A week ago the Atlanta Braves named Cade Bunnell their selection in round 40 of the Rule 4 draft. In that week, 5 prospects signed, and 1 officially said ‘no thanks’.
The Atlanta Braves draft philosophy remains a mystery. After taking MLBPipeline’s ninth-ranked player at number nine and surprisingly Pipeline’s #27 ranked prospect – an infielder, not a pitcher – at #21, they went off the board.
When I say off the board, I mean way off it.
The highest ranked prospect taken outside of the first round, came in round 8: Rickey DeVito Pipeline #162, Baseball America #114.
The next lowest ranked (and a personal favorite of mine) came in the 13th round: Tyler Owens, ranked #199 by Pipeline and #182 by BA.
What kind of madness infected the draft team to cause such wild deviations from the norm? Were they hoarding money for a secret strike on a hidden talent? Did someone merge the DNA of Roy Hobbs and Sidd Finch to create a natural super pitcher?
While they saved some money, it isn’t a significant amount compared to draft bonuses paid so far.
Matthew told you about Shea Langeliers signing below slot – a $4M bonus – and Braden Shewmake’s at slot signing – $3,132,300.
Yesterday Jim Callis reported two more inked agreements with the Atlanta Braves. First, Stephen Paolini signed at 180% of slot.
5th-rder Stephen Paolini signs with @Braves for $600k (pick 157 value = $333,300). Connecticut HS OF, solid power potential & speed. Elon recruit. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 13, 2019
He followed that with the new number for Michael Harris. We heard – and saw if you watched the home broadcast – that Harris agreed to sign last week without a specific dollar amount.
Last night Callis gave us the under-slot bonus number.
3rd-rder Michael Harris' bonus from @Braves is $550k (pick 98 value = $593,100). Georgia HS OF/LHP, switch-hitter with nice swing, power potential, solid speed, up to 93 on the mound. Texas Tech recruit. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 13, 2019
We still have no word on Beau Philip‘s signing bonus; these tend to appear later for the Braves for some reason (don’t they know I have a post to write??).
As expected, Riley King (round 26, #787 overall) decided to return to school (Georgia) instead of signing.
DAWG NATION @BaseballUGA pic.twitter.com/awPCb3WwDP
— Riley King (@RileyKing_04) June 8, 2019
Show me the money
At this writing, the Atlanta Braves reported expenditures from the first-round signing allowance totals $8,282,300
That leaves $3,249,900 in their account. It’s also $725,500 more than predicted by the slots due to savings from under-slot bonuses.
The Braves may spend as much as 5% over the allocated pool without incurring a penalty, raising their maximum expenditure to $3,826,510.
With the bigger names already inked, it’s hard to imagine getting to that number unless they’ve got crazy plans for the guys taken after Round 10.
| Rd | Rank MLB/BA | Pos | Name | Slot Value | Actual | Over / Under |
| 1 | 9 | C | Shea Langeliers | $4,949,100 | $4,000,000 | $949,100 |
| 1 | 27/32 | SS | Braden Shewmake | $3,132,300 | $3,132,300 | $0 |
| 2 | 195/254 | SS | Beau Philip | $1,157,400 | ??? | ??? |
| 3 | 248 | OF | Michael Harris | $593,100 | $550,000 | $43,100 |
| 4 | 225 | RHRP | Kasey Kalich | $447,400 | ||
| 5 | NR | OF | Stephen Paolini | $333,300 | $600,000 | ($266,700) |
Takeaways
Its been an interesting week. As expected, Harris signed under-slot, as did Langeliers. Shewmake got the whole pie in keeping with his national rank(s).
They saved money on Harris even though he just graduated from high school and seniors drafted in the out rounds will sign if they want to play regardless of the offer.
Atlanta Braves
Paying Paolini 180% of slot indicates the Atlanta Braves believe they stole someone.
As I wrote in the first of my round three posts, Atlanta Braves VP of Scouting Dana Brown told Gabe Burns of the AJC explained their interest in Paolini.
"“He’s a good-looking young hitter with some upside,” Brown said, while acknowledging his game has parallels with reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich. “He has the foot speed to play center field.”"
With that backdrop, it’s easy to understand the Braves interest.
But if Paolini believes that, why did he take a relatively small bonus instead of heading to Elon and trying again in two years?
Perhaps he’ll tell us via an interview at some point.
That’s a wrap
The Atlanta Braves draft is still a bit of a mystery. If you wanted to sign Paolini at $600K, why take him after an unranked/low-ranked, senior sign Kasey Kalich?
This year the signing period continues through July 12 @ 5:30 pm ET. The Braves want the signings done as quickly as possible in order to get players to their teams. I’ll update the money and keep you updated here on the Take.