As you all know by now, signability is a major factor in MLB’s first-year player draft, so much so that it’s informally referred to as “the sixth tool.” While big names like Andrew Miller and Rick Porcello receive the bulk of the attention as players who fell because of their price tags, more often than not it’s the lesser-known players, the second or third round guys who feel they’re worth first or second round money, who end up being the real signability steals of the draft.

The Yanks have worked this angle to perfection in recent years, digging deep in their Swiss bank accounts to bring players such as Austin Jackson, Dellin Betances and Carmen Angelini into the system. All three were solid sandwich or early-second round talents in their respective drafts, but their lofty bonus demands and college commitments scared teams away. The Yanks took each player later than their talent warranted (Jackson and Betances in the 8th round, Angelini in the 10th), and paid out bonuses typically given to players selected in the late first round. All three are now among the most promising prospects in the system.

While this year’s draft class is lacking in overall quality compared to that of the last three or four years, there is still plenty of talent to go around. Here are two guys who fit the Jackson-Betances-Angelini mold — top talents with top bonus demands. It’s not a matter of if the Yanks will pay the money needed to sign these kids, it’s just a matter of how fast the ink can dry on the signing bonus check. Fun starts after the jump.

[Read more…]

More bullet-point draft goodness:

• Drug testing for the top 200 draft prospects is underway. I’ve already done on record saying that I don’t think amateurs should be subjected to testing under MLB’s CBA, but what do I know.
• Tim at MLBTR has added a link on his sidebar for all his draft coverage. Amongst plenty of other things, he’s noted that the Rangers and Cards intend to take a college pitchers with the 11th and 13th picks, respectively. Shooter Hunt sounds like a Texas name, and Eastern Kentucky southpaw Christian Freidrich seems like a perfect fit for St. Louis.
• Florida prep 3B Harold Martinez was near the top of everyone’s draft board just a few short months ago, but a terrible senior year has crippled his stock. I’ve always felt that talent doesn’t just disappear, and that a few bad months shouldn’t be enough to tarnish a reputation. Martinez is a great chance for a value pick, popping him anytime after the third round is a steal in my opinion.
• One kid picking up a ton of helium is uber-raw Connecticut prep SS Anthony Hewitt. In a recent ESPN chat (can’t find the link, sorry) BA’s Jim Callis said that Hewitt may have the highest upside of any player in the draft. There’s a ton of risk involved taking a kid this raw in the first round, as Callis suggests may happen in this week’s Ask BA. He could be the next Matt Kemp, he could be the next CJ Henry. I’m an upside guy, but a little polish is nice, especially in the first round.
• Adam at Project Prospect recently sat down and spent a whole lotta time compiling an intense statistical breakdown of the top college bats in the draft class. I’m a bit surprised to see Arizona State 1B Brett Wallace rank 9th on a list of 12 players, that kid can flat out mash and may be the best pure hitter in the draft.
• Speaking of Wallace, the kid’s got a blog chronicling his adventures from Pac-10 regular season to play to first round pick. Cool stuff.
• As loyal reader Jamal G. pointed out in the game thread last night, Tino Martinez will represent the Yanks at this year’s draft broadcast. It’s purely a figurehead thing, he won’t have any say in who they take.

That’s all I got for now.

Jim Callis of Baseball America posted his first mock draft today, and has the Yanks taking Arizona prep southpaw Kyle Lobstein. Callis writes:

The obvious move would be for New York to use its financial muscle to pay what it takes to get whatever top talent falls because of signability. Hosmer would be a coup for the Yankees, but Cole could be too raw for their tastes. They’ve been scouting a lot of lefthanded pitchers, making high schoolers Kyle Lobstein (Arizona), Brett DeVall (Florida), Mike Montgomery (California) and Robbie Ross (Kentucky) candidates.

Lobstein would be a bit of an over-draft at #28, and frankly I think there’s a chance he’d still be around when the Yanks picks again at #44. Plus Robbie Ross is better than Lobstein. The Yanks are going to take whichever signability guys falls to them, it’s almost guaranteed.

Interestingly, Callis has Fresno State RHP Tanner Scheppers dropping out of the first round. Back later with DotF.