CLEVELAND — The Indians went down to the wire again with their first-round draft choice, and, fortunately for them, got the same result as last year.
Cleveland beat the midnight deadline by four minutes to sign 2009’s first-round selection, right-hander Alex White, and came close to the same time frame Monday in agreeing to terms with left-hander Drew Pomeranz, the fifth overall pick out of the University of Mississippi.
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Pomeranz was one of a number of the Indians’ top draft picks unsigned for much of the day, but minutes after the deadline passed, Cleveland announced that it had signed Pomeranz, as well as second-round pick LeVon Washington, an outfielder out of Chipola Junior College (Florida), and third-round pick Tony Wolters, a shortstop out of Rancho Buena Vista High (Calif.).
Those signings meant the Indians were able to land their top five selections, also agreeing to terms with right-handers Kyle Blair (fourth round, University of San Diego) and Cole Cook (fifth round, Pepperdine University).
“We are excited to sign Drew Pomeranz, LeVon Washington and Tony Wolters, our top three draft picks,” said Cleveland’s director of scouting, Brad Grant. “Each player has unique skills that can enable them to become long-term contributors to the Cleveland Indians.
“Drew is an accomplished college left-handed pitcher, while LeVon and Tony are each young, athletic, middle-of-the-diamond players with tremendous upside. We look forward to these three players beginning their professional careers with us.”
It looked as though the Indians had a reasonable chance of landing Pomeranz, who was the SEC’s pitcher of the year as a junior this season, going 9-2 with a 2.24 ERA in 16 starts. The pitcher sounded ready to begin his big league career when Cleveland drafted him in June.
“I think it’s important for kids, especially in my situation, to go to college, spend three years in college, grow as a person, mature and learn how to live on your own before you go to pro ball,” Pomeranz said. “When you’re an 18-year-old kid with all that money, obviously you think you’re ready to go. But especially in a conference like (the SEC), you realize quickly, ‘Maybe I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was.”’
Though terms of Pomeranz’s signing bonus were not revealed, MLB’s suggested price for the fifth player taken in the draft was $2.52 million. Cleveland went over the suggested price for a number of their high picks and could have done the same with Pomeranz.
The Indians entered the day with only 20 of their 50 draft choices in the fold. They signed both Blair and eighth-round pick, catcher Alex Lavisky, a Lakewood St. Edward High product, Monday. Blair received a $580,000 signing bonus and will report to Class A Mahoning Valley, while Lavisky got $1 million and will join Cleveland’s Arizona Rookie League team in Goodyear, Ariz.
Lavisky, 19, hit .450 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs during his senior season for St. Ed’s, which won the Division I state championship. Baseball America ranked him as the seventh-best catcher in the draft.
Washington, who hit .327 (48-for-147) with 39 runs, 11 doubles, one triple, eight homers and 25 RBIs for Chipola JC this year, is a client of agent Scott Boras. He was Tampa Bay’s No. 1 pick last year but declined to sign with the Rays, who reportedly offered him a $1.1 million signing bonus.
Wolters hit .430 (34-for-97) with 27 runs, six doubles, three triples, four homers and 17 RBIs in 25 games during his senior year in high school. He played for the U.S. National Team this summer.
Blair went 8-4 with a 2.54 ERA for San Diego. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder struck out 126, walked 28 and allowed 79 hits in 98 1/3 innings.
If the Indians would have failed to sign Pomeranz, it would have been their first first-round draft choice to go unsigned since RHP Alan Horne in 2001.
Cleveland finished the day agreeing to terms with 27 of its 50 draft picks, including 20 of the top 23 selections.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
