re: Cameron Johnson, is there a chance that he falls and comes to BR?

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Or you go the way of Dylan Crewes and bet on yourself. Offered 6 million out of high school, went to college and will now get 9 million plus his nil deal. It all depends on his belief in himself.

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Listening to MLB Network Radio on the way to the office, they expect Crews to sign above his slot.

Hope that the Pirates draft him after round 10 and Skenes demands that extra $1.5m they were going to throw Johnson’s way! Just kidding. Sort of.

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Betting on yourself plus college verse A ball. Heard a guy say if a college kid is taken in the first round, the club thinks MLB ready by year 2.

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Particularly if you play in the SEC. 7 of the 36 players taken in Rd. 1 were from the SEC. Considering there are sophomores would would have been taken high had they been eligible and freshmen that turned down A ball to go to college, I think it is reasonable to believe that playing in the SEC is probably akin to facing A to high A level competition. If a guy has already proven himself against that level, it is reasonable a team could draft an SEC player high and get him into Double A ball pretty quickly.

We are deep in the sixth round and he is still on the board. I don’t see him getting his value this low. Stranger things have happened.

He can still get his value. Here’s an example of what the Astros did in 2022 to get their 11th rounder $1.25 million.

1 (28): Drew Gilbert, OF, Tennessee -- $2.5 million (Pick value: $2,621,700)
Gilbert agreed to a bonus slightly below slot value. He’s an aggressive hitter with excellent hand-eye coordination, solid to plus speed and very good instincts in center field. On the mound, his fastball has touched 93 mph when he relieved in the past.

2 (64): Jacob Melton, OF, Oregon State -- $1 million (Pick value: $1,104,100)
Melton agreed to a bonus just below the slot value. The Pac-12 player of the year, Melton had a slash line of .360/.424/.671 with 17 home runs and 21 stolen bases. Scouts say he has plus raw power and speed, center-field range on defense and a right-field arm.

2C (80): Andrew Taylor, RHP, Central Michigan -- $807,200 (Pick value: $807,200)
Taylor signed for the full slot value of $807,2000. At Central Michigan, he set the school record for strikeouts two consecutive seasons with an invisible low-90s fastball and a solid changeup with fade and depth.

3 (103): Michael Knorr, RHP, Coastal Carolina -- $487,500 (Pick value: $594,600)
Knorr signed on July 22, and MLB.com's Jim Callis reports he signed for $487,500.

4 (133): Trey Dombroski, LHP, Monmouth -- $443,900 (Pick value: $443,900)
Dombroski signed for the full slot value of $443,900. The left-hander from Monmouth had the best control in the MLB Draft with the ability to locate four pitches, with the best being a slider. He struck out a school-record 120 batters and walked 14 in 95 innings this spring.

5 (163): Nolan DeVos, RHP, Davidson -- $197,500 (Pick value: $331,600)
The right-hander from Davidson led the Atlantic 10 with 106 strikeouts in 78 2/3 innings with a fastball that plays up and a sweeping slider.

6 (193): Collin Price, C, Mercer -- $122,500 (Pick value: $257,500)
Price signed on July 22, and MLB.com's Jim Callis reports he signed for $122,500.

7 (223): A.J. Blubaugh, RHP, Milwaukee -- $172,500 (Pick value: $202,900)
Blubaugh signed on July 22, and MLB.com's Jim Callis reports he signed for $172,500.

8 (253): Tyler Guilfoil, RHP, Kentucky -- $122,500 (Pick value: $170,300)
Guilfoil signed on July 22, and MLB.com's Jim Callis reports he signed for $122,500.

9 (283): Brett Gillis, RHP, University of Portland -- $97,500 (Pick value: $157,200)
Gillis signed on July 26, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports he signed for $97,500.

10 (313): Zach Cole Jr., OF, Ball State (Pick value: $149,600)
Cole signed on July 22, but terms of the signing have not been revealed by the club.

11 (343): Ryan Clifford, OF, Crossroads FLEX HS (NC) -- $1,256,530
The Astros signed Clifford away from his Vanderbilt commitment by signing him for $1,256,530, according to MLB.com's Jim Callis, using some of the money they saved on their bonus pool from the first 10 rounds. It's the second-highest bonus given to an 11th-round pick ever (Angels gave Caden Dana $1,497,500 this year).

No doubt someone can get him $1m to $1.5m saving on the bonus pool. Look at all the college kids going in rounds 3-6. Saving the $$$ having them sign for $100k+ under slot is what that's all about. It's just a matter if Johnson has a number north of $1.5m that he will tell a team I won't take less than that and the teams hording their bonus pool money goes after a different high school kid.

Well he did just make it past the 10th round and into day three…….

It's getting interesting now for sure. Still not out of the woods yet though.