Nick Franklin Signs
He ended up getting about $120k over slot, which isn’t terrible. Ackley would figure to get a lot more, though we probably aren’t going to know exactly how much until right around the deadline Monday evening.
Franklin, to refresh everyone’s memory, was the 27th overall pick and was one of the better prep shortstops available, projecting to stay at the position long-term. He’s a switch-hitter, and like many in that category, his left-handed swing is a bit different from his right-handed one, with a bit of an uppercut to it. My guess is that he’ll get a few games in at Peoria and then move on up to Pulaski. I’m not sure at this point whether he’ll be Noriega’s double play partner or if they’ll just try moving Noriega to Everett, pushing Phillips to a utility role.
So he’s a switch hitting Reid Brignac without the power is what I’m hearing.
Someone compared him to J.J Hardy out of College.
That sounds like a bit of a stretch, but if he has enough glove to stick at short, and his bat isn’t an embarrassment there, then he’s a valuable commodity.
Hopefully this kid Franklin is THAT good because if not,then we just drafted one of MANY first rounders who didn’t paid off or haven’t pan out too. Thanks Jay. keep it up!!
I might not be as high on him as some are, so those two comps sound a little bit on the high end for me. You’re right that he should be a “valuable commodity” as such though.
How can you project a high school kid? His Epiphyseal plates may have more room for growth. His testosterone levels have not kicked in full time yet. So what we have is a very athletic kid who can pick it and switch hit. It is fun to speculate though.
Jay, what do you think of Franklin vs Stassi. Rumor is Stassi is about to sign for about the same price with the A’s.
The better question, SRE, is how do they do it with the sixteen-year-old international signings? It’s difficult, but not impossible.
There are a few questionable things the M’s did in the draft and I think Baron over Stassi and not picking up Luke Bailey, who I think came in for $750k, were a couple of those. At this point, there’s not much we can do about it, but I’m hoping that some of the successes of this draft might inspire greater confidence to play fast and loose with the slot bonuses. I’ve been wrong before on that.
A few other general minor league notes to throw out there for this Saturday. Morrow threw a CG shutout against the Cubs. Great start, but only struck out two. Fields is on the DL probably for the rest of the season with an oblique injury.
I wish we bagged Pimentel and drafted Stassi instead of Baron. Seriously, more money on the draft and underexposed markets (Tazawa) and less on the 16 year old Latin American kids please.
“less on the 16 year old Latin American kids please”
The Felix Hernandez signing really sucked.
Speaking of Pulaski, does a Brazilian count when talking of 16-year-old Latin American kids? Because Jean Tome nearly threw a no-hitter. I think he may have been 17 when he signed, though.
I admittadly (sp?) don’t know a lot about how the lower minors work but… I thought first round picks usually went straight to AA or at least High Desert or Clinton. How quickly do you think he would move up through the ranks?
Yes, I was quite sad when his no-no was broken up, and had mixed feelings about Mier being the one to do it. Tome was actually twenty when he signed, another one of those mysterious late international signings, but I still think he’s neat.
Our first-round picks haven’t generally gone to double-A or advanced-A immediately. Fields managed to pull it off, a sort of unique case, as did Morrow, after a little time in Arizona, but Mangini, Aumont, Clement, Tui (not technically a 1st round, but you know) and Jones all did some time in the low minors. My guess is that if they do send Ackley through the Northwest League, it’s just going to be a courtesy thing to the local fans and only for a few games, and then it’s on to High Desert or West Tenn.
I think, if we’re lucky, he’s Asdrubal Cabrera. Wouldn’t it be cool to have an Asdrubal Cabrera in the system?
How could Tome have been 20 when he signed? Baseball America lists his birthdate as Sept. 5, 1989, so according to that he’s not even 20 now.
I was going off the Media Guide, which is not known for its proof-reading. The media people listed his birthdate as 2-2-1987. If the signing date of April 23rd 2007 is legit, then he was still seventeen when he signed, but I’m not banking on that at this point.
The signing date is consistent with what I’ve seen elsewhere. Considering that he may have had less development in Brazil before signing anyway (although I’d expect he could have played elsewhere in Latin America), there could be a fair bit of untapped potential even if he is 22. And at either age, a near no-hitter in the Appalachian League isn’t meaningless, it just might be slightly less exciting.