Texas Tech OF Barrett Barnes, 20, was the Pirates sandwich round selection. He was landed in just about his predicted slot, as most of the draft gurus had him rated somewhere around the #40 player available. Barnes' stock was hurt a bit because the Red Raiders weren't a strong team this season, missing the Big 12 playoffs and limiting his exposure, though he did make three pre-season All-America teams and All-Conference.
Barnes is a fair-sized guy at 6'1", 210 pounds. He's a RH college centerfielder with plus speed and an arm
that's just average, so defensively he likely projects as a left fielder. Barnes is a good OBP guy, hitting .325/.422/.577, and he walks about as much as he whiffs (32-36) in college.
The speedster has a near perfect record swiping bases this year, being picked off once while stealing 19 sacks. The Red Raider has shown some raw power with nine homers this year for TT, and that's his big question mark - will he develop into a speed and power guy to plug into left field, which has been devoid of a hammer since the Jay Bay days?
Barnes does have good bat speed and a nice eye at the plate, though he's a pull hitter and will have to learn to use more of the field, especially at PNC. The Pirates, by picking him here, obviously feel that he has a chance to become a guy who can both catch the ball and clear the fence with some maturity and coaching.
The slot price for the 45th pick is $1,136,400. It's likely he'll sign for about slot, so his selection probably won't contribute much to the Mark Appel kitty.
Showing posts with label draft 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label draft 2012. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Appel Falls To Pirates
Well, the Bucs took a beating in the early moments of the draft. The first three picks were position players - SS Carlos Correa, OF Byron Buxton and C Mike Zunino - taking them off the board. The next four were Ps Kyle Zimmer, Kevin Gausman and Mark Fried, along with OF Albert Almora. They were hoping at least one of them would fall into their laps, and were ready to take HS OF'er David Dahl if not, according to the draft mavens.
The Pirate FO played it well, though. The predicted number #1 pick Mark Appel fell to Pittsburgh. He is a Scott Boras client, and the suspicion was with the new CBA, he had some signability issues. And we all know how well Boras and the Bucco brass play together. But they stuck to their guns and took the best player on the board, netting a top four pick at the eight spot .
The downside, of course, is that they almost assuredly have to take guys in the top ten that they can sign on the cheap to stay within their pool limit of $6,563,500, and that puts quite a damper on draft depth. Remember, it took $8M to ink Cole and $6.5 to get Taillon's signature, and you can bet Boras will use one of those deals as his opening salvo, cap or not.
So it could get ugly as the July 13th contract deadline approaches. Appel wouldn't join a media conference call after the selection, maybe bummed at his later-than-expected pick, maybe on Boras' advice, maybe both and more were in play. But he's not the only one that didn't jump on the horn, so we'll see if that's an omen or not.
He did release a short statement with Boras' fingerprints all over it: "I'm currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford. I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time.''
We don't think the Pirates will go over budget by much (<5% over is just a financial penalty); they pretty much settle on a value and don't move off it. In Appel's case, we'd guess $4M, more or less, will be their top offer. If you're wondering, they'd get a #9 pick next year if he doesn't sign, but lose the first round allotment of $2.9M from their draft pool, reducing it to $3,663,500 for their remaining 2012 top ten picks.
The upside if they get him signed - oh, baby: Appel joins Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon as top-enders in the system, with J-Mick already aboard and a slew of supporting guys in the high minors. That's potentially some kinda pitching.
Appel, 21, is a RHP from Stanford. The 6′ 4″ hurler has a plus heater that sits in the 92-95 MPH range, and throws a slider and a changeup which are not plus pitches yet. This year Appel is 10-1 at college, with a 2.27 ERA and 127 Ks in 119 IP. Stanford is still in the NCAA playoffs, so he may be on TV this weekend for you to eyeball.
While not quite as dominating, in many ways he is comparable to Cole. Appel sets up off his fastball, and will stay up in the zone, making him hittable at times (although he had an excellent 1.02 WHIP this season for the Cardinal). So the Pirate staff will drill him on driving the ball down, a pretty common tweak for young pitchers. Scouting reports say he has an easy and repeatable motion, so that will help the learning curve, and his height should provide the perfect platform for a downward delivery angle.
Hey, it's a gamble, mainly because of the CBA's cap. But one thing the FO has shown is no fear of rolling the dice on players in the draft, and this is one double-down worth risking.
Pittsburgh will have another selection at 45, the comp pick for Ryan Doumit, and then will be off the board for the remainder of the night. The club will pick it up again tomorrow in the second round with the 9th pick (#69 overall).
The Pirate FO played it well, though. The predicted number #1 pick Mark Appel fell to Pittsburgh. He is a Scott Boras client, and the suspicion was with the new CBA, he had some signability issues. And we all know how well Boras and the Bucco brass play together. But they stuck to their guns and took the best player on the board, netting a top four pick at the eight spot .
The downside, of course, is that they almost assuredly have to take guys in the top ten that they can sign on the cheap to stay within their pool limit of $6,563,500, and that puts quite a damper on draft depth. Remember, it took $8M to ink Cole and $6.5 to get Taillon's signature, and you can bet Boras will use one of those deals as his opening salvo, cap or not.
So it could get ugly as the July 13th contract deadline approaches. Appel wouldn't join a media conference call after the selection, maybe bummed at his later-than-expected pick, maybe on Boras' advice, maybe both and more were in play. But he's not the only one that didn't jump on the horn, so we'll see if that's an omen or not.
He did release a short statement with Boras' fingerprints all over it: "I'm currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford. I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time.''
We don't think the Pirates will go over budget by much (<5% over is just a financial penalty); they pretty much settle on a value and don't move off it. In Appel's case, we'd guess $4M, more or less, will be their top offer. If you're wondering, they'd get a #9 pick next year if he doesn't sign, but lose the first round allotment of $2.9M from their draft pool, reducing it to $3,663,500 for their remaining 2012 top ten picks.
The upside if they get him signed - oh, baby: Appel joins Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon as top-enders in the system, with J-Mick already aboard and a slew of supporting guys in the high minors. That's potentially some kinda pitching.
Appel, 21, is a RHP from Stanford. The 6′ 4″ hurler has a plus heater that sits in the 92-95 MPH range, and throws a slider and a changeup which are not plus pitches yet. This year Appel is 10-1 at college, with a 2.27 ERA and 127 Ks in 119 IP. Stanford is still in the NCAA playoffs, so he may be on TV this weekend for you to eyeball.
While not quite as dominating, in many ways he is comparable to Cole. Appel sets up off his fastball, and will stay up in the zone, making him hittable at times (although he had an excellent 1.02 WHIP this season for the Cardinal). So the Pirate staff will drill him on driving the ball down, a pretty common tweak for young pitchers. Scouting reports say he has an easy and repeatable motion, so that will help the learning curve, and his height should provide the perfect platform for a downward delivery angle.
Hey, it's a gamble, mainly because of the CBA's cap. But one thing the FO has shown is no fear of rolling the dice on players in the draft, and this is one double-down worth risking.
Pittsburgh will have another selection at 45, the comp pick for Ryan Doumit, and then will be off the board for the remainder of the night. The club will pick it up again tomorrow in the second round with the 9th pick (#69 overall).
Friday, June 1, 2012
Draft 2012
Hey, Monday is sneaking up on us, the day the MLB draft begins. It covers three days: June 4th-6th (first day, first and sandwich rounds; next day, rounds 2-15, last day, rounds 16-40). The Bucco FO is playing its cards close to the vest. They draft a relatively late 8th this year, the lowest slot since 2005's #11 (and they did OK then, choosing Cutch), so the indecision is natural.
It's not considered a real star-studded class of players, and the Bucs are in a position where their draft board is somewhat at the mercy of the teams ahead of them, hence the mantra of selecting the best player available. Given the state of the organization, an emphasis on offense and some lefty pitchers wouldn't be too surprising.
Here are some of the players who may end up in a Bucco uniform after day one:
According to Taiwan Baseball: "There is speculation that Kao-Yuan IF Tzu-Wei Lin is set to receive...a seven figure signing bonus as he is reportedly receiving serious interest from the Rangers, Yankees, Indians, Red Sox, Twins, Pirates, A's, Padres, and Softbank Hawks (NPB). He's eligible to sign upon the completion of his HS career in a matter of months."
As we know, there's a new draft world following the ratification of the CBA. Each team has an allotted bonus pool equal to the predetermined (by MLB) value of that club's selections in the first ten rounds of the draft. The more picks a team has, and the earlier it picks, the larger the cash pool.
The Bucs were allotted $6,563,100 to spread out over the top ten rounds (including their sandwich pick for losing free agent Ryan Doumit). Anyone signed past the tenth round is limited to a $100,000 signing bonus. If that's exceeded, the extra bonus money is counted against the top ten pool. In effect, that penalizes teams that spend to their top ten cap, but is a reward for thriftier clubs that can offer higher late-round bonuses if they come in under the top ten limit.
And geez, the penalties for overspending are positively Draconian. Any team going up to 5% over its pool will be taxed at a 75% rate on the excess, which isn't too bad. But after that... A team that overspends by 5-10% gets hit with a 75% tax plus the loss of a first-round pick.
A team that goes 10-15% over its pool amount will be hit with a 100% penalty on the overage and the loss of a first- and second-round pick. Any overrun of 15% or more gets a 100% tax plus the loss of first-round picks in the next two drafts. Ouch, especially with the loss of future draft picks!
Basically, this makes college players more attractive after the first few rounds and prevents the early overpays (Josh Bell, Stetson Allie) that teams like Pittsburgh have made a basic part of their past draft strategy. One good addition is that the signing deadline has been moved up a month from August 15th to July 13th, so now teams can get their draftees into pro ball the same season that they sign .
It's not considered a real star-studded class of players, and the Bucs are in a position where their draft board is somewhat at the mercy of the teams ahead of them, hence the mantra of selecting the best player available. Given the state of the organization, an emphasis on offense and some lefty pitchers wouldn't be too surprising.
Here are some of the players who may end up in a Bucco uniform after day one:
- The latest mock draft by Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com includes these names: LHP Max Fried, Arizona State SS Deven Marrero and Mississippi State RHP Chris Stratton. The 6'4" Fried is considered the best prep lefty and committed to UCLA; Marrero is a strong glove guy with debatable hitting skills, and Stratton is the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America picks these Pirate possibilities: Florida C Mike Zunino and prep OF Albert Almora, along with the popular Marrera. Zunino is considered a Jason Varitek-type player and Almora is this year's version of Josh Bell; a better defender and not quite as much pop.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus reports that the Bucs are on Philly's Garnet Valley HS 3B Joe DeCarlo in the sandwich/second round. He's a power hitter who has a letter of intent with Georgia, but is under the radar because he didn't play in last summer's HS showcases, opting to participate in Connie Mack ball.
According to Taiwan Baseball: "There is speculation that Kao-Yuan IF Tzu-Wei Lin is set to receive...a seven figure signing bonus as he is reportedly receiving serious interest from the Rangers, Yankees, Indians, Red Sox, Twins, Pirates, A's, Padres, and Softbank Hawks (NPB). He's eligible to sign upon the completion of his HS career in a matter of months."
As we know, there's a new draft world following the ratification of the CBA. Each team has an allotted bonus pool equal to the predetermined (by MLB) value of that club's selections in the first ten rounds of the draft. The more picks a team has, and the earlier it picks, the larger the cash pool.
The Bucs were allotted $6,563,100 to spread out over the top ten rounds (including their sandwich pick for losing free agent Ryan Doumit). Anyone signed past the tenth round is limited to a $100,000 signing bonus. If that's exceeded, the extra bonus money is counted against the top ten pool. In effect, that penalizes teams that spend to their top ten cap, but is a reward for thriftier clubs that can offer higher late-round bonuses if they come in under the top ten limit.
And geez, the penalties for overspending are positively Draconian. Any team going up to 5% over its pool will be taxed at a 75% rate on the excess, which isn't too bad. But after that... A team that overspends by 5-10% gets hit with a 75% tax plus the loss of a first-round pick.
A team that goes 10-15% over its pool amount will be hit with a 100% penalty on the overage and the loss of a first- and second-round pick. Any overrun of 15% or more gets a 100% tax plus the loss of first-round picks in the next two drafts. Ouch, especially with the loss of future draft picks!
Basically, this makes college players more attractive after the first few rounds and prevents the early overpays (Josh Bell, Stetson Allie) that teams like Pittsburgh have made a basic part of their past draft strategy. One good addition is that the signing deadline has been moved up a month from August 15th to July 13th, so now teams can get their draftees into pro ball the same season that they sign .
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