Deadline Day update: scouts' opinions on Melville, still waiting on Hosmer...

Royals executives can't spend too much time high-fiving each other about signing Tim Melville, so how about we let someone else do it for them?

"Great sign, especially for the value," says a National League scout. "I had him real high on my list, but we stayed away because we didn't think he'd sign."

"That's something," says a scout from a different NL team. "This kid really has a chance to be special. I know people there (in Kansas City) see a lot of losing, but I know a lot of guys who work for your team, and they're really doing it the right way. It'll take a while, if it does happen, but they're really doing it right."

And then there was this:

"Could be the real deal," says an AL scout who saw Melville many times. "Could be better than any of these guys they've signed in a long time. He's what they're supposed to look like."

Warning. Hyperbole coming. Followed by contradiction.

"He's 6-5, big, strong, athletic, who says this guy can't be Roger Clemens? Seriously. He's got a chance to be a (No.) 2 or 3 starter in the big leagues."

Pointing out the obvious here, if Melville turns into Clemens (doubtful, but still...) he'd be a snip better than a 2 or 3 starter.

But two of these scouts say they had Melville rated higher than Aaron Crow, the Mizzou right-hander who went ninth to the Nationals and is reported to be looking for a big-league contract for "premium dollars."

That story quotes one of Crow's advisors, Randy Hendricks (I'm hearing more and more that the Hendricks brothers are becoming the new Boras Corp) says the Nats are saying they'll take a compensation pick next year and pass on Crow this year instead of meeting the high demands.

Anyway, it looks like the Royals have secured themselves a first-round talent regardless of what happens with Hosmer.

But if we're being honest, the Royals will be incredibly disappointed if Hosmer goes unsigned, and their draft will be looked at as a failure.

On Hosmer's end, he'd head to college with a label that might be tough to shake, as the kid who turned down at least $5 million (could approach $6 million) with the idea of making it back, plus interest, in three years at Arizona State.

Both sides have a lot of interest in completing a deal.