I’ve been scouring through some press releases and decided to do an update on who has signed, when signed, where they are now and how significant the signing is.
- Tim Fedroff – Cleveland Indians – 7th round – OF – Last season the former UNC star hit 0.404/12/71/14. A true 5 tool prospect will join the TIgers starting out with the Mahonig Valley Scrappers of short season A ball. He was signed on 8/5/08, this is a significant signing for them since the now have signed 12 of their top 14 picks.
- Chris Berroa – Oakland A’s – 11th round – OF
- Dustin Coleman – Oakland A’s – 28th round – SS
- Justin Murray – Oakland A’s – 29th round – RHP
- Daniel Espinosa – Washington Nationals – 3rd round – IF – He is a former 2 time All Big West player. Drafted out of Long Beach State (CA) he went 0.309/4/37 his junior year. He has not been asigned as of yet. He was signed on 8/11/08 and is considered a very big signing.
- Graham Hicks – Washington Nationals – 4th round LHP – Left hand pitcher Hicks is out of George Jenkins High School (FL), where in his last two seasons, he put up a record of 15-2/0.41/155 strikeouts in 119 innings. His talent is raw but certainly an exciting player to watch. He was also signed on 8/11/08.
- Christopher Hicks – Houston Astros – 14th round – RHP – Hicks was the closer fo last year’s Georgia Tech team. He had a tough time last year as in 27 games pitched, 9 saves, but an ERA of 8.67. He has been assigned to the Tri City Valley Cats in Short Season A ball. Signed 8/5/08.
- Ross Seaton – Houston Astros – 3rd Round – RHP – High school fireballer out of Houston Texas, he was 8-2/1.32/122 strikeouts in 74 innings. He has been assigned to the Greenville Astros of the Short Season Appalachian League. He was signed on 8/1/08. This will be a great signing for the Astros.
- Conor Gillaspie – San Francisco Giants – 1A round – 3B – This is a huge signing for the Giants. He was drafted out of Wichita State, where he went 0.419/11/82 and was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference team. He was also named 2007 Cape Cod League MVP. He was signed on 8/6/08 and was assigned to the AZL Giants.
With the signing deadline fast approaching, there will be many more names to add to this list. The biggest name of the bunch is Gillaspie, he is definitely one player you want to watch. I will keep going though the news wire to find out who signs and when.
Catching prospect Adrian Nieto has signed with the Washington Nationals. This may not be big news in many people’s eyes, but Nieto was part of the amazing American Heritage High School team this year out of Florida. The American Heritage High School team had four of it’s players selected in the major league draft this past June. Eric Hosmer (3rd, Royals), Nieto (151st, Nationals), JC Sulbaran (899th, Reds), and Joey Belviso (1501st, Angels).
Adrian has an incredible story as I have learned, he actually emigrated to the United States from Cuba when he was just four years old. He came onto the spotlight as a sophomore, when he went 0.381/4/27, continued hitting the ball well as a junior (while suffering through some injuries) where he went 0.361/4/17, and finally capped off his high school career as a senior hitting 0.372/5/38. He has been named to both the AFLAC All American team and to the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars roster.
He should have been picked earlier in the draft but apparently other teams shied away from his thinking he had a pre-draft deal in place with the Orioles, no matter which round he was selected in. The Nationals took a chance when he was still around in the fifth round and that chance has paid off, both for the Nationals and for Nieto. Right now he is with the GCL Nationals, but has not played in any games. He currently doesn’t have any trading cards to his name. Keep an eye on him though, he will be a top prospect soon enough.
Here is his scouting report from minorleaguebaseball.com:
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Focus Area
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Comments
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| Hitting Ability: |
Nieto is a good hitter who stays on pitches really well. |
| Power: |
He’s got some power and could be a 10-15 homer type if he stays behind the plate. |
| Running Speed: |
He is a well below-average runner. |
| Base Running: |
He’s not a particularly good baserunner because of his lack of speed. |
| Arm Strength: |
If it’s healthy, he’s got a plus arm. |
| Fielding: |
Nieto has been a little lazy behind the plate and has had trouble holding on to balls. |
| Range: |
He did not move well behind the plate in this game. |
| Physical Description: |
Nieto is big and strong, but was described as having a bad body. |
| Medical Update: |
A strained elbow ligament kept him from catching all of last year. |
| Strengths: |
A good hitting approach and a plus arm, if healthy. |
| Weaknesses: |
Nieto struggled with his catching skills and there is concern about his elbow holding up. |
| Summary: |
Generally considered to be the second-best prep catcher in the Draft class, Nieto has a solid approach at the plate and a very strong arm behind it. However, an elbow injury last year has limited his time behind the plate and he struggled a bit defensively early this season. On the same team as top prospect Eric Hosmer, he’ll get plenty of chances to show improvement in front of scouts this spring. |
I heard about this deal last night and was going to start writing about it then, but I figured, give it a few hours of sleep, take a look at the deal again and see if I missed something. Adam Dunn for Dallas Buck plus two players to be named later (since after the trade deadline you can only trade one for one until the season is over). All I know is those other two players better be freaking minor league superstars because if not the Reds got hosed.
Let me get this straight, the Reds traded the major league home run leader, for a struggling minor league starter in advanced A ball, who by the way just came off of Tommy John surgery. What? Seriously? I thought that the Ivan Rodriguez deal was lopsided, but this deal makes that one look decent. At least with the Hamilton for Volquez, it made sense for everyone involved. I don’t understand how this deal helps the Reds. I understand that the Diamondbacks are essentially renting him for a month and a half, being there outfield is stacked once Upton rejoins the team, but to only get one mediocre A ball starter for Dunn makes no sense. The deal does nothing to help the Reds.
So far this season Dunn has gone 0.233/32/74, and although his average is awful, you aren’t getting him for his batting average, you’re getting him for his power. Buck so far this season is 1-5/3.55/1.16 in 9 starts. Last season in advanced A he was 4-4/3.41/1.18 in 16 starts prior to the surgery. Losing Dunn’s bat is a real problem for the Reds at this point. The Reds went from an out field of Jay Bruce, Ken Griffey Jr, and Dunn to Bruce, Corey Patterson and Jolbert Cabrerra. Not sure where the Reds want to head next season. Danny Dorn and Sean Henry, are their two best hitting outfield prospects right now, but they are in AA.
As for Dunn, I’m not certain where he will end up next season. The Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs are probably front runners. His autograph is wildly popular on the secondary market. Not much that can be had for under $7, and most run around the $20 mark. This trade should stoke the fire a bit and drive those prices even higher. As for Dallas Buck, I was unable to find any items he has signed. I know that here are cards of his out there signed, just couldn’t find any.
