aggressive signings this year?

[uwisfan]

I'm a bit surprised at how fast the Crew is signing these lower-round players. Last year, they signed just 10 guys after the 23rd pick, compared to 15 already after pick #23 this year. Is this an indicator of bad they see the current lower levels of the farm? I thought this draft was supposed to be a weak one as well.

[jwill535]

They drafted a lot of easily signed players, ie college seniors with no other baseball options.

[sfl2hnq17]

ross, keeling and gibson could all be tough signs. i dont think this draft is great or terrible. though it does seem like they drafted a lot of organizational soldiers.

[DHonks]

Keep in mind that we now have a DSL team. That means we probably have 30 fewer Latin players in the US, if not more. We now need to fill 2 Rookie ball squads, whereas in the past it was more like 1.

[biedergb]

I was just looking at our recent drafts, and we have the majority in full season leagues, some others released, and only a few who would be rookie league assignments. And you never know the health status. So unless several DSL players get moved up, then yes the later rounds of this draft was to fill out the Helena and Arizona rosters.

[YoungGeezy]

Yeah I really hope they haven't spent to much money on the 16 players outside of the top 20 (only 7 top 20 signed) I always thought they tried to sign the big fish first then sign the rest accordingly. For me to consider this to be a solid draft class we will need to lock up some of the youth prospects such as Pierce, Rivera, Bates, Wick. Can't have a system with close to no young prospects. Our whole draft is 21-22 year old college kids. Nothing wrong with that but you have to lock up the kids who still have high ceilings. Hard to believe but kids like Lintz, Stosh, and Billings are still younger than almost all the pitchers we drafted this season (20-21).

With Pierce you have an extremely young, athletic player with a good arm and a frame to grow. Rivera gives you another young shortstop to work with, seeing how Prince is the only legit SS prospect in the system right now (Andres Martinez could become one) it would be nice to add another higher ceiling player to the mix. Bates is a lanky lefty who has roomn to fill out a bit and add a little more velocity. Wick reminds me a lot of Max Walla in that he has big offensive power from the corner outfield spots but also has a longer swing that will cause him to strikeout a bit more.

For this to be a class that I will really like is as simple as signing the top 10 along with Gibson & Kneeling. Wick and Bates would also be good signings. I'd give Gibson almost whatever he wants. Figure right now he is considered to be one of the top lefty prep arms in the nation, his value should only go up while at Florida. Plus he reminds me of Braddock in the picture which is always nice ha

[biedergb]

Usually the higher rounds take a little longer to sign, since it's bigger money, and there is the so-called 'slot' system that MLB likes to think it is using. A lot of these lower round guys are quick signs for less cash that should not affect the overall signings. Also, some guys can't sign if they are in college and their team is still in the CWS, guys like Pierce who will be pitching for Team Canada at the World Juniors (since they lose eligibility for these tournaments if they sign). Others like Keeling, Gibson will be a last minute signing as they have options and may wish to use them, and they will sign for 'overslot' money which means the Commish's office needs to sign off on them, and they have been slower and slower each year (probably by design).