The Tribe got Lindor and Howard Signed Right Before the Deadline

Let me start by saying that I've never seen Francisco Lindor, the Indians first round pick, or Dillon Howard, second round pick, except for a few youtube clips. Lindor is a high school prep shortstop from Florida, and Howard is a prep right-handed pitcher from Little Rock.

Lindor was the best high school shortstop in this year's draft class, and unlike most high school shortstops, there's doesn't seem to be any worry that we will have to move off the position. He's only seventeen, which gives him more upside than other eighteen-year-old high school players. He's got solid tools across the board, with his best tool being his arm. He's got a high floor and his young age also gives him a higher ceiling. We learned last year when Mike Trout broke out in the minors, that taking a seventeen year old player can pay off big in the draft, because of the added potential for growth. With the Indians likely to lose Asdrubal after 2013, hopefully we will only need a one-year stopgap before Lindor is ready to contribute to the club.

Dillon Howard is a tall right-handed pitcher with a fastball that sits in the lower to mid-nineties paired with an inconsistent curveball. He looks to have a simple, smooth delivery, which usually suggests that control shouldn't be a problem for him going forward. He also has, by all accounts, a good feel for a changeup, which is something that a lot of high schoolers don't have because they don't want to speed up hitters' bats. I imagine that the Indians will do their best to teach him a sinker (because that’s what they do). He has the make-up to be a solid 2 or 3 starter.

At the time of the pick, he was the consensus best available player on the board. I'm a fan of taking the best player on the board regardless of signability because the draft is the best way to get talent into your system, and if my franchise is going to make a mistake, I'd much rather it be giving a high round draft pick a few extra hundred thousand than giving

John Lackey $83 million. I made this a new paragraph on purpose because I didn't want to jinx our new player by putting him and John Lackey in the same paragraph.

But seriously, I don't understand why teams are so fickle with money and draft picks. It seems to me that the teams with the best farm systems are the ones that take the best players available and do what they can to get them signed. This year's first overall pick was Gerrit Cole, and he signed with the Pirates for $8 million. Super nerd stats tell us that one win above replacement has been worth between $4-5 million in recent off seasons. So if Gerrit Cole has a career WAR of 2.0, then this is a good investment for the Pirates. A career WAR of 2.0 for the first overall pick doesn't sound too difficult, as long as he doesn’t blow out his arm.

The MLB needs to change the draft deadline.  All drafted players sign either within a week of the draft, or the day of the deadline.  There's two months in between where nothing happens.  The deadline needs to be moved up so players can get some minor league time.  Since both Lindor and Howard waited until the deadline, they won't get any minor league time this year, but will most likely be assigned to fall or winter league, and then report to Lake County next spring.

Around the League:
Congratulations to Jim Thome on hitting number 600. Best part about it is that he helped the Twins defeat the Tigers in the process. He was always my second favorite growing up behind Kenny Lofton. He also shares the same birthday as my brother and girlfriend.

Also, the Mariners scores six runs on Monday night, giving them the seven runs scores for the year.