2013 Draft: Yankees sign eighth rounder Brandon Thomas

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Via Jim Callis: The Yankees have signed eighth round pick Brandon Thomas to a $75k signing bonus. The Georgia Tech outfielder was slotted for a bit more than $150k as the 254th overall pick, but he signed for way less as a college senior with little leverage.

Thomas, 22, hit .321/.406/.445 with one homer and nine stolen bases in 53 games for the Yellow Jackets this spring, though he missed a bunch of time with mono and was rarely at 100%. The Pirates selected him in the fourth round last year, but he decided to return to school for his senior season. The Yankees made a real nice selection with Thomas, who signed cheap as a college senior and has more talent and potential than his draft position indicates.

Keep tabs on the team’s draft pool with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

Draft Signing Updates: Clarkin, Thomas, Murphy

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The latest on the draft pick front (draft round in parenthesis):

  • California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) will take his physical on Monday and is expected to sign next week, reports George King. Getting him locked up so soon would be very nice. Clarkin, the 33rd overall pick, is slotted for a touch more than $1.65M.
  • Georgia Tech OF Brandon Thomas (8) took his physical yesterday, according to King. He’s slotted for a bit more than $150k and should sign for much less as a college senior. Much, much less.
  • Sacred Heart SS John Murphy (6) signed for $20,000 according to Baseball America. The college senior was slotted for over $208k, so the Yankees saved themselves nearly $190k towards the draft pool. I’m guessing that money winds up in Clarkin’s pocket.

All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

2013 Draft: Yankees signed third rounder Michael O’Neill

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Via Jim Callis: The Yankees have signed third round pick Michael O’Neill to a $500,900 signing bonus. That is exactly slot money for the 103rd overall pick. The outfielder from Michigan is Paul’s nephew.

O’Neill, who turned 21 yesterday, hit .329/.384/.525 with six homers and 19 stolen bases in 40 games for the Wolverines this year. The big knock on him is his plate discipline, which resulted in a 106/33 K/BB during three years with Michigan. That’s terrible for a college hitter who was drafted relatively high. Read more about O’Neill right here. He’s likely to start with Short Season Staten Island.

Keep tabs on the team’s draft pool with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

Draft Signing Updates: Judge, Clarkin, Coleman

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Earlier today we learned first round pick 3B Eric Jagielo and fourth round pick SS Tyler Wade had signed for straight slot bonuses, now here are some more updates on various Yankees draft picks (draft round in parenthesis):

  • Fresno State OF Aaron Judge (1s) said he is “real confident” he will sign soon, according to Bryan Hoch. Judge took batting practice with the team yesterday in Oakland. Slot money for the 32nd overall pick is $1,677,100, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he took straight slot money like Jagielo.
  • California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) will travel to Tampa on Monday according to K. Levine-Flandrup, presumably to get his physical out of the way. The San Diego commit is slotted for a bit more than $1.65M, and I’m guessing he’ll sign close to the deadline for more than that.
  • California HS SS Gosuke Katoh (2) will also travel to Tampa on Monday after graduating tomorrow, according to KL-F. Yesterday it was reported Katoh said he “should be a Yankee by next week.” Slot money is just under $846k, but I think he winds up with less.
  • Texas HS OF Kendall Coleman (11) has agreed to terms pending a physical, reports KL-F. No word on the money yet, but every pick after the tenth round is slotted for $100k. Anything in excess of that counts against the draft pool. Coleman is a bat-first prospect with power from the left side.
  • Hoch has a handful of late-round signings to pass along: San Diego State RHP Phil Walby (12), Sam Houston State LHP Caleb Smith (14), Northwest Mississippi JuCo CF Jordan Barnes (15), Kent State IF Derek Toadvine (22), Appalachian State RHP Sam Agnew-Wieland (24), Fresno State C Trent Garrison (28), and Appalachian State IF Hector Crespo (34). No word on the money for any of these, but it’s safe to assume it doesn’t exceed the $100k slot.

All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

2013 Draft: Yankees sign fourth rounder Tyler Wade

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Via Jim Callis: The Yankees have signed fourth round pick Tyler Wade for a $371,300 bonus. That is exactly slot money for the 134th overall pick. Earlier this week we heard the high school shortstop from Southern California was on his way to Tampa, presumably for his physical.

Wade, 18, is a “is a live-bodied athlete with above-average speed … a handsy swing and a line-drive approach, and he could become an average hitter down the road” according to Baseball America (subs. req’d). They also say he “impressed with his defense at shortstop, showing enough range, actions and above-average arm strength to give him a chance to stick at the position.” Wade needs to add some muscle to his 6-foot-1, 175 lb. frame to avoid getting the bat knocked out of his hands by better fastballs, however.

Keep tabs on the team’s draft pool with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

2013 Draft: Yankees sign first rounder Eric Jagielo

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2:06pm: The Yankees have announced the signing, so it’s a done deal. Jagielo came through the physical fine and his contract is official. It is the fifth largest bonus they have ever given a drafted player, behind Andrew Brackman, Ian Kennedy, Slade Heathcott, and Drew Henson.

11:31am: Via Jim Callis: The Yankees and first round pick Eric Jagielo have agreed to a $1,839,400 signing bonus, which is exactly slot for the 26th overall pick. Yesterday we heard the Notre Dame third baseman was already in Tampa, presumably to take his physical. The contract is not official yet, but it shouldn’t be long before it’s done.

Jagielo, who just turned 21 last month, hit .388/.500/.633 with nine homers and more walks (35) than strikeouts (33) in 56 games for the Fighting Irish this spring. The book on him is that he’s a left-handed hitter who projects to hit for both power and average at the next level while sticking at the hot corner. He has experience at first base and in the corner outfield spots as well, but they are fallback options at this point. I assume Jagielo will begin his pro career with Short Season Staten Island when the season starts next week.

Keep tabs on the team’s draft pool with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

Draft Signing Updates: Jagielo, Clarkin, Katoh

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Today’s collection of draft-related links (draft round in parenthesis):

  • Notre Dame 3B Eric Jagielo (1) indicated he is on his way to Tampa via his Twitter feed. That doesn’t mean a deal is imminent, however. He could just be heading down for his physical since teams like to get those out of the way early in case there’s a Ty Hensley situation or negotiations go down to the wire. Jagielo is slotted for just under $1.84M and will probably sign for something close to that, if not more.
  • California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) can’t take his physical until he graduates later this week. “We feel very strongly that we will get it done … We need to clean up a couple of things and for him to pass a physical,” said scouting director Damon Oppenheimer to George King. Clarkin is slotted for a touch more than $1.65M and I have to think he winds up with more than that. Maybe even $2M.
  • California HS 2B Gosuke Katoh (2) told Michael Bower that if “everything works out like it should with no road bumps, then I should be a Yankee by next week.” He’s slotted for a little less than $846k and I think he winds up quite a bit with less than that.
  • Howard JuCo RHP David Palladino (5) has agreed to terms and will officially sign his contract tomorrow, reports Mark Czerwinski. The 6-foot-9, 255-pounder out of New Jersey is slotted for a bit more than $278k.
  • Grayson County JuCo SS Kevin Cornelius (31) has agreed to terms pending a physical, according to K. Levine-Flandrup. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the Yankees drafted him out of a Texas HS in the 42nd round of the 2011 draft. Every pick after the tenth round is slotted for $100k.

All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.