Remaining Unsigned Picks from Dodgers 2011 Draft

The 2011 Draft signing deadline is just 10 days away, so it's time to take a look at the Dodgers remaining unsigned picks and the likelihood of each one inking a deal.

Round 1: Chris Reed, LHP, Stanford - There hasn't been much news on the Chris Reed negotiations, but I'm betting that this deal gets done at the deadline.  Reed has nowhere to go but down if he declines to sign, and the Dodgers would get killed if they fail to sign their 1st round pick after everything that has happened this year.  Slot for the #16 pick is $1,512,000, and I say he signs for an even $1.5M.

Round 4:  Ryan O'Sullivan, RHP, Oklahoma City University - The 20 year old brother of current Royal Sean O'Sullivan has not pitched in college for the last two seasons due to an elbow issue and then academic reasons, but I still thought he would have signed by now.  I'm getting more and more skeptical as every day passes by because a good year in 2012 could probably move him into the top 3 rounds because when healthy, he is supposed to have better stuff than his brother.  If I had to guess right now, I would say that he doesn't sign.

Round 6:  Scott Barlow, RHP, Golden Valley HS - Barlow is playing on a summer team that is playing in the PONY World Series, and in a recent article I found it says that Barlow is "a Dodgers draft pick who will play for Fresno State".  That doesn't necessarily mean he won't sign, but at this point it doesn't look too good.  Barlow was only throwing in the upper 80's during high school and was a bit wild, so he'd be a bit of a project, but I still would like to get at least one high school arm in our system from this draft.

Round 9:  Tyler Ogle, C, University of Oklahoma - I'm surprised the college junior hasn't signed yet because he had a solid season in 2011, and if he returns for his senior year he loses a lot of leverage.  I did find this posted on a message board, however, "Hopefully the Dodgers can convince him to sign over pressure from his coaches and a girlfriend to come back to OU".  Not sure how strong that pressure is, but I still say he eventually signs.

Round 10:  Jamal Moore, LHP, Westchester HS - I can't find any news on Jamal "Baseball" Moore, but I'm betting that he signs at the deadline for a slightly above slot amount. I can't find any college commitment for him, and he seems antsy to get his baseball career started.

Round 13:  David Palladino, RHP, Emerson HS - Palladino is a big 6'9" righty who was a great high school pitcher in New Jersey, and I really hoped the Dodgers would be able to sign him.  However, reports are that he has already turned down an offer from the Dodgers and that he is going to attend the University of South Carolina Upstate in the fall.  "As of right now, I'm going to college.  I want to go to college and have the college experience. Then I'll have at least three more years [of] maturity, physically and mentally."  Seems very unlikely the Dodgers will lure him away from his commitment. 

Round 20:  Vince Spiker, RHP, Johnson County  CC - I can't find anything about which way Spiker is leaning, but I'm hoping he signs with the Dodgers.  I've read he can get his fastball up to 96 mph and that he has a hard curve. I also can't find where he 4-year college commitment lies, so that is probably a good sign for the Dodgers.

Round 21:  Zak Qualls, LHP, Rancho HS - I doubt that this high schooler signs, as he said after the draft that he plans on fulfilling his commitment to UNLV.  “To be on the field with eight of your best friends, that’s going to be great.  People are starting to realize that UNLV is going to be a good program.”  He currently only sits in the mid 80's and his secondary stuff is still developing, so going to college will probably be best for him anyways.

Round 22:  Kyle Conwell, OF, Bellevue CC - Conwell said he knew he was going to get drafted, but expected to go in the top 10 rounds.  He hit .397 for Bellevue CC in 2011 with 4 homers and 38 RBI's, and led his team with a .491 OB%.  Whether he signs or not depends on the offer he gets, and his quote in mid June was "I have options...I haven't gotten an offer yet. I'm waiting for that. I've got a full ride to Abilene Christian University in Texas, so, it's got to meet my financial needs for school and just after that. If it's not what I want, then I'm just going to go to school."

Round 25:  Travis Burnside, OF, Spartanburg Methodist College - Right after the draft Burnside said that he was hoping to be a top 15 round pick, but was still excited to be drafted at all.  He also said "I talked with their representatives today and they said they will call me in the next day or so. Then it will be time to sign or negotiate. I want to get going as soon as possible.”  That quote was from June 8th, so obviously negotiations are going a little slower than he thought.  He still has two years of college eligibility left, so it's almost a coin flip as to whether or not he will sign.

Round 27:  Taylor Garrison, RHP, Fresno State - Right after the draft, Garrison said that he has every intention of signing so I'm surprised that he hasn't inked a deal yet.  He was a college junior so he doesn't have much leverage, but he might sign for slightly more than your average 27th round pick because he threw 34 innings for the Bulldogs in 2011 and struck out 42 with a 1.32 ERA while walking just 10 batters all year.

Round 29:  Joe Robinson, RHP, UNLV - I couldn't find much info on Robinson, but I'm guessing that he'll head back to college to work on some things as he only struck out 35 batters in 90 innings for UNLV in 2011.

Round 30: Adam McConnell, SS, Richmond University - McConnell missed the entire 2011 college season due to an upper leg injury, and with two years of eligibility left he'll most likely try and improve his draft stock with a healthy year in 2012.

Round 31+ :If a late round pick hasn't signed by now, they probably aren't going to.  In looking through the 11 names that make up this group, it looks to me like only 41st rounder Casey Thomas (high school 2nd baseman from Arizona) is a possibility to sign because his dad is a scout in the Dodgers system and Thomas didn't have any college commitments lined up at the time of the draft.