Draft News

Fresh off the net:

-- Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette says Jameson Taillon has signed a contract with the Pirates according to his dad. That's been confirmed by other reporters, too.

Randy Byers of Houston 5A Baseball, through Pirate Prospects, reports that "Pirates deal (offered) to Taillon rumored to be 6.5 million," but that's unconfirmed.

And maybe wrong. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweeted that "Jameson Taillon, the no. 2 overall pick, is in agreement with the Pirates for a bit more than $5 mil." That number sounds more like the figure that had been bandied about.

Ooops - maybe it is right: both Jim Callis of Baseball America and Chuck Finder of the Post Gazette say that it is a $6.5M bonus, beating even Pedro's ante.

-- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that "...Pirates, according to sources, have signed St. Ed's pitcher Stetson Allie. He was their second round pick in June."

Jen Langosch of MLB.com adds "The deal is not 100 percent done -- some details must still be nailed down -- but the parameters are in place to add the right-handed pitcher to the organization by the end of the night."

The deal is done; Paul Hoynes reports that "No.2 pick Stetson Allie, from St. Edward High School, signed for $2.25 million. He's headed to rookie ball in Bradenton, Fla."

The signing and bonus have been confirmed by other sources. But it doesn't look like he's headed to the GCL; the Pirates said he and Taillon will report to the Instructional League in the fall; they may be rostered with an A team for the time being, but aren't expected to pitch, according to Chuck Finder.

-- According to Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic, "Arizona State shortstop Drew Maggi signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday at the deadline for drafted players to choose between pro and college baseball.

A draft-eligible sophomore because of his age, Maggi was a 15th-round pick by the Pirates, who sources said offered him a first-round bonus of more than $600,000."

Tim Williams of Pirate Prospects tweeted that he got a $468K bonus, and that's been confirmed by other sources.

-- The Pirates announced that they came to terms with 23rd round pick Jared Lakind, a high school first baseman from Texas, for a bonus of $400K.

Good day for the Pirates; they missed a couple, but netted the big fish. All the players were signed to standard minor league contracts; there was speculation that both Taillon and Allie were looking for spots on the 40-man roster, ala Pedro.

And if the figures are right, the Bucs spent over $12M in this year's draft. Bob Nutting may be getting away on the cheap with his big league club, but he sure hasn't stinted in signing prospects.