The Orioles have until 5pm on August 1 to sign their picks from the 2024 draft class.
This year’s edition of the MLB Draft has come and gone during the All-Star break. The Orioles had a total of 21 selections over the draft’s 20 rounds, starting with first round pick Vance Honeycutt and going all the way down to 20th round pick Evan Yates. The next task is to sign these guys. This will play out from now through the signing deadline on August 1.
Although there have been “sign every player” draft classes in Mike Elias’s tenure, the team had a few unsigned players in 2022 and 2023. I expect that to be the case again with the 2024 draft class, which will probably end up with the O’s signing 18 or 19 of their 21 picks.
The total Orioles bonus pool
A big factor in who will or will not be signed is the MLB rules about signing bonus pools that have been in effect since the 2012 draft. Each pick in the first ten rounds is assigned a value that decreases as the draft goes along. Add up these values and you get a team’s total bonus pool. Discussion about whether a particular signing is overslot or underslot is relative to the value for that pick.
Generally speaking, players who have more leverage to get overslot bonuses are those who have just graduated from high school, as well as draft-eligible college sophomores. They can just say they’ll go back to school if they don’t like what a team offers. Picks who were either college seniors or even graduate students still playing baseball tend to get under slot bonuses.
The top Orioles draft pick at #22 overall has a slot value of $3,802,200. Down in the tenth round, that pick’s value is $179,200. In total, the Orioles have $10,920,900 available to spend on picks without incurring any penalties.
This assumes that every pick in the top ten rounds is signed. An unsigned pick in the top ten rounds means that the team loses the slot value for that pick from its pool. Because of this, teams and players nearly always have agreed upon figures before a pick is made. Players taken from rounds 11-20, and undrafted players, can receive a signing bonus up to $150,000 without counting against the pool. Any amount that exceeds $150,000 for these picks is what counts against the pool.
Also, a team can exceed its pool by up to 5% and it will only have to pay a tax on the overage amount, equal to 75% of the overage. There are steeper penalties for exceeding 5% that no team has ever incurred. Last year, the Orioles bonuses equaled their pool exactly. It’ll be interesting to see if a difference between David Rubenstein and John Angelos is giving Mike Elias an extra $1 million to sign more players.
This article will be updated as signings or non-signings are announced.
The official signings
These are signings that have either been announced by the team, by the player, or reported by the media. Signing bonuses that have been reported are included in parentheses.
- PPI, #32: Griff O’Ferrall – SS – Virginia ($2.7 million – under slot by $135,400)
- Round 2, #61: Ethan Anderson – C – Virginia
- Round 9, #279: Jack Crowder – RHP – Illinois ($27,500 – under slot by $151,500)
Have not signed yet
- Round 1, #22: Vance Honeycutt – OF – North Carolina
- Round 3, #97: Austin Overn – OF – Southern California
- Round 4, #127: Chase Allsup – RHP – Auburn
- Round 5, #160: Ryan Stafford – C – Cal Poly
- Round 6, #189: DJ Layton – SS – Charlotte Christian HS (NC)
- Round 7, #219: Carson Dorsey – LHP – Florida State
- Round 8, #249: Colin Tuft – C – Tulane
- Round 10, #309: Christian Rodriguez – RHP – Cal State Fullerton
- Round 11, #339: Sebastian Gongora – LHP – Louisville
- Round 12, #369: Andrew Tess – C – Calvary Christian HS (FL)
- Round 13, #399: Brandon Downer – RHP – California Baptist
- Round 14, #429: Cohen Achen – RHP – Lindsey Wilson College
- Round 15, #459: Carter Rustad – RHP – Missouri
- Round 16, #489: Nate George – OF – Minooka Community HS (IL)
- Round 17, #519: Iziah Salinas – LHP – Cowley County CC (KS)
- Round 18, #549: Michael Caldon – RHP – Felician College
- Round 19, #579: Braylon Whitaker – OF – Cox Mill HS (NC)
- Round 20, #609: Evan Yates – RHP – Cal State Fullerton
Not expected to sign
If a player says he’s not signing, he’s probably not signing. Last minute reversals are possible.
(none reported yet)
The ones to watch
Players who are likely to require overslot bonuses to sign: Overn (sophomore), Salinas (junior college), and the high schoolers Layton, Tess, George, and Whitaker.
The local paper in George’s neck of the woods reported that he’s expected to sign.
Senior sign expected under slot: C. Rodriguez
Undrafted free agents
- Ryan Cabarcas – LHP – Florida International
- Christian Herberholz – RHP – Auburn
- Chipper Menard – LHP – Louisiana-Monroe
- Steven Ondina – SS – Arizona State
- Alex Ramos – RHP – Goshen HS (NY)
- Trent Turzenski – RHP – Valparaiso
It’s unusual to see a high school player in the undrafted free agents list. Brian Recca, an evaluator for Prospects Live, tweeted that Ramos had elbow surgery in the spring.