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2011 Draft: Yankees sign fifth rounder Greg Bird for $1.1M

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Update (Aug. 15th): Via zoodig, the Yankees have inked Bird for $1.1M, which is some serious dough. It’s easily the most they’ve spent on a player this year, topping Jake Cave’s $825k bonus by more than 30%. They must really like his bat. Jim Callis confirmed the report, in case you wanted to see one of the regulars report it.

Original Post (Aug. 13th): Via Keith Law, the Yankees will sign fifth round pick Greg Bird to a signing bonus north of $1M. The exact amount is unknown, but KLaw says it’s in the seven figures. Baseball America (subs. req’d) says that Bird, a high school catcher/first baseman from the Denver area, “has good bat speed and gets plenty of loft and backspin on the ball” with his left-handed swing. He’s a big dude (6-foot-4, 210 lbs.), and is expected to wind up at first base. Bird was committed to Arkansas and his bonus will be the largest the Yankees have given out this year, surpassing the $750k they gave Dante Bichette Jr.

2011 Draft: Yankees sign sixth rounder Jake Cave

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Update (11:14pm): Via Jim Callis, the Yankees signed Cave for $825k. That’s the largest bonus they’ve officially given out this year, surpassing the $750k they gave Dante Bichette Jr.

Original Post (11:34am): Via Jon Heyman, the Yankees are close to signing sixth round pick Jake Cave. Cave, a high school outfielder from Virginia, was the 209th overall pick and the 182nd best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America. In their subscriber-only scouting report, they say “he shows bat speed, but he has a loop in his swing that could be a long-term problem.” They also say he figures to be stuck in a corner spot down the road. Cave is also a legit prospect as a left-handed pitcher, but the Yankees announced him as an outfielder during the draft. He’ll certainly get an over-slot bonus.

2011 Draft: Yankees sign 20th rounder Dan Camarena

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Update (Aug. 15th): Via Jim Callis and Kendall Rogers, the Yankees have signed Camarena for $335k. Very nice deal, reasonable price. As I say below, I’m a fan.

Original Post (Aug. 4th): Via K. Levine-Flandrup, 20th round pick Dan Camarena threw for the Yankees’ head honchos today, presumably in Tampa. I’m only posting this because I’m a big Camarena fan and apparently I’m not the only one; Baseball America ranked him as the 138th best prospect in the country before the draft. In their subscriber only report, they note that 6-foot-1, 205 lb. high school left-hander from San Diego throws 87-91 with “excellent feel for his changeup, which some scouts rate as an average pitch.” They also say he “already flashes a big league breaking ball” in his curveball.

Workouts for the bigwigs is always a good sign because if nothing else, it shows that both sides are at least considering pursuing a contract. The Yankees inked third rounder Jordan Cote recently, and I think Camarena is the second best pitching prospect they selected this year. I’d like to see a deal get done because this is the kind of kid you could see coming out of college as a first or second rounder in three years.

2011 Draft: Yankees will not sign 36th rounder Ryan Thompson

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Via Kevin Gray, the Yankees will not sign 36th round pick Ryan Thompson, with the right-hander saying “we were pretty far apart.” Thompson, a draft-eligible sophomore out of Franklin Pierce, was not a 36th round talent. The former UConn Huskie throws his sinker in the 89-92 mph range and backs it up with a slider and a changeup. He has a starter’s build and some projection left (6-foot-3, 190 lbs.), and he held his velocity deep into games. Thompson was expected to go somewhere in the 5th-8th round range and I was a fan, seems like a guy that could take some big steps forward with pro instruction (like a David Phelps). Alas, the price was was apparently not right.

2011 Draft: Yankees to sign 25th rounder Adam Smith

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Via Kendall Rogers, the Yankees will sign 25th rounder Adam Smith for $157k tomorrow. That’s obviously a lot more than the typical 25th rounder receives. Smith was both a third baseman and reliever at Texas A&M, but the Yankees announced him as a right-handed pitcher during the draft and I assume that’s what they plan to do with him. He’s a hard thrower but is also pretty raw, not unexpected from a two-way college player.

The draft signing deadline is next Monday, and the Yankees have only signed about 17 of the 50 players they’ve selected so far. I’m sure they’ll get another 12-15 or so locked up in the coming days, a pretty typical signing class.

2011 Draft: No contact between Yanks and 41st rounder Jeremy Rathjen

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Via K. Levine-Flandrup, the Yankees have not had any contact or negotiations with 41st rounder Jeremy Rathjen since the draft. Rathjen, an outfielder from Rice, fell in the draft because he tore the ACL in his right knee this spring. He was expected to be a top five rounds pick before the injury, but was considered unsigned just before the draft. Rathjen is an intriguing power-speed talent that plays a legit center field, though he can have trouble making contact. The signing deadline is one week from today, so there’s still plenty of time for the two sides to get together and hammer out a deal if they choose.

2011 Draft: Yankees sign third rounder Jordan Cote

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The Yankees announced that they have signed third round pick Jordan Cote, though terms of the deal were undisclosed. I’m sure we’ll find out the size of his signing bonus soon enough, but there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be seven figures.

Cote, a 6-foot-5, 205 lb. high school right-hander from New Hampshire, was the highest ceilinged prospect the Yankees selected this year. Baseball America (subs. req’d) says his “fastball sits at 88-90 mph and touches 92, [but] adding strength and pitching in warmer weather should help bump his velocity, especially because he has great hand speed.” He also throws a curveball, slider, and changeup, but each needs work. “Cote has drawn comparisons to Chris Carpenter,” added BA, and “one scout said Cote has the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the Northeast.”

Update: Cote signed for $725k according to Keith Law, a very fair price. Honestly thought it might be double that.