The Marlins have signed Tyler Kolek, the second overall pick of the 2014 draft, and will officially introduce their newest prospect later today. Kolek will sign for a $6MM bonus, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported over the weekend, which is the third-highest bonus ever given to a high school pitcher taken in the draft.
It is still, however, significantly below the approximate $6.822MM slot price for the No. 2 overall selection. Miami has already freed some savings by locking up Blake Anderson to a bonus of about $400K less than his slot value, so the Marlins have quite a bit of extra money available in its draft pool to reach agreement with several of its purportedly hard-to-sign, later-round picks.
Kolek was a consensus top-three talent heading into the draft. The 6’5, 250lb Texas high school righty has been said to have perhaps the most powerful prep fastball ever, regularly hitting and even surpassing the 100mph plateau. ESPN.com’s Keith Law notes that he will need to develop a third offering to complement his heater and slider, but obviously his upside is tantalizing.
Joe Frisaro of MLB.com first reported that Kolek and the Marlins were “in advanced negotiations,” while Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported that the two sides had reached an agreement pending a physical.
MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth and Mark Polishuk contributed to this post.
