- The system is ridiculous. If everyone is going to wait until the last minute (literally) to sign anyway, might as well push the deadline up to July 15. That way players could still get a half of a season of development in, and teams could get a few weeks to watch injured players in summer ball. My guess is they change it for next year. It's just simply ridiculous.
- Can't believe Josh Bell signed. He was still the guy I wanted the Reds to take a chance on at 27, and it hurts even more that he will be in our division. Oh well.
- Glad they got Stephenson signed, as I started to worry after they signed the three overrslot guys in the last hour. He is a good upside pick at that spot. Interesting that Norris signed for the exact same amount. He was the other guy I liked for our pick, and it will be interesting to monitor their progress versus each other as they grow up.
- Credit the Reds for ponying up $1MM for Garrett. He has to be the most interesting non-first round draft choice of the Reds in a long time, if not ever. Much like Chapman, I wonder if they envision him as a starter or a closer?
- Seems like most of the guys who fell for signability reasons signed this year (Purke, Bell, Norris, Howard, Maples, Dean, Delmonico, etc.) I would really like to see the Reds take more chances on these types of guys. With international bonuses rising every year, this seems like the best place to capture an inefficiency in the market for a small-market team. These players are older and therefore less risky than the 16 year old international FA, and in many cases they come cheaper. The Pirates and the Nationals have done very well the last couple years (ie Allie, Holmes, Bell, Purke, Cole, etc.) The Blue Jays also seemed to do pretty well this year, despite not signing their first rounder.