2010 Cubs Picks & Signings Thread

[craig]

http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/articles/2010/07/22/breaking_news/news01.txt

 

Golden has agreed and will formally sign tomorrow.

 

Rhoderick said he had basically reached an agreement a couple weeks ago.

 

Wells I believe was pulled from his high school/legion pitching schedule because they didnt' want to risk spoiling his deal with an injury or anything.

[davell]

http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/articles/2010/07/22/breaking_news/news01.txt

 

Golden has agreed and will formally sign tomorrow.

 

Rhoderick said he had basically reached an agreement a couple weeks ago.

 

Wells I believe was pulled from his high school/legion pitching schedule because they didnt' want to risk spoiling his deal with an injury or anything.

 

 

Good news about Golden, very glad we're getting him in. Not sure how I feel about this being the scout's first signing though........ :|

 

Does that mean that Wells is likely requiring more than slot then? Since he hasn't already signed at least?

 

I know I'm one of the guys beating a dead horse about overslots, but I seriously would like to see the Cubs spending money through the draft, especially since Ricketts had said the budget was going up in this department. And right now, it only seems like it went up because we had a higher draft position than last year. Not to mention, our top pick was signed for 2/3 of what slot was for the pick.

[davearm2]

As if the stupid slotting guidelines weren't enough of a joke before, now we've got guys sitting around picking their noses for a month when they could be playing baseball, because they have to wait until August to make an over-slot deal official.

[craig]

...

Does that mean that Wells is likely requiring more than slot then? Since he hasn't already signed at least?

....

 

80% of HS players that sign in the 7th round sign for above "slot" which is heavily dictated by the cost of college picks. I'm sure Wells will sign above the overall college-influenced average. Whether he'll sign above what's typical for a HSer taken there, who knows.

 

Of course, last year Springfield was a HS guy and he still signed for no more than college slot. Which was an almost immediate indicator that he wasn't that great of a prospect.

[chgojhawk]

I am not sure that Springfield's signing was indicative of him not being a great prospect (which he probably isn't). I think it had more to do with him not likely getting admitted to college. In order to negotiate, one must have options. Springfield didn't likely have options from what I have been told.

[Outshined_One]

I am not sure that Springfield's signing was indicative of him not being a great prospect (which he probably isn't). I think it had more to do with him not likely getting admitted to college. In order to negotiate, one must have options. Springfield didn't likely have options from what I have been told.

 

My understanding is he was academically ineligible for college, but was fine when it came to JC/CC. He had options, but they weren't particularly enticing compared to starting a professional career.

[toonsterwu]

mildly curious about the structure of the golden deal because of his dad's comments.

[craig]

Given his subsequent performance, both offensively and defensively, and given how little it took to sign him, no more than if he was a college junior, it would seem Springfield wasn't a huge prospect.

 

Regardless, I think a point regards money.

 

Springfield was in a different position from most HS guys taken in the 7th round. Most HS picks who are good students and are on track for a major-conference opportunity, most aren't going to sign for college-junior slot or for Blair Springfield slot. If you're going to draft a D1-bound HS player in rounds 6 or 7, as with DeJesus and Wells, 90% of the time you know they aren't going to sign for college-junior "slot" money or Blair Springfield slot.

 

Wells and DeJesus are in an entirely different demographic than Casey Lambert and Ty Wright (6th and 7th, 07), or Josh Harrison and Luis Flores (6th and 7th 08), or Springfield (7th) last year. Wells and DeJesus are in a different "slot", and will almost certainly be paid at a different "slot" if you are going to sign them. That's totally to be expected. The "slot" for good HS players who are big-college bound is just a totally different and higher slot.

 

If a team isn't interested in paying the normal slot for kids like that, then it wouldn't be drafting them. Just like if a team isn't interested in paying a 15th or 20th or 28th rounder at least $100, it either shouldn't draft him or else should draft only as a formality with no expectation or intention of actually signing the player.

 

All of which is my ramble that "superslot" and "overslot" is perhaps a misnomer when you pay $250 or $300 or whatever for Wells, or $100-160 for geiger or Fitzgerald or McNutt or Struck or Burruel or Richardson. Those are normal moneys for players in their draft slots.

[Outshined_One]

Reggie Golden officially signed.

[davell]

720K bonus for Golden.

[Outshined_One]

720K bonus for Golden.

 

Little over $150K more than slot. Not bad.

 

ETA: Just posted video of Golden taking BP. He's got some nice pop in his bat.

 

Also posted reports on Loosen and Geiger after getting some questions answered on Andy Seiler's site. Seiler's info on Zeller conflicts with toonster's, so I may tweak that report a bit.

[davell]

Has there been ANY word whatsoever on Ivan DeJesus? The bio I had read on him, didn't scream out "overslot" by any stretch. But, I guess it's safe to assume now that IF he signs, he'll be getting a fairly nice bonus?

[toonsterwu]

720K bonus for Golden.

 

Little over $150K more than slot. Not bad.

 

ETA: Just posted video of Golden taking BP. He's got some nice pop in his bat.

 

Also posted reports on Loosen and Geiger after getting some questions answered on Andy Seiler's site. Seiler's info on Zeller conflicts with toonster's, so I may tweak that report a bit.

 

Sorry haven't checked this thread in ages and I don't read Andy Seiler's page all that much, so went over and skimmed it right now. Unless I am forgetting a post, I don't think there's any difference in what he's saying and what I had heard on Zeller. I'm pretty sure what I said was that Zeller was a guy who was running his fastball into the mid-90's, which i had heard from numerous people (granted, accuracy of college guns is a fair question). If I suggested he had good stuff, I apologize, but I never meant to suggest that. In fact, the reports I've had on him has always said that his fastball was very flat.

 

If there's anything I have slightly different from Seiler from that post, it was Loosen, but Seiler probably saw him this year, and I'm getting 2nd hand stuff. I have a tick better fb velo than 88-90, but it's negligible, but I had down pre-draft that his breaking balls (slider and curve) were both decent. Granted, it's another small difference, as I could see calling his stuff as fringe-average. Best case scenario for Loosen for me is a Mitch Atkins type arm.

[Outshined_One]

BA lists 49th rounder Bryce Shafer as signed.

[davell]

BA lists 49th rounder Bryce Shafer as signed.

 

Right after the draft, Shafer said he had expected to go somewhere between rounds 10-20. He also said he was expecting to go back to Valpo. The Cubs had told him they wouldn't make an offer unless he pitched well in the Cape Cod League, so my guess is we had to at least give him SOMETHING decent......

[toonsterwu]

Kendall Rogers says Ben Wells is a longer shot (than Ryan Stanek) to make it to Arkansas.

 

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/baseball/news?slug=kr-draftscoop080410

[Guest]

You know, Ben Wells left his American Legion summer team nearly a month ago because negotiations were heating up and he has yet to sign which seems perplexing. I wonder if the Cubs significantly over slotted him and MLB is dragging it out.

[toonsterwu]

That'd be my guess, that Ben Wells is a significant overslot. I wouldn't be surprised if he got 7 figures/1st round money. Heck, wouldn't be surprised if he got higher than Kim or Simpson. I really hope the Cubs get this done. I'm fascinated with him. He's growing into his stuff. There's a chance he'll add a couple more ticks on the fb. This is a legitimate power prospect, something this system needs. Most of the talk seems to be that, assuming good performance, some time in college could make him a first rounder. I'd love to get him now.

[Outshined_One]

Here's a puff piece on 49th rounder Bryce Shafer.

[Outshined_One]

Jim Callis' Ask BA this week dealt with some interesting subjects with the signing deadline six days away. A few facts:

 

1. There's nothing unusual about a team having barely started negotiating with a first-round pick or seven-figure bonus guy at this point. Don't read too much into any lack of activity or any rhetoric, because . . .

 

2. Clubs are going to sign almost every player in the first 10 rounds. Last year, 299 of 321 (93 percent) signed. In fact, I'd estimate that there at least a dozen deals, maybe two dozen, that have been agreed upon already but are being kept quiet by clubs so they don't antagonize MLB.

 

3. Don't spend too much time hoping for a major signing after the 10th round, because they're rare. Last year, there were just six deals worth $500,000 or more after the 10th round, and only another 10 between $300,000 and $450,000.

 

And...

 

Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2011, and changes to the draft will be a main focus in talks for a new deal. It's uncertain whether MLB will get a mandated slotting system, but it's a near lock that we'll get an earlier signing deadline. I'm guessing it will be around July 15, and I'd like to suggest they move it from midnight to the afternoon, as they did with the July 31 trade deadline.

[Outshined_One]

According to Goldstein and Callis, MLB is sitting on a ton of signings and refusing to leak them. It might be a few days before we hear anything about guys like Ben Wells.

[davell]

Rhoderick is the signing that confuses me. He supposedly signed for 125K, not a significant overslot, by any stretch, but hasn't been announced yet.

[Guest]

According to Goldstein and Callis, MLB is sitting on a ton of signings and refusing to leak them. It might be a few days before we hear anything about guys like Ben Wells.

 

It's going to look worse when a bunch of guys "sign" right around the deadline well over slot.

[Outshined_One]

Rhoderick is the signing that confuses me. He supposedly signed for 125K, not a significant overslot, by any stretch, but hasn't been announced yet.

 

Maybe he hasn't taken or passed a physical yet? :-k

 

Him and DeJesus are the two confusing guys for me. I can understand Wells not being signed yet (to an extent), but those two guys don't exactly scream "super slot" to me.

[davell]

The only thing I have read on DeJesus(and actually, I think you asked the question that got answered :D ) was that MAYBE the Cubs underestimated his college commitment......Which, in turn, could conceivably make the Cubs pay up. But, I agree, I haven't read anything to make me think he's necessarily WORTH overslotting a ton for anyway......