Goodyear Notebook: 3/21

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

Blair ready to go

The Indians made a big splash with a lot of high profile draft signings at the signing deadline date last August 16^th.  While the position players they signed were able to quickly be assigned to short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley or rookie level Arizona and play right away, pitchers like right-hander Kyle Blair and left-hander Drew Pomeranz had to sit out the rest of the season.

With only three weeks left in the season, by the time either Blair or Pomeranz completed a throwing program to ramp them back up to game speed the season would have been over.  As a result, both worked out and hung around with Mahoning Valley for most of the remainder of the season before going to Instructional League later in September to do some throwing and pitch in a handful of exhibition games.

Blair came out for spring training about a week prior to the start of early camp on March 1^st and is just excited to be back out on the field throwing and participating.  He is also happy that “real” games quickly approaching in about two weeks.

“I actually came about a week early to get settled in,” said Blair.  “I haven’t thrown a pitch since the end of the college season.  To be honest, I [am] ready to go.”

Blair, 22, spent most of the offseason in Tampa, Florida where he along with Indians’ players Chris Perez and Wes Hodges worked out at Saddlebrook Resort for six weeks.  Lots of players from around the game both in the minors and majors went there to get ready for the upcoming season by working out twice a day, doing yoga two times a week, and working on their nutrition.

In addition to keeping himself in shape, Blair spent a lot of time working on improving his fastball command.  He roomed with right-handed pitcher Drew Storen of the Washington Nationals, and  in doing so was introduced to the pitchers power drive which Storen endorses.

“Working on my fastball command has been my thing since my freshman year,” said Blair.  “I worked with the pitchers power drive which is like a plate that helps you keep your balance and centered and get your hips going.  It helps with your balance and you have to click it so your hips go and that is when you know you are doing it right.  I have been using that and it has been huge.  I have been throwing the ball well in my pens which I haven’t done the past three years, so it is just one of those things that has worked out tremendously and I am really excited to get things going.”

In addition to maintaining better balance with his delivery, Blair also wants to become more confident in his ability to throw his fastball for strikes, something that at times was a problem for him in college.

“We took charts in college of percentage of strikes with each pitch and my percentage of strikes with my slider was like 6-7% better than my fastball,” said Blair.  “That should never happen.  That’s one thing I want to do [better] because you can’t get to the big leagues without a fastball.”

Blair’s best pitches are his plus slider and developing changeup.  If his fastball command ever comes around and his changeup develops as hoped, the Indians could have themselves a workhorse for the starting rotation for many years.

“I feel like my changeup has gotten better as I worked on that quite a bit in the offseason too,” said Blair.  “In bullpens it feels great, but it only counts when you go out there [in games].”

Blair understands what kind of pitcher he is and does not try to be what he is not.  This upcoming season will be a learning experience for him as he adjusts to the pro game on and off the field and progresses with his development path.

“I know my game as a pitcher and that I am not a power pitcher,” said Blair.  “I just need to throw good strikes down in the zone with the fastball and not have to go to 3-2 sliders every time.  That’s what I have been working on the whole offseason.”

Weglarz not frustrated by injuries

Indians outfielder Nick Weglarz went down last Thursday with a torn meniscus to his left knee and is still being evaluated as to how long he will be out and if surgery will be required.  It is yet another injury added to his growing list of setbacks in his career, and in the wake of the injuries he has done his best to not let frustration creep in.

“It sometimes is frustrating,” said Weglarz in an interview last week just before being hurt.  “Since July of last year I have had a couple of injuries pop up here and there, but you just [try to] put it behind you.”

Weglarz, 23, had his season last year come to a premature end in early August when he suffered a sprained ligament to his right thumb when diving for a ball in the outfield.  He went out to the Venezuela Winter League to make up some at bats in the offseason, but he got hurt in his fourth game when he threw his back out after a collision with the shortstop.  After the back did not get better after some rehab he was shut down the rest of the offseason and went home to be re-evaluated.

The injuries do not stop there for Weglarz as in 2009 a stress fracture in his left shin area resulted in him having to miss about the last two-plus months of that season.  He had a steel rod inserted into his shin to help stabilize and speed up the recovery.  Also, in 2006 he suffered a broken hamate bone after just one game and missed the rest of that season.

All told Weglarz has missed a lot of time over the last five plus seasons due to injury.  Most of the injuries have been out of his control, but when a player gets hurt as much as he has over his career the phrase “injury prone” starts to get passed around.

“For the most part they definitely have been fluke injuries,” said Weglarz.  “It definitely is a goal of mine to stay healthy and stay on the field and if I do that I can put myself in a good position this year.”

With all the injuries Weglarz has suffered some wonder if he may be better off moving back to first base, which was the position he played up to the time he was drafted by the Indians back in 2005.  At the moment the Indians have no plans to move him from the outfield to first base, and Weglarz himself hopes that the Indians keep him in the outfield.

“I think I am a good defensive outfielder, so there is no need for me to move to first base,” said Weglarz.  “I like it out there and I feel like it is a better opportunity for me out there too.  I’d like to stay there.”

Whenever Weglarz gets back onto the field he hopes to carry over his success he had last year into this season.

“I still have the same approach; it’s just the consistency,” said Weglarz.  “If I can nail down my bat path and be consistent with my pre-game routine, I think that my swing was right where I wanted it last year so if I can continue that this year I will be in a good spot.”

Prior to the injury it was felt that Weglarz could at some point see some time in Cleveland this year, especially if outfielder Grady Sizemore has any issues with his recovery from knee surgery.  All that may be out the window now as he probably will not start playing games until mid-May at the earliest, though a quick recovery and good showing at Triple-A Columbus could still earn him a callup sometime after the All Star break or even in September when rosters expand.

“The big goal is to play in the big leagues,” said Weglarz.  “The smaller goals are to stay healthy and stay consistent with my swing.  Just be ready to play everyday.  I would like to think if I have the same year as I had last year [and stay healthy] that I could see time [up] there.”

Notebook:

Kluber scare: Right-handed pitcher Corey Kluber was struck in the head with a line drive off the bat of second baseman Jason Kipnis on Monday morning.  It was a scary moment for him and all the players and coaches present, and he will no doubt be evaluated further.  Hopefully he is okay, and by the sounds of things that seems to be the case.

Released:  On Monday the Indians announced that the following players from their minor league system have been released: first baseman Ben Carlson, right-handed pitcher Andrew Shive, left-handed pitcher Nick Kirk, right-handed pitcher Matthew Speake, and right-handed pitcher Alexander Morales.

Monday games cancelled: The Indians afternoon minor league games with the Dodgers were cancelled because of the pouring rain, but they were able to get some work in for their pitchers in the morning.  Columbus and Akron squared off for four and a half innings, and Kinston and Lake County played against each other for six innings.

Columbus recap:  Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall hit a solo homer in two at bats and shortstop Ron Rivas stayed hot going 2-for-2 with a 2B and RBI.  Right-hander Zach Putnam went 1.1 innings (1 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and was up to 95 MPH.

Akron recap:  Blazing hot catcher Chun Chen went 2-for-2 with a 2B, and second baseman Justin Toole went 2-for-2.  Right-hander Austin Adams went 3.0 innings (4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) and was up to 95 MPH.

Kinston recap: Outfielder Marcus Bradley went 2-for-3 with a BB and RBI, and second baseman Kyle Smith went 2-for-2 with an RBI.  Left-hander T.J. House went 2.0 innings (3 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and was up to 91 MPH.  Right-hander Trey Haley went 3.0 innings (2 H, 2 R/ER, 4 BB, 1 K) and was up to 96 MPH and threw first pitch strikes to 10 of 15 batters.

Lake County recap: Outfielder Jordan Casas went 2-for-2 with 2 stolen bases, and outfielder Henry Dunn went 1-for-2 with a 2B.  Right-hander Michael Goodnight went 3.0 innings (2 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and was up to 93 MPH.

Today: I’ll be spending the better part of the day traveling back to Cleveland.  The spring training coverage will not end here though as I plan to continue the daily updates and will start posting box scores (I will be posting the box scores for the previous games as well).

Coming soon: In addition to that I have a lot of feature articles coming up that I have not yet posted from interviews with players at camp like Alex Lavisky, Nick Bartolone, Cord Phelps, Roberto Perez, Eric Berger, Mark Brown, and Bo Greenwell.  I will also have a pre-draft piece up later this week from a discussion I had on Sunday with Amateur Scouting Director Brad Grant.

And with that….good-bye Goodyear!  See you in October for Instructional League and the Arizona Fall League.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).

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2010 Draft Signings Update: Final Signing, Draft Thoughts

This posting will provide updates on the 2010 Draft picks and where they are in the signing process. I will continue to update this post throughout the next two months as new information becomes available. When an update occurs I will bump this to the front page with the new information timestamped at the top. Also, this information will also be added to their draft profiles which can be found by clicking on their names in the 2010 Draft listing.

UPDATE 8/17/2010 9:52 AM EST: Now that the signing deadline has come and gone, it's time to lay this thread to rest. I hope the updates and information were helpful during the two month long courting process between team and player.

In the end, the Indians spent somewhere between $9-10M on the bonuses for all 27 signed picks, which I believe is a club record for bonuses paid in a draft for them (though unconfirmed). It's nice to see this, and they made good on their promise this year that they would not only have an aggressive draft, but an aggressive signing process as well.

So where are the signings from yesterday going? I can confirm that Blair will immediately go to Mahoning Valley, and Wolters and Lavisky will head to Arizona this week. I am not certain at the moment where Pomeranz and Washington will go, but I believe Washington likely will go to Arizona though there is a chance he goes to Mahoning Valley. Pomeranz won't pitch for anyone this year, but will start to throw bullpens to get him ready for Instructional League which starts in mid-September. He could do what Alex White did last year and join Double-A Akron as a non-rostered player for a few weeks.

The biggest signing to me was Wolters, not because he may have been the best player in the Indians' draft, but because he appeared to be the hardest sign. Suppoedly, he was looking for a $2M signing bonus, a figure which seemed unreachable. Because of the high bonus demand, the Indians were uncertain that they could sign him, but they put their best foot forward and in the end some common ground was achieved when he signed for $1.35M. Even though he signed for about $650K less than what he was seeking, he still signed for $900K more than the recommended slot of $405K for where he was taken in the draft.

Overall, there is very little (if any) disappointment with this draft at least on paper. Now that all the guys will start playing, we will see what happens and if this aggressive approach worked out. Here are a couple of notes on a few guys that many fans were interested in signing that we did not:

Burch Smith (RHP, 20th round): This is probably the most disappointing of all unsigned picks, and I believe the Indians are disappointed as well. They apparently were very close to reaching a deal in negotiations, but for whatever reasons there was a sudden change of heart and he chose to go to school. There was a reason as a Top 3 round talent why he slid to the 20th round, and that was signability reasons as teams felt he was deeply committed to go to school no matter what, and in the end that was the case.

Jeff Schaus (OF, 27th round): Schaus was an interesting pick, but it appears his money demands were out of line as he was looking for a sizeable bonus. In the end though, by not signing and going back to school for his senior season, he is going to find that next year leaves him very little in the way of leverage for the bonus he desires unless he has one heck of a season and shows some improvement.

Tyler Pearson (C, 38th round): He was seeking a $750K bonus and was pretty deadset on that number. With the Indians focus on Lavisky and them feeling confident a deal could be reached with him, things did not work out with Pearson. That said, expect the Indians to be in on him in three years when he becomes draft eligible again.

Bobby Wahl (RHP, 39th round): The Indians were in on him right after the draft, but he turned down a reported seven figure deal from the Indians right away and opted to attend Ole Miss. It's not always about the money.

UPDATE 8/17/2010 12:02 AM EST: Indians have agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz. He signed for $2.65M.

The Indians have also signed outfielder LeVon Washington (2nd round) and shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round).  Washington signed for $1.2M and Wolters for $1.35M.

The Indians aggressive approach both with the draft and getting guys signed really showed itself in the end. Here are some of the final numbers:

Pomeranz $2.65M
Washington $1.2M
Wolters $1.35M
Blair $580K
Cook $299K
Bartolone $125K
Aviles $150K
Lavisky $1.0M
Cooper $125K
Holt $500K
Goodnight $315K
Dischler $255K
Bradley $125K

That totals: $8.674M

I have no idea on the contracts signed by other picks Jones, Cannon, Seastrunk, Siliga, Burnette, Dew, Striz, Thompson, Petter, Casas, Heere, Fields, and Dunn, but all were likely much lower deals. In all the Indians spent somewhere north of $9M on the draft this year.

UPDATE 8/16/2010 5:01 PM EST: The Indians have signed catcher Alex Lavisky (8th round). Exact terms of the deal are unknown at this time, but it was rumored a day ago he would sign for $1M.  He will report to Arizona in the coming days. Also, to update an earlier signing, Kyle Blair will report to Mahoning Valley.

Lavisky, 19, is a 6-1, 210-pound right-handed hitting catcher from nearby Lakewood St. Edward High School. This past season he batted .450 (36-80) with nine doubles, 13 home runs and 40 RBIs while scoring 33 runs for the OHSAA Division I State Champion Eagles. The Cleveland, OH native previously had signed a letter of intent to Georgia Tech University. Last August he took part in the Under Armour All-America Game played in Wrigley Field. Prior to the draft Lavisky was rated as the 89th best prospect and the 7th best catcher in the 2010 draft by Baseball America. In 2009, Alex led St. Edward in hits (38), doubles (13), RBI (27) and batting average (.481). He was second on the team with six home runs and went five-for-five in stolen base attempts.

UPDATE 8/16/2010 2:35 PM EST: The Indians have signed right-handed pitcher Kyle Blair (4th round). Terms of the deal are unknown at this time, though bonus supposed to be around $550-600K.  Edit: This is out quickly as Baseball America and many others are reporting it and BA says the deal is for $580K, more than half less than what he had commanded when he was drafted by the Dodgers out of high school in 2007 (over $1M).

Blair, 21 (turns 22 on Aug. 27), is a 6-3, 230-pound right-handed pitcher who just concluded his junior season at the University of San Diego. This year he went 8-4 with a 2.84 ERA (98.1IP, 79H, 44R/31ER, 28BB, 126K) in 15 starts while limiting opponents to a .218 average against. His 126 strikeouts were T10th most of any NCAA Division I pitcher. Following the season, he was as he was named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year and selected as a third-team All-American. Prior to the draft, Blair was ranked as the 84th best prospect in the entire 2010 draft by Baseball America. He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 5th round of the 2007 draft before opting to attend San Diego. In 2009, Blair was 3-2 with 2 saves and a 3.13 ERA (54.2IP, 19ER) in 10 games/8 starts as he struck out 62 while walking just 18.

UPDATE 8/16/2010 9:01 AM EST: Whelp, deadline day is finally here.

Movement will finally occur with regard to the Indians’ unsigned Top 10 picks left-hander Drew Pomeranz (1st round), outfielder LeVon Washington (2nd round), shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round), right-handed pitcher Kyle Blair (4th round), and catcher Alex Lavisky (8th round). Nothing is expected to happen on all of these fronts until the final hour, though there is a chance that something happens with Blair earlier in the day.

My guess at the odds on any of these guys signing? I'd say Pomeranz 97%, Washington 60%, Wolters 50%, Blair 80%, and Lavisky 90%. I still think in the end that only one of Washington/Wolters ultimately signs, so if we somehow land both that would be very impressive.

As for any other unsigned draft picks, it appears that the Indians will not be signing anybody else though something may still get done on a player or two. I’ve heard that high school outfielder Trey Griffin (37th round) may be a possibility, so we will see what happens there.

So let the waiting game begin as the countdown has changed from weeks and days to now just hours and minutes. If anything breaks today, I will tweet about it first through my Twitter account.

UPDATE 8/15/2010 9:04 AM EST: And here we go. The signings and non-signings are really starting to come in at a pretty steady pace now. More good news though on Saturday as the Indians and right-handed pitcher Tony Dischler (23rd round) have apparently agreed to terms on a deal.

Also, expect the negotiations for the final unsigned Top 10 picks left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz (1st round), outfielder Levon Washington (2nd round), shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round), right-handed pitcher Kyle Blair (4th round) and catcher Alex Lavisky (8th round) to go right down to the wire tomorrow night.  A deal is really not expected anytime sooner, but I still believe when the dust settles we sign at least three of them, probably four.  I don't expect all five to be signed, and if I had to guess it would be one of Washington or Wolters who doesn't.  That's just speculation there on my part and nothing I have been told.

As for others, right-hander Cody Allen (16th round) is definitely not signing.  Also, left-handed pitcher Ben Wetzler (15th round) remains a remote possibility, but is likely not going to sign.  So it looks like the Tribe will not sign at least three of their Top 20 picks (Allen, Wetzler, and Burch Smith).

By the way, I have been and will continue to post breaking news and information with any signings as they happen through my account Twitter (I changed my name to TonyIPI in case anyone is wondering).  I will be out all afternoon in Lake County for the game to see new signee Tyler Holt in action, so I will be posting exclusive updates as I get them on Twitter only and will update this posting if needed later in the evening.

UPDATE 8/14/2010 3:17 PM EST: The Indians have officially signed outfielder Tyler Holt (10th round) and he has been assigned to Low-A Lake County (he is in uniform tonight). Also, outfielder Mark Brown (19th round) has also been officially signed.

Some bad news to report today as right-handed pitcher Burch Smith (20th round) turned down the Indians offer and has decided to attend school at Oklahoma.  The Indians and Smith were reportedly very close to a deal, and the Indians were very interested in signing him, but in the end it appeared that Smith felt it best to go to school and take his chances in the draft next year.  Note, while he was a 20th round pick, he was a top three round talent who slid due to signability concerns.

I am hearing that right-handed pitcher Tony Dischler (23rd round) may be a signing option for the Indians, though no deal appears to be imminent.  Also, shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round) is in fact in town today, though no deal appears to be imminent with him as well.  In his hometown newspaper yesterday he said that he and the Indians are working closer to a deal, but of course in the end the money has to be right. Last, according to Yahoo! Sports Kendall Rogers in his update today, he says catcher Alex Lavisky (8th round) is expected to sign and will do so for above slot.

UPDATE 8/14/2010 12:15 AM EST: While nothing at this moment is confirmed, according to a non-Indians source the Indians apparently may be close to signing outfielder Mark Brown (19th round).

According to a source not connected to the Indians, shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round) apparently will be in Cleveland sometime this weekend. This is likely more a formality to have him in for a physical, as other unsigned players the Indians are interested in signing will probably be in and out of town this weekend for physicals as well.  Still, him being in town would seem to be a gesture that he is willing to seriously consider a deal with the Indians, though it is still going to take a very considerable offer from the Indians to pry him away from college.

Also, contrary to other reports outfielder Tyler Holt (10th round) has still not officially signed a deal with the Indians. It is still expected that he will sign before the deadline this Monday night.

UPDATE 8/12/2010 6:02 PM EST: According to Baseball America, the Indians have signed outfielder Tyler Holt (10th round) for $500,000; however, as of this moment no deal between Holt and the Indians has been confirmed by any party involved in negotiations.  Both sides are still talking and no deal is in place.  More on Holt's status should be known within the next 24 hours.

Also, according to Yahoo! Sports college baseball writer Kendall Rogers, apparently the Indians are close to signing catcher Alex Lavisky (8th round).  However, again, no deal is imminent between him and the Indians.  Both sides are still talking, and it appears he will go right down to the deadline on Monday night.

UPDATE 8/11/2010 2:50 PM EST: The Indians announced today that they have signed outfielder Marcus Bradley (49th round). The 19-year old won the National Junior College Athletic Association Region I batting title by hitting .420 with 22 stolen bases and a .486 on-base % and was committed to play baseball this season at North Carolina State University.

Also, I am hearing that right-handed pitcher Cody Allen (16th round) will likely not sign.  Negotiations have supposedly stalled and the Indians have pulled their offer, but it doesn't mean that they won't come back to the bargaining table and reach a deal...it just appears very unlikely now.  Allen is just two years removed from Tommy John surgery and his velocity just started to spike back to 92-95 MPH when pitching this summer, so it appears that he may look to jump back into next year's draft and see what a healthy season can do with improving his draft stock.

UPDATE 8/10/2010 2:15 PM EST: The Indians have signed right-handed pitcher Nate Striz (22nd round). He is out of the University of North Carolina and made 13 appearances from the Tar Heels bullpen going 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA (9.1 IP, 12 H, 6 R/ER, 6 BB, 9 K). He was a 5th round draft pick (182nd overall) by the Minnesota Twins in the 2007 June Draft.

Today the Indians have also officially released (though I noted on Saturday!) that they have signed right-handed pitchers Cole Cook (5th round) and Michael Goodnight (13th round). Cook is out of Pepperdine University and went 5-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 14 games/13 starts and 5 CGs (104.1 IP, 103 H, 44 R/34ER, 24 BB, 87 K). Goodnight is a 6'4", 215-pound right-handed pitcher from the University of Houston. In his sophomore campaign, he went 7-7 with a 5.36 ERA (85.2 IP, 90 H, 58 R/51ER, 54 BB, 90K) in 16 starts to follow-up his Conference USA All-Freshmen Team selection in 2009. He recently played in this summer’s Cape Cod League for the Y-D Red Sox going 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 6 starts (37.1 IP, 25 H, 12 ER, 27 K). The Indians have now signed 18 of their 50 draft picks this year.

UPDATE 08/07/2010 8:01 AM EST: I tweeted the signing yesterday afternoon, but the Indians have officially signed their 11th round pick shortstop Hunter Jones. He is the son of former major league player Tracy Jones. This past season at Lakewood High School (CA) he hit .433 (45-104) with 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR and 35 RBI in 34 games and was a perfect 35-for-35 in stolen base attempts. With the signing, the Indians have now “officially” signed 15 of their 50 selections from the 2010 First Year Player Draft.

I say “officially” because the Indians have also come to an agreement with right-handed pitcher Michael Goodnight (13th round), though this is unofficial since the club has not released it yet (he has been signed). Also, as reported here a few days ago, 5th rounder right-handed pitcher Cole Cook has been signed, but the team has not officially released the signing. So these two signings should be “officially” announced in the coming days.

UPDATE 8/4/2010 4:00 PM EST: Pending a physical, the Indians have signed right-handed pitcher Cole Cook (5th round). He is to report to Cleveland in the coming days for a physical before the deal is official and then is expected to make his professional debut with short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley.

UPDATE 8/2/2010 10:06 AM: As with the NFL and their "two minute warning" we are also nearing the crucial moments of what is surely going to be an interesting last two weeks before the August 16th signing deadline. I have spoken to a few of the unsigned picks and also have linked some news stories the status of others below:

Shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round) is on the fence with signing or going to school at the University of San Diego. In talking to him over the weekend he told me “I was really excited I got drafted by [the Indians], and I want to go all the way with them if everything falls right. But if not, then I’ll be moving into my dorm at USD on August 17th.” Unlike a lot of the other unsigned picks, his status may be known by week’s end. He may ultimately turn out to be the best player the Indians took in their entire 2010 Draft, and I think when it comes down to it they are going to get him signed. Just judging the fan interest, he is the most popular player from the entire draft at least among fans, so it would be a big disappointment if he were not signed. Hopefully the Indians make good on this one.

Right-handed pitcher Cole Cook’s (5th Round) negotiations have not gone as smooth as he probably initially thought they would. Shortly after the draft he was pretty confident a deal would be worked out within weeks, but now almost two months later it appears it could go right down to the deadline. After sitting around waiting for a deal to get done, he finally decided to pitch in the Cape Cod League. He and the Indians are still in negotiations, and he wants to sign, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out these final few days before the signing deadline.

Outfielder Tyler Holt (10th round) is 50/50 on signing. He was pretty direct in his comments to a local newspaper last week that if he gets what he is requesting then he will sign, and if he doesn’t then he is very happy to go back to Florida State (I believe it, he’s worshipped down there as a baseball player and he bleeds Seminole blood). Like any draft pick, if he gets his money obviously he will sign. Reading between the lines of his comments, it looks like he is looking for a signing bonus in the upper six figures. This is very affordable for the Indians, and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t sign. I fully expect him to be announced as one of their signings right around the deadline.

Right-handed pitcher Cody Allen (16th round) is still negotiating his contract with the Indians, and it appears he will be another guy who goes right down to the August 16th deadline. He is another guy who really wants to sign, so it just depends on how fair of an offer the Indians give him. I think in the end both sides will make it work and he officially becomes an Indian.

Outfielder Mark Brown (20th round) is still in communication with his scout (Junie Melendez) and has received word that he will receive an offer before he leaves for school at Kansas soon.

Catcher Tyler Pearson (38th round) is still considering his options on whether to sign with the Indians, or whether to go to school at Rice. He is requesting $750K to sign, but no word on how close the Indians current offer is to the take it or leave it amount he and his family has established. In any case, he has not committed one way or the other, and will be another potential late signing option, though I would put the odds at 5:1 he signs.

UPDATE 7/26/2010 8:53 AM: According to University of Mississippi head coach Mike Bianco, he feels that left-handed pitcher Dew Pomeranz (1st round) is ready to play pro ball and wants to sign with the Indians. While he is very likely to sign, don’t expect it to happen until minutes just before the August 16th midnight signing deadline. Like with last year, we are very likely to see an encore of the signing charade from last year where most of the Top 15 or so overall picks sign just minutes before the deadline.

Shortstop Tony Wolters (3rd round) is expected to make his decision soon on whether he will turn pro or attend college at the University of San Diego. He is playing in a tournament in Canada with an 18-and-under team and is expected to make the announcement sometime around August 3rd when the tournament ends.

Shortstop Hunter Jones (10th round) is still undecided on whether to sign with the Indians or attend Loyola Marymount University where he has a full four-year scholarship waiting for him.

Right-handed pitcher Tony Dischler (23rd round) looks like he is open to signing and went out to pitch in the Northwoods League this summer in an effort to improve his leverage in the negotiation process. He could be another last minute late round signing, similar to Matt Packer last season.

UPDATE 7/20/2010 8:02 AM:  Indians 26th round pick RHP Ben Lively (Gulf Breeze HS) has turned down the Indians and decided to attend college.  According to the report, the Indians had offered Lively $177K to sign plus the cost of tuition for a four-year college once his playing days end, but he instead chose to attend Central Florida University to improve his draft stock and continue to develop at the college level. (thanks to reader Al H. for the tip)

With Lively turning down the Indians, he joins RHP David Goforth (31st round), RHP Rye Davis (36th round), RHP Bobby Wahl (39th round), and LHP C.T. Bradford (48th round) to officially declare that they have turned down the option to sign and go pro.

UPDATE 7/9/2010 10:01 AM:  Indians 1st round pick left-hander Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) was in town recently for a physical. The fact he was in town for a physical does not mean a signing is imminent, it is simply a common procedure done so that it is done in advance, especially since he likely will not sign until the signing deadline date of August 16th. The Indians have had brief contract discussions with him, mostly because they along with all the other teams who took top 10-15 guys know that these guys are not going to sign until the signing date. The situation with Pomeranz is exactly the same way things went with first rounder Alex White last year.

Chipola head coach Jeff Johnson feels that 2nd round pick outfielder LeVon Washington is likely to leave and sign with the Indians. He’s another guy who will likely not be signed until right around the signing date. That’s how much of a joke the signing process has become.

The Indians 26th round pick right-handed pitcher Ben Lively (Gulf Breeze HS) is expected to meet with the Indians sometime this week. His meeting with the Indians is expected to be a final offer.

30th round pick right-handed pitcher Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt) has actually not even been contacted by the Indians to sign.  They likely talked to him and had contract discussions shortly after the draft, but no formal contract has been offered since. It sounds like barring a late change or heart by the organization that he is not in their plans and that he will not be signed.

48th round pick left-handed pitcher/outfielder CT Bradford will not sign and will attend Mississippi State.

10th round pick outfielder Tyler Holt (Florida State) and 20th round pick outfielder Mark Brown (Martin Luther King HS) are both still undecided whether to turn pro of stay in school. Holt can go back to Florida State, and Brown is enrolled at Kansas.

UPDATE 7/5/2010 1:40 PM: Per a report in a New York paper in Hudson Valley, the area that Indians 7th round pick right-handed pitcher Robbie Aviles resides, he has agreed to terms on a signing bonus and has signed with the Indians for $150,000. He will also receive a $200,000 amount which goes toward college if he ever decides to go to school.  He will have Tommy John surgery right away, and then lkely will not pitch in live games until spring of 2012.

UPDATE 6/28/2010 10:15 AM: The Indians announced today that they have signed 34th round pick lef-handed pitcher Kyle Petter (El Camino College). He went 13-0 with a 2.12 ERA them (123.1 IP, 108 H, 127 K, 41 BB).

UPDATE 6/23/2010 1:07 PM:  Another draft pick has made his decision to stay in school as right-handed pitcher David Goforth (31st round) reportedly will be returning to Ole Miss this fall after turning down the Indians contract offer.

I've had a chance to talk to right-handed pitcher Cody Allen (16th round), and he would like to sign but like with other draft picks the money has to be right. He is being followed by the Indians this summer where he is playing in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League for the Bethesda Big Train in the Washington DC area. The negotiations are expected to continue throughout the summer.

Outfielder Tyler Holt (10th round) is still nowhere close to signing, though this is largely due to him still playing in the College World Series with Florida State. He provided a standard quote earlier in the week basically saying he was excited to be drafted by the Indians, but that all his focus in on the College World Series.  Florida State plays TCU in an elimination game tonight at 7:00 PM, and a Florida State loss could put the wheels in motion to potentially get Holt into the fold for the Indians soon.

UPDATE 6/21/2010 12:15 AM: The Indians have signed 17th round pick outfielder Aaron Siliga out of Oceanside High School (CA). An official announcement should come sometime this week, maybe Monday or Tuesday.

The Indians have also signed another undrafted free agent, this time inking outfielder Anthony Gallas out of Kent State University. The 6'2 200 pounder hit .369 (99-268) with 68 runs scored, 24 doubles, 1 triple, 17 home runs, and 81 RBI for the Golden Flashes this year. He will report to Goodyear before being assigned to a minor league team and is now the eighth undrafted free agent signing for the Indians.

The Indians 26th round pick right-handed pitcher Ben Lively (Gulf Breeze High School) is currently playing summer ball in Miami. He currently is undecided on whether to sign with the Indians or to attend school this fall where he has a scholarship at the University of Central Florida. At the moment, he is preparing to go to school, but if the Indians can meet his price he would surely sign (the amount he is requesting is unknown).

Elon head coach Mike Kennedy thinks the Indians 35th round pick right-handed pitcher Ken Ferrer will surely sign.

Also, 10th round pick outfielder Tyler Holt (Florida State) and 27th round pick outfielder Jeff Schaus (Clemson) are both currently playing in the College World Series. Their signing status will not be known until shortly after their college season ends.

UPDATE 6/18/2010 2:11 PM: The Indians officially signed two more undrafted free agents today as they inked right-handed pitcher Clayton Ehlert (Texas A&M) and right-handed pitcher Ryan Gardner (Santa Barbara CC). Also, right-handed pitcher Owen Dew (21st rd, U. Central Florida) is on the Scrappers roster so he appears to have signed, but no official announcement has been made yet.

UPDATE 6/17/2010 2:11 PM: The Indians have officially signed infielder Tyler Cannon, their 12th round pick out of the University of Virginia. The switch-hitting shortstop hit .341 with 3 HR and 38 RBI this year for the Cavaliers. The Indians also signed undrafted free agent right-handed pitcher Casey Gaynor out of Rutgers. In 15 starts for the Scarlet Knights he went 8-5 with a 5.09 ERA (97.1 IP, 123 H, 22 BB. 60 K). The Indians have now signed 10 of their 50 draft picks and five undrafted free agents.

UPDATE 6/16/2010 3:21 PM: The Indians today officially signed outfielder Jordan Casas (40th round) out of Long Beach State. In addition, they also signed three undrafted free agents in right-handed pitcher Matt Speake (Southern Arkansas University), first baseman Andrew Kinney (Southwest Minnesota St), and left-handed pitcher J.D. Reichenbach (Elon).

Casas had a .291 batting average and 27 stolen bases over his three years with Long Beach State. Speake was tied for the team lead with six complete games as he went 9-1 and sported a 4.77 ERA in 15 games/10 starts (88.2 IP, 92 H, 55 R, 47 ER, 38 BB, 73 K). Kinney batted .349 and led the team in home runs (17), RBI (48) and runs scored (49) this past spring and finished his career as the school leader in home runs (50), RBI (181) and total bases (390). Reichenbach went 0-1 with a 5.74 ERA in 16 games (31.1 IP, 44 H, 20 ER, 18 BB, 22 K) this season and was a 20th round selection by the LA Angels in the 2006 draft.

UPDATE 6/15/2010 3:00 PM: Five more players from the 2010 Draft signed today as infielder Nick Bartolone (6th round), outfielder Chase Burnette (18th round), second baseman Logan Thompson (33rd round), outfielder Brian Heere (41st round), and outfielder Henry Dunn (50th round) have signed. They also signed undrafted free agent right-handed pitcher Alex Kaminsky (Wright State).

In other news, University of Houston head coach Rayner Noble is no longer the head coach of the program, which is something that could help push right-hander Michael Goodnight (13th round) toward signing.

UPDATE 6/14/2010 12:15 AM: The Indians have officially inked two more players today as right-handed pitcher Jordan Cooper (9th round, Wichita State) and catcher Deigo Seastrunk (14th round, Rice) have both been signed. That makes three official signings, with a couple more expected to be announced in the coming days.

One signing which could be made official soon is that of undrafted free agent right-handed pitcher Clayton Ehlert (Texas A&M).  While it is unconfirmed at the moment, I am hearing he has signed on with the Indians and will be reporting to Arizona.

Those hoping to sign right-hander Bobby Wahl (39th round), sorry, but he is not going to sign with the Indians and will be attending Ole Miss in the fall.  He made the announcement over the weekend.  According to this report he actually turned down a seven figure deal earlier in the draft, which is why he slid to the 39th round.

Outfielder Demarcus Tidwell (28th round) is playing summer ball and the Indians will continue scouting and talking to him throughout the summer.

UPDATE 6/13/2010 10:01 AM: A few updates:

- I have spoken to both right-handed pitcher Cole Cook (5th round, Pepperdine) and outfielder Mark Brown (19th round, Martin Luther King HS) over the weekend. According to Cook he is going to sign soon, but will be away for two weeks for personal reasons and then likely will sign his contract at the end of the month. Brown would like to sign, but of course, the money has to be right. I am unsure what the Indians interst in signing him is because they are like Fort Knox and are not talking about any of their draft picks.

- Apparently from what I am hearing right-hander Rye Davis (36th round, Western Kentucky) turned down the Indians offer and has decided to go back to school.

- Outfielder Jeff Shaus (27th round, Clemson) is disappointed that he slid as far down in the draft as he did and sounds like he may return to Clemson for his senior season.

- Right-handed pitcher Justin Haley (46th round, Sierra College) is going to pitch this summer and the Indians will follow him to determine if he is worth the bonus he will command. He likely will attend Fresno State this fall, the college team he is committed to.

- Last, as noted here two days ago, infielder Aaron Fields (42nd round, Wright State) has now officially signed with the Indians. He signed his contract yesterday and will be in Youngstown on Monday and will open the season with Mahoning Valley when their season kicks off later this week.

UPDATE 6/11/2010 6:24 PM: Just a quick correction to what was said in the Troy Wolters update. I noted that if a team can't sign their picks from the first three rounds that they get a compensation pick in the exact same slot the next year. This is partly true as this is how it applies to first and second round picks. But for third round picks the compensation pick actually comes in the supplemental round between the third and fourth rounds, so it is not exactly the same slot, about 25-30 picks lower. Thanks to those in the comments section who chimed in with the much needed correction.

06/11/2010 10:00 AM: Lots of updates:

- I’ve spoken with several of the Indians 2010 Draft picks over the past 48 hours, and at this moment only two players are 100% signing with the Indians.  Outfielder Jordan Casas (40^th round, Long Beach State) and infielder Aaron Fields (42^nd round, Wright State) have confirmed to me that they will be signing within the next week.  While I did not confirm this personally, outfielder Henry Dunn (50^th round, Binghampton U.) is also supposedly going to sign per a report in an on-line report from a Binghampton media outlet.

- Contrary to reports, outfielder LeVon Washington (2^nd round, Chipola JC) is not close to signing with the Indians.  In fact, the Indians have not even spoken to him or anybody associated with him.  The reports that he is close to a $1.55 million deal are greatly exaggerated, and most likely being fueled by his agent to put pressure on the Indians, which should be no surprise since in this case it is Scott Boras.

- According to University of San Diego head coach Jay Johnson, he doesn’t expect shortstop Tony Wolters (3^rd round, Rancho Buena Vista HS) to sign with the Indians unless he receives “life changing money”.  Wolters will weigh his options, but if his demands are deemed too high for the Indians tastes, no matter how much they and other teams may have liked him going into the draft they could just decide to pass on signing him because they would get a compensation pick in the exact same spot of the 3^rd round next year for not signing him.  Not saying they will go this route, but it is the leverage teams have with 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd round draft picks in that they always have a fallback if the player is unsignable.

- The Indians were excited to get right-hander Robbie Aviles (7^th round, Suffern HS) as late in the draft as they did, but a lot of this had to do with him sliding because of a partial tear to the ligaments in his elbow a week ago.  The injury made several clubs steer clear of him, but the Indians took a gamble on him and will want to have tests done on the elbow to determine the severity of the injury before going further in the signing process.  He may have been a hard sign for any team going into the draft, but the injury may have changed things on that front.

- The Indians have hinted that there could be several late summer signings this year while they work through the signing process with a lot of high profile draft picks and see them play more.  One of those players may be catcher Alex Lavisky (8^th round, St. Edwards HS) who sounds like he expects the process to drag out over the summer.  Even still, I think it is very likely he will sign as he is very happy to be drafted by his hometown team and the Indians were very happy to snatch him up in the 8^th round.

- Right-handed pitcher Jordan Cooper (9^th round, Wichita St.) says he is 50/50 on signing or returning to school.  The Indians may opt to wait until later in the summer to sign him so they can get more looks at him where he is set to pitch for Falmouth in the Cape Cod League.  However, his signing status is something that could be wrapped up soon as he has expressed an interest to know one way or the other rather quickly, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is an announced signing this coming week.

- Right-handed pitcher Cody Allen (16^th round, St. Pete JC) looks like he will be a hard sign as he is requesting 5^th to 10^th round money.  These demands have a way of changing as the draft signing season carries on through the summer, so if he comes off he demands a little he could be a late summer signing.

- Right-handed pitcher Jay Gause (25^th round, West Brunswick HS) is committed to North Carolina State next year to play baseball.  According to a report from a local TV station in his area, while he is leaning toward attending school he is also seriously considering going pro.

- According to his new coach at Eau Claire, outfielder DeMarcus Tidwell (28^th round, Yavapai College) is most likely not going to sign since he was not taken in the first ten rounds of he draft.

- Catcher Tyler Pearson (38^th round, Monterey HS) looks like he will be a very tough signing for the Indians.  I talked to him and he is requesting “no less than $750K” to sign.  He does not have an agent, but it looks like a big chunk of change is going to be needed to woo him away from getting his education now and also attending a top baseball school in Rice.  If the Indians really like him they may pay that, but I think they will let him go on to school and keep tabs on him the next three years before re-considering him in 2013.

- Right-handed pitcher Bobby Wahl (39^th round, West Springfield HS) is all but likely going to attend Ole Miss in the fall.  I talked with him yesterday and he said that “at the time right now I'm really positive I will be going to school, but anything can happen”.

- Left-handed pitcher Brock Stassi (44^th round, U. Nevada Reno) is currently pitching for Wisconsin in the Northwoods League.  The interesting thing is while he was drafted by the Indians as a pitcher, he is playing first base with Wisconsin and according to his father is a position his college is considering playing him at next season.  His interest to try and play first base probably takes him off the signing radar for the Indians, if he was even on it to begin with.

- Shortstop Chris Waylock (43^rd round, Cary-Grove HS) will probably honor his commitment to Iowa Western Community College, but the Indians were the team with the most interest in him when teams scouted him, and he may not be as hard of a sell as the other high school and juco players the Indians selected.

- Right-handed pitcher Frank DeJiulio (45^th round, Daytona Beach CC) is currently pitching for Duluth in the Northwoods League.  He missed the final three months of his college season after suffering from an ailment which came about due to some medication he was taking.  He has a firm commitment to go to Florida in the fall, and unless something surprising happens he is all but certain to pass on signing with the Indians and instead become a Gator and take his chances in the draft next year.

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2010 Indians 40th Round Pick: OF Jordan Casas

In the 40th round of the 2010 Draft, the Indians have selected OF Jordan Casas out of Long Beach State.

Height: 5'11" Weight: 180 DOB: 03/17/1988 Bats: Left Throws: Right

Bio: Player page at Long Beach State.

Quick Hit: Casas is a redshirt junior out of Long Beach State who plays center field with good speed and good plate discipline. This could be a guy the Indians sign to fill out the roster at Mahoning Valley.

Signing Update (6/11): Jordan has told me that he will be signing with the Indians in the next few days.  Update 6/16: Jordan has officially signed with the Indians.

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