Cleveland Indians Draft Update: All But One Top Pick Has Signed

The Cleveland Indians Have Signed All But One of Their Top Draft Picks

With the signing of 4th round pick Shane Bieber, the Cleveland Indians have now signed 10 of their 11 top ten round picks in the 2016 MLB draft. The only unsigned player is 2nd round pick Nolan Jones, who was always viewed as the toughest sign of the Tribe’s first 11 picks. In addition to Bieber, the Indians have signed 5th round pick Connor Capel, 6th round pick Ulysses Cantu, 7th round pick Michael Tinsley, and 8th round pick Andrew Lantrip over the past week. 

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These signings are in addition to the intial rash of signings the club had previously. The complete list of the Tribe signings with their signing bonus amounts for the top 10 rounds are as follows:

The “difference” total of $763,800 is the amount the Indians have saved against their initial draft pool amount. Meaning the Cleveland Indians have spent nearly $764K less than what they were allotted for the picks they had. This may seem odd that the Indians have saved this much and many may question why the Indians simply didn’t draft better players at these spots and spend more money. Well, there’s a very good reason that the Indians have been doing their best to save money to this point in the draft and that’s the aforementioned Nolan Jones.

Jones is expected to get well above the $1,159,200 that’s normally allotted for the 55th overall pick. Jones was a top 25 draft prospect who is likely going to want top 20 money to forgo college. The Indians knew this when they drafted him and took the risk anyway knowing they could save money later. Adding in the $763,800 the Indians have saved and the Indians can spend $1,923,000 on Nolan without going over their draft pool.

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In addition to the $763,800 in saving, the Indians are allowed to go up to $374,980 over their draft pool without too great a penalty. By rule, teams can go up to five percent over their draft pool without losing any future draft picks. The penalty for going over five percent a 75% tax on the amount spent over the initial draft budget. The Indians have paid the tax penalty a few times, including last year when they spent nearly the full five percent over budget.

Adding in this extra amount and the Indians have the potential to spend up to $2,297,980 on Nolan Jones without losing a draft pick, which would be nearly the amount they spent on 1st round pick Will Benson and close to the amount they spent on their second pick in the 2015 draft Triston McKenzie, who got $2,302,500 as the 42nd overall pick.

The Indians could also use some of the draft savings on players drafted in Rounds 11 thru 40. All players drafted in those rounds are eligible to get up to $100,000 without any penalties. Anything spent over $100,000 on a pick in those rounds will go against the draft pool amount. The Indians did this last season when they signed 20th round pick Luke Wakamatsu for $290,000, meaning $190,000 of it went against their draft budget.

The Indians have signed several players in rounds 11 thru 40 to date (12 by my count), including Gavin Collins, Mitch Longo, and Tanner Tully. Here’s a complete list of the players signed:

For the most part, the exact amount each player got is not known, though both Gavin Collins and Trenton Brooks each got the max $100,000. Since there’s been no mention of anything over $100,00 it can be assumed that no one has gotten that, and none of the players that the Indians have signed have been big surprises or players one would think should command more than $100,000. There are definitely a few players in those rounds that are considered tough-to-impossible signs thanks to bonus demands so stay tuned to see if the Indians could grab one of them.

Next: Three Indians Ready for Big Julys

The deadline to sign Nolan Jones and any other remaining picks is July 15th, so the Indians still have two weeks to get these kids to sign on the dotted line. It would be a major shock if the Indians didn’t sign Jones so it’s more a matter of how much will he get, not if he will sign. Expect the number to come in around $2-2.2 million with any savings left possibly going to a Round 11-40 player. Be sure to stay tuned for more 2016 Cleveland Indians draft updates here at Wahoo’s on First.