MLB Draft Day 3: Indians Finish Out Draft Class

The third and final day of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft was yesterday, covering rounds 11-40. There’s far too many selections to be able to provide any detailed information on all of them, but here’s the Indians final 30 picks:

11. (334) Chandler Newman RHP (HS)

12. (364) Ryan Perez SHP (HS): Perez is a switch pitcher, aka ambidextrous… so that’s cool.

13. (394) Daniel Salters C (Dallas Baptist University): Was the Nationals 22nd Rd pick last season.

14. (424) Matt Esparza RHP (UC Irvine)

15. (454) Daniel Sprinkle RHP (HS): Committed to Auburn for baseball and football.

16. (484) Cobie Vance 2B (HS)

17. (514) Nick Madrigal SS (HS): Would have gone much higher but is considered to be unsignable. Draws strong comparisons to David Eckstein.

18. (544) Anthony Miller 1B (Johnson County CC): At 6’4″ 240 lbs he is massive, which translated into hitting the most HRs in Johnson County CC history.

19. (574) Todd Isascs OF (Palm Beach CC)

20. (604) Luke Wakamatsu SS (HS): Many scouts think he’d have gone in the first three rounds if he were singable, but seems unlikely to break his commitment to Rice.

21. (634) Brock Hartson RHP (UT San Antonio)

22. (664) Garrett Benge 3B (Cowley County CC): Broke several of former-Indian Travis Hafner’s school records.

23. (694) Chad Smith RHP (Wallace State CC)

24. (724) Sam Haggerty 2B (New Mexico)

25. (754) Connor Marabell OF (Jacksonville University)

26. (784) A.J. Graffanino SS (HS): Son of former MLB player Tony Graffanino.

27. (814) Austin Rubick RHP (HS)

28. (844) Jack Goihl C (Augustana College)

29. (874) Christian Meister RHP (No School): Attended Driveline training center this past year.

30. (904) Chandler Day RHP (HS): Day pitched at Watkins Memorial High School in Pataskala, Ohio, right in the back yard of us Columbus residents. He’s committed to Vanderbilt so he may be a tough sign.

* Many of the Indians’ selections from 21-30 are considered to be unsignable

31. (934) Dillon Persinger 2B (Golden West College)

32. (964) Jacob Hill LHP (San Diego)

33. (994) Garrett Wolforth C (HS)

34. (1024) Andrew Cabezas RHP (HS)

35. (1054) Cade Tremie C (HS)

36. (1084) Ryan Colegate RHP (Ohio Domincan University – in Columbus, Ohio)

37. (1114) Lucas Humpal RHP (Texas State)

38. (1144) Braden Webb RHP (No School)

39. (1174) Tristin English RHP (HS)

40. (1204) Hunter Parsons RHP (HS)

As mentioned earlier, many of the Indians’ selections this year are considered unsignable. This could be for a number of reasons, the first being that the Indians have been able to sign a large number of their draftees even since the draft was reduced to just 40 rounds.

As you can see, even after the draft was lowered to 40 rounds in 2012 the Indians have still been signing roughly the same number of draftees as they had been pre-2012. It is easy to see where this could lead to a situation where there just aren’t enough roster spots open for all these players. This could also be an intentional strategy on the part of the front office. With so many players unlikely to be signed, or likely to require substantial bonuses to sign, more of the Indians signing money will be freed up so that it may be used to sway some of the more desirable prospects that perhaps need more money to forgo college.

Fun facts about the Indians 2015 Draft Class:

• 23 of the Indians 41 picks were pitchers.
• 13 of those 23 were high school or training academy selections.
• 4 catchers were drafted by the Tribe.
• 1 first baseman was drafted and just 1 third basemen was selected.
• 4 second basemen were drafted.
• 4 short stops were selected.
• 4 Outfielders were chosen by the Tribe.