2015 MLB Draft: With deadline looming, are the St. Louis Cardinals done signing their picks?

The 2015 MLB Draft season is still upon us. At least until Friday. That's because July 17 is the last day for MLB clubs to sign this year's draftees.

Since the last time we checked in on the St. Louis Cardinals' signings of 2015 MLB Draft picks was June 29, I thought today would be a good time to check in on where the Redbirds stand with respect to inking draftees. The Cardinals have spiced things up a bit, agreeing to terms with some of the prospects they selected in the 11th round and later for dollar amounts in excess of the $100,000 bonus value assigned to all of those picks.

MLB.com's Jim Callis reported on the Cardinals' latest round of signings on Twitter as they were happening. Callis started by confirming what we all already knew. The Cards will not sign Kep Brown, the high-school slugger they selected in the 10th round, because they didn't have enough money left in their bonus pool to go overslot to a level that would entice Brown to renege on his commitment to play at college ball at A-Rod Field. Then Callis relayed that the Cards had enough wiggle room to sign two draftees to bonuses above slot:

11th-rder Paul Salazar signs w/@Cardinals for $200k. HS RHP, FB to low 90s, 1st pick ever from MLB Urban Youth Academy in Houston. @MLBDraft

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 2, 2015

12th-rder Jacob Schlesener, @Cardinals agree on $325k bonus pending physical. Missouri HS LHP, promising FB & curve combo. @MLBDraft

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 7, 2015

Before we look at the updated 2015 Cardinals Draft tracker, let's review the bonus pool rules.

MLB assigns slot values to each of the picks in the Draft's first ten rounds. The slot values for each club's picks are then added together to get an overall bonus pool amount. Teams may sign players above or below the assigned slot value, but may not go over the overall bonus pool amount. After the tenth round, there's a $100,000 value for each pick. If a team goes over $100,000 to sign a player taken in the 11th round or later, the amount in excess of $100,000 counts against the organization's bonus pool.

If a club goes over its overall bonus pool amount with its draftee signings, it is subject to the following penalties, which are triggered based on the amount of overspending:

• 0-5% Over: 75% tax on the overage amount
• 5-10% Over: 75% tax on the overage amount and loss of the next year's first-round pick
• 10-15% Over: 100% tax on the overage amount and loss of the next year's first- and second-round picks
• 15%+ Over: 100% tax on the overage amount and the loss of two first-round picks

If a club fails to sign one of its picks from the first ten rounds, the organization has its overall bonus pool reduced by the slotted bonus value for that pick. Taking Brown as an example. The Cardinals selected the outfielder in the tenth round, which means that the assigned bonus value for that pick is subject to the bonus pool restrictions and penalties. If the Cardinals are unable to sign Brown to a pro contract their overall bonus pool will be reduced by the $149,700 MLB assigned to the 311th pick prior to the Draft.

The signing of Salazar is for $100,000 over the $100,000 bonus cap on players selected in the 11th round or later, so it counts against the Cardinals' bonus pool by $100,000. Likewise, Schlesenger's bonus is $225,000 overslot so his contract will count against the St. Louis bonus pool total by that amount.

After subtracting Brown's $149,700, the total value of the Cardinals' 2015 Draft bonus pool is $7,214,400. If we add together the bonus amounts for the Cardinals' selections in the first through ninth rounds as well as the Salazar and Schlesenger bonuses, we get $7,539,400. That's over their bonus amount, so the Cards will be paying a tax to MLB of 75% on the overage amount. But they will not lose a future draft pick because it's less than the 5% overage threshold by $60,395.

St. Louis Cardinals: 2015 MLB Draft Signing Tracker

I put together the following signing information using MLB.com's bonus tracker and the Baseball America signing tracker. For players drafted in the 11th round and later who signed for $100,000 or less, there is not information regarding the bonus amount. So I merely indicated that they signed. The information regarding the bonuses for players taken in the 11th round and later and signed for greater than $100,000 have been reported, so I included that information. If you've seen an reporting on any other signings, please share it in the comments.