2010 MLB Draft Signing Day Recap

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Another signing deadline goes by and the story stays the same. The big market clubs especially in Boston and New York continue to wait until the last possible second to sign their draft picks. The Red Sox entering Monday had only signed three out of their top ten selections but ended up getting 12 out of the top 13 picks to sign which includes some marquee names in college baseball in LSU’s Anthony Ranaudo and Miami’s Chris Hernandez to name a few.

The long national nightmare is over as Bryce Harper was able to come to terms with the Washington Nationals right near the deadline with minutes to spare. It was the second straight year that the Nationals waited to the last second to come to an agreement with the top overall selection. Harper ended up agreeing to a 9.9 million dollar signing bonus after hitting .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBI at the College of Southern Nevada. (FULL ARTICLE)

The North Carolina Tar Heels ended up losing some major talent with four highly regarded recruits in Sean Coyle, Stetson Allie, Connor Narron, and Ty Linton all signing contracts. Sean Coyle ended up getting 1.3 million from the Red Sox according to The Times Herald. Stetson Allie was the 52nd overall selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates and ended up getting a signing bonus of 2.25 million according to The Plain Dealer. Connor Narron was added to the Baltimore Orioles minor league roster after being selected in the fifth round and receiving a $650,000 signing bonus. (MASN) Ty Linton also signed a deal this time with the Arizona Diamondbacks for 1.25 million after being selected in the 14th round. Linton will not play football now at North Carolina like he was expected to do this fall in addition to his work on the baseball diamond.

One of the stories heading into the final day of the draft was whether LSU would continue to get hammered by the draft. They ended up getting a reprieve as Kevin Gausman and Jacoby Jones headed to campus but received some tough news. I expected Anthony Ranaudo to come to an agreement with the Red Sox as he was able to secure a signing bonus worth $2.55 million. Ranaudo ended up pitching this summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was dominant before heading home. I ended up reporting that he left the Cape League on July 18th. (FULL ARTICLE) The other news to hurt the Tigers both on the baseball diamond and the gridiron is the fact that the LA Dodgers were able to come to an agreement with Zach Lee worth 5.25 million. Lee was already in Baton Rouge participating in summer workouts with the LSU football team where he was expected to compete for the starting quarterback job.

Clemson QB/OF Kyle Parker was able to come to an agreement with the Colorado Rockies for 1.4 million dollars but will continue to quarterback the football team. According to a report by TCBB Assistant Editor Mark Rafferty back on July 21st (FULL ARTICLE), he was offered 2.4 million but would of had to quit football. He refused to do this so the best offer that the Rockies gave him with the injury concerns with playing college football was the 1.4 million. So Kyle Parker is stating that a college football season is worth a million dollars. Do you agree with this thinking?

The most surprising news for me is the fact that Austin Wood spurned the Tampa Bay Rays after being selected in the fourth round to play next season with the Southern California Trojans. He had an excellent summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Cotuit Kettleers where he went 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched. He held opponents to a .148 batting average against while returning to his form from his high school days which saw him selected in the 36th round but he decided to head to Florida State. After a disappointing freshman season, he transferred to St. Petersburg College to play Junior College ball before committing to the Southern California for the 2011 season. The reason why I didn’t think Austin Wood was going to end up at USC is the fact that former USC manager Chad Kreuter was let go last week and Frank Cruz will serve as the head coach next season. (FULL ARTICLE)

CWS finalists UCLA received some of the best news in the entire country as all the signees ended up spurning MLB teams to play for the Bruins. The class included top pitching prospects Adam Plutko and Zach Weiss. Plutko ended up turning down a signing bonus over a million dollars while Weiss turned down a deal after being selected in the tenth round.

Another shocking move of the day was Florida signee Karston Whitson couldn’t come to an agreement with the San Diego Padres. (FULL ARTICLE) He was the ninth overall selection in the 2010 MLB Draft and now gives the Gators another quality arm in the rotation as they look to make another run to the College World Series in 2011. The Gators ae looking like a legit Top Five team heading into next season and could possibly be the top team next year in many preseason polls. You can check out some video from Camden Depot by clicking here.

The last news of the day was the fact that the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t sign Texas A&M RHP Barret Loux who was the sixth overall selection. Loux had come to an agreement with the Diamondbacks but failed his physical with concerns over the health of his shoulder and elbow according to a report from TCBB Sr. Writer William Knox on August 3rd. (FULL ARTICLE) We really can’t question the Diamondbacks for deciding that Loux was damaged goods as there had to be something they found in that MRI that they thought would show up during Loux’s professional career. What do you think?

What are some of your biggest storylines from the deadline?