did not sign. Will attend Southern California.

Brandon Thomas (Pirates, fourth round): Did not sign. Will return to Georgia Tech for his senior season.

Colin Poche (Orioles, fifth round): Did not sign. Will attend Arkansas.

Andre Martinez (Twins, sixth round): Signed for $80,000. Shortly after the draft, Martinez agreed on a $260,000 bonus in a slot with an assigned value of $200,000. But a physical exam raised questions about his left (pitching) shoulder, so he took a discounted deal.

Preston Tucker (Astros, seventh round): Has not signed. But because he's a college senior with no eligibility, the deadline doesn't apply to him. Houston still expects to sign him later this month.

Nick Halamandaris (Mariners, eighth round): Did not sign. Will attend California.

Kevin Ross (Pirates, eighth round): Signed for $130,000. That's slightly less than his pick value of $138,200.

L.J. Mazzilli (Twins, ninth round): Did not sign. Will return to Connecticut for his senior season.



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12 Comments

What is the read on the Appel situation? Is this a case of unrealistic expectations on the part of Appel? Isn't next year's draft much deeper?

I would say Appel and Boras are betting on (a) Appel being good again next year and (b) next year’s draft class being weak as it appears to be. It may be a bit deeper but it’s not much deeper.

Obvious questions are who are College winners and losers after the deadline. I would like to know how teams like FSU, GT and Clemson are now being projected?
Seems UCSB had remarkable day…are there any "smaller" name programs that made out as well as UCSB?

Any chance of Appel going to an independent league like Luke Hochevar or is he definitely headed back to Stanford?
Also, despite losing Giolito, Fried and Robertson, how excited should I be over who is actually coming to UCLA? Is that a top 3 recruiting class?

Says he’s headed to Stanford.

Care to weigh in on the rational for Appel/Boras holding out for a bigger paycheck?  How does this makes sense when he stands to lose a year from his career when it most likely will be must greater than his last year earnings prior to free agency?  Something I'm missing?
 
Allen Buller
Portland OR

For a Stanford student, Appel doesn't appear to be very smart.  It is obvious that Boras hates this new system and I wouldn't be surprised if he brought suit,  Appel's parents should have intervened here because Boras did their son wrong.  Appel should have taken the $6M from the Astros and when that didn't work, he should have taken the $2.8M from the Pirates.  This is a heavweight roll of the dice and I will predict that it won't work out in his favor.  The extra year at Stanford will put him well behind his draft class and putr serious pressure on him to succeed quickly at the next level.  Dumb – real dumb!

[...] player who did not sign was Stanford RHP Mark Appel, the eighth overall pick in the draft, who reportedly turned down $3.8 million from the Pirates, the maximum the team could offer without losing a pick in 2013 to go back to the [...]

Even if Appel goes number 1 next year, what is to prevent a team from low balling him, as Houston did with Correia (ie, sign under slot value).
Appel will be a senior….he has little leverage, correct (other than an Indy league which has its own perils)?

With respect to Rash, the Phillies did NOT pull the offer.  Rash's parent's wanted $800K, but the Phillies offered $500K with $120K towards college.  The parents said it wasn't enough, so they walked away from the offer.  The Phillies chose not to counter the parents' demand ….

You’re right, Appel will have less leverage. A similar situation resulted in more money for fellow Boras Corp. advisee Luke Hochevar, but Appel risks a lot by turning down $3.8 million. Even if he gets more money, delaying his career (and possibly, his arbitration and/or free-agent eligibility) by a year may not prove to be worth it.

A baseball source confirmed to us that the Phillies pulled their offer before the signing deadline.


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