Cleveland Indians News: Indians Sign Top Pick Brady Aiken

Jun 4, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; A general view of bases on the warning track during a rain delay between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Indians have now signed nine of their 11 picks in the first ten rounds.  Here’s a chart breaking down the picks, what they signed for, and how much has been saved “under slot” thus far. Remember their total draft allotment is $7,235,200 this year.

[table id=21 /]

Even with going over slot on the Aiken signing the Cleveland Indians are currently on pace to be over $660K under their allotted draft amount.  Furthermore, when factoring in that they are allowed by rule to go up to 5% over their allotted amount without losing a future draft pick, and the Cleveland Indians could have as much as $1.026M to spend still.

There have been some reports that the Indians have agreed to terms with competitive balance selection Triston McKenzie; however, the Indians nor Major League Baseball have confirmed this.  It’s a good bet that he, like Aiken, will sign for over slot but even so, the Indians likely will still be well under their allotment.

Now it should be noted that 8^th round pick Justin Garza remains unsigned as well. Given his injury and college status all signs point to him signing at some point. Cal State Fullerton just finished up their season not too long ago so perhaps that’s a reason he’s still unsigned.  However, in the event that Garza wouldn’t sign the Indians would lose the $169,900 allotment for that pick from their total draft pool. This would ultimately cut into how much the Indians can spend; however, given the amount they are under at the moment, this shouldn’t be a huge issue.  And again, it would be a pretty big shock if Garza were not to sign.

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