MLB: Draft Signing Deadline Passed – Who Signed, Who Didn’t, And For How Much?!
After the MLB Draft Signing Deadline Has Passed, Have Any Major Picks Chosen Not to Sign?
The baseball draft signing period ended on Friday, and, to be honest, it was one of the most boring signing periods in the modern draft era. Only two picks from the top 10 rounds, where pool money budgets were allocated to, were left unsigned. We’ll explore those in just one second, but first, let’s look at the five largest spenders by team on the draft this season:
1. Atlanta Braves $15,516,300
2. Philadelphia Phillies $14,990,300
3. San Diego Padres $14,866,045
4. Cincinnati Reds $14,679,100
5. Colorado Rockies $11,649,200
So, who were the two guys that didn’t sign?
The highest unsigned player was Nick Lodolo, a left-handed pitcher that the Pittsburgh Pirates took with the 41st overall selection in the first competitive balance lottery round. Lodolo chose to attend Texas Christian University rather than accept what was a reported $1.5M offer from the Pirates. The Pirates will receive a compensation selection in 2017, pick #42 in the draft, due to the selection spot of Lodolo being protected.
The only other unsigned player in the first 10 rounds was Tyler Buffett, a right-handed pitcher that the Houston Astros selected in the 7th round, 217th overall in the draft, from Oklahoma State. Buffett chose to return to school over signing. The slot amount for that pick was $193,300.
We’re going to take a look at some of the biggest underslot and overslot signings from the draft over the next few pages. First, just so you know, I’m not looking at all 10 rounds, as we know many teams begin signing “senior sign” sort of picks starting about the 4th round in the draft, and that would skew the underslot list. The overslot list is any player in the first 3 rounds as well.
Next: Underslot Bargains
Top 5 Under Slot Signings of the Draft
1. Hudson Sanchez, SS, San Diego Padres, 1st round, pick 24, 45.64% of slot value
2. Zach Jackson, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays, 3rd round, pick 102, 47%
3. Anthony Kay, LHP, New York Mets, 1st round, pick 31, 55.78%
4. Mitchell White, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2nd round, pick 65, 59.2%
5. Ian Anderson, RHP, Atlanta Braves, 1st round, pick 3, 61.44%
Sanchez was known from the moment his name was announced as a player intended to take significantly below slot value in order to allow the Padres to afford the rest of the players in their draft. It is very interesting to me, though, that he ends up as the only position player on this list. If this list is expanded out to 10 spots, all 5 of the players added are position players. Remember that this was just based on players in the first 3 rounds, so a senior that signed for $10,000 in the 5th round wasn’t eligible for this list as it would drastically skew the numbers.
Anthony Kay was a late signee, not signing until the final week before the deadline as he attempted to negotiate a higher number, but the Mets reportedly found something in his arm to knock down his price. If you were watching the College World Series, you likely saw how hard Kay’s left arm was ridden by UConn on their way into the CWS. I’m guessing Kay figured that getting into the pros where they would monitor and care for his arm rather than abuse it was a better situation for him.
I do also find it interesting that the #3 overall pick was given the 5th cheapest deal, based on slot, but also that the guy who finished 6th was the #1 overall selection, Mickey Moniak, whose deal was worth 67.67% of the slot value.
Next: Overslot Winners
Top 10 Over Slot Signings of the Draft
1. Mason Thompson, RHP, San Diego Padres, 3rd round, pick 85, 239.59% of slot value
2. Kevin Gowdy, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies, 2nd round, pick 42, 227.83%
3. Jesus Luzardo, LHP, Washington Nationals, 3rd round, pick 94, 220.2%
4. Reggie Lawson, RHP, San Diego Padres, 2nd round, pick 71, 209.74%
5. Nolan Jones, IF, Cleveland Indians, 2nd round, pick 55, 194.1%
6. Nolan Martinez, RHP, New York Yankees, 3rd round, pick 98, 189.08%
7. Joey Wentz, LHP, Atlanta Braves, 1st round, pick 40, 188.64%
8. Brett Cumberland, C, Atlanta Braves, 2nd round, pick 76, 178.81%
9. Taylor Trammell, OF, Cincinnati Reds, 1st round, pick 35, 174.18%
10. Kyle Muller, LHP, Atlanta Braves, 2nd round, pick 44, 171.27%
In a draft that was loaded with top-notch high school pitching, it’s no surprise that great pitching fell in the draft and then demanded to be paid like they hadn’t fallen at all. Every single pitcher you see on this list is a high school pitcher. In fact, Cumberland is the only college player at all on the list, and he was a draft-eligible sophomore.
It is quite noticeable that two teams with guys on the “under slot” list end up with multiple guys on this list. The Padres place two pitchers, Thompson and Lawson, in the top 5 of the list, while the Braves have three of the final 5 on the list.
For those who were curious where guys like Jason Groome and Braxton Garrett, two high school lefties who held out until the last day to sign, figured into this type of equation, Groome got 14% above slot (114% in this exercise), and Garrett received 10% above slot.
Next: 2016 Draft Winners and Losers
The last group of guys are the guys who were drafted after the 10th round who got bigger bonuses than the $100K allotted to their draft slot in order to sign. These are all reported figures, so if I missed one, my apologies, but here are the 5 highest bonuses paid out to picks after the first 10 rounds:
1. Chad McClanahan, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers, 11th round, pick 321, $1,200,000 bonus
2. Cameron Planck, RHP, New York Mets, 11th round, pick 340, $1,000,001 bonus
3. Josh Stephen, OF, Philadelphia Phillies, 11th round, pick 317, $600,000 bonus
4. Tyler Benninghoff, RHP, Minnesota Twins, 11th round, pick 333, $600,000 bonus
5. A.J. Alexy, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers, 11th round, pick 341, $597,500 bonus