The Final Tally
August 15th, 2007
MLB.com is reporting that the Nationals will not sign Roxbury Latin HS (MA) LHP Jack McGeary. With that thought in mind here is the final scorecard of the Nationals 2007 draft:
- 38 players signed out of 53 drafted
- The Nationals spent $5,819,300 in bonuses for players selected in the first ten rounds
- That leaves the bonus amounts for an additional 26 players unknown. I am going to guess-timate a 15% reduction in bonus amount starting with the last known figure ($100K for Pat McCoy in the 10th round). With that assumption the Nationals spent roughly $6.3 million in bonuses from the 2007 draft.
- 19 of their top 20 players drafted have been signed (only McGeary)
- 22 of their top 25 players drafted have been signed (McGeary, 18th rd 1B Sawyer Carroll, and 20th rd OF Dan Cook)
- 8 high school players signed
- 2 lefthanded pitchers
- 2 righthanded pitchers
- 2 outfielders (includes Smolinski)
- 1 third baseman
- 1 catcher
- 26 college players signed
- 2 lefthanded pitchers
- 12 righthanded pitchers
- 6 outfielders
- 1 first baseman
- 2 shortstops
- 3 catchers
- 4 junior/community college players signed
- 1 righthanded pitchers
- 1 outfielder
- 1 first baseman
- 1 third baseman
Categories: Draft
As quoted in the Post:
“Most people who evaluate this kind of thing and understand talent in baseball would rate the Nationals among the top three drafts,” Lerner said.
True?
Mick – Based upon potential, yes I believe the Nationals had one of the strongest drafts. It was the same deal last year. The Nationals targeted high ceiling guys which tend to lead the experts to grade them out higher than most of the other teams. The one caveat with the high potential of reward is the high volatility that these players might not develop.
We have read about the improved scouting department. Here’s where we’ll see if they are as good as we have been led to believe.
Additionally, it’s also the test to see if the Nationals have the correct infrastructure in place to properly develop these players (coaches, etc).
Any idea how this shakes out with the last two or three years of expenditures?
You had to ask didn’t you?
Let me see what I can dig up
2006 – including the DFE signing of Brad Peacock ($110K) and using the same back of the envelope 15% reduction … oddly enough $5.8 million. But this was for 26 guys
Brian: The answer is in the Baseball America Prospects Guide. I don’t have my copy with me.
Good thing they saved all that money on the major-league level then!
If you’ve got it, do you have the last few years, too?
2005 – This gets sketchy. Assuming DFE Ryan Buchter gets $100K (I don’t know what he actually got) and the same 15% redux. $4.1 million for 23 players
Dick – Mine is sitting on a shelf at home.
So, I guess there’s no chance of them spending money that they didn’t use on McGeary on one of the others? I’m new at this, but it would seem to make sense to at least consider someone like Berroa, who apparently did very well in a recent tournament.
Also, there appears to still be several big name IFAs like Carlos Flores, Israel Perez, Moises Montero, and Anderson Pujols out there. I wonder if they’d put that money towards an IFA. I remember Bowden saying they were negotiating with players that may be as talented as Detwiler and Smoker. That may have just been a negotiating ploy, but it may have been real.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
Brian: Is it normal for international players like the ones mentioned above to go this long without signing?
They could spend the money on the other guys but it sounded to me like the guys that are unsigned are more inclined to re-enter the draft in 2008 (enroll in a JuCo if necessary). Not sure the Nationals would pay what it would likely take to get them to sign (nor would it potentially make sense if their price tags are too high)
Internationally? That’s a good question. Normally the big name guys go quickly. I wonder if they’ve priced themselves too high for the other teams or more likely the new signing deadline has led teams to put off those signings until they are sure who they have/have not signed from the draft.
Brian: Teams waiting on the draft before signing makes sense. It also occurs to me that teams may not want to sign an IFA to a big bonus and then have that work against them in negotiations with a draft pick.
Apparently, McGeary is not over yet. Very interesting read.
I also saw a quote in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from Danny Hall saying he thought Duncan would be coming back to school.
I edited the URLs into links — Yuda
Brian: Mine is on my bedside table. I sleep with it under my pillow.
Just more money to spend on foreign player signings