Draftee Signability Media Roundup

Now that we've finished drafting all these players, I thought it might be useful to take a look at preliminary indications of signability. If you run into any more information on that front, please post it in the comments.

Low difficulty:

#4: Nick Kingham, RHP

"I’m a big right-hander; that’s what they’re looking for," Kingham told NevadaPreps.com. "If we meet in the middle and agree on terms, the Pirates will be the way I go. There’s no bad way I can come out of this. I’m in a really good situation. There’s no losing in this right now." - David Schoen, MaxPreps.com

#13: Chris Kirsch, LHP

Kirsch has an offer from Pensacola Junior College. He said the only thing keeping him from signing with the Pirates is securing enough money to pay for an education, should his plan to play baseball for a living fizzle. (He hopes that’s not the case, but he’s got to have a backup plan.) - Christopher A. Vito, The Delaware County Times

Scholarship money is a pretty standard provision in contracts for draftees.

#14: Bryce Weidman, RHP

It is expected that Weidman will sign a contract, as he told a local newspaper last week that he would turn pro if drafted in the top 30 rounds.  - Tim Novotny, KCBY news

#39: Kevin Decker, RHP

According to the Todd Lancaster of the Washington Times-Herald of Washington, Indiana , Decker has already signed with the Pirates:

"This as been a dream of mine ever since I was little and through high school," said Decker, who will report to a Pirate facility in Bradenton, Fla., today. "When I get down there they give you your spikes and gloves, sign your contract and you get a chance to meet some if the coaches. From there I will go to the New York-Penn League where they play a 60-game schedule. "My goal is to get back to Bradenton by the end of the season. That is a 'high A' team."

#40: Harrison Cooney, RHP

"I’m pretty surprised," said Cooney, who is not yet committed to a college but looking at Palm Beach State and Indian River State College. "I didn’t think this would ever happen, at least this quick. ... I’m honored and just really happy. It still really hasn’t sunk in. It’s pretty crazy." - Laurel Pfahler, The Treasure Coast Palm

It's usually a positive indicator when a high school player doesn't have a college commitment.

#49: Logan Pevny, RHP

The financial incentive for late-round selections in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft often isn’t enough to entice college-bound prospects to sign professional contracts.

West Milford’s Logan Pevny might become one of the exceptions.

Pittsburgh picked Pevny in the 49th round of the 50-round draft Wednesday, but Pevny will meet with Pirates scout Chris Klein on Saturday to discuss the possibility of signing. Pevny, a right-handed pitcher, signed a national letter of intent to play for FDU, but FDU coach Jerry DeFabbia recently informed Pevny that he won’t be back following a 16-38 season.

"It’s going to come to down to the money they offer," Pevny said. "But I really liked the coaching staff that got let go at FDU. If I got drafted and they were still there, it would’ve been a much harder decision for me. Now, since they’re not there, I’m kind of leaning toward the professional side." - Keith Idec and Mark J. Czerwinski, The Bergen County Record

A lucky break for us. I wonder whether our scouts knew about the impending firing when we picked Pevny.

Questionable:

 #7: Austin Kubitza, RHP

#10: Zach Weiss, RHP

The information available on Weiss's signability is ambiguous.

Con:

[Wenatchee AppleSox manager Ed] Knaggs said early indications are that three of the four draft-eligible players (two-way player Marco Gonzales, and pitchers Zach Weiss and Jeff Ames) are leaning towards going to college, and thus to the AppleSox. - Brian Adamowsky, The Wenatchee World

Pro:

Along with fellow California prep standout Zach Weiss, [Adam Plutko is] the AppleSox player most likely to bypass college for the MLB draft... - Brian Adamowsky, The Wenatchee World

For whatever it's worth, the latter was posted more recently than the former.

#21: Dale Carey, OF

Carey said he would leave for the pros, and bypass a scholarship to play at Miami, if he was taken between the second and fourth rounds of the draft.

"I don't know," Carey said. "I guess we will find out on Monday or Tuesday because, supposedly, I'm a high- profile player. But you know what goes on.

"If not (between the second and fourth rounds), then one organization was telling me that if they have to draft me later, it will because of slot money. They might draft me later on because they don't need an outfielder until later on (in the draft)." - William Bretherton, The Marietta Daily Journal

A high second round bonus is about $700,000, and a low fourth round bonus is a bit under $200,000.

#24: Justin Howard, 1B

Howard injured his left knee in a home plate collision with Minnesota catcher Kyle Knudson on Saturday at the NCAA Regional in Fullerton, Calif, an injury that Howard said caused his stock to drop.

"It was definitely the injury," Howard said. "Before the injury I’d heard some things and everyone was pretty confident I’d go in the top 10 rounds. Afer the injury it put a lot of questions out there. They were asking me a lot of questions. I still really don’t know what’s wrong with it at this point."

X-rays taken on Howard's knee while he was in Fullerton showed no broken bones, but the results of subsequent tests in Albuquerque have yet to come back.

"I’m waiting to get results back and at this point I’ll be going to see the Pirates’ doctor," he said. "We’re going to be setting that up after the draft is complete." - Christopher Jackson, Albuquerque Baseball Examiner

As a college senior, Howard's bonus demands likely will not be prohibitive. However, the team's willingness to sign him may depend on the results of his medical examination.

#26: Brandon Pierce, RHP

There is a chance Pierce could bypass college depending on how his senior season goes and where he is selected in the First-Year Player Draft.

"What we've told Nebraska is that unless it's life-changing money -- first to third round money -- I will be in college," Pierce said. - Jason Della Rosa, The Herald Democrat (Denison, TX)

A low third round bonus is about $300,000. First round money is obviously highly variable, but usually in the seven figures.

#28: Zack Powers, SS

Pitcher Karsten Whitson (taken No. 9 overall in the first round by the San Diego Padres) is not likely to stick with his Florida commitment and pitcher John Barbato (No. 184 overall in sixth round also by the Padres) may be lured away due to the contract offer. The other three – pitchers Robbie Aviles (No. 210 – Cleveland) and Daniel Gibson (No. 789 – Milwaukee), and third baseman Zack Powers (No. 837 – Pittsburgh) – will likely stick with their commitments. - Adam Silverstein, OnlyGators.com

#30: Matt Skirving, C

The Pirates had actually phoned Skirving earlier Tuesday during the 15th round, wondering if he was open to signing if drafted.

[...]

The decision to join the Pirates is not an automatic one, since Skirving still has the option of returning to EMU for a fourth year of baseball. After earning First Team All-Mid-American Conference and All-Region honors as a sophomore, Skirving hit .259 with a team-leading 17 doubles in 56 games this spring.

"We will be contacted by the Pirates' area scout," said Skirving. "Then we'll sit down and discuss the details of a contract." - John Kennett, The Midland Daily News

If the team called him during the 15th round to ask about signability, and then waited until the 30th round to take him, that suggests that they didn't like the answer they got. Not all the news on Skirving is bad, however - the article also mentions that State College's pitching coach Mike Steele is an acquaintance of Skirving's who went to the same high school as Skirving, giving the team a possible hook in negotiations.

#31: James Townsend, RHP

Jay Flynt, Townsend’s coach for all four years at SCA, said Wednesday that his former star pupil faces a “tough, tough” call.
“I talked to him and his dad Wednesday and I think we both just told him he had to do what was best for Jason and nobody else,” Flynt said. “He knows if he goes back to Alabama he could be their No. 1 or No. 2 starter next season, but he’s also dreamt of being a professional baseball player for most of his life.”
Townsend, a right-hander who is normally the first pitcher out of the bullpen for Alabama’s Super Regional team, is 2-1 this season with a 6.25 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 36 innings.
“Right now, he’s concentrating on Clemson and nothing else,” Flynt said. “He’s going to take two or three days to figure it out after that.” - Danny Aller, The Albany Herald

#44: Cory McGinnis, RHP

He has two years of college eligibility remaining and has scholarship offers from Alabama and Mississippi State. Pitching in the Southeastern Conference would be a "once-in-a-lifetime chance," he said.

"It will depend on the (Pirates') offer," McGinnis said. "They need to see what happens with their first 20 picks to see what kind of money they have left to work with me. I might be asking for a little more than most people in the 44th round." - Chris Harlan, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review