Texas Rangers’ 12th round draft pick Joey Jarneski flew up to Arizona on Tuesday, signed a minor league contract and went right to practice.
Texas Rangers’ 12th round draft pick Joey Jarneski flew up to Arizona on Tuesday, signed a minor league contract and went right to practice.
The recent Hilo graduate declined to reveal his signing bonus but indicated it’s in the neighborhood of $100,000, and he also received a college scholarship package.
Since the 2012 draft, there’s a bonus pool for an MLB team’s 10 top draft picks. From rounds 11 to 40, if a player signs for an amount more than $100,00 that difference will be applied to the bonus pool.
“Negotiations were pretty good,” Jarneski said. “I reported today (Tuesday). It’s pretty exciting.
“They put all the players in the Holiday Inn. It’s five minutes from the park. It was just light throwing. We start games in a week.”
The Arizona Rookie League starts Sunday and runs through Sept. 2.
Jarneski was drafted as a pitcher but is listed as a shortstop on the AZL Rangers’ roster. Maybe that’s because there are 15 pitchers.
The five pitchers drafted ahead of Jarneski have already signed and are on the roster.
The Rangers drafted 28 pitchers and 21 have not signed yet.
Second-round pick Hans Crouse, a prep right-hander, signed for $1,450,000.
His slot pick value was $926,500.
Fourth-rounder Ryan Dease, another prep righty, signed for $340,000. His pick value was $386,100.
Fifth-rounder Jake Latz, a Kent State left-hander, signed for $386,100. His pick value was $288,500.
Sixth-rounder Noah Bremer, a Washington right-hander, inked for $150,000. His pick value was $224,400.
Tenth-round pick John King, a Houston senior southpaw, signed for $10,000. His pick value was $131,300.
Jarneski was the next pitcher drafted after King, who industry folks call a college senior sign. MLB clubs will sign someone on the cheap to save money for higher picks such as Crouse.
Those five pitchers, especially the top four, are not only Jarneski’s teammates but also his direct competition as well.
They’ll all be competing for roster spots as they move up the farm system’s ladder.
On mlb.com’s Top 30 prospects list for the Rangers, there are 11 pitchers with none at Triple-A.
There are four pitchers each at the club’s Double-A and High-A affiliates, one at Low-A, and two at short-season.
Basically, someone from the 2017 draft class will be weeded out as next year’s draft and international signings flood the farm system again.
The Rangers didn’t sign any pitchers during the 2016-17 international signing period for players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba. The next signing period is July 2.
Unlike King, who went 8-1 with a 3.11 ERA for the Cougars, Jarneski will likely have a longer leash because there’s a bigger gap between his present and potential tools.
For college players, especially seniors, scouts consider them in the category of “what you see is what you get,” one reason they’re more likely to get released than drafted prep players after one pro season.
Jarneski can always look to Texas reliever Keone Kela as inspiration. He’s the grandson of George Kela, a standout running back for Hilo High back in the 1960s.
The Rangers drafted and developed Kela, who was a 12th round pick in 2012 out of Everett (Wash.) College.
Kela spent two seasons in rookie ball and got promoted to Low-A and High-A in his second year. In 2014, the right-hander with the 96-mph fastball, started at High-A and finished at Double-A. He was at Double-A in 2015 and later made his big league debut at age 22 and appeared in 68 games.
Jarneski is starting his journey just as a fellow 12th-round pick for the Texas Rangers did not too long ago.