So what do you think happened? They got stupid between drafting him and signing him? Or, they saw something besides the numbers at the Cape that turned them off. Or, Lyons wanted a lot more than 500K.
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I wouldn’t put it exactly in those terms but, in a way, yes. It seems stupid to me to draft someone in the 10th round that people like as a guy that can go earlier, watch him pitch great and then let him walk, all over $500K. Now, I’m not saying the Yanks would’ve signed him a $50K and that the pricetag scared them off, I’m simply saying it’s kind of stupid to pass on a talented college lefty when all it really costs you is $500K and a few years of development time. I find the decision to draft him and then pass on him illogical given the fact that he did WELL, not POORLY, in the Cape. If he were injured or if he performed poorly or if he got into legal trouble, sure, let him walk. But if all it costs is $500K and you can get a fairly polished college lefty that has received favorable reports AND performed well against good competition, letting him walk is just kinda…stupid…

@ Steve Lombardi:

Steve, I have no idea what you are talking about. Jim Callis said he wanted 500K. The Yankees signed players yesterday from later rounds for that much or more. It is not hard to assume they valued those players over Lyons.

Also, disparage Meyer all you want, but Oppenheimer goes on the record with him all the time, and he spoke to Lyons as well. I’m not sure what you are trying to dispute here, when I really did not make much of a shocking statement.

yagottagotomo1 wrote:

It is an assumption built on some decent evidence.

What evidence? A NoMaas interview? That’s it? An interview conducted someone pretending to be a guy from the movie Better Off Dead?

Steve Lombardi wrote:

Do you know this as fact, or, is this just your opinion?

It is an assumption built on some decent evidence. The alternative is that the Yankees what, forgot about Lyons, despite being asked about him by Lane Meyer about a thousand times?

MJ wrote:

I would argue that the Yanks actually didn’t have a very large budget, as evidenced by the fact that they got outspent by lower-revenue clubs.

I have not seen the list, but I bet that if you took out the first rounders, the Yankees spent as much or more than anybody.

MJ wrote:

Further, I find that line of argument somewhat silly and pedantic. You’re making the assumption that because the Yanks didn’t sign a player they scouted (and I did not scout) that passing on him was the right decision.

I never said that. Nowhere do I say that it was the right decision. All I noted is that the Yankees have more information than we do, so they must have seen something that we didn’t and value the guys that they did sign more. I have a hard time seeing how you can argue with the idea that they valued Deluca, to pick one guy, more than Lyons, being that they gave him the same 500K.

MJ wrote:

In effect, they took a 10th round flier on the kid and watched him do everything he was supposed to do (namely dominate college hitters at the Cape) and then let him go back. It just doesn’t make sense.

So what do you think happened? They got stupid between drafting him and signing him? Or, they saw something besides the numbers at the Cape that turned them off. Or, Lyons wanted a lot more than 500K.

The Yankees had a very large budget, but it was still necessary to draw a line somewhere.
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I would argue that the Yanks actually didn’t have a very large budget, as evidenced by the fact that they got outspent by lower-revenue clubs.

Further, I find that line of argument somewhat silly and pedantic. You’re making the assumption that because the Yanks didn’t sign a player they scouted (and I did not scout) that passing on him was the right decision.

I’m not saying the Yanks were right or wrong to pass on him. I’m simply saying that the decision to draft him was odd if they didn’t intend to sign him. Furthermore, despite the fact that I haven’t scouted him, many others have and he was viewed as a 2nd-to-5th round pick. To get a 2nd-to-5th rounder in the 10th round would seem to be a nice upside play. That he pitched very well in the Cape Cod League would only make the decision to pass on him even more puzzling. In effect, they took a 10th round flier on the kid and watched him do everything he was supposed to do (namely dominate college hitters at the Cape) and then let him go back. It just doesn’t make sense.

yagottagotomo1 wrote:

Unlike those of us who follow prospects through the reports of others, the Yankees actually scout these players and make decisions based on more than numbers. The Yankees saw Lyons pitch at the Cape, and obviously picked up on something that made him less than a priority to them. They certainly did not pocket the money ticketed for Lyons, as they signed a number of players taken after him to bonuses larger than 500K. The Yankees had a very large budget, but it was still necessary to draw a line somewhere. They valued certain players as much or more than Lyons, and allocated the balance of their budget to those players.

Do you know this as fact, or, is this just your opinion?

Unlike those of us who follow prospects through the reports of others, the Yankees actually scout these players and make decisions based on more than numbers. The Yankees saw Lyons pitch at the Cape, and obviously picked up on something that made him less than a priority to them. They certainly did not pocket the money ticketed for Lyons, as they signed a number of players taken after him to bonuses larger than 500K. The Yankees had a very large budget, but it was still necessary to draw a line somewhere. They valued certain players as much or more than Lyons, and allocated the balance of their budget to those players.

@ Corey:
Which makes the decision to draft Lyons and watch him tear up the Cape Cod league even more puzzling.

It’s funny, when Pete Abe says “the Yankees invested well over $6 million in draft picks this season” he makes it sound like the Yanks really put a lot of resources into the draft. In fact, the Yanks got outspent by Seattle, Tampa, and Baltimore, among others. I find it rather curious…

sounds like 500 k wasn’t the issue

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/08/18/yankees-also-signed-njs-deluca/

he got 500k and he was selected in the 44th round