2012 Draft Thread: Sixteenth Through Fortieth Rounds

Jay Yencich · June 6, 2012 at 8:15 am · Filed Under Minor Leagues 

Fortieth. It’s weird to type. Anyway, that’s how far we’re going starting at 9 am.

Usually, on Day Three of the draft, the common refrain is that there’s plenty of talent left on the board. However, not all of it is signable talent and some of it is only talent relative to other, worse players that may be capable of being drafted. I feel like someone ought to clarify these things.

This front office has had some success even in the late rounds. Forrest Snow, recently moved to the bullpen, was drafted in the 36th round, as an example. Steve Landazuri was a 22nd round pick and he’s surely interesting when healthy (come back soon!…). What we’re likely to see less of are the Shipers/Marder/Valenza type late-round picks where we go way over budget to get one guy who otherwise had a strong commitment elsewhere. From here on, it’s probably about making budget and trying to outscout and outhustle the other twenty-nine teams in the hopes of uncovering some gem or gem-like human baseball player. The Mariners have gone way off radar before and it’s worked. These names probably won’t mean all that much to you now, but one or two promises to grow on you.

I don’t really have time to think about that though. I’ll probably be in and out the whole time, updating this page with the list every so often, and contributing very little in the way of analysis. I’m sure you’ll develop some form of coping mechanism. Whether that’s positive or negative coping, I’ll leave up to you.

Round #16: RHP Dominic Leone, 5’11”, 195 lbs, 10/26/1991, Clemson
Round #17: RF Isaiah Yates, 5’9″, 185 lbs, R/L, 8/31/1994, CA HS
Round #18: RF Jabari Henry, 6’1″, 200 lbs, R/R, 11/11/90, Florida International
Round #19: LHP Nathan Koneski, 6’0″, 180 lbs, 3/11/90, College of The Holy Cross
Round #20: LHP Steven Ewing, 6’1″, 219 lbs, 8/8/91, Miami
Round #21: LHP Scott DeCecco, 6’0″, 175 lbs, 5/8/1991, USC Upstate
Round #22: SS Gabrial Franca, 5’11”, 160 lbs, R/R, 9/11/1993, CA HS
Round #23: RHP Levi Dean, 6’4″, 225 lbs, 12/15/1989, Tennessee Wesleyan
Round #24: RHP Matthew Vedo, 6’3″, 205 lbs, 1/12/1990, UC Santa Barbara
Round #25: RHP Mark Bordonaro, 5’10”, 160 lbs, 8/17/1990, Fairfield
Round #26: RHP Aaron Brooks, 6’6″, 210 lbs, 5/15/1992, Edmonds CC
Round #27: LHP Blake Holovach, 6’5″, 195 lbs, 3/27/1991, Missouri
Round #28: RHP Matt Brazis, 6’3″, 195 lbs, 9/6/1989, Boston College
Round #29: C Toby Demello, 6’2″, 220 lbs, R/R, 1/3/1990, St. Mary’s
Round #30: RF Michael Yastrzemski, 6’0″, 195 lbs, L/L, 12/6/1990, Vanderbilt (Carl’s grandson)
Round #31: LHP Rusty Shellhorn, 5’10”, 185 lbs, 2/25/1990, Texas Tech
Round #32: 2B Richard Palase, 5’11”, 195 lbs, R/R, 8/17/1990, Lynchburg College
Round #33: RHP Logan Seifrit, 5’11”, 185 lbs, 8/25/1994, Canada HS
Round #34: C Alexander Ross, 6’1″, 190 lbs, L/R, 5/27/1991, Bellevue CC
Round #35: SS Tyler Krieger, 6’0″, 155 lbs, S/R, 1/16/1994, GA HS
Round #36: RHP Anthony Wingenter, 6’7″, 190 lbs, 4/15/1994, AL HS
Round #37: LHP Brett Lilek, 6’4″, 185 lbs, 8/10/1993, IL HS
Round #38: SS Richard Martin, 5’10”, 174 lbs, R/R, 12/22/1994, FL HS
Round #39: RHP Grayson Long, 6’5″, 200 lbs, 5/27/1994, TX HS
Round #40: RHP James Kaprielian, 6’3″, 190 lbs, 3/2/1994, CA HS

That’s all, folks.

Comments

41 Responses to “2012 Draft Thread: Sixteenth Through Fortieth Rounds”

  1. Badbadger on June 6th, 2012 9:14 am

    I’m hoping you meant to type 6’1″. Or then again, maybe I’m not. I’d kinda love to see a 5 foot 200 pound guy pitching.

  2. Westside guy on June 6th, 2012 9:16 am

    Is this Dominic Leone dude really five foot one? 😉

  3. Medium richie on June 6th, 2012 9:18 am

    Must be headed to the really minor leagues…

  4. zackr on June 6th, 2012 9:20 am

    I could see him working out at catcher, although it would be tough for the ump to see around him.

  5. Jay Yencich on June 6th, 2012 9:21 am

    You know, I get it after one person says it.

  6. bat guano on June 6th, 2012 9:26 am

    Short people! Yea!

  7. Alec on June 6th, 2012 9:31 am

    Jeff Sullivan should bring back Leone for Third now that we have another one.

  8. The Ancient Mariner on June 6th, 2012 9:34 am

    We appear to be cornering the market on Jabaris, too . . .

  9. marc w on June 6th, 2012 9:57 am

    And the Orioles just drafted Cal Ripken’s son in the 20th round. Huh.

  10. Alec on June 6th, 2012 9:59 am

    Pick 581: Nate Koneski, LHP, R/L, SR, 6’00” 180lbs, DOB: 03/11/90, Col of The Holy Cross, MA
    Pick 611: Steven Ewing, LHP, L/L, JR, 6’01, 219lbs, DOB: 08/08/91, Miami, FL

    for those curious

  11. marc w on June 6th, 2012 10:02 am

    Steven Ewing out of Miami’s a LHP who was very good in 2011, and very good to start 2012 before faltering late in the year. Just hope they can sign some of these guys.

    Leone’s a pitcher from Clemson who had a good 2011 before an injury knocked him out, and whose 2012 season was forgettable. I’ve got to think that he’d be a tough sign because of that, but who knows.

  12. Alec on June 6th, 2012 10:09 am

    641: Scott Decocco, LHP, R/L, JR, 6’00” lbs, DOB: 05/08/91, University of South Carolina – Upstate, SC

  13. Westside guy on June 6th, 2012 10:27 am

    What percentage of these guys end up signing, normally? The team can’t be offering them much at all. Do a lot of them take a low draft spot as an indication they should start looking at alternative ways to make a living? Or is the dream still too strong?

  14. marc w on June 6th, 2012 10:31 am

    The M’s signed an absurd percentage of late-rounders last year – I mean, they signed nearly every pick they made.

    It’s going to be really interesting to see what teams do under the new rules. They can’t give bonuses over $100,000 any more, so they can’t pull a Jordan Shipers the way they did in 2010. But they could conceivably give many guys $100,000, which would still be quite a bit over the old slot (there is no slot now after the 10th rd). Will that tempt some of the college arms? Maybe.

    More broadly, there’s not necessarily a downside to signing. Playing a year or two for peanuts and blowing your bonus on a used car certainly isn’t a dream come true or anything, but you get to be a pro athlete for a while. If you want to go to college or grad school or business school later, you can. It’s bizarre, it’s arduous, it will likely come to nothing, but…”professional baseball player.”

  15. riversurge24 on June 6th, 2012 10:54 am

    I know this might sound like a dumb question but how much on average to minor leaguers make anyway? Like if you were in single A or double A what is the going rate?

    No reason other than just curiosity because I don’t know.

  16. marc w on June 6th, 2012 11:08 am

    Riversurge,

    There’s a huge difference between someone who’s on a major league contract and is in the minors versus someone who’s not on the 40 man and is just IN the minors.

    Even if you’ve only got one day of MLB service time, your minor league salary jumps to nearly $80,000 per year. If you sign a major league contract but haven’t made the majors, your salary in the minors is about $39,000 per year.

    If you’re just a minor leaguer, and aren’t on any sort of MLB deal (that is to say, 99% of these guys), then you can take home around $1,000 a month in high-A (lower for short-season ball), $1,500 a month in AA up to over $2,000 in AAA. This is reduced by things like clubhouse dues which are at least $5 per game. It’s not much.

    That’s why a call-up changes the life of a player, even if they don’t play. Think of Jose Yepez last year, a guy who’d only just started making $2,000 a month – and then he was called up, never played, but had MLB service time. He probably made more money in the 10 days he was on the roster than he ever made – or ever will make – in the minors.

  17. Mike Snow on June 6th, 2012 11:51 am

    Once you’re not tied to a team, you have more leverage, so minor league free agents can also get deals to make significantly more than the default amounts. That being said, a lot of those guys also have previous major league service time.

  18. furgig on June 6th, 2012 12:30 pm

    I’m curious; with organizations adding talent through the draft every year, are there that many players currently in the organization that are let go? Or is the number of players in the organization flexible? It seems like you can’t add 20 to 30 players every year without eliminating at least close to that many to make room for them.

  19. msfanmike on June 6th, 2012 12:32 pm

    Signing bonus … late rounds … who cares!

    I would have given my left nut to have been drafted. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I never had to make that type of commitment and have lived happily ever after for the past 27 years, but for any player in HS or College to be drafted – is an honor.

    A lot of the late rounds guys who sign likely play Rookie Short season ball for one year with about 8 of them sharing a two bedroom house for a summer (or are Billeted for 2 months by a guest family). Their pro career probably does not amount to anything other than some great memories and knowing that they had a shot.

    All things considered, I am probably better off with the left nut intact, but it would have been a close call if I had to have made it when I was 21.

  20. Jay Yencich on June 6th, 2012 12:35 pm

    There’s usually a pretty big wave of minor league releases at the end of spring training and at the opening of short-season ball.

  21. riversurge24 on June 6th, 2012 1:17 pm

    Thanks Marc.. I appreciate the answer and sorry if the question doesn’t really relate to this thread. I just had never known exactly how the pay system goes for the 95% of guys who don’t make it to the big stage.

    Thanks again.

  22. Typical Idiot Fan on June 6th, 2012 1:22 pm

    But they could conceivably give many guys $100,000, which would still be quite a bit over the old slot (there is no slot now after the 10th rd). Will that tempt some of the college arms? Maybe.

    I thought there was a rule in place that money past the 10th round could still count against the money from rounds 1 to 10 (especially in terms of the penalties for going over the allotment).

  23. Alec on June 6th, 2012 1:25 pm

    Did we just draft Yaz’s grandson?

  24. Alec on June 6th, 2012 1:26 pm

    Nevermind, missed the note.

  25. just a fan on June 6th, 2012 1:36 pm

    Hey Idiot, anything over $100k counts against the cap. If you just give ’em $100k it’s cool.

    So have we won the draft yet?

  26. Jay Yencich on June 6th, 2012 1:58 pm

    I’ll say we won! We drafted the next Yaz!

  27. furgig on June 6th, 2012 2:01 pm

    Jay, thanks for the answer. As nice as it must be to make it into an organization, there must be a lot of pressure on these guys as they try to stay there.

  28. marc w on June 6th, 2012 2:05 pm

    JAF has it right, and I really should’ve been clearer – you CAN give a, say, 11th rounder over 100,000, but then that amount counts towards the cap, so most likely no one will do that.

    They can give exactly $100,000, though, which is still quite a ways over the old slot. That’s not going to get you someone who thinks they’ve got a shot at the top 3-4 rounds next year, but it can get you a player who’s better than the usual 30th rounder.

  29. marc w on June 6th, 2012 2:06 pm

    Yeah, we got the next Yaz, but the Orioles got Ripken’s kid. Tough call, but tie goes to nearest relation. Son>grandson.
    We lost the draft everyone. I’m very sorry.

  30. Westside guy on June 6th, 2012 2:22 pm

    Ripken’s son must not be all that good, if the Orioles held out until the 20th round. There’s gotta be some internal pressure there, I’d think, to keep the old man happy.

  31. Ichirolling51 on June 6th, 2012 2:31 pm

    I was doing some research looking back at all of our drafts since 2000, and one word describes it, and that word is ‘Depressing.’ So far the best player we have drafted over that span is Adam Jones. And no one we have drafted over that span has made an all star team as a Mariner. Sure the book is still out on Ackley, Hultzen, Walker, Paxton ect. I’m just glad we have someone in charge who knows what the hell he is doing.

  32. marc w on June 6th, 2012 2:48 pm

    Yeah, and Ripken’s son’s got a commitment to an SEC school. Doubt he signs, but it probably made son and dad happy.

  33. groundzero55 on June 6th, 2012 2:48 pm

    Very pitching heavy this last round. What was last year like? I don’t have any recollection if we made a similar run on pitchers, or if that is standard practice.

  34. 9inningknowitall on June 6th, 2012 3:37 pm

    @Westside guy, picking a player as a favor to the family has actually turned out to be a great pick for a few teams. The Dodgers only selected Mike Piazza because his god father was Tommy Lasorda. That courtesy pick turned out okay. 🙂 With that being said I hope Ripken goes to college and then gets drafted by the M’s and signs in a few years so I can go to all of his games hoping his dad comes and watches so I can get his autograph. 🙂

  35. jwgrandsalami on June 6th, 2012 3:55 pm

    Ichirolling51 wrote: “No one we have drafted over that span has made an all star team as a Mariner.”

    Never mind All-Star teams —- since A-Rod in 1996, no position player drafted by the Mariners has played even one full season for Seattle as a regular player! Barring injury, Ackley and Seager are set to break that 15-year streak this year. Believe it or not, the “best” position player drafted by the M’s who stuck with the club even as a bench player was Willie F Bloomquist…

  36. Johnny Slick on June 6th, 2012 4:17 pm

    Um, Raul Ibanez!

  37. JH on June 6th, 2012 4:36 pm

    Ibanez was drafted in ’92, and didn’t play full seasons with the Ms until they signed him as a free agent. I don’t think it counts when you sign a guy after shipping him off to another team – if we grab Adam Jones in 7 years, he’ll hardly count as an example of building from within.

    The Mariners have graduated drafted offensive talent (in addition to Jones and Ibanez, there’s also Bret Boone and Jose Cruz), but their track record isn’t very good, and what talent has made it haven’t made it as Mariners.

  38. just a fan on June 6th, 2012 5:02 pm

    Dustin Ackley has the highest WAR with Seattle of any M’s pick since 2000.

    Even if you include League with Morrow, or Wells & Furbush with Fister, I don’t think there’s another drafted player who has contributed as much as Ackley. Have to go back to J.J. Putz in 1999.

    Wow, were we terrible.

  39. qwerty on June 6th, 2012 5:04 pm

    YAZ!!!! I hope he has a rocket arm and holds that bat straight up in the batter’s box!! That would be worth seeing.

  40. bookbook on June 6th, 2012 5:08 pm

    In defense of the Player development, Felix and Pineda, Choo and Cabrera were all developed from our international signings.

    That said, Seager, Ackley, Pryor, Walker, Hultzen, Paxton, Franklin, Miller, Capps, Marder, Catricala et al could make things fun going forward.

  41. just a fan on June 6th, 2012 5:13 pm

    bookbook, I’m looking forward to combining our international success with draft success. For instance, some media guy used the Brewers poor start this year to criticize the potential of the M’s rebuild, but the Brewers have done little on the international scene.

    Combine strong performance with IFAs and drafts, along with the market’s potential to support a winning team, and it’s exciting again. The future is near.

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