2010 Signing Deadline Madness

Semi-live blogging the draft pick signing deadline deals

Kevin Jacob, unsigned by the Yankees running
up to the deadline.
Photo courtesy of AnchorageBucs.com

Today is the day when the MLB teams must come to terms with their 2010 draft picks if they want to lock them up, or else they will forever lose them. My Twitter feed is going about a billion posts a minute with who's supposed to be signing where, who's not signing somewhere, how much of a bonus they've been able to milk out of the teams, and all the other drama and intrigue of a day like this.

In light of this monumental occasion, I'll be doing one of my infamous "more-or-less-live blogging" posts with updates throughout the day about which ABLers are left and who brokers a deadline deal. I've got some errands to run around town but I'll be as diligent as I can. Check back throughout the day for semi-timely updates, or if you can't sit at your computer jamming F5 repeatedly (like me), come back tomorrow and I'll write up some sort of a recap of the day.

1:40 p.m.: Here's the draft picks from ABL season 2009 and prior who have yet to sign: James Paxton (Pilots, 2008 - SEA rd. 4), Kevin Jacob (Bucs, 2009 - NYY, rd. 18), Michael Hur (Bucs, 2009 - ARI, rd. 20), Francis Larson (Oilers, 2008 - LAA rd. 22), Bryan Harper (Pilots, 2009 - CHC rd. 27), Ryan Woolley (Fire, 2009/Oilers, 2010 - TEX rd. 39), Dustin Emmons (Pilots, 2008 - FLA rd. 40), Jesse Meaux (Panners, 2009 - PHI rd. 44), Troy Scott (Miners, 2008 - MIN rd. 48). Looking at my last draft pick update, Kellen Kiilsgaard has since signed with Houston, and Tyler Whitney with Seattle.

1:50 p.m.: I'm guessing that Bryan Harper won't sign; he's going to transfer to South Carolina for the 2011 season and will be draft eligible again as a junior. I have some reasons, but we'll call it a hunch. Also, a 2010 Fire who was drafted this year, Blake Trienen, won't be signing. He actually inked a deal with Florida but the contract was voided for medical reasons; he'll be back to college and draft eligible again in 2011.


3:00 p.m.: I was just alerted to the fact that James Paxton is exempt from the draft signing deadline today. Because of all his drama with the NCAA, in which he was ruled ineligible and instead went to play indy ball, he has until the week before 2011 draft to sign. I believe that this holds true for all players who have exhausted their eligibility. If that's the case, that also means that Michael Hur, Francis Larson and Tyler Whitney have a little less incentive to ink a deal today. We'll see, though.

4:45 p.m.: Did a little more research. Baseball America says that Michael Hur was signed way back in June, but MiLB.com has no stats listed for him. That's why he's flown under the radar here. I had to dig a little deeper, and he has signed but has not been playing due to "undisclosed injuries". Anyway, scratch him off your list. He is officially a member of the D-Backs family and has been for some time.

5:00 p.m.: Just found out that Kevin Jacob is a Boras client and hasn't given an indication that he's heart set to sign as a sophomore. I predict this to be a midnight deal, if there is one. It'll take a lot for the Yankees to sign him, but if any team in baseball could pull it off...

5:30 p.m.: I'm going through the 2010 rosters to see which players (if any) came up to Alaska this summer after being drafted in the spring. That's a work in progress, but here's some news about someone who wasn't drafted: Oilers pitcher Jorge Marban signed as an undrafted free agent with the Texas Rangers last week. Congrats to Jorge!

6:53 p.m.: Here's some 2010 ABLers who were draft picks: Goldpanners Zach Arneson (SFG, rd. 21, unsigned) and Kyle Richter (COL rd. 44, unsigned); Bucs' Ryan Pineda (OAK rd. 28, signed July 30). I'll post more as we go along.

7:42 p.m.: The draft ends at 8 p.m. Alaska time so we're coming down the home stretch here with lots of deals to be made. The Yankees just dropped .5 million on their #16 pick, so would it be out of the question that they'd make #18 Kevin Jacob an offer he can't refuse?

8:20 p.m.: The deadline has come and gone. No news yet. Of course, this doesn't mean anything. On one hand, teams were not likely busting their humps to lock up their 40th round picks up until the deadline, or whatever. On the other, if they did reach a deal, it might not be all over the media. So I will continue to dig for info on who signed and who did not sign.