Cleveland Sports Forum

I certainly hope he is latino and English isn't his first language. If not, good luck teaching him the infield fly rule.

Hillman signed for 825 K.

MV Scrappers retweeted
Marc Means ‏@Marc_Means · 49 minutes ago
Pretty cool meeting ambexederious @mvscrappers pitcher Ryan Perez today.

No such luck. The genius is from California...

Todd Paquette ‏@IndiansAccounts · 49 minutes ago
@Indians have signed 2015 6th Round Draft Pick 17yr old RHP Jonas Wyatt for $253,700 (full slot) from Quartz Hill HS (CA)

Pretty funny that I of all people is givin the kid crap for his mastery of the English language. I worked in West Virginia so long that I'm not sure what language it is I speak but pretty sure it isn't English. Just kiddin around. All in good fun.

Tribeinsider ‏@tribeinsider · 14 minutes ago
Six 2015 draft signings tonight (now 14 total signed)

LHP Juan Hillman (rd2)
2B Mark Mathias (rd3)
SS Tyler Krieger (rd4)

.

Jordan Bastian ‏@MLBastian · 15 minutes ago
Indians announce that they've signed each pick from Rounds 2-7: LHP Hillman, 2B Matthias, SS Krieger, OF Tom, RHP Wyatt & RHP Lukes.

that's not bad haul. Rounds 1 and 3 to go.

Not Aiken but that other pitcher we selected in the top 3, his name escaping me right now. He is the one committed to Vanderbilt, right? He might be a really tough sign.

Tristam McKenzie:

Scouts in South Florida have spent the spring watching McKenzie and Austin Smith, trying to determine which of the two high-profile, projectable high school righthanders in the area will be a better professional pitcher. Though Smith has seen his velocity tick up as many expected it would and McKenzie hasn't shown that kind of consistent improvement, a split camp remains. McKenzie is young for the class and won't turn 18 until August. That gives him more time to fill out his 6-foot-5, 160-pound frame and a chance to improve his velocity. He's worked hard to add strength, but some scouts wonder how much weight he'll ultimately be able to carry. If McKenzie does eventually fill out, there's plenty to dream on. His fastball gets up to 93 mph, but he more typically pitches in the upper 80s. He gets good depth on his curveball and both it and his changeup have above-average potential. He is a good athlete and has an easy delivery that allows him to throw strikes with his whole arsenal. McKenzie, a Vanderbilt commit, has an advanced feel for his craft. How his body develops as he gets older will determine whether he is able to reach his lofty ceiling.

Boom.

Yeah, him. Has me concerned a bit. Not hearing anything on him.

Triston McKenzie

RHP 6' 5"160 lbs.Royal Palm Beach (Fla.) High School
2015 Draft Results
Triston McKenzie
Profile Conversation
Summary :
One of the most projectable arms most scouts have ever seen, McKenzie is a slender 6-foot-5 righty who's built like one of those human wind socks you see at your local car dealership. While some are concerned that he might always be skinny, there's plenty of reason to believe McKenzie will add to his already-average fastball, which sits in the 88-91 mph range. He's loose and athletic, ­though he does throw across his body a bit, and projects for at least average command as he matures and gains control over his limbs.

McKenzie's best secondary pitch is his curveball. It's a bit slow right now, but his feel for the spin of it is undeniable. It projects to above-average. While McKenzie's changeup is very raw and he doesn't have the sort of natural arm speed that would lend more projection to it, he does have some feel for it, and it should improve to a fringe-average pitch.

There's lots of raw material to work with here, but McKenzie is a project. The best-case scenario for McKenzie is that he fills out and sits somewhere in the mid-90s with a plus curveball and some sort of usable third pitch he develops over the next 5-6 years. That would make him a good No. 4 starter, maybe even a No. 3. He's a Vanderbilt commit, so unless a team shows him some serious dough, some of that development is likely to happen on campus.

Good news!

@Indians · 21 seconds ago
The Indians announce the signing of LHP @bradyaiken10. Our first selection (17th overall) in the 2015 Draft!

2015 Indians Draft: June 19th signing update

Tony Lastoria Editor-in-Chief

The Indians sign eight, have deals in works for 6 more and 1 declines to sign...

- On Thursday the Indians announced the official signings of their picks from rounds two through eight: left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman (2nd), second baseman Mark Mathias (3rd), shortstop Tyler Krieger (4th), outfielder Ka’Ai Tom (5th), right-handed pitcher Jonas Wyatt (6th) and outfielder Nathan Lukes (7th).

- Here are the signing amounts for each player (sans Lukes): Hillman ($825,000), Mathias ($550,000), Krieger ($400,000), Tom ($250,000) and Wyatt ($253,700). Hillman was signed for $216,900 underslot, Mathias was signed for $67,100 underslot, Krieger was signed for $52,600 underslot, Tom was signed for $88,700 underslot and Wyatt was a full slot amount. Including the amount the Indians saved to sign Devon Stewart (9th round) and Billy Strode (10th round), the Indians right now have saved a total of $723,700 on their bonus pool picks with only three picks still unsigned: Brady Aiken (1st round), Triston McKenzie (CompA) and Justin Garza (8th round).

- The Indians have now officially signed 14 players from the draft, though six others have already unofficially signed or are expected to sign at some point in the coming days. Right-hander Matthew Esparza (14th round), right-hander Daniel Sprinkle (15th round), outfielder Todd Isaacs (19th round), right-hander Chad Smith (23rd round), second baseman Sam Haggerty (24th round) and outfielder Connor Marabell (25th round) have all either agreed to terms or have said they will sign.

- 16th round pick second baseman Cobie Vance said on Twitter that he is not signing with the Indians and will be going to Alabama.

Follow Tony on Twitter @TonyIBI and the Indians Baseball Insider @IBIonScout.

I had just sent a question to B aseball America about how hard it was going to be to sign Aiken. I guess I didn't need to!

I also just posted another one of the remarkably glowing prospect report on Aiken from 2014. He sounds like he could be the best pitcher we've signed since C.C. Let's hope he's ready to go in spring of 2016,

they have a few weeks to complete signings, so I wouldn't worry yet about McKenzie.