The Draft signing deadline came and went at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday with very little drama.
The final two unsigned first-rounders came to terms in the morning. East Carolina right-hander Trey Yesavage (No. 20 overall) agreed to a $4,177,500 deal with the Blue Jays and North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt (No. 22) signed for $4 million with the Orioles. Every player from the first round agreed to terms.
Four players in the top 10 rounds did not turn pro — supplemental second-rounders Tyler Bell (Rays) and Chris Levonas (Brewers), third-rounder Ryan Prager (Angels) and ninth-rounder Jaxon Jelkin (Mets). That was the most unsigned players from the first 10 rounds since the 2018 Draft also had four.
Bell, an Illinois high school shortstop, tweeted Wednesday that he plans to follow through on his commitment to Kentucky, where he’ll be Draft-eligible again as a sophomore in 2026. The ace left-hander for College World Series runner-up Texas A&M as a redshirt sophomore, Prager tweeted a week ago that he will return to the Aggies. NIL deals for both may have contributed to those decisions.
Levonas, a New Jersey prep right-hander, declined late first-round money from the Brewers and will attend Wake Forest. Milwaukee saved $1,912,700 vs. its bonus pool with its other deals and used that surplus for above-slot bonuses on deadline day for four late-round selections: Michigan high school left-hander Joey Broughton (13th round, $535,000), Kentucky righty Travis Smith (15th round, $462,500), Florida prep righty Jayden Dubanewicz (16th round, $665,000) and New York high school righty Tyler Renz (18th round, $850,000).
A righty, Jelkin got off to a hot start at Houston this spring before blowing out his elbow and requiring Tommy John surgery. New York never made him a formal offer, so Jelkin will become a free agent after the deadline passes. Whatever bonus he receives won’t count against the signing team’s bonus pool.
The Rays (No. 67), Brewers (No. 68) and Angels (end of third round) will receive compensation choices in the 2025 Draft for failing to sign their 2024 early-rounders. New York will get nothing for not signing Jelkin.
