The M’s had two selections in today’s first phase of the Rule 4 amateur draft. They’d forfeited their first-rounder when they signed Nelson Cruz, so the M’s had to wait until pick 60 to tab high-school right-hander Nick Neidert. A while later, at pick 72, they selected Oregon State righty Andrew Moore.
Neidert throws hard, and has a low-ish arm slot. The low release point is less due to angle than his drop-and-drive motion. He’s flashed mid-90s heat at times, touching 95-96 late in 2014, and looked to be climbing the board in the spring, but a bout of elbow tendinitis scared some teams off.