Even though a lot of teams could not care less, the Rockies have traditionally followed the slotting system guidelines, staying away from players that they couldn’t sign for slot amounts. Recently, after years of missed opportunities, O’Dowd and company decided to adopt a totally different philosophy. In 2009, they took Tyler Matzek, even though he was leaning towards honoring his commitment to the University of Oregon. After the Rox offered him the largest signing bonus in franchise history — an amount that was outside of that recommend for his slot – Tyler changed his mind.

Last year, the Rockies took it even further. They picked Kyle Parker late in the first round and gave him a bunch of money to give up two years of NCAA football eligibility. Then, in the 15th round, they drafted Will Swanner, a catcher from Cardiff, California. The other teams passed on Swanner because he was committed to Pepperdine and wanted a good size signing bonus. The Rockies drafted him and gave him $490,000, one of the highest amounts ever given to a player drafted outside of the first ten rounds. I’d imagine the commissioner’s office was more than a little pissed about the Swanner signing, but guess what they did about it? Jack s***. Good for the Rockies. If they did everything Bud Selig told them to do, they would be the Brewers. However, Bud Selig’s incompetence is a topic for another day. This post is about Will Swanner.
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