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LHP Brady Aiken Enrolls At IMG Academy

February 26, 2015

By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

Florida has always been a hot spot for scouting, but it just got a little hotter for 2015. In a press release, IMG Academy announced that LHP Brady Aiken has enrolled and will pitch for IMG’s postgraduate team. Aiken was the first overall pick in the 2014 draft out of San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic HS, but negotiations between the Astros and Aiken broke down and he failed to sign by the mid-July deadline.

It was widely reported that the two were in verbal agreement for a signing bonus of $6.5 million after the draft, but a dispute over a physical ultimately derailed the process. The Astros took issue with something in Aiken’s physical and backed out on the original offer. Aiken was committed to UCLA, but did not attend classes in the fall and hadn’t come out with any plans about attending a junior college.

Enrolling at IMG Academy puts him on the same pitching staff as another arm that was wrapped up in the same saga. Because of draft pools and the pulling of Aiken’s offer, the Astros pulled a $1.5 million bonus offered to RHP Jacob Nix, who was drafted in the fifth round. A failure to sign Aiken would prevent the Astros from signing Nix without facing penalty for going over their slot allotment. Nix filed a grievance against the Astros and the two sides ultimately settled in December.

IMG Academy’s postgraduate team has a schedule that consists of Division II and junior college opponents, most notably Tampa, Miami-Dade JC and Rollins. They also are scheduled to face the Ontario Blue Jays, a premier Canadian travel team.

Aiken rocketed up draft boards last spring with a low 90s fastball that touched 96-97 early in the season. He has good feel for a changeup and throws a power curveball with depth at 75-77. Nix has a workhorse frame and power stuff of his own. He can throw in the low 90s and was up to 95 early in 2014. They will both obviously be prime targets for scouts this spring.

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