NEWSLETTER
As expected, the Chicago Cubs today officially announced a number of draft signings, listed here by round:
1. Kyle Schwarber, C/OF
2. Jake Stinnett, RHP
4. Carson Sands, LHP
5. Justin Steele, LHP
7. James Norwood, RHP
19. Brad Markey, RHP
20. John Tomasovich, SS
21. Charles White, OF
25. Tyler Pearson, C
26. Zach Hedges, RHP
27. Calvin Graves, CF
We’ve known about Schwarber, Sands, Steele, Norwood, and White. The others will be discussed soon, but they do not seem likely to be over slot types.
Jake Stinnett is the big new name, and, although as a senior, he wasn’t expected to be a tough sign, it’s still good to know he’s in the fold. Having pitched a full year (and then some) at Maryland, Stinnett isn’t likely to see too much more than a handful of innings with the Cubs this year.
Interestingly, third rounder Mark Zagunis was not included in the announcement, although he was the first player about whom we heard of the Cubs coming to terms. That’s not necessarily an issue, as there could be travel delays, physical delays, paperwork delays.
Assuming there are no issues with the Zagunis signing, we can update the bonus pool situation.
With the Stinnett signing official, Jim Callis rooted out the signing bonus for Stinnett –
Another 7-figure arm for @Cubs, who sign 2nd-rder Jake Stinnett for $1 mil (pick 45 value = $1,250,400). Best college sr in @MLBDraft.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 19, 2014
Stinnett's $1 mil from @Cubs will be far & away most any college sr gets this year. Maryland RHP, great yr, hard sinker & good SL. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 19, 2014
Now, before you cry out that this was not as much as the Cubs were expected to save under slot for the senior Stinnett, you have to remember, Stinnett was not your typical senior draftee. He was picked in the draft pretty much right where he was expected to go based on talent, so, in that regard, any savings are gravy.
(And, if you want to put it positively, the fact that the Cubs believed Stinnett was worth $1 million is a good sign about how baseball teams were valuing him.)
So, with $250,400 in savings against the pool coming from the signing, and the $335,700 the Cubs have already saved, the team is up to $586,100 in savings under their pool. Throw in the additional $417,610 the Cubs can spend without incurring a loss of draft pick penalty (just a $ penalty), and the team now has $1,003,710 extra to play with to sign guys like Dylan Cease or Isiah Gilliam, depending on how much guys like James Norwood and Joe Martarano cost to sign (yet unknown). There are expected to be savings on the Cubs’ senior draftees in the 9th and 10th Rounds (James Farris and Ryan Williams), which could add in another couple hundred thousand. And keep in mind: Cease has a slot value of $269,500 to start with – we’re talking about what the Cubs can spend on top of that.
Things are looking good.
