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With the first two rounds in the books, the 2013 MLB draft resumes this afternoon as teams make their selections in the third through tenth rounds. There is no television coverage of the remaining portion of the draft, but MLB.com has both a draft tracker and live streaming of the picks with Jonathan Mayo. The draft begins at 1:00 PM EST.
Last night, the Rays made three picks. With the 21st overall pick, they selected Nick Ciuffo, a prep catcher. They followed that up by picking Ryan Stanek, a college pitcher from Arkansas, with their 29th pick. And finally, with the 60th pick, they selected high school shortstop Riley Unroe. During these next few days, we at DRaysBay will be filling you in with information on all the players the Rays draft as well as overall grades for the draft and estimations of where these players fit into the system. For now, here are the recaps of the three players selected by the Rays:
Budget Concerns
After selecting Nick Ciuffo with their first pick, the Rays nabbed the sliding Ryan Stanek. While Ciuffo was expected to be picked in the range he was selected in, Stanek was rated higher; Baseball America and ESPN pegged Stanek the 13th best draft prospect while Matt Garrioch rated him 12th.
Under the new CBA, teams are given a bonus pool for their first ten rounds. Bonus pools are determined by the amount of picks a team has as well as their placement. Teams can spread and distribute the money around the first ten picks in whatever manner they desire so long as they do not exceed the bonus pool by more than 5%. If the bonuses given to players in the first ten rounds exceeds the assigned pool by more than 5%, teams pay a tax and lose picks in the next draft. If a team does not sign a pick in the top ten rounds, the pick's slot value is subtracted from the bonus pool. Any draftee taken after the tenth round who receives a bonus over $100,000 has the additional bonus money (the amount over $100 K) subtracted from the bonus pool. So if a twelfth round pick is awarded a $500,000 signing bonus, $400,000 is counted against the bonus pool for the first ten rounds.
Going back to the Rays situation, the bonus pool for the Rays is $6,694,900. For a breakdown of the slot values for each of the Rays' picks, check out RaysProspects.com's draft history table.
Nick Ciuffo should sign for slot, which is $1,974,700. Since Ryan Stanek is considered about the 13th best player in the draft, he most likely will demand slot money for the 13th pick to sign. Slot for the 13th overall pick, belonging to the San Diego Padres, is $2,678,000. If both Ciuffo and Stanek sign for their expected amounts, the Rays are left with about $2,042,200 to spend on their remaining nine picks in the first ten rounds.
Understandably, most of us anticipated the Rays opting for a below slot player with their 60th pick in order to compensate for Stanek's high price tag. Instead, they remained agressive by going with Riley Unroe, who is rated 53rd overall by Baseball America, 90th overall by ESPN, 23rd overall by Matt Garrioch, and the 19th best hitter by John Sickels. Additionally, reports indicate that it will take seven figures for Unroe to forego his commitment to USC. Slot for the 60th overall pick is $927,500.
If Unroe signs for a little over seven figures (say about $1,050,000), then the Rays only have $992,200 left for their picks in rounds three through ten. Adding the slot bonus for each of those picks totals out to $2,034,400. In other words, the Rays need to shave their budget for the next eight rounds by $1,042,200.
There are several ways for the Rays to work around this. The Rays can spend over their bonus pool without losing any picks (though they would have to pay a tax) so long as they do not overspend by more than 5%. So if the Rays go 5% over, that gives them another $334,745. As teams showed us last year, rounds seven through ten feature the selection of players who will sign extremely cheaply. This is an effective way for teams to free up extra cash for their other picks. The Rays saved $247,700 on these rounds last year; their tenth round pick, Sean Bierman, signed for only $5,000.
If the Rays shave about $400,000 on rounds 7-10 and spend up to the extra 5% threshold, they only need to make up around $300,000 on their third, fourth, fifth, and six round picks. If the Rays do that, they still have an average of just over $280,000 to spend for each pick. They might not be able to sign another top player hoping for seven figures, but there are still plenty of talented players, both from college and high school, who will sign in that range. Nolan Gannon (4th round) and Damion Carroll (6th round), two high upside arms the Rays signed in last year's draft, each signed for around $200,000. Bralin Jackson (5th round), a tough high school sign, signed for $322,500.
The Rays should be able to find a way to come out of this draft signing their top picks as well as having the freedom to select talented players in rounds three through six. The Rays' draft team deserves full credit for their astute management of the draft thus far.
There are still plenty of good players left in the draft. Here's a profile of a couple of the more interesting ones.
RAYS SECOND DAY PICKS
97. Thomas Milone, Connecticut High School (5'11, 190 CF, L/L)
Johnathan Mayo's MLB.com report:
Scouts that made their way to Masuk to watch Milone’s football games last fall were in for a treat. Milone displayed his outstanding athleticism as a running back and punt returner, scoring 35 touchdowns in his senior season alone. On the baseball field, Milone is just as exciting. He uses the whole field at the plate and isn’t afraid to go with the pitch. Milone is a plus runner with good range in the outfield and a strong enough arm to play anywhere in the outfield. Even though he was a two-sport star, Milone has an advanced feel for the game. He is committed to Connecticut.
Baseball Prospectus notes ($):
But, scouts have been attracted to his exciting raw tools since last summer. He shows an above average bat, as well as an average arm in center field, and 60 foot speed on the 20-80 scale. What might be the difference maker for Milone, though, is his power. He’s quick to the ball and has a lot of lift in his swing, and consistently generates backspin on the baseball.
128. Kean Wong, Hawaiian High School (5'11, 190 2B, L/R)
Jonathan Mayo's MLB.com report:
Wong's older brother, Kolten, was the Cardinals 2011 first-round pick. While comparisons between the brothers are inevitable, the biggest difference might be that Kean is not a lock to stay at second base. Third base may be his best position and he played catcher this spring as well. Wong has a short, compact stroke and a good approach at the plate. Listed at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, he has good power for his size, but is more of a line-drive hitter. He is a heady player and has a good feel for the game on offense and defense. Wong is committed to Hawaii, where his older brother was an All-American.
158. Johnny Field, Arizona (5'10, 195 2B, R/R)
Jonathan Mayo's MLB.com report:
Field has always been a fan favorite at Arizona because of his great performance and all-out style of play. He has played in both the outfield and second base in college, with the latter being his most likely long-term position. Field has soft hands and good range at second and could be an above-average defender there. At the plate, he has a very good feel for hitting and uses the whole field well. He has also shown decent power at Arizona and it could be average down the line. A team that believes in his college performance will give him a chance during the Draft.
Field led the Wildcats offensively last season with a team-best .370 batting average. He also had 18 doubles, seven triples, three homers and 44 RBIs. Additionally, he slugged .529 and had a .476 OBP to go with 11 stolen bases.
188. Stephen Woods, New York High School (6'2, 200 RHP)
Can't find anything on him right now other than he threw two no-hitters in a row this year and is committed to Albany.
218. Ty Young, Louisville (5'10, 175 3B, L/R)
The Cardinals welcome back several big-time hitters this spring, but they're especially glad to have Young, who led the team in hitting last season. Young batted .344 with nine doubles, four triples, six homers and 42 RBIs last season. He also slugged .539, had a .467 OBP and swiped 15 bases.
248. Roel Ramirez, Texas High School (6'1, 205 RHP)
Jonathan Mayo's report on MLB.com:
Many prep pitchers from Texas have been drafted early in the last few years and Ramirez is looking to keep that streak going. Ramirez has a whip-like arm that will produce fastballs in the low 90s with good movement. His best pitch is his changeup which he throws with great arm speed and is very deceptive. His curveball lags behind the other two pitches but will flash above-average on occasion. He goes right after hitters and really knows how to pitch. He is committed to San Jacinto Junior College and is not considered a tough sign.
278. Austin Pruitt, Houston (5'11, 180 RHP)
No scouting report on MLB.com, but on the stream, Jim Callis said he's a good pitchability guy.
308. Aaron Griffin, Loyola Marymount (6'4, 190 RHP)
No scouting report on MLB.com, but Jim Callis says he's a strike thrower. He's A.J. Griffin's younger brother.