Arizona Wildcats MLB Draft signing tracker

The Arizona Wildcats saw six members of their baseball team get selected in the 2019 MLB Draft. Additionally, four incoming freshmen were picked during the 40-round draft, held June 3-5, making for the possibility of a large helping of players with UA connections starting their pro careers.

Below is a list of all the drafted Wildcats. As players opt to sign (or not) we will update this tracker.

Cameron Cannon, IF, Jr.

Picked in the 2nd round (43rd overall) by the Boston Red Sox.

Pick slot value: $1.73 million

Signed for: Unsigned

Cannon’s signing hasn’t officially been announced but he already has a bio with the Red Sox’s New York-Penn League affiliate, the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners, who begin play June 14. Recently named a first-team All-American by the National College Baseball Writers’ Association, Cannon figures to get the full value of his pick slot.

Nick Quintana, 3B, Jr.

Picked in the 2nd round (47th overall) by the Detroit Tigers.

Pick slot value: $1.58 million

Signed for: $1.58 million

Quintana signed on June 10 for the full value of his slot and has already reported to the Tigers’ Spring Training complex in Lakeland, Fla. Quintana is described by MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo as a ‘plus defender with above average power, change to be run producer.’ And his hair is also generating plenty of early buzz.

Meet newest Tiger draftee Nick Quintana.

He’s a plus defender with plus plus flow. pic.twitter.com/ZDXorNQM5q

— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 4, 2019

Andrew Dalquist, RHP, HS

Picked in the 3rd round (81st overall) by the Chicago White Sox

Pick slot value: $755,300

Signed for: Unsigned

It seems like only a matter of time before Dalquist becomes the latest top-tier Arizona recruit to jump straight to the pros rather than be part of the #MLBTrainingGround at Hi Corbett Field. Just hours after being picked by Chicago he tweeted “Super excited for this opportunity! Can’t wait to get started!” but has since deleted that post. MLB.com had him as the No. 65 prospect in the draft, and had he been picked that high his bonus value would have risen to $1.03 million, so it’s likely the White Sox will try to offer him more than his pick slot value via savings accrued from later-round picks (including Arizona P Avery Weems).

Matt Fraizer, OF, Jr.

Picked in the 3rd round (95th overall) by the Pittsburgh PIrates

Pick slot value: $610,800

Signed for: $525,000

Fraizer was on pace for a monster junior year with Arizona before suffering a hand injury in mid-March that sidelined him for the rest of the season. That may have contributed to the Pirates offering below his pick value, but he appears to be on pace to debut with Pittsburgh’s short-season Class A team in West Virginia on June 14.

Avery Weems, LHP, Sr.

Picked in the 6th round (170th overall) by the Chicago White Sox

Pick slot value: $296,400

Signed for: $10,000

No, that’s not a typo. Weems did indeed sign for just over 3 percent of what his pick slot was valued at, but so it goes for college seniors who don’t have the leverage that comes with being able to return to school for another year. The White Sox drafted Weems way above where he should have gone on purpose, knowing they could sign him for pennies on the dollar and use the savings to help sweeten the pot for their higher picks (including incoming UA freshman Andrew Dalquist). Weems was the second of six consecutive college seniors Chicago drafted, and he’s one of five that have signed for $10K.

Jose Dicochea, RHP, HS

Picked in the 8th round (254th overall) by the Oakland Athletics

Pick slot value: $161,400

Signed for: Unsigned

From nearby Sahuarita, Dicochea was the first Arizona high school player taken in the 2019 draft. He also appears to be the first of the Wildcats’ four drafted incoming freshmen to sign, as @AthleticsFarm reported Monday he was one of 31 players Oakland had signed. Terms haven’t been released, but with the A’s underpaying their seventh-round pick ($170K on a $191,500 value) but giving their ninth-round pick his full $149,300 slot value it looks like Dicochea will put a nice chunk of change in the bank before earning those piddly low-level minor league checks.

William Bartlett, C, HS

Picked in the 9th round (280th overall) by the Cleveland Indians

Pick slot value: $150,300

Signed for: Unsigned

As of June 12 the Indians had only signed one of their 40 draft picks, per MLB.com, and that was a Division III college senior pitcher they gave $5,000 to after taking him in the 10th round. Bartlett was the sixth high school player Cleveland chose in the 2019 draft, an indication it isn’t in a hurry to have this class get to the big leagues. A solid hitter with some power, Bartlett figures to be headed to Arizona unless he really wants to get his pro career started early.

Andrew Nardi, LHP, Jr.

Picked in the 16th round (471st overall) by the Miami Marlins

Pick slot value: None

Signed for: Unsigned

MLB only assigns a pick slot value for the first 10 rounds of the draft, so everyone taken in the other 30 rounds just gets whatever the team that picked them has left over. Announcements for those lower-round picks are also less frequent, but as of now Nardi hasn’t signed.

Randy Labaut, LHP, Jr.

Picked in the 35th round (1,060th overall) by the Cleveland Indians

Pick slot value: None

Signed for: Unsigned

Labaut had a strong 2019 season after missing the second half of 2018 following emergency leg surgery for compartment syndrome. Had he not missed that time he likely would have been drafted much higher, so that may factor into his decision-making process about whether to sign or not. Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star tweeted on June 6 that UA coach Jay Johnson expected Labaut to sign, but nothing is official yet.

Chandler Murphy, RHP, HS

Picked in the 36th round (1,096th overall) by the Houston Astros

Pick slot value: None

Signed for: Unsigned

As of June 12 the Astros had yet to sign any of their 2019 draft picks, many of which are of a much higher priority than Murphy. He’s one of just two high school pitchers that Houston took, so expect him to be at Arizona when school begins in August.

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