As mentioned in yesterday's Open Thread, clubs are working with a de facto bonus cap in the first 10 round of the drafts, so there is some strategy involved. For instance, if a club picks a high school player in the Round 4-6 that has a full ride waiting at a top problem, it's going to take more money to sign him than a college junior or senior. So not only do you need to select the best players on your board, you also have to have a larger strategy in mind through those first 10 rounds. Because if you do not sign a player, the slot value assigned to that pick is subtracted from your overall bonus pool. The signing deadline for this year's selections is July 12th, so we should start seeing these picks in Mahoning Valley and Arizona fairly soon.
With that being said, here's the results for the first ten rounds.
Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Exp. | School | Slot Value | Actual Bonus |
1 | 5 | Clint Frazier | OF | High School | Loganville HS, GA | $3,787,000 | |
3 | 79 | Dace Kime | RHP | College JR |
Louisville | $692,200 | |
4 | 111 | Kyle Crockett | LHP | College JR |
Virginia | $463,600 | |
5 | 141 | Sean Brady | LHP | High School | Ida S Baker HS, FL | $347,100 | |
6 | 171 | Shane Casey | RHP | High School | Centennial HS, TX | $259,900 | |
7 | 201 | Kenny Matthews | LHP | Junior College | Riverside CC | $194,800 | |
8 | 231 | Trevor Frank | RHP | College SR | California - Riverside | $158,300 | |
9 | 261 | Thomas Pannone | LHP | Junior College | College of So. Nevada | $147,800 | |
10 | 291 | Ross Kivett | 2B | College JR | Kansas State | $138,100 | |
Totals | $6,188,000 |
After Frazier, the Indians went almost entirely with pitching. If you've been following along with the minor league threads, you'll know that in the lower levels there haven't been many pitching success stories, and the Indians apparently had that in mind when making their selections. There's a pretty even distribution between experience levels, with three high school players taken, two from junior college, three college juniors, and one college senior. Last season the Indians took more college seniors, but then again, they took more high school players as well. The two difficult signs look to be Sean Brady (5) and Kenny Matthews (6), two high school pitchers with offers to very good programs.
Round 3 - RHP Dace Kime, Lousiville
A native of Defiance, Ohio (the same town that Chad Billingsly and Jonathon Niese came from), Kime was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates three years ago in eighth round, but decided to go to school after negotiations dragged on:
Kime will get more than the $400,000 offered to him in 2010, and the Indians see him as a starter even he's pitched in relief most of his college career. He has the size (6'5", 220 pounds) that you usually want to see in a major-league starter, and has sink to his low-mid 90s fastball. None of his other pitches (curve, cutter, change) are plus pitches (otherwise he wouldn't have lasted this long), but most of everything he throws is decent to average.
Round 4 - LHP Kyle Crockett, Virginia
A college reliever, Crockett will move the quickest of the players selected so far if he's kept in the bullpen. He has a classic fastball-slider combination, but even better, is a strike thrower, walking only 1 batter in 43 innings of work this season. A college junior, he should sign after his season is over.
Round 5 - LHP Sean Brady, Baker HS (Florida)
A 19-year-old high school senior, Brady was one of the best pitchers in the state of Florida this year. Brad Grant liked his polish as a high school pitcher:
"Really good feel to pitch," said Brad Grant, the Indians' director of amateur scouting. "He's got an 86-90-[mph] fastball, he has a really good feel for the curveball -- plus-curveball at times -- an average changeup and a really good strike-thrower. A polished, advanced high school guy with a really good delivery."
But a couple things are working against the Indians. Brady has committed to the University of Florida, and because he's 19, he'll be eligible for the draft again after his sophomore year.
Round 6 - RHP Casey Shane, Centennial HS (Texas)
Another high school pitcher that will be difficult to sign, Shane hasn't looked as good this season, but the Indians are banking that he can regain his mid-90s velocity. He has the size to be a starter (6'5"), and was one of the youngest pitchers available in the draft. Shane has committed to Texas A&M, and like with Brady, it will take a bonus well over slot value for him to turn pro now.
Round 7 - LHP Kenny Matthews, Riverside (CA) CC
Matthews started his career at powerhouse Cal State Fullerton before "off-field factors" caused him to transfer to a community college. He's a sophomore, so he's a year younger than most pitchers who opt for college. Matthews doesn't have that 88-90 mph fastball velocity that most clubs want from a left-handed starter, but he gets by with command of all his pitches.
This is from 2010, when he was still in high school:
Round 8 - RHP Trevor Frank, UC Riverside
The only college senior selected by the Indians in the first 10 rounds, Frank served as Riverside's closer this past season and had success. He's short for a right-hander, but has ok stuff, but maybe he can get by at the major-league level.
Round 9 - LHP Thomas Pannone, JC of Southern Nevada
Only a year out of high school, Pannone has committed to Arizona. He went to high school in Rhode Island. He pitched and played the outfield this year, but as he was drafted as a pitcher, the Indians see his future on the mound. If he signs, he'll be a project for the minor-league staff given that he grew up in the Northeast and wasn't a full-time pitcher.
Round 10 - 2B Ross Kivett, Kansas State
A native Clevelander (he attended St. Edward High School and was a teammate of current minor-leaguer Alex Laviskey), I don't think the Indians will have any problems signing him...
YAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Ross Kivett (@RossKSU7) June 7, 2013
YAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
— Ross Kivett (@RossKSU7) June 7, 2013
HOME FREAKIN' GROWN BABY!!!! #rolltribe
— Ross Kivett (@RossKSU7) June 7, 2013