The New York Yankees have agreed to sign their 11th-round pick Josh Rogers to a $485,000 deal, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com.
Rogers, 21, is a Louisville product who is coming off a season in which he posted a 3.36 ERA with 82/25 K/BB in 93.2 innings. He followed up that performance with 20.1 innings of 3.09 ERA ball in the Cape Cod League this summer.
As noted by Mike Axisa of RiverAveBlues, Rogers underwent Tommy John surgery when he was a senior in high school. But he was able to return to the mound in just 11 months to post the aforementioned numbers. In a profile on Baseball America, Rogers is described as having a "near ideal pitcher's build" and possessing good stuff to go with it:
"At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Rogers has a near ideal pitcher’s build. He locates his 87-91 mph fastball, mixes in a slider that flashes average at his best and below-average at other times and a usable changeup. Rogers’ mix of three pitches and an ability to locate them makes him a potential back-end starter."
With Rogers officially signed, the Yankees' top draft pick, right-handed pitcher and 16th overall pick James Kaprielian out of UCLA remains unsigned. As noted by Callis in the earlier tweet, the Yankees likely have $2,676,450 to offer Kaprielian without losing a future first-round draft pick.
Kaprielian is also 21 years old and comes with significant upside. As mentioned by SB Nation's Pinstripe Alley, Kaprielian stands at six feet, four inches tall and weighs 200 pounds, so he is a large athlete. In addition, all of his pitches are polished as his fastball reaches 89-92 mph, and his changeup sits in the mid-80's. He can throw two types of curveballs, both of which sit in the 75 to 79-mph range.
His ability has enabled him to have one of the best careers in UCLA's history. Therefore, since he is the Yankees' first pick in the first round in 22 years, the Yankees will likely go all-out to sign him.
The deadline for Kaprielian to sign with the Yankees is Friday, July 17, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports expects both parties to reach an agreement.