Draft Signings Update

Today is the last day that teams have to come to an agreement with the players they selected in the Amateur Draft back on June 10th & 11th. After signing their fifth round pick, Caleb Cotham, a right handed pitcher from Vanderbuilt for $675,000, nearly 4 times above slot, the only Yankees top 8 picks left unsigned were their first and second rounders.

Slade Heathcott, the lefty-hitting outfielder who we've talked about around here pretty extensively has now finalized his deal with the Yanks. His bonus is reported to be $2.2M, which is roughly double the $1.1M that recommended for the 29th overall pick. After losing Geritt Cole, their first round choice last year, the Yankees were obviously reluctant to see the same thing happen again lest they not be compensated with an additional pick next year, and saddled up with some serious loot for the young man from Texarkana.

Their second round pick, number 76 overall, was J.R. Murphy, a high school catcher from Bradenton, Florida. Keith Law and Lane Meyer (via RAB) have both confirmed the signing but no dollar amount has been announced. $478,000 is the recommended bonus for that slot, but Mike from RAB guesstimates that he'll receive upwards of twice that much.

Given that the Yanks have signed their 14 highest draft picks, with the exception of 9th rounder Tyler Lyons, this draft can be a successful one as of now. We won't know for quite some time how good it really was, though.