UPDATE 9:21 PM: Baseball America reports that Cain signed for $1.125 M, while Dodson signed for $600 K. The Draft Pick Signing Tracker is updated with the new totals. The Pirates have spent $6,786,900, about $3 M less than what they spent last year.
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According to Jennifer Langosch, the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed their fourth round pick, Zack Dodson. We learned earlier that the Pirates had come to an agreement with Colton Cain, and now it appears they’ve also reached an agreement with Dodson as well. Dodson and Cain were two of the high school arms that the Pirates focused their 2009 draft around, going for signability in the early rounds, only to spend more on hard to sign high school arms.
No official word on what Dodson will get, but Langosch expects that it will be close to the $1.15 M that Cain received. Here is what I wrote on Dodson in my day two draft review:
Dodson played outfield and pitched in high school, but was taken as a pitcher. As a hitter he had a .465 average with 11 homers in 101 at-bats. As a pitcher he posted a 1.20 ERA and a 129:36 K/BB ratio in 64.1 IP. With that K/BB ratio I like him as a pitcher.
Dodson and Cain were both tough signs. Dodson had a commitment and a scholarship to Baylor, while Cain had the same to the University of Texas. Both had the talent to be two way players in college, and both could have easily been first or second round picks in three years when they would have been eligible again. The $1.15 M figure is right around the estimated slot price for the 27th overall pick this year. The estimated slot price for Dodson was $261,000. There was no slot price for Cain, although the most anyone has spent in the eighth round this year so far is $200 K.
The Draft Pick Signing Tracker is updated with the signing, but I’m waiting on the bonus information until I hear a specific number. The Pirates have now signed 20 players, and if Dodson signed for around $1.15 M, that would put the Pirates at $7.36 M spent so far. They spent $9.8 M last year, which gives them a little less than $2.5 M to work with if they keep the same budget.
