2014 Year in Review: MLB Draft

2014 Year in Review: PG Events | College | High School

Any follower of the Major League First-Year Player Draft knows that the event is unlike that of any other sport. The financial ramifications for years has often dictated which players are selected where more so than those players' individual talents.

As new rules were put in place to take the focus off of the money involved starting with the 2012 MLB Draft, we have seen more of a fair balance between talent and their respective slot values, with few surprises occurring early in the draft.

Those new rules also allow for flexibility and creativity when it comes to picks. The Astros proved this in the first year the new rules were put in place, selecting Carlos Correa first overall and signing him to a bonus several million dollars less than his assigned slot value. That creativity allowed them to select and sign a few players that had fallen further than expected in the forms of Lance McCullers and Rio Ruiz.

Although not quite as drastic, and clearly not a plan that was executed as well as they would have liked, the Astros tried that same tactic again this past year as detailed below. To a lesser scale the Cubs employed a similar plan, saving considerable money from the draft pool by signing the fourth overall pick, Kyle Schwarber, for money significantly less than the assigned slot value only to reap the benefits with several of their other picks taken in the top 10 rounds.

Fewer supplemental selections for free agents lost during the offseason and Competitive Balance Lottery picks given to organizations in smaller markets created more opportunities for teams that didn't fare as well the season before to be in a better position to load up on premier talent with not only their first round picks, but the subsequent picks that followed.

Here are the top 10 Perfect Game storylines from the 2014 MLB Draft:


10. National Showcase, All-American Classic continue to provide draft preview

Each of the 16 players that were drafted out of high school in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft attended the 2013 PG National Showcase the previous June. In addition, three of the 18 college players taken in the first round had also previously attended a National Showcase while in high school.

Fifteen of those high school players participated in the 2013 PG All-American Classic at Petco Park. Two more 2013 PG All-Americans were selected in the supplemental first round, and Vanderbilt ace Tyler Beede, who pitched in the 2010 PG All-American Classic, put the total number of former Classic participants taken in the first round at 18.

Since the Classic's inception in 2003, 149 players have been selected in the first round of the draft. With seven more All-Americans being selected in the second round, a total of 25 former PG All-Americans were selected on the first day of the three-day event.

Of the 74 players taken on Day 1 of the MLB Draft, 65 of them (88 percent) had previously attended a Perfect Game event, including all 40 of the players drafted straight out of high school.


9. Surprise entires add to draft depth

The 2014 draft class enjoyed a sudden boost in talent when both Jacob Bukauskas and Isiah Gilliam, previously members of the 2015 class, became draft eligible. Although neither player had a lasting impact on the 2014 draft in hindsight, their newfound draft eligibility did cause scouts, cross-checkers and directors alike to re-shuffle their priorities to make sure they were able to see both over the course of the spring.

Bukauskas, a projectable righthander that committed to play for North Carolina, decided to graduate a year early, honor his college commitment and accelerate his perceived path to professional baseball.

However, not even Bukauskas expected to see his fastball, which peaked in the 90-91 mph range the summer before, suddenly peak at 98-99 with several reports of him reaching triple digits. His slider also had more bite, and he also threw a changeup with one of the loosest and live arms of any pitcher eligible for the 2014 draft.

That increase of velocity came largely thanks to Bukauskas' own determination to drastically improve, focusing on his strength and conditioning between his sophomore and junior years in high school, adding 25 pounds of mass to his previously lanky 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame.

The strength and velocity gains led to a big jump in the rankings, now classified as a 2014, and upon draft day was the 20th best high school prospect and 36th overall draft prospect according to Perfect Game. In fact, only Tyler Kolek, the eventual No. 2 overall pick, was considered to have a better fastball.

Bukauskas insisted throughout the process that he re-classified solely with the intent of attending North Carolina a year early, and even emailed the scouts in his area expressing this intent, asking them not to draft him. Other players, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates Josh Bell, have used this tactic before only to sign out of high school, but when Bukauskas slipped to the 20th round (Diamondbacks) of the draft, it became clear that he would indeed go to college.

Bukauskas is already ranked the No. 2 overall prospect in Perfect Game's first projection of the top 50 prospects eligible for the 2017 draft.

Gilliam, a hard-hitting outfielder and first baseman, who at the time was ranked the 43rd best prospect in the high school class of 2015, became eligible for the 2014 draft when it was determined that the 2014 season was his fourth in high school. Gilliam began his high school career at Shiloh High School, and upon transferring to Parkview High School he ended up repeating a year. Since the 2013-2014 school year was Gilliam's fourth he would not have been able to play during the 2014-15 season, in what was supposed to be his senior year in high school.

A switch hitter with exciting power potential from both sides of the plate, Gilliam's situation left scouts somewhat caught off guard, and he ended up falling to the 23rd round of the draft. It was believed that the Cubs may try to make an effort to sign him, but their aggressive draft, and the players that subsequently signed (see below) made that impossible, at least when it came to risking the steep penalties for eclipsing the allotted signing pools.

Gilliam quickly turned his focus to the 2015 draft by attending the PG National Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla. last June. Due to his standout performance there he was also invited to play at the 2014 PG All-American Classic, and has since attended school at Chipola College, a junior college, thus making him eligible again next year.

In Perfect Game's recent ranking of the 2015 draft class Gilliam is ranked 141st after being ranked the 173rd best prospect eligible in 2014.


8. Cubs save on Schwarber, load up later

Armed with the fourth overall pick and the sixth highest assigned draft pool the Chicago Cubs signed five players to seven-figure bonuses, the most of any team. Most of their ability to do so came when they signed Kyle Schwarber, their first pick, to a $3.125 million bonus, a savings of nearly $1.5 million.

Here are the other four players (number listed is round taken):

2. Jake Stinnett, RHP ($1 million)
4. Carson Sands, LHP ($1.1 million)
5. Justin Steele, LHP, $1 million)
6. Dylan Cease, RHP ($1.5 million)

The Indians, Pirates and Royals each signed four players to seven-figure bonuses, while the Blue Jays, Brewers, Marlins and Rockies. The Marlins, Blue Jays and Royals all had draft pools greater than the Cubs, while the Rockies, Indians and Brewers were just behind the Cubs in total pool value.

Possibly most impressive about this accomplishment is that the Cubs did so without the aid of additional, early picks. The Indians, Pirates and Royals each had two extra picks, and the Blue Jays, Brewers, Marlins and Rockies had one each.


7. Hoffman endures up-and-down ride

Much like Sean Manaea in the 2013 draft, Jeff Hoffman emerged as a candidate to be taken first overall in the 2014 draft after a dominant showing in the Cape Cod League the summer before. Also similar to Manaea, injury clouded Hoffman's status on draft day despite his lofty potential.

Ranked No. 2 by Perfect Game of all draft eligible players to open the year thanks to a mid- to upper-90s fastball, a plus-plus curveball and a developing changeup, Hoffman didn't disappoint early in the season. As the No. 1 overall prospect, Carlos Rodon, struggled to find the fastball velocity that made him a favorite to go early in the 2014 draft for two years, Hoffman slowly but surely made his case to leap-frog the hard-throwing lefty in the eyes of scouts.

Hoffman's statement game occurred during a nationally televised contest on April 4 against Rice in Houston. The 6-foot-4 righthander allowed only one run and one walk while striking out seven in a key 3-2 win between the two Conference USA foes. In the game Hoffman had all of his pitches working for him, and still touched 97 mph in his eighth and final inning of work.

Two weeks later he fanned 16 in eight scoreless innings in a win over Middle Tennessee State, but unfortunately that appearance would be his last of the year. Initially shut down due to minor swelling in his elbow, a small tear was found in early May and it was determined that Tommy John surgery would be required to repair it.

As draft day approached it wasn't believed that Hoffman was fall too far, and the Blue Jays, with the ninth and 11th overall selections, had the ammunition to take a gamble with one of their two picks. Hoffman went with the first of those two picks and signed for a bonus of just over $3 million.

The Blue Jays selected catcher Max Pentecost, who was named the Cape Cod League Most Valuable Player and PG's Summer Collegiate Player of the Year in 2013, with the 11th overall pick.


6. Rodon doesn't go No. 1, but doesn't last long

North Carolina State lefthander Carlos Rodon, believed to be the favorite to go first overall in the 2014 draft since his dynamic freshman year in 2012, didn't quite live up to his two-year hype, but also didn't last long on draft boards, being selected by the Chicago White Sox with the third overall pick.

Rodon arguably enjoyed his most dominant season during his freshman year when he went 9-0 with a 1.57 ERA. In his three years with the Wolfpack he went a combined 25-10 with a 2.24 ERA, highlighted by 436 strikeouts in 345 2/3 innings of work. Rodon was one of six players the Houston Astros had on their short list to be selected with the first overall pick, and was also considered a favorite by the Marlins at No. 2.

With Chris Sale and the newly acquired Jeff Samardzija fronting the White Sox' rotation, Rodon, who finished the 2014 season at the Triple-A level, may not take much time before he's part of the Pale Hose's talented starting staff.


5. Early balance gives way to college dominance

Ever since the inclusion of the assigned draft pools all signs have pointed to a fair and balanced draft when it comes to projected talent, at least in the early rounds. That trend continued, and became even more apparent in 2014.

Through the first two rounds of the draft, 40 of the 74 picks that were made were used to select players from the high school ranks. However, from rounds three through 10 only 45 selections were used on prep players.

Most of this of course has to do with the allotted draft pools, with further evidence coming in the form of the 55 college seniors and 14 fourth-year juniors that were selected in the top 10 rounds of the draft. These players of course are taken to give teams more financial flexibility with the assigned pools.

As a result, only 10 of the players listed among the top 50 of Perfect Game's final ranking of the high school class of 2014 went unsigned, and most of the ones that did were already perceived to pose advanced signability risks prior to the draft. Here is a list those 10 players:

1. Brady Aiken (1st round, 1st pick, Houston Astros, status undetermined, see below)
20. Jacob Bukauskas (20th round, Arizona Diamondbacks, now at North Carolina)
21. Mac Marshall (21st round, Houston Astros, now at Chipola College)
29. Cobi Johnson (35th round, San Diego Padres, now at Florida State)
34. Zack Shannon (undrafted, status undetermined)
35. Keith Weisenberg (38th round, Toronto Blue Jays, now at Stanford)
42. Keaton McKinney (28th round, New York Mets, now at Arkansas)
46. Reese Cooley (26th round, Cleveland Indians, now at Chipola College)
48. Jon Littell (39th round, Washington Nationals, now at Oklahoma State)
49. Greg Deichmann (undrafted, now at Louisiana State)


4. MLB Draft celebrates 50 years

The 2014 MLB Draft marked the 50th year of the event, an anniversary that went somewhat unnoticed. Prior to the 2014 draft, PG Draft Historian Allan Simpson provided 50 signature moments in the 50 years of the draft in a two-part series:

Part 1 | Part 2

Here's the No. 1 moment from that series:

1. Bo Knows Baseball
The Kansas City Royals scored a major coup for baseball with their bold, calculated move in 1986 to snatch away Bo Jackson, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in that year’s football draft, right from under the nose of the NFL. With his exceptional power/speed package, Jackson may be the single greatest raw talent to play Major League Baseball in the draft era, and his impact on the game—even in his brief, injury-riddled career—was substantial.


3. Prep pitchers go with the first two picks

Although no high school righthanded pitcher has ever gone No. 1 in the draft, Brady Aiken became only the third prep lefthander (David Clyde, 1973; Brien Taylor, 1991) to go first overall. He was followed by prep righthander Tyler Kolek with the No. 2 overall selection to the Marlins, marking the first time in the history of the draft that high school pitchers were selected with each of the first two picks.

The last time a high school pitcher went with the second overall pick was 2010, when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected 2009 PG All-American Jameson Taillon. Taillon was the first prep pitcher to be selected that early since Josh Beckett, who went second overall to the Marlins in 1999, further proof of how infrequent high school pitchers are selected that early.

Aiken and Kolek were the first two pitchers to take the mound for the West squad in the 2013 Perfect Game All-American Classic, where Kolek peaked at 99 mph. That fastball velocity is tied for the best ever at a PG event (Stetson Allie, 2009 18u WWBA National Championship; Michael Main, 2006 National Showcase).


2. First-rounder Finnegan pitches in Fall Classic

Brandon Finnegan, the 17th overall pick of the Kansas City Royals, became the first player from the 2014 MLB Draft to make his big-league debut, doing so on September 6, tossing two scoreless innings in a loss to the New York Yankees.

However, that rapid ascent wasn't what stole the headlines. Rather, it was the fact that Finnegan played a crucial role coming out of the bullpen for an upstart Royals team that grabbed the attention of the entire nation as they stormed to the World Series.

There were some questions regarding the health and overall durability for the 5-foot-11 Finnegan as the draft approached, as he was shut down for a few weeks during the college season in the spring for precautionary measures. However, he returned to the Texas Christian staff to provide dominant back-to-back outings in Regional and Super Regional play to help the Horned Frogs advance to the College World Series.

Finnegan became the first player ever to play in both the College World Series and Major League Baseball's World Series in the same year, and as a result the cap he wore during his scoreless appearance against the eventual champion San Francisco Giants on Oct. 24 was sent to Cooperstown to commemorate that accomplishment.


1. Aiken goes No. 1, status still undetermined

Lefthanded pitcher Brady Aiken, who started the 2013 PG All-American Classic for the West squad in front of his hometown San Diego fan base, was selected by the Houston Astros with the first overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. As noted above, he became only the third high school pitcher to be taken with the No. 1 pick in the history of the draft.

It was initially reported that Aiken quickly agreed to terms with the Astros for a pre-draft deal worth $6.5 million, but he never officially signed or received that bonus. After undergoing a physical that was contingent on the deal being consummated, it was discovered that Aiken had an abnormality in his pitching elbow, reported to be a small ulnar collateral ligament. However, there was no structural damage.

Because of this the Astros withdrew their initial offering, and countered with a bonus in the $3.1 million range, which not coincidentally was 40 percent of the slot value of the No. 1 pick, a move necessary for the Astros to receive a compensatory selection in the 2015 draft if Aiken did not sign.

The Astros later increased their offer to $5 million, but by then the damage had already been done.

Similar to 2012, when the Astros selected Carlos Correa first overall and quickly signed him for well below slot value, Aiken's initial $6.5 million bonus was well below the allotted $7,922,100 for the first overall pick, giving the Astros nearly $1.5 million to play with their other, early picks to stay at or below their assigned draft pool.

That $1.5 million was supposed to go to prep righthander Jacob Nix, the Astros' fifth-round selection who had agreed to the bonus and had already passed his physical with the team. When Aiken didn't sign the Astros lost that assigned value in their overall pool and could not sign Nix without receiving a significant penalty; losing their next two first-round picks.

Because of this, the Nix and the Player's Association filed a grievance with Major League Baseball pointing out that Nix had already agreed to a 'binding agreement' with the Astros. According to a report from CBS Sports, the Astros and Nix have recently come to an undisclosed financial agreement before the grievance was heard by arbitrators.

Also effected to a lesser degree was prep lefthander Mac Marshall, the Astros' 21st-round selection. Marshall too reportedly sought a $1.5 million signing bonus, which would have been made possible had Aiken agreed to the $5 million bonus. Marshall initially honored his commitment to Louisiana State after not signing, and has since transferred to Chipola College, making him draft eligible again next year.

In Perfect Game's recent rankings of the top prospects for the 2015 MLB Draft, Aiken is ranked No. 2, Marshall No. 57 and Nix No. 106.

Aiken himself has not filed a grievance, although his case was initially speculated to be somewhat connected to that of Nix', although now that Nix' situation has been settled it is assumed that both will attend a junior college this coming spring. Both Aiken and Nix, who were originally committed to play at UCLA, have not aligned to play for any school at this point in time for the 2015 season.

The most recent case that may be pointed to as a precedent occurred in 2010 when Barrett Loux, the sixth overall pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, was granted free agency after the D-Backs backed out of their initial agreement when a labrum tear was discovered as part of his physical. Loux ended up signing with the Texas Rangers. However, that signing occurred prior to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that instituted the draft pools, which clouds the situation even further.

In going first overall, Aiken became the seventh PG All-American to do so, joining Carlos Correa (2012), Gerrit Cole (2011), Bryce Harper (2010), Tim Beckham (2007), Justin Upton (2005) and Matt Bush (2004).

It also marked the third year in a row that a premium pitcher was drafted early in the first round and went unsigned.

Mark Appel, thought to be a favorite to go No. 1 overall in 2012, dropped to the eighth overall pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates and went unsigned. Appel returned to Stanford for his senior year in 2013 and went on to become the Astros' No. 1 pick that year.

Phil Bickford, the No. 1 junior college prospect eligible for the 2015 draft, went 10th overall out of high school to the Blue Jays in 2013, only to honor his commitment to Cal State Fullerton. Bickford has since transferred to the College of Southern Nevada, the same junior college that Bryce Harper attended, to make himself eligible in 2015.

Aiken became the third first overall pick in the history of the draft to go unsigned, and the first since 1983 (Tim Belcher).