Draft Signing Updates: Lindgren, DeCarr And Foley

The Yankees signed a group of lower round draft picks earlier this week.  Yesterday they locked up 3 of their higher picks when 2nd rounder Jacob Lindgren, 3rd rounder Austin DeCarr, and 5th round Jordan Foley all agreed to deals.

Lindgren, via his dad's Twitter, signed for exactly slot value of $1,078,700.  Not much of a surprise considering the pick and his profile as a college pitcher.  Foley also signed for exactly slot value at $317,500, according to Chris Cotillo.  DeCarr signed for an even million bucks, not quite double the slot value of his pick (585.1k), but a good enough chunk of change to get him to pass on his commitment to Clemson.

DeCarr was the biggest and only real no-sign risk from the Yankees' picks in the first 10 rounds, so the rest of the signings should just be a formality now.  No word yet on where DeCarr will be heading, although my guess would be SS Staten Island.  Both Lindgren and Foley are ticketed for Low-A Charleston to start their pro careers.  Have to think there's a very good chance that neither stick there long.

2014 Draft: Signing Updates (UPDATED)

With last weekend's draft in the rearview, the focus now shifts to player signings.  The Yankees had a handful of guys make it all but official yesterday and another 1 or 2 strongly indicate that they would be signing in the near future.  Here's the latest:

- All but official: RHP Matt Borens (11th round), 1B Bo Thompson (13th), RHP Sean Carley (14th), RHP Corey Holmes (20th).  Thompson will start at Low-A Charleston, Carley and Holmes with SS Staten Island.

- Strongly indicated: RHPs Jordan Foley (5th) and Jonathan Holder (6th).  There are reports and tweets from multiple sources that state both are expected to sign this week, including Holder tweeting a picture of himself wearing a Yankee hat.

- Austin DeCarr (3rd) was expected to report to Tampa to sign today, according to the NE Baseball Journal.  Slot money for his pick is $575,000 and the report says he'll sign for twice that amount.

- Jonathan Lindgren (2nd) is also reportedly on his way to Tampa to take his physical and make his signing official, and that will take place on Thursday.  No word on what he'll get.  Slot value is 1.0187 mil.

** UPDATE 4:47 PM- A few more updates that came out today: Jordan Montgomery (4th) has agreed to sign and is heading to Tampa.  He'll be going to SS Staten Island.  Damon Oppenheimer has confirmed that 10th round pick Ty McFarland has been signed.  No word on the amount. **

2014 MLB Draft Thoughts And Afterthoughts

(The right-handed Ian Clarkin?  Used courtesy of The Foxboro Reporter)

The Yankees wrapped up their 2014 draft on Saturday by following the formula they had set in the first 2 days.  They were focused primarily on college players and pitchers, with over 80% of their 39 picks making up that first category and over 60% the second.  It was hardly a gambling man's draft by the Yankees, with signability reigning supreme over upside.  That said, I think the Yankees did a pretty good job selecting players in the first 10-20 rounds who have good chances of helping the team in some capacity in the very near and very distant futures.  I feel better about that possibility than I did after the 2012 or 2013 drafts, so in that respect I guess I have to call the Yankees' draft a success at this point in time.  After the jump, some more thoughts on the players, the possibilities, and the plan from here as a final wrap-up of this year's draft.

Draft Day 3 News And Notes

The Yankees' strategy was clear on the first 2 days of the 2014 MLB Draft.  Easy-to-sign college players and pitchers with big frames.  The implication was that they were going to take a few chances and make a few reaches to try to find some young, high-ceiling HS talent on day 3, but instead they stuck to the script from the first 2 days and kept loading up on college players and big-bodied hurlers.  The highlights from the third and final day of the draft are after the jump.

Draft Day 2 News And Notes (UPDATED)

Here's my version of the live draft tracker.  Post will be updated as the Yankees make their picks.

- The first pick of the day is in.  3rd round, 91st overall, and it's right-handed HS pitcher Austin DeCarr from Connecticut.  Kid is committed to Clemson.

** UPDATE 12:36 PM- According to the MLB.com scouting report, he's 6'3"/220, throws a fastball in the low-to-mids 90s, a curveball and changeup that both show promise, and he throws all 3 for strikes.  Only been pitching 2 years too, so there could be some ceiling there. **

** UPDATE 1:18 PM- 4th round, 122nd overall, Yanks take Jordan Montgomery, 21-year-old left-handed starting pitcher from the University of South Carolina.  Listed at 6'4"/225, throws a moving high 80s-low 90s fastball that he commands well, a good changeup, and a curveball.**

Draft Day 1 Recap: Yankees Select Jacob Lindgren

(Courtesy of hailstate.com)

It was a long wait for the Yankees to make their first pick in last night's opening night of the 2014 MLB Draft.  Thanks to their offseason FA spending spree, they did not have a selection until the 2nd round, the 55th overall selection to be exact.  The rumors coming into the draft were that the Yankees were targeting a lot of prep catchers, some young HS arms, players with California ties (no surprise there), and most recently Indiana first baseman Sam Travis.  When the time came to make their pick, the Yankees went against all the rumors and selected Jacob Lindgren, left-handed pitcher from Mississippi St.

AB4AR 2014 MLB Draft Preview

Everybody knows I'm not a big draft guy.  I don't follow the pre-draft rankings that much and I don't read too many scouting reports on players.  But I can say I did make an honest effort to follow some of the players and storylines involving the Yankees for this draft and I do have a few SCORCHING HOT TAKES on tonight's proceedings.

• Love Grant Hockin as a potential top pick for the Yankees at 55.  Love him.  Righty HS pitcher out of Los Angeles.  Good frame (6'3"/195), throws 4 pitches, 2 of them already decent-to-good offspeed pitches, smooth delivery, easy mechanics, very good makeup.

• Hockin could be a bit of a reach at 55, but I think that's a risk worth taking with the 55th pick being the Yankees' first pick.  After that, I expect them to go with mostly cheaper college players for the next few rounds and save their amateur money for the big international spending spree.

• Case in point, Pat Connaughton, righty pitcher out of Notre Dame.  The Yanks have been reportedly linked to him, prep catchers Chase Vallot, K.J. Harrison, and Jakson Reetz, and Indian first baseman Sam Travis by name as early round targets.

• Travis is a very polished college bat with power potential, similar to Jagielo last year.  If they could somehow manage to get him in the 2nd and Hockin in the 3rd, I'd be ecstatic.

The draft starts at 6 PM Eastern tonight and it'll be a few minutes before the Yankees' turn comes around.  Most of my draft recap and analysis will be coming tomorrow, but if I can hop online later tonight and touch on the Yankees' picks I will.

Draft Signings Update

It hasn't been touched on here yet because bigger issues keep coming up on the Major League field, but the Yankees have been making good progress signing their 2013 draft picks.  If you've been lagging behind in following the draft signings yourself, here's a quick refresher.

Signed: Eric Jagielo (1st Round- exactly slot value), Michael O'Neill (3rd- exactly slot value), Tyler Wade (4th- exactly slot value), David Palladino (5th- value unknown), John Murphy (6th- $188,300 below slot value), Kendall Coleman (11th), Philip Walby (12th), Cale Coshow (13th), Caleb Smith (14th), Jordan Barnes (15th), Derek Toadvine (22nd), Sam Agnew-Wieland (24th), C Trent Garrison (28th), SS Kevin Cornelius (31) and 2B Hector Crespo (34th)

Unsigned: Aaron Judge (1st), Ian Clarkin (1st), Gosuke Katoh (2nd), Nick Rumbelow (7th), Brandon Thomas (8th), Conner Kendrick (9th), Tyler Webb (10th)

Judge and Clarkin are both expected to sign soon.  Judge took BP with the team in Oakland a few days ago, and it was reported yesterday that Clarkin will take his physical in Tampa next Monday and is expected to sign his deal next week.  Katoh will also be traveling to Tampa next week for his physical and is expected to sign soon thereafter.  Thomas took his physical yesterday and should also sign next week.  I haven't seen anything on the other 3 guys.

I have to imagine Judge will sign for slot value like Jagielo did, and both Katoh (low-ceiling) and Thomas (college senior) are expected to sign for below slot value.  Between that saved money and the chunk saved on Murphy, that should be enough to tack onto Clarkin's bonus to finalize his deal.  All in all, it sounds like a job well done on getting the 3 1st rounders taken care of quickly.

Day 3 MLB Draft Notes

The Yankees got their high impact talent with their 3 1st rounders on day 1.  They got their fill of cheap college seniors and possibly unsignable HS players to control the draft pool on day 2.  Day 3 was the final day to try to find a few more diamonds in the rough, something the Yankees have had great success with in recent drafts (see: Austin, Tyler or Turley, Nik).  How'd they do in rounds 11-40?  Here's a few names that stood out.

- Round 12: Philip Walby, RHP, San Diego St.

Walby is a big right-handed with a lively fastball that sits low 90s and can hit the mid-90s when he dials it up.  It's been reported to have both late life and late movement, but his offspeed stuff needs work.  He profiles as another power reliever type.

- Round 13: Cale Coshow, RHP, Oklahoma Christian

If Walby is big at 6'3"/215, then Coshow is a monster at 6'5"/260.  He started at Oklahoma Christian after spending 2 unproductive years at Oklahoma and features plus stuff (mid-90s fastball, curveball, changeup).  The stuff is enough for him to start in pro ball, but he's going to need to work on his conditioning or also get put into the power reliever category.

More after the jump.

Jagielo's Right About His Opportunity, And Not For The Reason You Think

The Yankees' 2013 1st round draft picks held a conference call with the media yesterday, and while almost every beat writer tripped over himself and each other trying to keep the "Ian Clarkin doesn't like the Yankees" theme going, I found what Eric Jagielo had to say much more newsworthy:

“I definitely see an opportunity.  That was the biggest thing, hoping I would be drafted by some team that I can see myself in the future at the big-league level at third base. With everything I've read, there’s not much (standing in the way)."

That may sound cocky to some, and maybe it is to a certain degree.  It's also 100% right and it's exactly what I want to hear Jagielo saying.  And no, it has nothing to do with Alex Rodriguez, another idiotic non-story that the MSM beat into the ground on Thursday night.

Meet Your Newest 2013 Yankee Draft Picks

(You could say it was "Judge"ment Day at that HR Derby.  Thanks, I'll be here all week)

Last night was a big night for the Yankees and the future of their farm system.  They were armed with 3 picks in the 1st round of the MLB Draft after getting compensation for losing Swish and Sour Puss to free agency this offseason and needed to make a splash.  The Yanks have been criticized for going off the board on talent in the 1st round of recent drafts and focusing on guys with good makeup and intangibles, something they kinda, sorta started to move away from last year with Ty Hensley.  While there were no bad apples in the bunch of picks last night, the Yankees were clearly looking for impact talent and most early analysis shows them to have succeeded in adding that talent.  After the jump, get acquainted with the newest possible future Yankees.

Soriano Signing Fills The Draft Pick Pool

 (I wonder if he smiles at the Nats' presser.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Just as things were starting to look bleak for old Sour Puss, Scott Boras worked his magic again and got another team who felt they needed bullpen help to overpay for his client.  According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the Washington Nationals have agreed to sign Rafael Soriano to a 2-year/$28 million deal with an option for a third year.  In almost identical fashion to how he hooked the Yankees after his brilliant 2010 closing campaign in Tampa, Soriano parlayed an excellent year into another big contract.  You gotta give credit where credit's due; he and Boras knew what they were doing after all.

The best Yankee-centric news to come out of this development, besides ending all the discussion about what we'd be willing to pay to take Soriano back, is the guarantee of a second supplemental 1st-round pick in this year's MLB draft.  Paired with the pick the Yankees would have already had and the supplemental pick they get for Cleveland signing Nick Swisher, the Yankees are now holding 3 of the first 32 picks in the draft.  Right now those picks would be the 27th, 30th, and 32nd, with the possibility of them shifting depending on where Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn end up signing.

From a prospect perspective, since that's what this week is all about, this is a big opportunity for the Yankees to add some depth and high-ceiling talent to their farm system.  They haven't had much success with their most recent 1st-rounders, reaching for Cito Culver and Dante Bichette, Jr. only to watch both of them stagnate in Low-A ball in 2012, and it's still too early to make a solid call on Ty Hensley, who raised some eyebrows post-draft with the reports of his "shoulder abnormality."  That, combined with the injury and regression struggles of the organization's upper-level starting pitching, has created another talent void in the system, a void that can start to be filled by scoring in this year's draft.

The Yankees played the qualifying offer game correctly and have been rewarded for it with more picks and a bigger draft spending pool.  I know they're drafted heavily on makeup and intangibles the last few years, but this year might be the year to put that aside a bit and go for the big talent.  They don't all need to be home runs, but the Yankees have to hit big with at least 1 of this year's picks.

Thoughts On Day 2 Of The Draft

Now that we're deep into Day 3 of the MLB Draft, it's probably a good time to look back on Day 2.  As a guy who's admittedly not even remotely intelligent about the MLB draft, I've made more of an effort to follow the goings on over the past few days to try to learn some more about the guys the Yankees have taken and how they might fit into the team's future plans.  Ty Hensley was a strong 1st-round pick on Monday, and it appears that the Yankees had another strong day yesterday.  Here's my quick take after the jump.

Introducing The Yankees' 2012 1st Round Pick- Ty Hensley

(Courtesy of Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman)

Full disclosure, I don't really follow the MLB Draft at all.  There's always enough going on in Yankeeland for me to talk/write about, and I can cover that a helluva lot better than I can the draft.  I don't start getting too into prospects until I know they're a part of the organization, and there are already plenty of guys out there who are way more knowledgeable about the draft than me, so I just leave that heavy lifting to them.

That being said, I did stay awake last night long enough to see who the Yankees chose with the 30th pick in the 1st round and gather a little intel on the kid, and word around the cooler is that the Yankees got themselves a damn fine pick at 30.  So without further ado, please give a warm welcome to Mr. Ty Hensley.