NEWSLETTER
The signing reports keeps trickling out as we’re now two and a half weeks past the 2013 MLB Draft. The Chicago Cubs have  signed another couple college pitchers, 13th rounder Trevor Graham and 15th rounder Michael Wagner, per Carrie Muskat and Patrick Mooney. Each report also includes 8th rounder Sam Wilson and 11th rounder Jordan Hankins, though their signings have been discussed here before if you want to check them out (Wilson here, Hankins here).
Graham, a junior out of Franklin Pierce University (DII), won all kinds of awards in his league and region, including Pitcher of the Year honors for the ABCA East Region. His stats, for whatever they’re worth, were silly good: 1.63 ERA over 110.1 innings and 16 games. He struck out 123 while walking just 21.
Wagner, a junior teammate of Kris Bryant’s at San Diego, was a well-regarded Draft prospect, ranked as high as 58 by MLB.com. Baseball America had him at 192, and Keith Law did not have Wagner in his top 100. Disparate views, I suppose, probably based on whether you’re ranking him as a future starter or future reliever (he was a dominant reliever as a sophomore, and a mixed year in the rotation in 2013). Although a 15th rounder, I think it’s fair to include Wagner in the group of big, strong college pitchers the Cubs took earlier in the Draft (think Tyler Skulina, Trey Masek, and Scott Frazier in rounds four through six, for example) in terms of intrigue. Not all of them are going to take off, but, because of their advanced age and development, we could see one or two from the group emerge as top 10/15 prospects in the Cubs’ system by the end of next year.
Depending on how the Cubs viewed Wagner – and how he viewed his own ability – the Cubs may have had to pay more than the $100,000 limit for signees after the 10th round. In other words, any amount the Cubs gave Wagner over $100,000 counts against their bonus pool.
Speaking of 8th rounder Sam Wilson (I did speak of him up in that first paragraph), a lefty out of Lamar Community College, Jim Callis has signing bonus information: $130,000. Further, the Baseball America Draft Database lists 7th round pick David Garner (previously discussed here) as receiving a $175,000 bonus. That’s $25,400 below slot for Garner, and $29,400 below slot for Wilson, which will help the Cubs slightly as they aim to lock up some of the great talented they selected in the Draft without losing a future draft pick.
First round pick Kris Bryant remains the only unsigned player in the Cubs’ top ten rounds. With the other nine locked up, the Cubs should have a very good sense of what they can afford to offer Bryant. While finalizing his deal might take a little time (the deadline is July 12), no one expects any last minute hiccups.
