The Rangers have signed second-round pick Eric Jenkins and third-rounder Michael Matuella. Both receive $2MM bonuses, per Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter links).
The second and third overall choices of the Rangers came with $1,360,100 and $777,600 slot values. Combined, the two signings require the team to make up for $1,862,300 in pool money. In addition to the $826,500 saved on first-round selection Dillon Tate, the club has reportedly saved on several other signings (links to Twitter reports): Blake Bass (eighth round, $166,300 savings), Peter Fairbanks (ninth round, $64,700 savings), and Leon Byrd (tenth round, $123,700 savings). That leaves $804,800 left to reach par, though the team can exceed its total allotment by up to 5% without losing a future draft pick.
Jenkins, a high school center fielder, drew broad consensus heading into the draft, with Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, MLB.com, and Baseball America all pegging him as between #40 and #43 in terms of pre-draft prospect value. His speed is his best attribute, though he also shows promise with the bat (albeit not much in terms of power projection). ESPN.com’s Keith Law is less bullish, rating Jenkins 78th and questioning whether he’ll be able to adapt to higher-level competition.
Of course, Matuella entered the draft as one of the most interesting names to watch. Regarded by some as a possible top five pick heading into the year, Tommy John surgery cut his season short and made him a questionable signing candidate with another season of college eligibility left. Matuella already faced questions about his back heading into the draft, and his stock dropped accordingly. But he remains an intriguing talent, with Law rating him the 19th-best available player and noting that he has top-of-the-rotation upside if he can get healthy.
Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest & Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Tribune first reported that the deals were nearing finalization (Twitter links).
Let’s make it happen! Add Tyler Ferguson to that list and this draft would be a HUGE success for the Rangers.
Love the aggressiveness, but they better sign some guys on the cheap. Already at $8.2M in bonus money out of their ~$9.1M pool.
Not sure how they’re going to make up all of that money with the remaining signings, but I’m sure they’ve got a plan. This has the makings of a spectacular draft if 2 or 3 of their top four reach their potential. That’s a huge if of course.