Lefty Jake Cave hitting and pitching (photos c/o dailypress.com and WVEC.com)
I am not a prospect expert by any stretch, but unfortunately our writers who can speak to this sort of thing are all currently out of pocket. Still, we wanted to at least get something up regarding the Yankees’ draftee signings given last night’s deadline. I’m sure our staff will have much more on many of these guys in the next week or so.
Per MLBTR, here are the Yankees’ over-slot signings:
“The Yankees signed Greg Bird for $1.1MM, according to Zoodig, an athlete digital media platform, on Twitter. The Yankees signed sixth rounder Jake Cave for $825K, according to Callis (on Twitter). The Yankees also signed third rounder Jordan Cote for $725K, according to Callis. The high school right-hander has a fastball in the 90 mph range and stands 6’5″. Earlier today, the Yankees signed 20th round pick and high school lefty Daniel Camarena for $335K.”
Per Baseball America, the Yankees of course also signed top draft pick Dante Bichette, Jr., who’s been raking in the GCL; fourth-round third-baseman Matt Duran; 7th-round first baseman Austin Jones; 8th-round righthanded pitcher Phil Weatherell; 9th-round righthander Zach Arneson; 11th-round RHP Mark Montgomery; 12th-round OF Cody Grice; 13th-round OF and son of onetime Yankee Deion James Justin James; 14th-round RHP and awesomely named Rookie Davis; 16th-round RHP Branden Pinder; RHPs Hayden Sharp (18th round) and Ben Paullus (19th round); 1B Zach Wilson (21st round); RHP Corey Maines (23rd); LHP Matt Tracy (24th); and noted economist and author of The Wealth of Nations 3B/RHP Adam Smith (25th).
The most notable draftee to not sign with the Yankees was second-rounder Sam Stafford, the lefthander from the University of Texas the team took with its second pick. This seems disappointing on the surface, given the inherent excitement of a hard-throwing lefty, not to mention one from a great baseball program, but apparently the Yanks found something they didn’t like in his medicals and ultimately offered him roughly half of MLB’s slot recommendation for the 88th overall pick.
Our own Steve Shaka had this to say about the Yankees’ signings:
“Its pretty obvious the Yanks focused on high schoolers and corner positional players with power. I was really disappointed Stafford didn’t sign, but apparently the Yanks found something they didn’t like in his medicals and cut their offer in half. I have to take their word for it on that, I haven’t seen Joeseph Bittle in a big league uniform lately. The guy who intrigues me the most is Cave, and the 850K bonus tells me the Yanks are intrigued as well. He’s an OF who seems to have a limited ceiling, but is also a lefty with a solid changeup and a good fastball. As a HS player you hope that they can clean up his delivery and he fills out some, adding a few ticks to the FB. He’d be a project if they decide to make him a pitcher, but that’s one that could pay off big.”
And here’s a snippet from Baseball America on Jake Cave:
“Cave was a big reason scouts were excited to cover Virginia this spring, but he and several others had seen their stock fall this spring. A legitimate two-way prospect, Cave has scouts divided on whether he projects better on the mound or in the outfield. As a hitter, he shows bat speed, but he has a loop in his swing that could be a long-term problem…On the mound, Cave ranges from 86-93 mph with his fastball, usually sitting around 90-91 and touching 94. His best offspeed pitch is a changeup. He has tinkered with a slider this season, but it needs work and scouts haven’t seen it much.”
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3 Responses to Initial Yankee draftee signing roundup
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TIQ IQ
Missing out on a solid second round talent, or signability plagued first round talent, hurts the draft class. It’s not as eye popping as last year which at least featured up the middle talent.
Maybe bichette or bird or cave become viable rf/Lf options for the big league club.
I do dislike the lack of power pitching selected. Projectable frames are a plus for pitchers , but there were higher upside high schoolers available.
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I know BA’s writeup of Greg Bird was overly negative but I really liked the pick and, after watching a decent amount of video on him, liked the pick even more.
As far as not signing Stafford, I’m definitely bummed.
I’m amazed the Pirates signed both Cole ($8M) and Josh Bell ($5M). I figured it was going to be one or the other and it does chafe a little bit that the Pirates were aggressive enough to go after Bell when the Yankees could’ve easily taken Bell with their first pick (51st overall) and still gotten Bichette in the second round (where they took Stafford).
It’s hindsight, yes, but if Bell was the best player available and the only question was how much money it would take to buy him out of his college scholarship, the one thing the Yanks can (and should, but don’t) always do is spend the money to get the best amateur talent.