Yankees sign undrafted free agent Daniel Aldrich
ByVia Kendall Rogers, the Yankees have signed College of Charleston outfielder Daniel Aldrich as an undrafted free agent for at least $150k. Regardless of the final amount, anything given to him in excess of $100k counts against this year’s draft pool. The Yankees had more than $400k in pool money left over after first rounder Ty Hensley signed a below-slot deal.
Aldrich, 21, was a redshirt sophomore this spring, so he’s not the typical college senior that usually signs as an undrafted free agent. The left-handed hitter was one of the best power hitters in the country over the last two years, participating in the College Homerun Derby twice and winning in 2011. Aldrich absolutely mashed with wood bats in the Cape Cod League this summer, hitting ten homers in just 30 games. He was a .315/.389/.651 hitter during his college career. Here’s some video.
Most undrafted free agents are minor league filler, but Aldrich actually offers some upside due to his power. No word on his defense, but he pitched in high school and probably has a decent arm. The downside is that he’s a hacker, striking out 116 times in 121 college games with a 48/6 K/BB on the Cape this summer. The Yankees had draft pool money to spare and have had a bit of success with CofC kids (most notably Brett Gardner) though, and Aldrich is about as good a prospect as you’ll find in the undrafted free agent ranks.
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I don’t have much of an understanding of these types of things. Why wasn’t he drafted?
Teams may not have liked him much or thought he was unsignable. He was eligible but no team drafted him, not even the Yankees. Who knows why.
Then why’d the Yankees change their mind now?
I’m not necessarily asking about this particular player, just in general what changes between the draft and a month or two later that makes a team sign someone they passed on in the draft.
Perhaps the mashing in the Cape Cod league?
Could be that they changed their mind in terms of his value. Or could be that they liked every guy they drafted more than they liked him. They still might have found him worth signing, or just signed him to not waste the pool money once they had some $ left over.
why was he not drafted
So.. How come no one one drafted him?
I like him just because he doesn’t swing with gloves.
But does he pee on his hands?
That’s where he gets his power, right?
I can’t think of any other source.
I was wondering if we would use some of the leftover money. Arizona just signed someone for 400K.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.co.....backs.html
He was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes award after his freshman season. The only freshman named as a semifinalist. This probably doesn’t mean much, but is cool nonetheless.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/print......ffililiate
Keith Law isn’t a fan.
https://twitter.com/keithlaw/statuses/206772156858765313
He was also thought Dante Bichette Jr. would be a total failure and so far he has been proven wrong.
Well he kind of has been so far this year unfortunately…
Not a total failure. Second on the Charleston team in doubles and 3rd in runs scored.
Underwhelming to be sure, but not a total failure.
.241/.313/.321 is pretty horrible. I guess not an abject failure as he has an XBH every 5 games or so, but it ain’t pretty. And this is from a big DBJr. fan.
A DBJr fan and not a fan of KLaw at that.
dude, come on. hes been a disaster in 2012, no way around it.
No, hitting .212 with no homers and 5 RBIs is a total failure.
hes averaging a homer every 222 PAs. OPS of 634, and wRC+ of 76. in 2012, hes been a disaster. saying its opinion rather than fact is complete semantics.
agree to disagree i guess.
In terms of homers, I don’t worry about that because usually the power comes last in development, i.e. Mike Trout and Robinson Cano.
Now if he repeats this performance next year, then we can pull out the failure card.
im not calling him a failure, im calling his 2012 a failure. im not VERY worried about him as a prospect, but i am worried. i know power is last to develop, but TWO homers??
i think he’ll rebound next year, hes only 19 after all, but still, its been about a worst case scenario season for him.
That has to be the worst counter-argument ever.
With the power he has, it’s worth the 150k gamble. Most likely he doesnt turn into anything. But, who knows, maybe a minor swing adjustment cuts down on the Ks.
Nobody tell him who Mark Reynolds is!
why not? isnt mark reynolds the exact type player a guy with his skillset should strive to be?
If Aldrich ends up having Mark Reynolds’ career, than Yankee fans should be pretty damn excited.
well that goes without saying. mark reynolds is a major league player after all. but my point is a guy with aldrich’s skillset should strive to be a mark reynolds type player, since thats whats most likely going to get him to the big leagues. theres always room for someone who hits homers.
Mark Reynolds’ efficiency is largely limited. His OPS+ is 108 and his RAA is -48 according to BRef. It doesn’t hurt to hit a lot of homers but at .331 he seems like a one trick pony.
Jack Cust on the other hand, would be nice. He can actually get on base and fake some outfield.
Why not…it’s not my money.
They still have the more to spend on UDFA’s if they want. They can bust out some big offers if they want.
I read “UDFA’s” as Unidentified Flying Objects. It kinda works.
Anyway, welcome to the Yankees, Aldrich. Hope springs . . . .
Exactly. For $150K, any upside at all is a bonus. If he turns out to be a prospect, fantastic; if not, he can fill a spot in the minors with no harm done.
There was a dollar in there that was used to buy a bleacher seat at Yankees Stadium that was dropped by you when you went to Wal-Mart, so technically part of it is your money.
Did we ever find out how much pool money Jose Mesa jr got?
He’ll be a good guy to have around if a Home Run Derby breaks out.
*towering home run*
“Jesus, this guy hits a ton, how come nobody else picked up on him?”
“Alright Eddie that’s enough fastballs, show him some breaking balls.”
*whiff*
BA .315, OBP .381 for a college career seems like a better judge of patience than a handful of summer games.
according to Scout.com’s souting report, he’s Cody JohnsonII
I met the kid once while he was playing in another collegiate summer league in 2011. Not the brightest of bulbs but he does have legitimate power. Let’s just hope he makes consistent contact.