Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers, unofficially, have signed two right-handed pitchers previously not in their organization before last Wednesday: 5th-rounder Gavin Stone and undrafted free agent Robbie Peto.
Before we get into that, let’s get a refresher course on the bonus pool rules.
Bonus Pool
Every pick in the draft has a slot amount allotted to them. A player can be signed for more or less than the recommended amount, but a team cannot exceed its bonus pool without incurring penalties. If a draftee does not sign, teams lose that signing bonus from their overall pool (i.e., if Bobby Miller didn’t sign, the Dodgers’ bonus pool would decline by $2,424,600). Bonuses for undrafted free agents do not count toward a team’s pool, and the maximum amount a team can sign a UDFA for is $20,000 (which sucks).
Here are how the overage penalties shake out.
| Overage (percentage) | Penalty (taxed amount) |
| 0-4.99 | 75 percent tax on overage |
| 5-9.99 | 75 percent tax on overage Loss of 2021 1st-round pick |
| 10-14.99 | 100 percent tax on overage Loss of 2021 1st- & 2nd-round picks |
| 15-plus | 100 percent tax Loss of 1st-round picks in 2021 & 2022 |
The Dodgers can go up to $296,419 (5 percent, less $1) over their allotted slot amount of $5,928,400 without losing a draft pick. No team has ever exceeded this bonus pool since this system was implemented in 2012, and it isn’t going to happen now.
Teams have until Aug. 1 at 2 p.m. Pacific time to sign their draftees.
| Round | Player | Slot | Bonus | Savings |
| 1 | Bobby Miller | $2,424,600 | unsigned | ? |
| 2 | Landon Knack | $1,157,400 | unsigned | ? |
| 2cb | Clayton Beeter | $1,003,300 | unsigned | ? |
| 3 | Jake Vogel | $581,600 | unsigned | ? |
| 4 | Carson Taylor | $434,300 | unsigned | ? |
| 5 | Gavin Stone | $327,200 | $100,000 | $227,200 |
| Total | $5,928,400 | $100,000 | $227,200 |
Not a lot on the draft signing front this far. The Dodgers, reportedly, got their 5th-rounder to sign for almost $230,000 under slot. A lot of that will go to either getting Beeter or Vogel signed.
Unlike years past, I think the Dodgers will sign all their picks (as should most teams). There aren’t any prep players they could buy in the post-10th round because there isn’t a post-10th round. So, if they end up not signing a player, it’s their own fault. But like I said, I don’t foresee the being an issue.
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The Dodgers have also signed their first undrafted free agent in this new draft era: right-handed pitcher Robbie Peto from Stetson University. Here’s a bit on him:
The UDFAs aren’t going to be top-of-the-line prospects. Otherwise, they would have been drafted last week, but Peto sounds a bit interesting. And going to one of the best player developmental systems in the sport can only be good news for him (and he admits as much in The Dayton Beach News-Journal).
We’ll keep the UDFA tracker updated if/when more signings are announced/reported.
