According to MLB.com the Devil Rays have signed first overall pick David Price.
http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070815&content_id=2150900&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb
BOSTON -- With an 11:59 p.m. ET signing deadline approaching, the Devil Rays brought David Price into the fold around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, signing the top pick of Major League Baseball's June 2007 First-Year Player Draft to an $11.25 million deal.
Price, whom the Rays selected with the top pick in this year's Draft, signed a big league deal that covers six years (2007-12).
Price's signing bonus is $5.6 million. Within the contract is Minor League salaries that add up to $2.9 million and Major League salaries adding up to $5.65 million. A total of $8.5 million -- the bonus, plus the Minor League salaries -- is guaranteed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of local interest, the Tigers signed their First Round pick Rick Porcello and a flurry of other players of note, including local product, Kaneland High School left handed pitcher Casey Crosby.
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070815&content_id=2150111&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det
CLEVELAND -- As the days whittled down for teams to sign their picks from the First-Year Player Draft, Tigers vice president of amateur scouting David Chadd summed up his club's stance succinctly last week.
"We took these players," he said, "to sign them."
It took a lot, and it sent ripples through the rest of the baseball, but they are signed.
The Tigers' four-year, $7.28 million Major League contract for Seton Hall [N.J.] Prep right-hander Rick Porcello was still generating talk around clubs on Wednesday while the club formally introduced its newest pitching prospect. Yet while the merits and effectiveness of Major League Baseball's unwritten slotting system continue to be debated, the talent that the Tigers just added to their farm system is more tangible.
Detroit put at least three players' worth of talent into its system with deals finalized this week. In addition to Porcello's big-league contract, the Tigers finalized agreements with high school lefty Casey Crosby and infielder Cale Iorg, taken in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively.
All three players were projected to be taken higher than they actually were, but fell due in no small part to signability concerns. All three signed for money that well exceeded MLB's recommendations for their pick.
Wednesday's conference call to introduce Porcello became the Tigers' stage to make their case when the topic arose. Their argument was that while they understand the slotting system, they also believe in the idea of different cases for different players.
Crosby, a lanky southpaw out of Kaneland High School in Illinois, has pitched this summer and is expected to be ready sooner. Chadd said he could end up pitching in the Gulf Coast League by season's end.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations, to Casey. It's great to see this type of success come to this type of youngster who is as good a person as he is an athlete, and that's saying something.
http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/draft/2007/statebystate/states/illinois_leadin.aspx
Rank Player Pos. Yr B-T HT WT School Hometown Drafted/(Commit) B’date
1. Casey Crosby LHP Sr. L-L 6-5 200 Kaneland HS Elburn (Illinois ) 9-17-88
SCOUTING REPORT: Crosby grew four inches and gained 10 mph on his fastball during his junior year, which quickly put him on the prospect charts. He’s still fairly raw as a pitcher but throws up to 94 mph consistently and fairly easily, which gives scouts plenty of opportunity to dream. Crosby’s arm action is long and flowing from a high three-quarters release point, and he is still working on his off-speed pitches. He throws both a curveball and slider, and his slider shows the most potential with mid-80s velocity and some two-plane bite. Crosby also throws a couple of types of changeups that are works in progress. He is regarded as an above-average athlete and was a star football wide receiver who caught 76 passes for 19 touchdowns his senior year. That, in combination with his height, easy velocity and improved curve should get him drafted in the top two rounds.
The early returns showed most teams following the slot strategy, but the Tigers aggressively went after the talent they targeted and, as we discussed in our "draft day coverage", ended up with two guys, in Porcello and Crosby, who fell to them as "value picks" in the first and fifth round, despite being ranked higher by most prognosticators than where they were drafted.
Crosby in effect, is paid at approximately the slot money for a 40th pick overall, which is where Baseball America had him ranked, rather than slot money for a fifth rounder. The Crosby's stuck by their guns and found a team that was willing to pay market value for his talent rather than stick to major league's slot system.
Any time you can thumb thumb your nose at Bud Selig, your having a good day in my book. This de-facto collusion that the MLB owners practice, in attempting to implement that which they cannot negotiate at the bargaining table with the players (as the NBA does with it's rookie salary slot system or the NFL with it's rookie salary cap) is so transparent and comedic that it's a wonder any team continues to hamstring itself by going along. It renders the whole purpose of the draft, which is to allow the teams that finish last to draft first and in theory get the best talent to attempt to compete in the future. Savvy players and agents are able to dictate what teams they go to and circumvent the original and main purpose of the draft.
UPDATE: AFTER THE SMOKE FOR THE LAST-MINUTE SIGNING FLURRY CLEARED, 14 OF THE TOP 30 PICKS (1ST ROUNDERS) SIGNED FOR OVER THE RECOMMENDED SLOT MONEY. I REST MY CASE.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/sports/510518,2_2_AU15_CROSBY_S1.article
Crosby signs with Tigers
Kaneland star pitcher gets $748,500 contract, plus college money
August 15, 2007
BY RICK ARMSTRONG Staff Writer
Now that the money games have been played, Casey Crosby can get about the business of playing baseball games. His patience paid off.
The touted 6-foot-4, 200-pound left-handed pitching prospect out of Kaneland High School agreed to terms Tuesday with the Detroit Tigers, who in the process again thumbed their nose at Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.
Crosby was taken in the fifth round but has been described as having first-round talent. If that proves true, his $748,500 signing bonus along with funding for his college education to the tune of $21,000 per-semester for eight semesters and additional bonus incentives could be a steal for the Tigers.
However, that package is a significant step up from the maximum $126,000 Selig's office had slotted for the University of Illinois recruit's draft spot. He had until Wednesday to sign or would have headed to school in Champaign.
BONUSES FOR FIRST TEN ROUNDS: FROM PERFECT GAME WEBSITE (PRIOR TO TONIGHT'S ACTION)
http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/draft/2007/signing_bonuses/sb2007.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment