Dodgers' MLB Draft and international signing update: Harris, Tirado, Padilla

The Dodgers made another over-slot signing by inking 17th-round pick Greg Harris on Wednesday to a $175,000 bonus. That $75,000 extra counts against the Dodgers' draft spending limit.

Harris was committed to the University of Oregon, so the Dodgers had to kick in the extra $75,000 to get him to forego his commitment.

To date, the team is $6,285 under the team's allotted $5,472,285, which includes the 5 percent overage. Contrary to my last update, fifth-round pick J.D. Underwood signed for $306,200, not $360,000.

Round	Player	Slot	Bonus	Savings
1	Chris Anderson	$2,109,900	$2,109,900	$0
2	Tom Windle	$986,500	$986,500	$0
3	Brandon Dixon	$566,500	$566,500	$0
4	Cody Bellinger	$409,000	$700,000	($291,000)
5	J.D. Underwood	$306,200	$306,200	$0
6	Jacob Rhame	$229,300	$300,000	($70,700)
7	Brandon Trinkwon	$171,900	$171,900	$0
8	Kyle Farmer	$153,600	$40,000	$113,600
9	Henry Yates	$143,500	$5,000	$138,500
10	Nick Keener	$135,300	$5,000	$130,300
11	Spencer Navin	$0	$200,000	($200,000)
17	Greg Harris	$0	$75,000	($75,000)
Total		$5,211,700	$5,466,000	($254,300)

The Dodgers -- provided they don't sign any other guys to over-slot bonuses (because $6,285 is chump change in baseball) -- won't lose their 2014 first-round pick.

Scott

The Dodgers also signed 30th-rounder catcher Ryan Scott (Notre Dame High School, Ariz.). However, 31st-rounder third baseman Andrew McWilliam (Westlake HS, Calif.) decided to attend the University of New Mexico and 13th-rounder left-handed pitcher Ty Damron is all but assured of going to Texas Tech University.

Scott was a nice get for the Dodgers. I didn't think they were going to get him out of his commitment to Arizona Western College -- a junior college that would allow him to re-enter the draft next year. He was also considering UCLA, UNLV, Oregon and the University of San Diego.

Losing out on McWilliam and likely Damron hurt the potential for the Dodgers' 2013 draft. McWilliam was a tall, thin third baseman with big power potential who should provide Chris Jackson (Albuquerque Examiner) with some good content for the next three seasons. Damron has potential as a lefty high schooler who already sits in the upper-80s and should be a low-90s pitcher after some instruction and growth in college.

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The Dodgers also signed three players on the first day of the international signing period (July 2) and one the following day.

July 2
Daniel Padilla
Alvaro Trillo
Sven Schuller

July 3
Lucas Tirado

Padilla and Trillo signed for $200,000 each, while Schuller's signing bonus is unknown. As only the fifth European player the Dodgers have ever had (four international signees, one Rule 4 draftee -- hat tip to 7_marko, via Twitter), the bonus won't be too much. Tirado signed for a cool million bucks, as expected.

Baseball America had this to say about the signees:

Padilla: "Padilla, 16, is 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with good athleticism, excellent speed and a strong arm from center field. With his size and wheels, he offers an intriguing combination of speed and power potential from the right side of the plate. Padilla trained with Dennys Suarez."

Tirado: "Tirado, 16, is 6-foot-2, 180 pounds and shows a short swing from the left side during batting practice, although his game performance has been uneven. He’s a below-average runner and doesn’t have a standout tool, which means a position change is likely in his future."

Trillo: "Trillo, 16, is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds with a loose arm and a fastball up to 91 mph. His curveball already gets up to the high-70s with good break, so he could have two above-average pitches between his fastball and his curveball. He has shown some feel for changeup as well with good pitchability for his age. Trillo trains with Rafael Betancourt."

The Dodgers have spent at least $1.4 million of their $2,322,600 international spending budget. I look forward to seeing who else the Dodgers sign between now and mid-June 2014 on the international market.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Perfect Game

Dodgers eye SS Lucas Tirado early in 2013-14 international signing period

The new international signing period begins Tuesday (July 2) and the Dodgers have been tied to one player who could garner a bonus of more than a million bucks.

Lucas Tirado, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is the guy the Dodgers reportedly have an eye on. Kiley McDaniel of Scouting Baseball projects the Dodgers to ink Tirado to a $1.2 million bonus. He also ranks Tirado as the 14th-best prospect available.

Tirado, 16, is a shortstop for now, but Matt Garrioch of Minor League Ball thinks he might have to move off the position eventually. He lists second base and left field as possibilities. I’d be perfectly fine if Tirado ended up as a second baseman.

Garrioch also had this to say about Tirado: 

“Interesting hitter. Polished. Not sure he can stick at SS. Might be a LF/2B.”

Tirado’s a lefty swinger with decent bat speed. He isn’t the fleetest of foot, which could lead to a position change. Tirado’s hit tool is his best, with everything else grading out as average in the future (at best).

Tirado won’t be 17 until Dec. 13. At 6’2, 175 pounds, he’ll fill out physically, which could also determine his long-term position.

For what it's worth: Ben Badler of Baseball America doesn't have Tirado ranked in his Top 30 international prospects list. Badler is one of the foremost authorities when it comes to international players, but he isn't the be-all, end-all, either. Also, he didn't have Julio Urias ranked in his Top 20 last year (hat tip to Jared Massey).

I don’t think Tirado is a future star, but, if his development goes according to plan, could be an everyday player in the majors in a handful of years.

Here's some video of the youngster.

The Dodgers have $2,112,900 to spend on international talent this year. That’s down from the $2.9 million they had last year. Badler reported on Wednesday the Dodgers are among a handful of teams looking to trade for more international cap space (trading for cap space explained here by Badler).

The fact the Dodgers could commit more than half of their available pool to one guy -- who isn’t even regarded as the top two or three guys available -- says one of two things:

1. The Dodgers are really high on this guy
2. They will acquire more cap space

I won’t question the Dodgers’ methods, as they’ve gotten back into the international market by signing roughly 46 players since the new ownership group took over in May 2012.

The team made waves last year by signing Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu -- neither of whom counted toward the cap spending limit. The Dodgers are interested in a couple other guys who fall into this category this year: right-handed pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (26 years old) and outfielder Dariel Alvarez (23) -- both of whom are Cuban defectors.

I wrote about Gonzalez for Yahoo! Sports last week. The Dodgers should go all out for this guy. He could pitch in the majors this season and profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation guy long-term.

“Gonzalez has fastball that sits in the low-90s and routinely touches 94-95 MPH. He also has a changeup, curveball, cut-fastball and the rare forkball. Dodger fans remember a great forkball thrown by Hideo Nomo oh so many years ago.

Many believe Gonzalez is near-MLB ready. He might need a month or so in the minors to get back into the rhythm, but he should pitch in the majors this season. He profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation starter with No.2 upside.”

Alvarez would be a nice get for nothing other than depth, because the last thing the Dodgers need is more MLB-ready outfielders. But I’d rather the Dodgers focus efforts elsewhere.

It should be an interesting signing year. I want the Dodgers to acquire more cap space after a lackluster draft. Chris Anderson is the only player with impact potential from the Dodgers’ 2013 draft.

These international prospects -- save Gonzalez and Alvarez (to a certain extent) -- are lottery tickets. If the Dodgers hit on just one per year, the investment will have been well worth it.

If the Dodgers come out of the signing period early on with Gonzalez and Tirado, I'd call that a win.