NEWSLETTER
Today, the Chicago Cubs made their first official announcement regarding draft signings, identifying eight signees so far: 2nd rounder Rob Zastryzny, 10th rounder Zach Godley, 16th rounder Cael Brockmeyer, 18th rounder Giuseppe Papaccio, 20th rounder Zak Blair, 22nd rounder Kevin Brown, 23rd rounder Tyler Ihrig, and 30th rounder Zak Hermans.
We’ve discussed most of these signings already – you can see Zastryzny here, Blair here, Brown here, Ihrig here, and Hermans here – and there are other players with whom the Cubs have reportedly agreed to terms. I’m guessing that this set of eight are simply the first eight to have fully agreed to terms, completed all of the paperwork, and passed physicals. Many more official announcements are coming.
Although the tea leaves had been strong on Godley, Brockmeyer and Papaccio for a while, this is the first formal report of their signing.
Godley was a senior starting pitcher at Tennessee, where he put up decent numbers (it’s a good conference), and slipped into Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects. As a senior selected in the 10th round, his deal is expect to be at slot or under, thanks to the mechanics of the draft’s spending limitations.
Brockmeyer, a junior catcher from Cal St.-Bakersfield, was one of a number of catchers taken by the Cubs in the middle rounds of the Draft. An organizational need, the Cubs decided to fill the catching problems with depth. Given the hit-or-miss nature of catching prospects, I’d say that’s a good approach.
Papaccio, a senior shortstop at Seton Hall, was a dominant player in his Big East days, and was the only unanimous All-Conference selection.
The signing deadline is July 12.
A separate note on Zastryzny: Jim Callis has confirmed a report from Chris Cotillo that Zastryzny is getting a $1.1 million signing bonus, about $262,000 under slot. That’s good news for the Cubs, who’ve already inked some over slot deals. I’m going to have a full round-up on where things stand financially for the Draft, but I didn’t want to leave this hanging.
