Thanks to Astros County,we get this note that Houston's 15th round pick James Farris is heading back to the University of Arizona so he can be their Friday night starter. From the article in the Tucson Citizen:
Farris was the Sunday starter on Arizona's 2012 national championship team, going 7-3 with a 3.97 ERA. He was the Saturday starter this season, finishing at 5-5 with a 4.18 ERA.
"He wants to increase his draft status, and I think he can do that," Lopez said. "There used to be a stigma about being a senior and not getting picked to the 55th round. But a lot of seniors get drafted in the first 10 rounds now (because of the new bonus slotting system). If he pitches well, he could go in the top 10 rounds easy."
Farris marks the second player who has publicly declared he will not sign, after 35th round pick Kacy Clemens said he's heading to the University of Texas instead of signing with Houston.
Per Jim Callis, we also get details on what seventh-rounder James Ramsay was inked for:
#Astros 7th-rder James Ramsay's bonus is $175k. South Florida CF w/plus speed, contact bat. #mlbdraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) June 13, 2013
As AC notes, that's a savings of $27,300 off Ramsay's expected slot bonus. I'm sure that will convince Nottingham to sign, right?
