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Angels Agree To Terms With Lindsey, Bolden, Soto
SUNDAY, 6:31pm: Lindsey's bonus is worth $873K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. The shortstop's bonus matches MLB's estimated recommendation for the No. 37 slot in 2009.
MONDAY, 9:02pm: The Angels have agreed to terms with three of their top seven picks from the June Amateur Draft. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports that supplemental pick Taylor Lindsey (the 37th overall selection) and third-rounder Wendell Soto (111th overall) agreed to deals with the club. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com also broke the news that another supplemental round pick, 40th overall selection Ryan Bolden, had signed.
No terms were announced, though DiGiovanna believes that Lindsey and Bolden received bonuses worth roughly $800K, or the standard amount for sandwich-round picks. Bolden gets an $830K bonus, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.
All three players are high-schoolers. Scottsdale native Lindsey was drafted as a shortstop but "will probably" move to second or third base (as Angels scouting director Eddie Bane told Lyle Spencer of MLB.com). Bolden is a Mississippi outfielder who Saxon notes (via Twitter) has been "compared to Rickey Henderson." Baseball America wasn't nearly as high on Bolden's potential, rating him as the 141st prospect overall in their pre-draft top 200 ranking. Neither Lindsey or Soto, a switch-hitting shortstop from Florida, made Baseball America's ranking at all.
Saxon heard from LAA general manager Tony Reagins that the Halos have signed "more than 20" other draft picks, though negotiations with third baseman Kaleb Cowart (18th overall) have been "complicated." As Saxon notes, Cowart has signed a letter of intent to attend Florida State and was rumored to be looking for a $3MM contract offer to begin his professional career. Reagins is "still optimistic something gets done" with Cowart.
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