Braves sign supp pick DeVall ( Ga schol ), 2nd rounder Stovall ( Bama schol I think ) and 5th rounder, Milligan ( Vandy schol ).
Called poaching the SEC!!

Of the top 16 picks, UVA righthander Thompson and Hoover the only unsigned ones left.

A's officially sign first rounder Jemile Weeks

Tigers sign first rounder Ryan Perry - $1.48 million bonus. Tigers think he could be in the bigs by September

Braves sign first rounder Brett Devall, second round pitcher Robert Stovall and outfielder Adam Milligan

Brewers sign second round pitcher Seth Lintz

It was the third time the Braves had drafted Milligan. I'm eager to see how his career unfolds since it is clear that SOMEONE in the scouting department had a good feeling about the kid.

Too bad DeVall signed, but it was expected. The Braves took UGA's top 4 pitching recruits in Spruill (signed), DeVall (signed), Palazonne and Cecil Tanner (both of whom slid in draft due to signability and have not signed yet. Getting Palazonne into school would nice for us, especially if we can get one of our highly drafted OF recruits into school (Cone, May or Davidson). OF Pete Verdin definately coming to school, and he is well regarded, so at least we will have that. The OF situation looks great for the next few years.
I'm kind of flabbergasted that, as great as our recruiting class was, we brought in no IFs of consequence. We lose Beckham (SS) and Peisel (3b) and none of our three 2bs are very good, though at least Demperio has potential. We have a lightly recruited kid (Bissel) who redshirted this year behind them. The IF does NOT look good for 09 or 2010. Maybe Poythress will play third this year.

I will be pumped if we can ink Thompson for a reasonable amount, even though I didn't see the stuff from his arm that he showed as a soph. He looked GREAT when I saw him as a soph. Dominating.

Stovall was an Auburn commit FWIW. Looked like he could have been a killer two-way college guy. So advanced that he was called on to be a late fill-in on the Team USA COLLEGE All-Star team the summer before his Sr. year of HS.

Red Sox 13th round pick Tyler Wilson should be signing with them sometime this week. Info courtesy of SoxProspects.com.

"Jim Bowden calls negotiations with first rounder Aaron Crow 'disappointing'"

Probably frustrated that he can't figure out how to steal half of Crow's bonus.

105,
Aw. Damnit.

UGA RHP Stephen Dodson (Rockies 10th rounder) signed for 100k. He apparently turned down 200 or 300k from the Royals after an all-SEC year as an elig-soph last spring.
UGA LHP Nathan Moreau (Orioles 11th) also signed but apparently the ace of those three similar pitchers, 10th round RHP Trevor Holder, is having some poor negotiation with the Marlins. He says they are offering half of what they should although I don't know if that means half of slot or half of what he thinks he is worth. As a result, Holder, the son of 2 teachers, says he is planning on returning to school for his senior year unless the Marlins throw some new numbers at him.

Cincy 11th rounder Andrew Means signed on the condition that he could be allowed to go back to school this fall (Indiana) and play his senior in football as a WR. Means, the #2 receiver (behind NFL 2nd rounder James Hardy) on a 7-5 team last year and a possible NFL prospect, says he will reevaluate his future (football v. baseball) after this fall. He was offered extra bonus money if he chose to forgo his last season of football but declined.

On the other hand Orioles 4th round CF, Kyle Hudson out of Illinois, says he will play baseball full-time. He was a starting WR on the Illini football team and had one year of football (and baseball) eligibility remaining.

Rockies 13th rounder, Fresno 2b Eric Wetzel, recently signed. A week or two ago he called the Rockies to say he was going back to Fresno for his senior year but as he did that they upped their offer to 100k, and he signed.

The Brewers signed 19th-round RHP Blake Billings of Hillcrest HS (AL). They've now signed 25 of their top 26 picks, the exception being Brett Lawrie, who is by all reports going to sign for sure.

Nationals signed 2nd rounder OF Destin Hood

Hood's bonus was $1.1 million over five years

Padres 3rd round CF Blake Tekotte (from U Miami.. the FL one) signs for essentially a slot bonus.
He got 1,000 more than the guy one pick above him. I wonder if he held out for a month just so the CFer for a CWS team didn't have to feel less valuable than a D-II CF.

Tekotte, by the way, was a great pick in round three. Not much of an arm, and his HR power probably won't translate to wood, but he really knows how to hit and has very good speed.

Also, Red Sox sign Seaford (Del.) HS shortstop Derrik Gibson, their second round pick, to a 600k bonus. Gibson, an athletic two-time state Player of the Year, is Delino DeShields nephew and was considered a tough sign due to his North Carolina commitment.
Gibson's bonus was a little over-slot but not whole lot. He was the 77th overall pick and his bonus would have slotted in at pick 67.

Negotiations between the Yankees and star Ole Miss closer Scott Bittle have broken down. The Yanks say wear and tear showed up on Bittle's arm during a physical and thus he should take a reduced bonus. Bittle disagrees and is threatening to go back to school.

Also, the Padres had agreed to terms with first-round Wake Forest first-baseman Allen Dykstra but apparently something came up on his physical (I think it involved the shoulder) and now the Padres want to sign him to a lower figure. Like Bittle, Dykstra disagrees.

Sox have signed 1st round pick Casey Kelly. No details on the bonus yet.

Sox have signed 1st round pick Casey Kelly. No details on the bonus yet.

Good draft, good sign.

-- MWE

The only thing that matters is that the Red Sox signed their 14th round pick. Very important!

Red Sox sign Casey Kelly.

Damnit, I was looking at the first page when I checked to see if that had been reported already. Sorry.

3 million dollar bonus spread over 5 years (2-sport athlete).

It's actually going to go in the books as a 2.5 million dollar bonus.

The only thing that matters is that the Red Sox signed their 14th round pick.

If they sign their 20th round pick, it will be a great draft.

-- MWE

Well, they might have. From Kevin Goldstein:

After it was announced late this week that the Red Sox would spend $3 million to buy first-round pick Casey Kelly away from a football scholarship at Tennessee, multiple sources indicate that they are close to spending over $5 million more on three later picks with first-round talent. Fourth- and fifth-round outfielders Pete Hissey and Ryan Westmoreland are both monster athletes and tough signs, but the Red Sox have seemingly come to terms with both for "greater than seven-figues," with Westmoreland reported approaching $2 million. The most shocking rumor floating around at this time is that the Red Sox are also very close to signing 20th-round pick Alex Meyer. The six-foot-seven power righty from Indiana has first-round stuff, but he was considered all but unsignable due to the Boras factor and a strong commitment to the University of Kentucky. The hottest rumor among scouting circles has $2 million looking like it will take care of both those issues. Also look for the team to sign their sixth-round pick, Yale catcher Ryan Lavarnway, for late-third round money.

Link

I know Westmoreland and Hissey were considered talents but I don't think I heard any talk of them as top 10-30 talents, which is what kind of money they are getting

Sorry, but history (of the past few years) shows that signing the 14th rounder is crucial. Crucial!

Random draft signing thoughts:
-I am somewhat surprised that Miami 3b Mark Sobolewski signed for slot money in round 4. Considering that he was a soph-elig from a great team and probably talented enough to go higher I thought he might try to get 350-500k.

-Apparently the Astros might screw up another early pick. Last year, despite not picking until round 3, they let their first pick walk away to Ga Tech unsigned. That pick, Cleveland HS SS/RHP Derek Dietrich, had maybe the best offensive season by a freshman in the country. Dietrich's camp claimed the Astros made a weak offer and didn't really put any effort into follow up offers or trying to sign him in general. Now the Astros 3rd rounder, Atlanta HS OF/1b Chase Davidson, is saying negotiations aren't going so hot and he is 50/50 about fulfilling his UGA commitment or going pro.

-New Mex pitcher David LaFromboise must have a good agent. Getting 70k as a round 8 senior is pretty good. By contrast two college seniors picked in rounds 6 (Cal 2b Josh Satin) and 7 (Long Beach OF Jason Corder, actually an ex-Cal player) got just 25 and 30k each with the 6th rounder somehow getting less. The college senior picked right after LaFromboise got half of LaFromboise's bonus. Being a LHP pays, kids...more than being an OF certainly. I like Fromboise, by the way, on the premise that if you can pitch well at THAT park without overpowering stuff you've got to have some nice pitching abilities.

-I can't believe James Madison 1b James Cesares got 250k. That is more than Sobolewski or Issac Galloway.. among others

I know Westmoreland and Hissey were considered talents but I don't think I heard any talk of them as top 10-30 talents, which is what kind of money they are getting.

No argument here. They're overpaying for their players.

The same article that Temple linked says Tim Melville is also close to signing:

Sources indicate that Missouri high school right-hander Tim Melville, who fell to the fourth round when he indicated before the draft that he wanted mid-first-round money to sign, will get just that and sign with the Royals for more than $1 million.

Padres sign 8th round infielder, and one of the coolest names in the draft - Beamer Weems. I so hope he makes it.

This probably has been mentioned already, but the Dbacks signed Schlereth and Wiley (1st round and supplemental pick) last week. Both got more or less slot money and minor league deals.

The Dbacks have now signed 12 out of their top 15 picks, with the following exceptions

5th rounder Kevin Eichhorn RHP Aptos (Calif.) HS
8th rounder Danny Hultzen LHP St. Albans HS, Washington, D.C.
10th rounder Daniel Webb RHP Heath HS, Paducah, Ky.

I'm hopeful they can sign at least two of these three, Hultzen being the most unlikely to sign

Nick Piecoro talks with Daniel Webb's father, Champ. (What a name!)

Another Webb weighs his options

Daniel Webb’s father says his son wants to play for the Diamondbacks, who drafted the Kentucky right-hander in the 12th round last month. The Diamondbacks, he said, are Option A.

But the Webbs are not afraid of Option B.

“He’d love to be with the Diamondbacks,” Champ Webb said in a recent phone interview. “But he’s 6-foot-4, 220, with a lightning bolt on the side. He knows what it’s worth but he doesn’t want to discount it too much. He’d love to play for the Diamondbacks but he’s not going to give it away.”

...

After Webb went undrafted on the first day of the draft, the Tampa Bay Rays called to say they had interest in making Daniel the first pick of the seventh round. They offered $500,000, Champ said. Webb declined.

“That was a real hard no,” Champ said. “We just couldn’t come to an agreement.”

131,
The Padres signed another tough-sign SS as well in soph-eligible U Florida shortstop Cole Figeroa. He isn't super at anything but he is a pretty good looking all around ballplayer. He signed for mid-3rd round money (400k) and Weems got mid-4th round (250k)

Man, the SEC East was LOADED at short last year. UGA-Gordon Beckham (8 overall) SC-Reese Havens (22 overall), Vandy-Ryan Flaherty (supplemental rounder), UF-Figueroa (3rd-round cash) and Kentucky's Chris Wade was a frosh All-American according to some

AZ signs third round pick

Prep right-hander Kevin Eichhorn, the club's third-round pick and son of former major leaguer Mark Eichhorn, came to terms with the Diamondbacks and will report to rookie-level Missoula early next week.

Eichhorn, who was committed to Santa Clara before signing, signed for $500,000, more than $150,000 above slot.

Eichhorn, out of Aptos High, was called Northern California's best prep prospect by Baseball America.

According to BA the Braves signed Jacob Thompson for 190K. I thought'd they have to go well over slot for him there was the leverage of returning to UVA.

Astros signed Ross Seaton a few days back - he fell due to bonus demands, but being a local no doubt helped him get inked.

Red Sox 4th round pick Pete Hissey is unofficially signed.

137,
Apparently he got a "record" 250k in scholarship money. I didn't know there were different amounts guys could get for school. I thought MLB just picked up a guys tuition to any place he went if he used it within (X) years.

Dodgers first rounder Ethan Martin out for the year. Shoulda waited til August 15 to sign!

Astros signed Ross Seaton a few days back

Houston apparently went over slot, from what I know.

-- MWE

I wonder if Houston signing both Seaton and Brad Dyladewicz (sp?) as over-slot local guys (plus maybe signing 14th and 16th round guys to decent bonuses) makes them less likely to sign 3nd rounder Chase Davidson. Word right now is that Davidson has turned down Houston's offers and is planning on going to school and Houston can't sign him. This comes on the heel of losing out on 3rd rounder, and now future 1st rounder, Derek Deitrich despite not having a 1st and 2nd rounder last year

That Houston org baffles me. The farm sucks and every year they can't sign good draftees.

Rays 4th rounder Ty Morrison signed a couple days ago.

Seaton got 700K. Several signings in that story, including mighty mite Rolando Gomez (450K).

Brewers sign first rounder Brett Lawrie, the 16th overall pick.

Haridcourt speculates he got about $1.6 million.

Any update on the A's and Brett Hunter?

There have been a couple of rumors that Hunter has a deal, but the A's are holding the announcement until closer to the 15th.

-- MWE

Any reports on Hunter's velocity for Team USA?

There have been a couple of rumors that Hunter has a deal, but the A's are holding the announcement until closer to the 15th.

Thanks Mike. I have to say, I'm happy with their aggressiveness this signing period, domestically and internationally. Now, my god, win a game fellas! At least one more!

Any reports on Hunter's velocity for Team USA?

His velocity was decent, but he had trouble throwing strikes.

-- MWE

Thanks Mike. I had heard his velocity was down around 92-94 from his pre-injury 95+. I assumed the A's were waiting to see whether it had improved and how well he maintained it in games. Hopefully the control issues are not injury related.

MM1F, talk to me about Brandon Miller.

The Giants have signed supplemental rounder Conor Gillaspie, a 3b out of Wichita State, for 970k according to BA. 970k is pretty much slot money, so it appears he lost out in his pursuit of a late-first round bonus.

The Yankees inked 6th rounder Baytown, TX HS RHP Brett Marshall to an 850k deal. 850k is late-supplemental money, about equal to the 45th overall pick. He was a Rice commitment.
Personally I am hoping that the Yanks spending money on Marshall, and still needing to pay up to ink their supplemental rounder (Stanford LHP Bleich), means they won't buy breaking ball wizard Blake Monar, a HS LHP from Rockport, IN, away from the Hoosiers.

Heres the link about the Marshall/Gillaspie stuff.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=411

Good scouting reports in there.
Apparently Marshall and Ross Seaton share an agent.

152,
I don't know much more about his skills other than that he is a power-hitting catcher.

I do know it seems very unlikely he will sign. I think he has said so himself and the GT commits of the last couple classes have been tough signs in general.

Tech could have an interesting catching situation next year. Rising senior, and returning starter, Jason Haniger (a darn good player) seems likely to return to school. Rising sophomore Cole Leonida, a big-time recruit from CO, returns as his backup and now it seems like Tech will get Miller into school too. That makes for a bit of a logjam, especially when you consider that their 1B (Tony Plagman) will be returning and their DH (Luke Murton) seems likely to return for his senior year

I don't know if the Red Sox have any excuse if they don't sign ex-UTennessee C/OF Yan Gomes. He was recruited by ex-coach Rod Delmonico and after the end of the first year of the Coach Todd Raleigh era Gomes was either kicked off the team or "agreed not to return" despite being second on the team (to 09 first-rounder Kentrail Davis) in almost every offensive category.
When Gomes left Raleigh said that Gomes "wasn't a good fit" for the new system at Tennessee but considering that he is a power hitter and Raleigh has always run power-hitting teams (in contrast to Delmonico's bunt-mania) I really don't think contrasting playing styles was the reason. Plus I've heard Gomes is this sort of dummmy, so Raleigh probably just wanted to kick Gomes off the team without bad mouthing him.

Gomes also has more hits as a Florida Bomber (elite HS-age travel team) than Eric Hosmer or Yonder Alonso.

Gomes isn't any great shakes but he should be easily signable and hes a good bat who can maybe, kinda-sorta catch.

Before anyone asks: Todd Raleigh and Mudcats manager Matt Raleigh are brothers. It sounds as though they are two very different personality types, also.

-- MWE

PIRATES SIGN DRAFT PICK Wesley Freeman.

I've heard Gomes is this sort of dummmy,

The resemblance is uncanny.

Oh wait, that's the Gomes who caused trouble at Durham, not the Gomes who caused trouble for Raleigh.

The Indians just signed their 7th rounder, UNC soph-eligible OF Tim Fedroff, to a 725k bonus. That money would slot in the early 2nd round around 55 overall.

The Indians claim they are projecting Fedroff as a CFer, which I can't really see him playing in MLB or even AAA.

It's going to be tough for the Indians to let anymore DE-sophomores slip by them after what happened with Lincecum.

Red Sox buy $t. $imon's, GA RHP Richie Wasilewski away from Middle Georgia Junior College (Josh Reddick's alma mater) for 135k.

He's been signed for a while. He actually pitched in a game last week.

Here is an interesting update on a non-signing (so far) -- Yonder Alonson and the Reds. He told the Miami Herald it's "50-50" he could return to the 'Canes based on where negotiations stand with the Red. His reps say he's looking for "Pat Burrell money," which is to say about $7M.

Miami Coach Morris doesn't sound like he's any more convinced Alonso's coming back than I am. But hey, stranger things have happened . . . .

Nationals signed 5th round CA Adrian Nieto to a $376K bonus (slot was $187K). That puts the Nats at 26/50 with 1st round RHP Aaron Crow, 3rd round SS Danny Espinosa, and 4th round LHP Graham Hicks, the remaining unsigned from their top 10 picks.

Some blogger at the Connie Mark World Series says Royals first rounder Eric Hosmer will sign shortly after the tournament, which I believe ended Sunday.

Pat Burrell money...inflation-adjusted?

Some blogger at the Connie Mark World Series says Royals first rounder Eric Hosmer will sign shortly after the tournament, which I believe ended Sunday.

Link

The tournament ended Friday, with East Cobb (GA) defeating Hosmer's Midland (OH) team in the final.

Hosmer and Royals' 50th rounder Travis Jones both played in the tournament, and both will likely sign in the next day or two.

-- MWE

Any update on Melville? There were some rumours floating that the Royals were giving hima hefty signing bonus

The Nationals added 3rd round SS Danny Espinosa and 4th round HS LHP Graham Hicks today, no word on bonuses. The only guy left from their top 10 picks is 1st round RHP Aaron Crow.

The only guy left from their top 10 picks is 1st round RHP Aaron Crow.

Crow's probably the domino that will trigger a whole bunch of signings. Matusz and Gordon Beckham were reportedly waiting to see what Crow would get.

-- MWE

Any update on Melville?

He's still expected to sign with KC.

-- MWE

According to a message board posting by the Rivals.com college baseball editor, the Pirates have a deal in place with Justin Wilson, and are very close with Scheppers.

Not entirely sure I trust it, but I thought it was interesting, so I figured I'd pass it on.

Link to Rivals report.

Same site also reports that Alex Wilson (Cubs 10th) is headed back to school and that Bryce Stowell (22nd round) has signed with the Indians.

-- MWE

Rundown of how talks are progressing for some unsigned first rounders.

MLB.com: Clock ticks on Draft signing deadline

Jordan Danks could return to school.

-- MWE

Espinosa has signed with the Nats, reportedly for $525K.

-- MWE

Price is starting tonight in Durham.

Price is starting tonight in Durham.

Gee, Chris, where have you been? See #12.

-- MWE

Heh. See you there.

Jeff Horrigans reports in today's Herald that the Sox will sign Ryan Westmoreland.

Link

Man. I missed Tim Beckham hitting his first pro HR in Burlington last night and now I'm torn between trying to finally get over to see him play or see Price pitch.
Tough call, the rain might make it all moot tho.

the rain might make it all moot tho.

I don't think so. It's supposed to taper off this afternoon, and current radar shows the line ending just west of I-85.

-- MWE

Radio stations in Chicago reporting the Sox have signed 8th overall pick Gordon Beckham. Next up, Jordan Danks, please.

185,
Beckham signing was expected but I was praying that the 1-in-a-million chance of getting to see him in Athens for his senior year would pay off.

Apparently the Yank's DJ Mitchell has actually signed now, but not for the 500k bonus BP originally said.

"Link to Rivals report."

D'oh. Sorry, Mike; must've copied the wrong tab.

Dejan Kovacevic now agrees that Fresno State star Justin Wilson has been signed by Pirates.

G. Beckham, the 8th overall pick, signed for 2.6 mil which is roughly #4 overall slot money going by '06 and '07 numbers and more than the #6 overall guy got this year.

Wilson is a nice lefty arm to pick up, hes alot better than his college season numbers. The idea of him being 6-foot-3 is a joke though.

G. Beckham, the 8th overall pick, signed for 2.6 mil which is roughly #4 overall slot money

That's going to make it tough for the Reds to sign Alonso, I think. The Reds have been holding firm around the slot number.

-- MWE

"The idea of him being 6-foot-3 is a joke though."

Maybe he wears lifts?

"That's going to make it tough for the Reds to sign Alonso, I think. The Reds have been holding firm around the slot number."

Reds probably should've taken Beckham anyway (or Smoak, if they really wanted a 1B). Alonso was just such a strange pick for them.

This was posted elsewhere, but in case anyone didn't see it, it looks like Tim Mellville has signed with the Royals

This link works

Robbie Grossman (6th round) signs with Pittsburgh.

-- MWE

Wilson's bonus was apparently right on the slot number.

-- MWE

Robbie Grossman (6th round) signs with Pittsburgh.

-- MWE

::fist pump::

From BA:

Georgia reliever (Joshua) Fields (No. 20, Mariners) is a college senior with no remaining eligibility, so the deadline doesn't apply to him. Seattle can sign him up until a week before the 2009 draft.

-- MWE