Aaron Crow signs with Royals

■ Royals sign '09 first-round pick Crow (KCRoyals.com)

The Royals have reached an agreement with pitcher Aaron Crow, their first-round choice in June's First-Year Player Draft, on a three-year Major League contract beginning in 2010, the club announced Thursday night.

The club did not disclose terms of the contract, but it was believed the deal was for a guaranteed $3 million plus incentives. Crow will go on the Royals' 40-man roster and be invited to Major League Spring Training next year.
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The Royals will introduce Crow at a news conference at 2:20 p.m. CT on Friday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

J.J. Picollo, assistant general manager in charge of scouting and player development, said the Royals pushed to get the deal done so Crow could report to the Arizona instructional league on Sunday. The league begins on Monday.

"It was important for Aaron to get out and play," Moore said. "He was drafted by his boyhood team and he wanted to get out and pitch. He wanted to get out and go."

■ Crow, Royals reach 3-year deal (Topeka Capital-Journal)

The Kansas City Royals and former Washburn Rural and University of Missouri pitcher Aaron Crow agreed to a three-year deal Thursday that will put their first round draft pick this year on the club's 40-man Major League roster beginning in 2010.
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Kevin Crow, Aaron's father, said his son and family were relieved that the draft process that started in the summer of 2008 when Aaron was drafted by Washington as the ninth overall player was finally over.

"We couldn't be more excited for Aaron," Kevin Crow said. "This has been a long journey and he's very relieved that it's over. He's so looking forward to playing again with a team of guys who have the same ambitions he does."
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Crow did not pitch competitively this summer as negotiations with the Royals dragged on, his father said. He maintained a steady workout schedule of long toss, running, lifting and bullpen sessions.

Kevin Crow would not comment on the financial terms of the contract or what broke the ice in the negotiations.

"But I think it's fair to say that once the Royals realized Aaron was not under the Aug. 17 signing deadline (because he had played in the independent leagues and had no college eligibility), that's when things began to move," Kevin Crow said.

■ I've been asked whether I would reboot the current You Make the Call poll (left-hand nav bar on this page) on which current MU alum in the minors is most likely to make the Major Leagues, given that Aaron Crow was left off the ballot.

First of all, I'm not sure anyone takes this poll all that seriously so that it matters much what I do. But perhaps when the current poll is done (at the end of October), I'll take the top 3 vote-getters and match them up against Crow in a run-off poll. It works for NASCAR.

Based on current vote tallies, that would pit Kyle Gibson, Brock Bond and Rick Zagone against Crow (with Evan Frey bumping competitors into the wall as he comes up fast on Zagone's tail)

That should provide some incentive for energetic ballot-box stuffing between now and then.