Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement should make tomorrow an interesting day for major league teams, and the players they drafted in June. As a part of the new CBA certain drafted players must be signed by midnight tomorrow, or they will re-enter the draft.
For all college juniors and players in junior college this means they will re-enter the draft in 2008. High school players who have signed on with four-year colleges will have to wait until 2010 before they will be draft eligible again. Any player who was a college senior will still fall under the old rule of having until next year’s draft before signing or they will re-enter the draft.
Here is the list of 2007 First Round draftees who are still not signed:
1. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: David Price, LHP, Vanderbilt
The Rays may not have the money to get this deal done before the deadline. A junior Price would return to Vanderbilt and re-enter next year’s draft.
2. Kansas City Royals: Mike Moustakas, 3B, Chatsworth (CA) HS
A Scott Boras client Moustakas is ready to play baseball for USC for three years if he does not sign.
3. Chicago Cubs: Josh Vitters, 3B, Cypress (CA) HS
Vitters has signed on to play baseball for Arizona State, but the Cubs and Vitters are talking so something could get done before the deadline.
5. Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters, C, Georgia Tech
Wieters was selected by many as the best player in the draft. He also is a junior and would be eligible for the 2008 draft if he goes unsigned.
9. Arizona Diamondbacks: Jarrod Parker, RHP, Norwell HS (IN)
10. San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner, LHP, South Caldwell HS (SC)
11. Seattle Mariners: Phillippe Aumont, RHP, Ecole secondaire du Versant
These three may be waiting to see what the other will do. All three are high school pitchers, and may have to wait until 2010.
12. Florida Marlins: Matt Dominguez, 3B, Chatsworth (CA) HS
A teammate of Moustakas he has signed with Cal-State Fullerton, and he might be there in the fall.
17. Texas Rangers: Blake Beavan, RHP, Irving (TX) HS
Homegrown talent who signed with Texas. The Rangers are hoping recent signees will help them sign Beavan.
27. Detroit Tigers: Rick Porcello, RHP, Seton Hall Prep (NJ)
The reason the Tigers got Porcello at #27 was the fact many teams thought he was unsignable. There is a rumor that he has signed a $7.7 million major league contract with the team.
29. San Francisco Giants: Wendell Fairley, OF, George County (MS) HS
Fairley was the third pick of the Giants in the first round, and should sign with the team before Wednesday. Especially if the club has problems with Bumgarner.
30. New York Yankees: Andrew Brackman, RHP, North Carolina State
Brackman may need Tommy John surgery, but the Yankees still want to sign him. He may not be able to pitch again until 2009.
The high school players do have a loophole they can think about. If they are unable to sign with their major league club they can go to junior college and would make themselves eligible for next year’s draft.
With players such as Andrew Miller and Tim Lincecum already playing in the bigs there is a new level of importance for the draft. It appears that the days of first round picks such as Brien Taylor may be a thing of the past. Of course the draft is still nowhere near as important as drafts in the NFL or NBA , but teams are finding players that can have some immediate impact on their clubs.
As the deadline comes closer we should see a rash of signings tomorrow. Someone is going to have to make the first move. Once we see one signing we should begin to see a rash of them as club begin to worry about losing their prospects to other clubs. This first year will be interesting, and it may make clubs think about their picks in future drafts.
Other News:
- Detroit Tigers 2B Placido Polanco broke the major league record for errorless games by a second baseman with his 144th tonight. The all-time record for infielders is 193 set by Steve Garvey.
- The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against former major leaguer Darryl Strawberry hoping to collect almost a half million dollars in unpaid taxes.
- Cal Ripken Jr. has been named a special sports envoy by the State Department. He will head to China at the end of October to offer baseball clinics.
