Western Kentucky C Matt Rice went from Mr. Irrelevant last year to a ninth-round selection in 2011.
It’s been nearly a month since the MLB Draft, and while most of the major signings aren’t expected to happen until the few days leading up to the deadline in August, there’s already been some decent action. Here’s a few random/unimportant stats about those who have signed already.
Largest Bonus (so far)
This honor belongs to tenth-overall pick 2B Cory Spangenberg, who is one of just two players so far to receive bonuses over the $1 million mark. Spangenberg’s bonus of $1.86 million matches exactly the same recommendation for the tenth spot. And while Spangenberg’s bonus is the tops so far in this class, he’s still about $140,000 short of what last year’s pick at the same spot, OF Michael Choice signed for.
Team with the most picks signed (of the top ten rounds)
Tampa Bay, with 12 picks in the first two rounds, has understandably signed the most picks of any team so far. They’ve already inked eight of their top 20 picks, which takes them to round ten. And for those of you keeping track of how much they’ve spent so far, the number is somewhere in the ballpark of around $4 million, the majority of it coming on their first 11 picks.
If you’re looking for a team that has done things more conventionally, look to Atlanta, where the Braves have locked up eight of their top ten picks, everyone except for first-rounder LHP Sean Gilmartin and sixth-rounder RHP Mark Lamm.
Also Houston, where the speedy Astros have inked 20 of their top 23 picks, and eight of their top ten. The lone exceptions are their top overall pick OF George Springer (first-round), RHP Jack Armstrong Jr. (third) and RHP Gandy Stubblefield (14th).
Teams with the least amount of picks signed (top ten rounds)
Only two teams have failed to sign any of their top ten picks: the Florida Marlins and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs took some guys who were thought of as being pretty tough to sign, such as prep hitter 1B Dan Vogelbach, but the Marlins took some pretty signable guys, led by RHP Jose Fernandez.
Two other teams, Toronto and Seattle, have only signed one of their top ten picks. Seattle isn’t a shock, but Toronto is a team that last year and this year took some guys who they were adamant about signing, regardless of the price.
First-round numbers
With only four of the 33 first-rounders signed, that leaves 88% of the picks still unsigned. To the same point last year, nine of the top 32 picks had already signed, leaving only 72% of picks unsigned.
Eight of the 27 supplemental first-round picks have already signed, leaving 70% of those selections unsigned.
Biggest jump in draft standing
Talk about a real Cinderalla story. This year’s 300th overall pick, Matt Rice, a catcher from Western Kentucky, was drafted exactly 1,225 picks earlier than he was last year. Rice was the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2010 draft, getting snatched up by the Yankees with the final selection of the draft.
This year he was tabbed by the Rays, who have already signed him to a $25,000 deal. He’s already on the field too, making two starts behind the plate for the Rays New York-Penn League affiliate.
