Dodgers won't lose 2014 first-round pick, plus a Julio Urias GIF

The Dodgers won't lose their 2014 first-round pick after J.P. Hoornstra tweeted me some good news.

Respectively: 360K, 40K, 5K. RT @FeelinKindaBlue Any idea the bonuses Underwood (5th round), Farmer (8th) and Keener (10th) received?
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) June 21, 2013

I wrote on Monday the Dodgers were dangerously close to going over their draft spending pool limit. Luckily, the bonuses given to J.D. Underwood (5th-rounder, $360,000), Kyle Farmer (8th, $40,000) and Nick Keener (10th, $5,000) kept the Dodgers in the black.

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	$360,000	($53,800)
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)
Total		$5,211,700	$5,444,800	($233,100)

The Dodgers were able to go $260,585 over budget (5 percent of their $5.2 million pool) without losing the 2014 pick. The team is now $27,485 in the black and probably won't spend much more of it.

Farmer

The Dodgers will have to pay a 75 percent luxury tax on the overage, which turns out to be $52,863.75 extra. A drop in the bucket for this ownership. The Dodgers also spent more than their allotted amount in 2012.

Despite what I wrote, I really didn't think the Dodgers were going to screw this up, but they sure did make it more "interesting" than it needed to be.

Underwood has some ability, but I'm interested to see how Farmer handles the transition behind the plate. He was a middle infielder and is going to be a catcher in professional ball.

Here's hoping the Dodgers don't make things this interesting next year. At this point, it's going to be a Top-10 pick, which wasn't the way they drew it up back in April.

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For no apparent reason, here's a GIF of Julio Urias' changeup, via theintentionalbalk.

Photo credit: Courtesy of UGA Sports Communications

Ogden Raptors being Pioneer League play, led by Valentin and Valdez

The Ogden Raptors open their 2013 campaign today and the roster is littered with some good, young talent and some 2013 draftees.

In recent years, players like Joc Pederson, O’Koyea Dickson, Corey Seager and Ross Stripling have cut their proverbial teeth in the league.

The Pioneer League is a hitter-friendly league in the rarefied air of Utah. Not many pitchers have success at the level -- especially young pitchers. It will be interesting to see how some of the young guys handle it.

The prospect on the Ogden roster closest to my Top 10 is Jesmuel Valentin (No. 13), who has already played with the Great Lakes Loons this season. The next-closest player is Jesus Valdez (No. 24), who also spent some time with the Loons this season.

2013 Ogden Raptors roster

Catchers

Austin Cowen

Kyle Farmer*

Infielders

Zach Babitt

Jake Chaplin

Faustino Oguisten

Dillon Moyer*

Alex Santana

Brandon Trinkwon*

Jesus Valdez

Jesmuel Valentin

Outfielders

Joey Curletta

Gerson Nunez

Jacob Scavuzzo

Pat Stover

Hank Yates*

Martinez

Starting pitchers

Scott Barlow

Michael Johnson*

Jonathan Martinez

Jacob Rhame*

J.D. Underwood*

Relief pitchers

Victor Araujo

James Baune*

Luis De Paula

Jose Agusto Diaz

Jake Fisher

Sawil Gonzalez

Kyle Hooper*

Ricky Perez

Thomas Taylor*

Francisco Villa

*- Denotes 2013 draftee

Not a lot of surprises, but I am disappointed to see guys like Valdez and Martinez on this roster. I thought they’d have more success in full-season ball. I haven’t given up hope on them yet, but a guy like Valdez needs to hit enough to get promoted back to Low-A and prove his worth. Martinez is 18 (for another week), so I’m not as concerned about him.

There are some interesting players to keep an eye on with this team. Santana was the Dodgers second-round pick in 2011 and should be the team’s everyday third baseman. I chose him as my breakout prospect for 2013. Valentin should hold down either shortstop or second base. Trinkwon will play whichever position Valentin does not.

In the outfield, Curletta should have a field day in this league. The powerful 2012 sixth-rounder should be the team’s starting right fielder and eventual cleanup hitter. He has legitimate 70-grade power. Stover is another guy who played with the Loons earlier this season. As the team’s 40th-rounder last year, it’s nice to see him actually playing.

In the rotation, this team has guys who have a lot of arm talent. Barlow is recovering from Tommy John surgery last season, but he has an electric arm and a legitimate breaking ball. He also throws a “show me” slider and changeup that could be average with work. Martinez had great success in the Arizona Rookie League last year before struggling as an 18-year-old in the Midwest League. The rest of the rotation should be filled with 2013 draftees. Underwood has a nice sinker/curveball combination, as does Rhame. Johnson is a soft-tossing lefty who could do well as an older pitcher against younger competition.

The bullpen has some good arms as well as guys who can swap spots with the rotation guys if need be.

My best guess at a lineup

Valentin SS

Trinkwon 2B

Stover DH/LF

Valdez 1B

Santana 3B

Curletta RF

Scavuzzo CF

Cowen/Farmer C

Yates LF/DH

I’m sure I missed on just about every spot (guess we’ll see tonight). There aren’t as many exciting prospects this year in Ogden, but there are definitely some guys to keep an eye on throughout the summer.

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Dodgers could lose 2014 first-round draft pick due to heavy 2013 bonuses

With the new collective bargaining agreement, teams are much more creative in the MLB Draft than ever before. But since new CBA’s inception a couple years ago, no team has ever had to forfeit a draft pick due to overspending.

The Dodgers are dangerously close to doing so. The team inked seventh-rounder Brandon Trinkwon (pictured) this morning for slot, which prompted this post.

Here’s a breakdown of the signing bonuses the Dodgers have given out to the 2013 draft class thus far.

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	unsigned	$0
9	Henry Yates	$143,500	$5,000	$138,500
10	Nick Keener	$135,300	unsigned	$0
11	Spencer Navin	$0	$200,000	($200,000)
Total		$5,211,700	$5,634,900	($423,200)

Notes:

• Farmer has signed, but there’s been no announcement of his bonus just yet.
• Keneer should be a relatively easy sign. I’d be surprised if he got more than the $5,000 Yates received. Last year’s 10th-rounder Zach Babitt got a $2,500 bonus.
• Underwood has reportedly signed and will get more than the $306,200 recommended for his selection.

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Normally, the 11th-rounder’s bonus wouldn’t count toward the spending cap, but since the team spent $300,000 on Navin, $200,000 worth of it counts toward the cap as all picks from the 10th round and on can get up to a $100,000 without it counting toward the cap.

As you can see, the Dodgers went way over slot with Bellinger. As their only high school draftee on this list, that makes a little sense.

The Dodgers can spend 5 percent more than the $5,211,700 allotted to them -- which works out to $260,585 -- without losing a draft pick. The Dodgers need to save a combined $162,615 on Farmer and Keener for them to avoid the penalty.

I trust the front office will figure it out, but this is a bit too close for comfort. The 2014 draft is supposed to be much better than the 2013 draft, and it would be a shame if the Dodgers didn’t have their first-round selection for this reason.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Perfect Game

Dodgers sign Chris Anderson and Tom Windle for full slot, as well as others

The Dodgers inked first-round draft pick Chris Anderson to a $2,109,900 bonus, which was slot-recommended for the No. 18 selection.

Anderson signed less than a week after being drafted. The Dodgers inked 2012 first-rounder Corey Seager more than three weeks after drafting him last year and went over slot to do it.

Anderson, 20, boasts a 90-96 MPH fastball with sink, a potentially plus slider in the low-to-mid-80s and a changeup at the same velocity.

The Dodgers have officially signed just Anderson at this point. Word is second-rounder Tom Windle will sign for full slot. In fact, Baseball America's Jim Callis just confirmed it. Sixth-rounder Jacob Rhame tweeted and said he's officially signed. Eighth-rounder Kyle Farmer tweeted a photo of himself signing his contract and 12th-rounder Adam Law did the same.

It's unknown how much Rhame and Farmer received, but the Dodgers didn't save any money on their first two selections.

Expect a slew of signings in the coming days and weeks.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Perfect Game, via Jacksonville University athletics