Deadline Day, 4:00 PM Central

[Jim Goulart]

The deadline to sign draft picks is 4:00 PM Central today, Friday the 17th.

 

Last night we linked to this article which included the text:

 

"According to a source with knowledge of the situation, (Nathan) Kirby will indeed ink a deal with Brewers before 5:00 PM (Eastern) Friday, the deadline for picks to sign."

 

Earlier in the week, we linked to an article focusing on 22nd round Wichita State RHP Willie Schwanke, with an anxious college staff awaiting word.

 

Among the others, 11th round catcher Max McDowell and IF Donnie Walton have been playing in the Cape Cod League this summer; McDowell has been coy with tweets seemingly indicating a return to school, but the situation remains unclear. Things have been quiet on the Walton camp, as is the case with 37th round OF Brandon Gonzalez.

 

On June 16th, we linked to this article on 17th round RHP Michael Petersen.

 

Bold in black indicates the player has signed.

 

Red indicates we'll learn the status of the pick today.

 

1 (15). Trent Clark, OF, Richland HS, TX

CB Rd. A (40). Nathan Kirby, LHP, University of Virginia, VA

2 (55). Cody Ponce, RHP, Cal Poly Pomona, CA

3 (90). Nash Walters, RHP, Lindale HS, TX

4 (121). Demi Orimoloye, OF, Orleans, ON

5 (151). Blake Allemand, SS Texas A&M, TX

6 (181). Eric Hanhold, RHP, Florida (FL)

7 (211). George Iskenderian, 3B, Miami (FL)

8 (241). Nate Griep, RHP, Kansas State (KS)

9 (271). Karsen Lindell, RHP, West Linn HS (OR)

10 (301). Jake Drossner, LHP, Maryland (MD)

11 (331). José Cuas, SS, Maryland (MD)

12 (361). Drake Owenby, LHP, Tennessee (TN)

13 (391). Max McDowell, C, Connecticut (CT)

14 (421). Tyrone Perry, 1B, Lakeland Senior HS (FL)

15 (451). Zach Taylor, C, Scottsdale CC (AZ)

16 (481). Conor Harber, RHP, Oregon (OR)

17 (511). Michael Petersen, RHP, Riverside CC (CA)

18 (541). Gentry Fortuno, RHP, Charles Flanagan HS (FL)

19 (571). Steven Karkenny, 1B, The Master's College (CA)

20 (601). David Lucroy, RHP, East Carolina (NC)

21 (631). Jon Olczak, RHP, North Carolina State (NC)

22 (661). Willie Schwanke, RHP, Wichita State (KS)

23 (691). Donnie Walton, SS, Oklahoma State (OK)

24 (721). Christian Trent, LHP, Ole Miss (MS)

25 (751). Justin Hooper, LHP, De La Salle HS (CA) WILL NOT SIGN

26 (781). Jon India, SS, American Heritage School (FL) WILL NOT SIGN

27 (811). Jon Perrin, RHP, Oklahoma State (OK)

28 (841). Mitch Ghelfi, C, UWM (WI)

29 (871). Donny Everett, RHP, Clarksville HS (TN) WILL NOT SIGN

30 (901). Charlie Donovan, SS, Westmont HS (IL) WILL NOT SIGN

31 (931). Colton Cross, RHP, Shorter U (GA)

32 (961). Sean Chandler, RHP, Papillion-La Vista HS (NE) WILL NOT SIGN

33 (991). Connor Baits RHP, U. of California - Santa Barbara (CA)

34 (1021). Tristan Beck, RHP, Corona Senior HS (CA) WILL NOT SIGN

35 (1051). Quintin Torres-Costa, LHP, University of Hawaii (HI)

36 (1081). Jordan Desguin, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast U (FL)

37 (1111). Brandon Gonzalez, CF, Cypress College (CA)

38 (1141). Scott Grist, RHP, Texas State (TX)

39 (1171). Nolan Kingham, RHP, Desert Oasis HS (NV) WILL NOT SIGN

40 (1201). Charles Galiano, C, Fordham (NY)

[WV Brew]

Another tweet from Tom Haudricourt that the Brewers still expect to vacuum up Kirby today:

 

Today is the deadline to sign draft picks. I'm still hearing #Brewers expect to sign compensation pick Nathan Kirby. 40th overall.

[Raw Biz]

[sarcasm]And in related news...Justin Hooper, Jon India, Donny Everett, and Tristan Beck have all had a change of heart and will sign for $100k each, with each stating that the dream of playing professional baseball means more than going to college.[/sarcasm]

 

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view4/1536286/kevin-bacon-finger-crossed-o.gif

[igor67]

I wonder who is playing for leverage with delaying the announcement? My first thought was Kirby's agent might be involved with some other negotiations, and wanted to keep Kirby's numbers off the table for the moment, but maybe the Brewers want to leave some unknowns until the last moment in the exact size of their bonus pool?

[WV Brew]

Kyle Funkhouser has announced he will not sign with the Dodgers. Returning to Louisville for his senior year. Hope he doesn't start a trend.

[TheCrew07]

So glad we didn't draft him.

[WV Brew]

Tom Haudricourt tweet:

 

The Brewer Nation ‏@BrewerNation 4m4 minutes ago

 

RT @keithlaw: Brewers have signed LHP Nate Kirby, the 40th pick in last month's draft.

 

Not official but looks good.

 

Heyman says $1.25 million. This is under slot so they should have extra money to sign more guys if true.

[WV Brew]

It looks like Max McDowell has also signed per The Brewer Nation tweet.

 

From the horse's mouth:

 

Max McDowell ‏@Maxy_do_well 47m47 minutes ago

 

Papers are signed. I'm a #Brewer @Brewers @BrewerNation Excited to start my professional career and get to work

[WV Brew]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 4m4 minutes ago New York, USA

 

nathan kirby had an above slot (slot: $1,548,400) agreement after pick but new medical concern came up. $1.25m deal. #crew

 

Don't like the sound of that. Hopefully, not too serious.

[narwhalattack]

Apparently the reason why Kirby's deal is underslot is because there is a medical concern.

[WV Brew]

Nathan Kirby ‏@KathanNirby 7m7 minutes ago

 

Officially a member of the Milwaukee Brewers Organization! Could not be more thankful for the opportunity!!

[WV Brew]

Brewers Player Dev is tweeting that Michael Petersen has also signed. Maybe with the money they saved on Nathan Kirby.

[Jim Goulart]

Am hopeful the initial post in this thread set up the drama for the day and was helpful.

 

As we've seen above, the top three names in red in that initial post have signed.

[Jim Goulart]

Wichita State pitcher Willie Schwanke turns down Brewers

By Paul Suellentrop, The Wichita Eagle

 

Wichita State pitcher Willie Schwanke will return to school for another baseball season.

 

The Milwaukee Brewers, who drafted Schwanke in the 22nd round, made a unsuccessful offer on Friday. Schwanke set his request for a signing bonus at $300,000 and didn’t budge. He discussed the offer with his parents and decided to stay with the Shockers. Amateur players had until 4 p.m. Friday to sign with a professional team.

 

“They came somewhat close,” he said. “It was definitely something we had to sit down and talk about. We made a family decision that it was a better decision to come back.”

 

His return is a significant boost to WSU’s pitching for next season.

 

Schwanke took over the role of No. 1 starter when a shoulder injury sidelined Sam Tewes and pitched well in wins over Cal Santa Barbara and Southern Illinois. But he tore his lat muscle on March 20 against SIU and didn’t pitch again. In seven appearances, he compiled a 3.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 11 walks. If healthy, Schwanke and Tewes offer the potential of a strong weekend combo and returner Chase Williams, drafted in the 25th round by San Diego, gives WSU a third starter with experience.

 

Schwanke is expected to receive a redshirt year, preserving his draft leverage for next June. He is, by turning down Milwaukee, betting that a strong 2016 season can put him in better position for the draft. He is not playing this summer, instead focusing on recovering from the back injury and patiently increasing his throwing.

 

“I'll be full-bore ready to go by the fall,” he said. “I'm amping up my rehab right now … building up my pitch count.”

[CheezWizHed]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 4m4 minutes ago New York, USA

 

nathan kirby had an above slot (slot: $1,548,400) agreement after pick but new medical concern came up. $1.25m deal. #crew

 

Don't like the sound of that. Hopefully, not too serious.

 

Ugh. I speculated that somewhere else... hopefully nothing too serious.

[MrTPlush]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 4m4 minutes ago New York, USA

 

nathan kirby had an above slot (slot: $1,548,400) agreement after pick but new medical concern came up. $1.25m deal. #crew

 

Don't like the sound of that. Hopefully, not too serious.

 

Ugh. I speculated that somewhere else... hopefully nothing too serious.

 

Hmm well it can't be a current concern because I heard he was off to the T-Rats. Must be a long term issue.