Update on Wil Myers: Catch/See him in Burlington

Here is the plan of attack for Wil Myers, who just recently with the Kansas City Royals, out of Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point……

Wil will dress out and DH in Burlington, N.C. tonight(Burlington Royals)…. Catch Thursday, DH Friday, Catch Saturday in Burlington………..

He will then leave Monday to go to Idaho Falls for a month, then on out to Arizona for about 5 weeks.

from www.mlb.com

KANSAS CITY — The Royals agreed to deals with third-round pick Wil Myers and fourth-round pick Chris Dwyer on Monday, hours before the 11 p.m. CT deadline.

With Myers and Dwyer signed and accounted for, the Royals can now focus on signing first-round pick Aaron Crow, who played independent ball this spring and is out of collegiate eligibility and therefore isn’t subject to Monday’s deadline.

But even with the Crow situation unresolved, Royals general manager Dayton Moore still feels the Royals picked up two high-quality prospects on Monday.

“We’re delighted to have both of them as part of the organization,” Moore said. “Obviously with the commitment we made to them, we feel they are high-caliber talent that’s going to improve our organization and help us win in Kansas City.”

Part of that commitment — according to previous reports from Baseball America — includes hefty signing bonuses for both players.

According to Baseball America, Myers — a high school catcher from North Carolina — will receive a $2 million signing bonus, while Dwyer — a left-handed pitcher from Clemson — will receive $1.45 million.

Dwyer’s bonus, according to Baseball America, is the largest ever given to a fourth-round Draft pick.

“Our scouts have done a tremendous job throughout the Draft in recognizing talent and evaluating talent and ultimately getting the talent signed,” Moore said.

Many scouts rated Myers, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound native of Thomasville, N.C., as one of the top high school hitters in the Draft. He passed on a scholarship to South Carolina to sign with the Royals.

“We drafted him as a catcher, knowing that he’s certainly a talented enough athlete to play a variety of positions and play them above average,” Moore said. “But, at this point and time, we plan on him being behind the plate.”

Dwyer, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Swampscott, Mass., was 5-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 17 starts for Clemson as a freshman. He’s also a rare draft-eligible freshman from a four-year college. Dwyer, who became eligible by turning 21 before the Draft, spent two seasons at a prep school before attending Clemson.

“He’s a guy that’s a very talented, athletic left-handed pitcher who has a very good curveball and a fastball that we’ve seen up to 94 [mph],” Moore said. “We’re very excited about his potential as a Major League starting pitcher.”

By locking up Myers and Dwyer, the Royals have once again shown an aggressive approach in going after talented prospects in the early rounds.

In addition to signing first-round pick Eric Hosmer in 2008, the Royals also signed fourth-round pick Tim Melville, a high school pitcher from Missouri who many considered a potential first-round selection.

There is, of course, one difference between last year’s Draft and the Royals’ 2009 Draft. Kansas City had to sign Hosmer, a top high school prospect, before the deadline — which they did.

This year, Crow’s deadline-exempt status brings another new element into negotiations.

Technically, the Royals have until a week before next year’s Draft to sign Crow, but, of course, would like to see a resolution happen much sooner than that.

“There is no deadline,” Moore said. “We’ll just continue to expect to reach an agreement and continue to do our very best to get a deal done.

“You always want to get your players out playing and obviously that hasn’t happened in Aaron’s case. We’ll see what unfolds in the future.”

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