Major league teams went on a record spending
spree in this year’s draft, which essentially concluded with the Aug. 15
signing deadline. Not only did Florida State catcher Buster Posey’s $6.2
million bonus set a record for a player signing with the team that drafted him
(established earlier this year by No. 1 overall pick Tim Beckham’s $6.15
million deal), but the first-round average of $2.485 million shattered the
previous mark of $2.154 million set in 2001.
Moreover, there were 15 bonuses of at least $500,000 that were doled out to
players selected on the draft’s second day (beginning with the seventh round),
including seven-figure deals to seventh-round pick Brett Hunter (A’s, $1.1
million) and 15th-rounder J.P. Ramirez (Nationals, $1 million).
But not every elite player selected in the draft was smitten by the Monopoly
money that teams seemed all too willing to spend. While numerous top high
school players who were almost signed, sealed and delivered to some of the
nation’s top college programs were swayed from attending school by significant
deals on the final days leading up to the deadline, many followed their heart
and made good on their college commitments.
Among the
top 250 players in PG Crosschecker’s ranking of the top prospects for
the 2008 draft
(ranking as of May 16, 2008), a total of 47 players did not sign, including 32
high school players.
Assuming Fields signs, that would leave two unsigned first-rounders, an
occurrence that hasn’t happened since 2001, when high school pitchers Jeremy
Sowers (Reds) and Alan Horne (Indians) went unsigned. With the money now at
stake at the top of the draft, it’s become rare for a first-round pick not to
sign and the last time that had even happened before Friday was in 2004, when
the Orioles couldn’t ink a deal with Rice righthander Wade Townsend.
Righthander Gerrit Cole, selected with the 28th pick of the first round by the
Yankees, was the top high school player in this year’s draft who went unsigned.
Coincidentally, the UCLA-bound Cole was also the top-ranked high school player
on the PG Crosschecker Top 250 who went unsigned. We had him ranked No. 33
overall entering the draft.
Actually, there were three players that we ranked ahead of Cole who didn’t sign
by Friday’s deadline. All were college players. Missouri righthander Aaron Crow
(ranked No. 7 by PG-X) didn’t sign with the Nationals after being selected with
the ninth overall pick. Neither did Fresno State righthander Tanner Scheppers
(ranked No. 32 by PG-X), who was drafted by the Pirates in the second round.
Georgia righthander Josh Fields (ranked No. 16 by PG-X) was picked by the
Mariners with the 20th overall pick and remains unsigned, but the Aug. 15
signing deadline does not apply to him as he was a college senior.
Despite losing some prime recruits at the signing deadline, three Southeastern
Conference schools—Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt—still managed to hang on to
some of the best prospects from the 2008 prep class. Georgia secured a pair of
unsigned third-round picks, first baseman Chase Davidson (Astros) and
outfielder Zach Cone (Angels), a couple of Georgia high school products. The
Bulldogs also hung on to righthander Michael Palazzone, a Braves 18th-round
pick from a local high school who was actually ranked higher than Davidson and
Cone by PG-X entering the draft, but was considered more unsignable.
Kentucky kept in-state righthander Daniel Webb and Indiana righthander Alex
Meyer, while in-state righthander Sonny Gray and Connecticut third baseman
Daniel Esposito highlight the list of Vandy’s incoming recruits. All but
Esposito (Royals, 7th round) were drafted after the 10th round, which was a
reflection of their signability status more than their talent. Indeed, Gray and
Meyer rebuffed reported $2 million bonus offers.
Here are the top 10 unsigned high school picks from the 2008 draft, as ranked
according to PG Crosschecker’s list of the nation’s top 250 prospects entering
the draft:
|
| Rank |
Player |
Pos. |
PG-X Rank |
Drafted by (Round) |
College |
| 1. |
Gerrit Cole |
RHP |
33 |
Yankees (1) |
UCLA |
| 2. |
Daniel Webb |
RHP |
36 |
Diamondbacks (12) |
Kentucky |
| 3. |
Sonny Gray |
RHP |
67 |
Cubs (27) |
Vanderbilt |
| 4. |
Jason Esposito |
3B |
69 |
Royals (7) |
Vanderbilt |
| 5. |
Harold Martinez |
SS |
81 |
Rangers (19) |
Miami |
| 6. |
Michael Palazzone |
RHP |
88 |
Braves (18) |
Georgia |
| 7. |
Ben McMahan |
C |
99 |
Yankees (30) |
Florida |
| 8. |
Danny Hultzen |
OF |
102 |
Diamondbacks (10) |
Virginia |
| 9. |
Alex Meyer |
RHP |
103 |
Red Sox (20) |
Kentucky |
| 10. |
Zach Cox |
3B |
105 |
Dodgers (20) |
Arkansas |
|
| --ALLAN SIMPSON |
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