NEWSLETTER
I have a feeling that we’re on the verge of a mass signing announcement from the Chicago Cubs, but, in the interim, we continue to piecemeal things as well as we can.
First up, 7th Round pick James Norwood tweeted out some fairly convincing evidence that he’s signing:
https://twitter.com/sir_kingjames/status/479446429035802624
The only caveat there is that there was a draft pick last year – Daniel Poncedeleon – who signed, Twitter picture and everything, but ultimately did not wind up in the organization (I believe there was an issue with the physical). So, until the Cubs officially announce it, I can’t call something like this officially official. Still, it looks good.
Although Norwood, a righty who can get it up to the upper-90s, was taken in the 7th Round, he was considered a top 100/120ish prospect to all of the services before the draft, suggesting they viewed him as a 3rd/4th Round talent. Will he sign for the $201,900 slot associated with his pick, or will he require more? His bonus hasn’t yet been reported, so we can’t say for sure. As we’ve tracked, the Cubs do have plenty of money to work with still, though 6th Round pick Dylan Cease is expected to require well over slot.
Slots in the late 3rd/early 4th Rounds, for what it’s worth, are about $475,000 to $525,000. Depending on how much Norwood cost, and how his signing impacts the rest of the Cubs’ signings, he could be an absolute steal in the 7th Round.
You can read more about Norwood in a local article here, and from the day he was drafted here.
Norwood isn’t the only pick reported signing recently. Maryland outfielder Charles White, the Cubs’ 21st Round pick and a teammate of 2nd Rounder Jake Stinnett, has also reportedly agreed to sign with the Cubs. As of draft day, here was the take on White:
Another teammate connection (some of you may have just seen him on TV), White is the teammate of Cubs second round pick Jake Stinnett. He’s junior who bats lefty, and he hit .284/.396/.366 this year (but that OBP is inflated by 19(!) HBP). He walked 24 times and struck out 17 times, and he stole 24 bases in 29 attempts. He’s 5’9″, and he’s a local Chicago area guy. He was drafted in the 29th round last year by the Yankees.
White can get a bonus of up to $100,000 without impacting the Cubs’ bonus pool, so we’ll see what it took to sign him.
