I’ve seen quite a bit of worry start to crop up on Twitter in the last few days about the Pirates not signing Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie yet. I understand that Taillon and Allie are both huge parts of this franchise’s future and getting them inked is very important to the club and that’s why people are worried, but honestly, there’s just nothing to worry about yet.
Using MLB Trade Rumors’ list, only 15 of 32 first rounders have signed. If you want to count Barrett Loux, who the D’Backs won’t sign because of an arm injury, and Kyle Parker, who turned the Rockies down to go to Clemson and play football, that’s still only 17 of 32 picks that have made a decision made one way or another. Last year, something like ten picks were still unsigned on deadline day and almost all of them signed. This is just how the draft process works right now. It’s nerve-wracking, annoying, and arguably harmful to young players who are forced to take a long layoff, but it’s how it works.
I understand the instinct to worry, though, so keep a few things in mind. First, the Pirates have gotten their guys in each of Neal Huntington’s draft. They signed Pedro Alvarez despite Scott Boras’s shenanigans and in the same year they signed Robbie Grossman and they lured Quinton Miller away from UNC when a few other high school arms didn’t sign. They got Von Rosenberg and Stevenson and Dodson and Cain and Pounders all to sign last year. They’ve already signed Nick Kingham and Ryan Hafner this year. Publicly, the Pirates have said nothing but that they expect to sign Taillon and Allie and Allie’s dad said he’s “optimistic.” Finally, remember that Taillon and Allie have major college commitments and won’t be draft eligible again until 2013, which is after the next CBA that could potentially include hard slotting for picks. While that may not concern guys like Austin Kubitza or Dace Kime, who can pitch their way into the first round and a bigger bonus than the half-million or so the Pirates may offer them this year, it very much could affect pitchers like Taillon and Allie, who should both sign for top-ten pick money.
If you asked me to make a prediction right now, I’d say that I’m almost positive they’ll sign one and at least 50/50 that they’ll sign the other. Remember that the decision to draft Taillon was made in the week leading up to the draft and after the club had talked to him. They knew what they were getting into. Allie was the second pick on the second day, which means that they had 12 hours to discuss the possibility of drafting him when the first day of drafting ended. These weren’t seat of the pants picks; the Pirates knew what they were getting into and the sort of money they’d have to commit to sign these two.
In the end, the Pirates might sign Taillon and Allie and they might not. But there’s no point in worrying about them signing right now, because nothing that’s happened between June 7th and today has changed the status quo from draft day.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
