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Every pick through the end of round 10 of the MLB draft has a slot value. This is sort of a recommended signing bonus for each of those picks. The number one overall pick has a slot value of $7.7 million this year, all the way down to the final few picks of the 10th round, which have a slot value of $131,300. Teams can still sign their draft picks for however much they want, but if their total expenditures on players in the first 10 rounds exceeds the combined slot value of those picks, they are fined. If they exceed their budget by more than 5 percent, they forfeit a pick in next year's draft.
It is important that teams draft some players they expect to sign for "below slot." College seniors are the most likely players to do that, as they don't have the option of staying in school and waiting to be drafted again. Drafting (and signing) such players frees up room to go "over slot" for players who aren't going to sign unless there's enough money on the table. This mostly applies to top high school players, all of whom have scholarship offers they can take instead of signing.
The Indians had 10 draft picks before the end of round 10 this year. They drafted three high school players with those picks, and seven college players. Only one college player in the first 10 rounds was a senior. As outlined previously, their total draft pool amount was $3,829,000.
Here are those players, along with other pertinent information, the most important item being whether or not they've agreed to a deal yet, and if so, whether it's above or below their slot value:
Top 10 Rounds Bonus Tracker
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Slot Value | Actual Bonus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Slot Value | Actual Bonus | Difference |
| 2 | 64 | Quentin Holmes | CF | Monsignor McClancy HS | $969,900 | $988,970 | -$19,070 |
| CB | 71 | Tyler Freeman | SS | Etiwanda HS | $816,500 | $816,500 | $0 |
| 3 | 102 | Johnathan Rodriguez | OF | Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy | $527,600 | $450,000 | $77,600 |
| 4 | 132 | Ernie Clement | 2B | Virginia | $393,900 | $350,000 | $43,900 |
| 5 | 162 | Austin Wade | CF | TCU | $293,800 | $293,800 | $0 |
| 6 | 192 | Michael Rivera | C | Florida | $228,000 | ||
| 7 | 222 | Kirk McCarty | LHP | Southern Mississippi | $179,500 | $250,000 | -$70,500 |
| 8 | 252 | Eli Morgan | RHP | Gonzaga | $150,200 | $135,000 | $15,200 |
| 9 | 282 | James Karinchak | RHP | Bryant University | $138,300 | $138,300 | $0 |
| 10 | 312 | Jesse Berardi | SS | St. John's | $131,300 | $131,300 | $0 |
| 11-40 | $0 | $75,000 | -$75,000 | ||||
| Total | Spent | Remaining | |||||
| $3,829,000 | $3,628,870 | $200,130 |
The first 10 rounds aren’t the only ones that matter, of course. The Tribe have hit some home runs in previous years on Day Three, which is composed of rounds 11-40. Beginning this year, any player drafted in rounds 11-40 can be offered up to $125,000 to sign. They’re allowed to offer more than $125,000, of course, but the extra money will be deducted from the team’s total draft pool for rounds 1-10. In rounds 11-40, the Indians drafted 11 high school players, 15 college players and four community college players.
Here are how rounds 11-40 have panned out thus far and who has signed:
Rounds 11-40 Draft Tracker
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Signed? | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | Signed? | Bonus |
| 11 | 342 | Matthew Turner | LHP | Miami Palmetto HS | Yes | 200K |
| 12 | 372 | Dante Mendoza | RHP | Torrance HS | ||
| 13 | 402 | Angel Lopez Alvarez | C | Northhampton CC | Yes | $80K |
| 14 | 432 | Oscar Serratos | SS | Grayson HS | ||
| 15 | 462 | Kyle Nelson | LHP | UC Santa Barbara | Yes | 125K |
| 16 | 492 | Nick Gallagher | RHP | Iowa | Yes | $125K |
| 17 | 522 | Pedro Alfonseca | OF | Black Hawk College | Yes | $100K |
| 18 | 552 | Dillon Persinger | 2B | Cal State Fullerton | Yes | $125K |
| 19 | 582 | Josh Nashed | RHP | San Jose State | Yes | $75K |
| 20 | 612 | Jonathan Teaney | RHP | San Diego | Yes | $125K |
| 21 | 642 | Tyler Friis | 2B | Indiana State | Yes | $100K |
| 22 | 672 | Clark Scolamiero | OF | North Greenville U | Yes | $75K |
| 23 | 702 | Jordan Scheftz | RHP | Central Florida | Yes | $100K |
| 24 | 732 | Riley Echols | RHP | Freed Hardeman U | Yes | $5K |
| 25 | 762 | Chandler Ferguson | RHP | Jefferson HS | Yes | $125K |
| 26 | 792 | Tommy DeJuneas | RHP | North Carolina State | Yes | $75K |
| 27 | 822 | Casey Opitz | C | Heritage HS | ||
| 28 | 852 | Michael Hendrickson | LHP | Michigan | Yes | $125K |
| 29 | 882 | Tre' Gantt | CF | Ohio State | Yes | $100K |
| 30 | 912 | Zack Draper | LHP | College of Idaho | Yes | $5K |
| 31 | 942 | Asa Lacy | LHP | Tivy HS | ||
| 32 | 972 | Mitch Reeves | RF | Florida Southern | Yes | $5K |
| 33 | 1002 | Michael Cooper | 1B | Ridge Point HS | Yes | $125K |
| 34 | 1032 | Cole Turney | RF | Travis HS | ||
| 35 | 1062 | Spencer Strider | RHP | Christian Academy of Knoxville | ||
| 36 | 1092 | Jorge Arellano | LHP | Downey HS | ||
| 37 | 1122 | Austin Martin | SS | Trinity Christian Academy | ||
| 38 | 1152 | Scott Kobos | LHP | St. Johns River State | ||
| 39 | 1182 | Joshua Rolette | C | Kansas State | ||
| 40 | 1212 | Cole Kleszcz | OF | College of the Canyons |