UPDATE: The Detroit News notes that the Tigers signed 30th round pick James Robbins, a lefty power bat from Washington who gave up a commitment to WSU
UPDATE: BA says the Fields deal is $1.6 million
UPDATE: Keith Law says the Andrew Oliver deal is $1.495 million
UPDATE: Baseball America has the details on Jacob Turner’s deal. It’s a big league deal with a $4.7 million bonus. Total value could hit $7 million depending on when he reaches the big leagues
UPDATE: The Tigers get Daniel Fields per Jason Beck – 7 figure bonus. Big, big get and he’s a top 10 prospect in the system now.
UPDATE: Peter Gammons says that GMs have said the Tigers have inked Turner ($6.7 million) and Oliver ($1 million) but that the league office is holding the announcements.
Jason Beck writes that Turner/Oliver/Fields all had physicals this morning.
It is an off day for the current big leaguers, but the Tigers will be spending the day trying to beat the midnight deadline to bring some big league hopefuls into the fold. The Tigers have yet to sign their top 2 picks, Jacob Turner and Andrew Oliver, who are both rep’d by Scott Boras. Also on the radar are 6th round pick Daniel Fields, 8th round pick Craig Fritsch, 12th round pick Matt Thompson, and 15th round pick Mark Appel among others.
I’ll try and keep this updated at various points throughout the day as information comes in. In the meantime here are some links from the local beats:
- Beck’s Blog: Fields weighs offer from Tigers
- With time running out, Tigers try to secure their pricey future | detnews.com | The Detroit News
And some places to bookmark for breaking info:
You might as well sign the High Schoolers that you picked in the later rounds (due to college commitments) because once they perform well in college (which, assuming they do) they will get the first round money they want. Sign the kids for a lower price than 1st round money (ignore slots, everyone does…) and the team can monitor them how they want the kid to work. A minor league/ major league orginazion is much better than a college coaching staff.
I think they would like to sign a lot of them, or else they wouldn’t have drafted them. Still, the guys they are picking after 20 generally aren’t going to get the hundreds of thousands of dollars of bonus money and most choose to go to school because the bonuses (as dictated by their skill level and the fact they were picked that low) aren’t the life changing sums that are worth giving up a full ride scholarship.
Skip,
Baseball doesn’t work like hockey. We can’t sign kids and then track them in college. When they sign they are no longer eligible to play college, they must, and indeed the Tigers would prefer, come into the fold and play in their minor league system.
Yeah. I know that.
What I meant was that it is easier to monitor a player in your minor leagues than let them go to college (where you probably won’t be able to redraft them due to the fact, they will probably get better). Sorry for the miswording.
(also the hockey draft is waaaay better than the MLB draft. No fiascos about signing, etc.)
I find the fact that you can’t trade your draft picks downright unAmerican. If the Nats want to trade the top pick for, say, The Tigers 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th round pick why not? They get four players they can sign instead of nothing.
Yeah,
I’ve never really understood why you can’t either…
Pretty dumb.
The whole MLB Draft is really poorly constructed.
From Beck’s blog:
The Tigers had their top three unsigned picks undergo physicals this morning, part of the process of getting a deal done before tonight’s midnight deadline. Daniel Fields, the Tigers’ sixth-round pick, said he went in for a physical for the club in Detroit this morning, along with first-rounder Jacob Turner and supplemental first-round pick Andrew Oliver. That doesn’t mean they’re all going to sign, but it means they’re still at least a decent shot and still talking. In other words, it sure isn’t a bad sign.
The Tigers have improved their offer to Fields, the outstanding prep shortstop from University of Detroit Jesuit High who must decide between turning pro now and accepting a scholarship to the University of Michigan. He’s being advised by SFX. Scott Boras is serving as the adviser for Turner and Oliver.
Jason Beck just reported on Twitter that the Tigers are still talking with Turner, Oliver, and Fields. Looks like it’s going to the wire tonight.
Finally!!!
Wow. I really expected this one to go down to midnight.
How many other picks are going to be signed?
Keith Law writes that we’ve signed Oliver and Turner
Fields’ signed per Beck’s Blog.
MLB trade rumors says we signed Jacob Turner. How’s that for a triple play!
Wow. I honestly didn’t think we’d get these guys signed. We just restocked our farm system with some top tier talent. Congrats to DD for another fine job. He proved once again that he’s one of the very best GM’s in the game. Even if the Tigers are payroll strapped for the next few years, we’ll still have plenty of good young talent that can be on the fast track and be in the show in no time.
Verlander, Porcello, Perry, Avila, and now these guys. We’re going to own the AL Central for years to come.
Careful…
The AL Central is never clear, and it will never be clear. (It makes life so much more interesting…)
But, Kansas City (yes, Kansas City) has a really promising bunch of young guys that might break out, a la Tampa Bay Rays. Chicago won’t ever go away! The Twins are fading, but still have the M&M Boyz (but maybe without the Metrodome, they will suck…), and Cleveland is in extreme rebuilding mode.
All in all, the AL Central is a toss-up.
But I REALLY like our chances in years to come! Good work DD!
Will Craig Fritsch, Mark Appel, Tobin Mateychick (awesome name btw), or the other unsigned guys sign soon?
I don’t think they are projected to, but I defiantly thought that Fields would go to Michigan University. Thank god he didn’t! I am really excited we got these three guys signed. Kudos Dave!
All good news on the draft picks, although I am torn on Daniel Fields signing with the Tigers. I really wanted Fields to play for my favorite college team (which is the University of Michigan, NOT Michigan University…………..Skip), then maybe get signed by the Tigers in three years. Oh well, at least he’s going to my favorite MLB team.
Ha ha
Sorry Jerry. My bad.
U of M… Got it. Caught up in wave of happiness 🙂
You will still get to see Derek Dennis at the University of Michigan (there, I got it right). He played SS at Forest Hills, so I assume he will a SS at the University of Michigan (I’m learning…). He was drafted in the 10th round by the Rays, and dropped only due to commitment to the University of Michigan (got it again!).
Anyway, he’s a really good player, and he should take some pain away from loosing a top-notch player like Fields.
Bummer. The Rangers are the only team w/in the Top 15 draft picks to fail to sign a guy, Matthew Purke. I really like Purke, so maybe 3 years…
The Rangers will probably sign Tanner Scheppers now. They have to next year to sign him, so they better…
Anyway, a good draft deadline day for the Tigers.
What is a “two-sport deal?” Is Fields going to play for the Lions, too?
Good work DD….for all the crap that gets written about you doing your job, and all the blame heaped upon you when players don’t pan out….you do a great job holding this franchise together and re-sticking the Detroit Tigers. Congrats on getting Huff and the signing of the draftees.