Where We Sit With The First Round Picks

The signing deadline for players drafted in the 2009 MLB Rule 4 Draft is less than two weeks away.  In fact, players and their advisors have 12 more days to come to agreement with MLB organizations.  If a deal is not struck by midnight of August 17th, that player will either return to college, go to college for the first time (if a high school draftee), or play independent ball for a year.

A majority of first round selections are still waiting on that magic number before they sign an agreement to play professionally.  12 players have signed…20 to go.  The last player to sign was Jared Mitchell (CAA client).  Undoubtedly, not every player will sign, but you can expect a lot of deals to get done with hours or minutes left before the actual deadline.

The draft is 50 rounds long and not ALL about the first round.  Many players outside of the first round have not yet signed, either.  For instance, 6 of the 17 first round supplemental picks are still waiting to hear a number they like (Paxton, Davis, Skaggs, Owings, Boxberger, and Scheppers).

First Round Picks

1. Nationals. Stephen Strasburg, rhp Boras Corp. Unsigned. Boras wants $50 million.
2. Mariners. Dustin Ackley, of Boras Corp. Unsigned. Boras wants roughly $9.5 million.
3. Padres. Donavan Tate, of Boras Corp. Unsigned. Boras already has enough on his hands with Strasburg and Ackley. Add Donavan, and it’s quite a party.
4. Pirates. Tony Sanchez, c ACES (Hank King & Mike Zimmerman). Signed. $2.5 million.
5. Orioles. Matt Hobgood, rhp Wasserman Media Group (Lenny Strelitz). Signed. $2.42 million.
6. Giants. Zack Wheeler, rhp Jet Sports Management. Unsigned.
7. Braves. Mike Minor, lhp Bo McKinnis. Unsigned. Jonathan Mayo believes his signing will make many other college pitchers in the first round sign.
8. Reds. Mike Leake, rhp Beverly Hills Sports Council (Dan Horwits). Unsigned. Close to a deal.
9. Tigers. Jacob Turner, rhp Boras Corp. Unsigned. Boras boy #4…also waiting it out.
10. Nationals. Drew Storen, rhp CAA. Signed. $1.6 million. Storen is tearing it up in the organization thus far. He is already with the High A Potomac Nationals, and is closing out games along with Dynasty client, Dan Leatherman.
11. Rockies. Tyler Matzek, lhp Legacy Sports Group (Greg Genske) Unsigned. Signs pointing to him going to Oregon and not signing with the Rockies.
12. Royals. Aaron Crow, rhp Hendricks Sports Management (J.D. Smart). Unsigned. Doesn’t have to sign by August 17.
13. Athletics. Grant Green, ss Boras Corp. Unsigned. The fifth Boras superhero.
14. Rangers. Matt Purke, lhp Select Sports Group (Peter Vescovo). Unsigned.
15. Indians. Alex White, rhp Career Sports (Keith Grunewald). Unsigned.
16. Diamondbacks. Bobby Borchering, 3b SFX (Troy Caradonna). Unsigned.
17. Diamondbacks. A.J. Pollock, of Icon Sports Management (Rob Martin). Signed. $1.4 million
18. Marlins. Chad James, lhp Icon Sports Management (Rob Martin). Unsigned.
19. Cardinals. Shelby Miller, rhp Select Sports Group (Peter Vescovo). Unsigned.
20. Blue Jays. Stephen Jenkins, rhp ACES (Hank King & Brandon O’Hearn). Unsigned.
21. Astros. Jiovanni Mier, ss Legacy Sports Group (Greg Genske). Signed. $1.358 million
22. Twins. Kyle Gibson, rhp Randy Rowley. Unsigned. Stalling because of injury issues.
23. White Sox. Jared Mitchell, of CAA. Signed. $1.2 million
24. Angels. Randal Grichuk, of SFX (Tom Little). Signed. $1.242 million
25. Angels. Mike Trout, of Landis/Seal/Ware. Signed. $1.215 million
26. Brewers. Eric Arnett, rhp Sterling Sports Management (Joe Speed). Signed. $1.197 million
27. Mariners. Nick Franklin, ss SportsMeter (David Meter). Unsigned.
28. Red Sox. Reymond Fuentes, of MDR Sports Management (Melvin Roman). Signed. $1.134 million
29. Yankees. Slade Heathcott, of Frontline Athlete Management (Darek Braunecker). Unsigned.
30. Rays. LeVon Washington, 2b Boras Corp. Unsigned. Boras kid #6…also waiting it out.
31. Cubs. Brett Jackson, of CAA. Signed. $972,000. All 3 CAA drafted players have signed. Now if only they struck a deal with the New Orleans Saints for Malcolm Jenkins.
32. Rockies. Tim Wheeler, of Frontline Athlete Management (Jim Lindell). Signed. $900,000.

For links to many of the agencies listed, please check out our Agencies Database.