Categories
Headline MLB Players MLB Teams Sports Agents

The MLB Draft Day 1 Broken Down

First Round

  1. Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) – Boras Corp. – Interesting to note that Bud Selig referred to Harper as an outfielder even though he has played mostly catcher his entire life.  Get this kid on the fast track through the Minors.
  2. Jameson Tallion (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Hendricks Sports Management – Big high school arm clocked as high as 99 mph.
  3. Manny Machado (Baltimore Orioles) – Boras Corp. – Hard to see Machado passing up signing to go play at Florida International University.  Interesting that FIU is his college commitment.
  4. Christian Colon (Kansas City Royals) – Boras Corp. – Yesterday, I had reported that the Royals wanted to sign Yasmani Grandal.  Perhaps his price tag was too high.
  5. Drew Pomeranz (Cleveland Indians) Beverly Hills Sports Council – He was drafted in the 12th round out of high school.
  6. Barret Loux (Arizona Diamondbacks) – SFX – Jumped up boards a lot recently.
  7. Matt Harvey (New York Mets) – Boras Corp. – 4th Boras client selected in the top 7 picks.
  8. Delino Deshields Jr. (Houston Astros) – Wasserman Media Group
  9. Karsten Whitson (San Diego Padres) – SFX – Committed to my alma mater, the University of Florida.
  10. Michael Choice (Oakland Athletics) – Franklin-Frye Sports – Went undrafted out of high school.
  11. Deck McGuire (Toronto Blue Jays) – SFX – Also undrafted out of high school.
  12. Yasmani Grandal (Cincinnati Reds) – Legacy Sports Group – Slipped because of signability issues.
  13. Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox) – Jet Sports Management – Didn’t play at a major school (Florida Gulf Coast University), but put up great numbers there and played very well in Cape Cod last summer.
  14. Dylan Covey (Milwaukee Brewers) – Wasserman Media Group
  15. Jake Skole (Texas Rangers) – Unknown – Won’t be compensated if they don’t sign this pick (most likely why Skole was taken here).
  16. Hayden Simpson (Chicago Cubs) – Hendricks Sports Management – Great numbers this past year in Division II baseball.
  17. Josh Sale (Tampa Bay Rays) – Creative Artists Agency – Don’t worry, different advisors than the people at CAA who have to worry about where LeBron will play.
  18. Kaleb Cowart (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – SFX – Boras Corp. has higher drafted clients, but at this point of the draft, SFX and Boras tied in number of players picked.
  19. Michael Foltynewicz (Houston Astros) – Octagon
  20. Kolbrin Vitek (Boston Red Sox) – Pro Star Management – Joe Bick also represents Kevin Youkilis, one of my favorite players.
  21. Alex Wimmers (Minnesota Twins) – ACES – Undrafted out of high school.
  22. Kellin Deglan (Texas Rangers) – Double Diamond Sports Management – Canadian catcher committed to Florida International University with Manny Machado.
  23. Christian Yelich (Florida Marlins) – Creative Artists Agency – Committed to the University of Miami, so he will be in the state of Florida no matter what.
  24. Gary Brown (San Francisco Giants) – Boras Corp. – And Boras re-gains the lead in clients selected with a total of 5 at this point.
  25. Zack Cox (St. Louis Cardinals) – SFX – A draft-eligible sophomore.
  26. Kyle Parker (Colorado Rockies) – Career Sports Entertainment – Also the quarterback for Clemson.  Will be a tough sign.
  27. Jesse Biddle (Philadelphia Phillies) – Sosnick & Cobbe – Matt Sosnick represents some big time pitchers; add this stud to the list.
  28. Zach Lee (Los Angeles Dodgers) – Unknown – Committed to play football at LSU. Queue the signability discussion.
  29. Cam Bedrosian (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – ACES
  30. Chevez Clarke (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – ACES – 2 ACES clients drafted in a row, and a total of 3 ACES clients taken in the first round.
  31. Justin O’Connor (Tampa Bay Rays) – SFX – Committed to Arkansas.
  32. Cito Culver (New York Yankees) – SFX

Comp Round A

  1. Mike Kvasnicka (Houston Astros) – Sterling Sports Management
  2. Aaron Sanchez (Toronto Blue Jays) – West Coast Sports
  3. Matthew Lipka (Atlanta Braves) – Franklin-Frye Sports
  4. Bryce Brentz (Boston Red Sox) – Jet Sports Management
  5. Taylor Lindsey (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – Unknown
  6. Noah Syndergaard (Toronto Blue Jays) – Xclusive Sports Management
  7. Anthony Ranaudo (Boston Red Sox) – Boras Corp.
  8. Ryan Bolden (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – ACES
  9. Asher Wojciechowski (Toronto Blue Jays) – SFX
  10. Drew Vettleson (Tampa Bay Rays) – Creative Artists Agency
  11. Taijuan Walker (Seattle Mariners) – Reynolds Sports Management
  12. Nick Castellanos (Detroit Tigers) – SportsMeter
  13. Luke Jackson (Texas Rangers) – Unknown
  14. Seth Blair (St. Louis Cardinals) – Boras Corp.
  15. Peter Tago (Colorado Rockies) – Wasserman Media Group
  16. Chance Ruffin (Detroit Tigers) – Unknown
  17. Mike Olt (Texas Rangers) – Wasserman Media Group
  18. Tyrell Jenkins (St. Louis Cardinals) – Select Sports Group

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

9 replies on “The MLB Draft Day 1 Broken Down”

Word is that Deglan is the first player to sign, for a figure right around $1 million. If true, it would be lower than the bonus for every pick in last year’s 1st round other than the 31st and 32nd pick.

Noah Syndergaard (Blue Jays) Pick. 38
Advisor: Kyle Dison, Xclusive Sports Management

didn’t kyle used to work for your company? impressive draft pick for him and his company.

double diamond’s player at #22 just signed for a below-slot deal. that’s going to be fuel for other agents for sure.

Comments are closed.