Atlanta Braves rule 4 draft update: Joey Estes becomes draft signing #34

On Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves landed one of the two more well know high school draft picks remaining, Joey Estes, for a reported $500,000 signing bonus.

As I wrote at the time, news of Atlanta Braves Rule 4 draft picks dried up just over a week ago.  We still don’t have bonus amounts for players who are already playing in Rome or Danville.

After Tuesday night’s loss to the Phillies, the Brewers beat writer and writer for the Athletic Robert Murray, woke me up with a Tweet saying Round 16 pick Joey Estes changed his mind – a $500,000 bonus can do things like that – and signed with the Braves.

One of the youngest players in this year’s draft, Estes won’t turn 18 until October first. He caught but converted to pitching after entering high school. In his first year he threw at 77-81 mph  That increased the following season, and he touched 94 in a playoff that year.

This video from behind home plate shows a radar gun inset that indicates a fastball 91-93, a change at 80 and a curve that showed inconsistency but was at times pretty nicely done.

The draft tracker lists him at 6-2 and 190 pounds, yet BA called him undersized. I thought that a bit harsh, he’s just 17, you know what I mean (sorry, I couldn’t resist that).

He’s still growing and should fill out well as a full-time player with a custom-built training program.

What’s left for the Atlanta Braves

The Estes signing takes Braves over the initial pool allowance but still a long way from any penalties.

• Initial Pool $11,532,200 with 5% overrun allowance $12,108,810
• Initial pool exceeded by $1,356,700
• Remaining allowance in overrun in account $370,810

Selected in round 18,  Mahki Backstrom remains the only high school graduate of note remaining unsigned.  Including the fact that $125K that doesn’t count against the MLB early-round allowance, the Braves could offer him ~$495,810. I doubt that’s enough.

I still lack signing bonus figures for four players:

• Javier Valdes – GCL Braves
• Drew Campbell – Rome
• Cody Birdsong – Danville
• Cade Bunnell – GCL Braves

OTHER RECENT UPDATES:

Although I heard Ben Thompson (Round 28) signed, I haven’t seen his name on a roster.  As you can see below, James Acuna (29) has signed, though we don’t have a bonus number for him either.

I’ve heard nothing about Garret Mathews (Round 38, a collegian) or high school graduates Anthony Hall (35), Mitchell Jackson (36), and Joshua Rolling (39).

Riley King (26) made an early “won’t sign” declaration.

Ten days remain until the signing cutoff date. If Estes becomes the final player signed, the Atlanta Braves spent $13,498,000 plus the bonuses for the four players listed above. Based on the signings listed so far, I’d estimate that at another $15,000.

Here’s a link to the spreadsheet that we’re using to keep tabs on the status of all draftees.

That’s a wrap

Unless Mahki Backstrom signs (18), I’ll pass any additional information through for inclusion in The Chop. As it stands now, the Braves signed 85% players selected – 35 of the 41 draft picks.

When the draft ended, I thought these Braves would sign fewer than the 12.5 average of the John typical Coppolella / Frank Wren draft.   Time will tell how many careers emerge, but the Braves GM did manage to guarantee a fully stocked minor league system.