The Cardinals have agreed to a $2,222,500 bonus with first-round draft pick Delvin Perez, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports on Twitter. That’s precisely the slot value that came with the 23rd overall selection.
Coming into the draft, Perez was viewed as a top ten pick. But his stock began to fall as word got out that he had failed a test for a performance-enhancing drug.
St. Louis ultimately struck with the last pick of the first round, and they’ll get a player with some serious upside in spite of the concerning test results. Baseball America rated him the eighth-best prospect available, explaining that he’s a speed demon and defensive whiz who still needs to refine his approach at the plate. Perez landed ninth on the MLB.com board and ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranked him 15th in the class based upon his “lightning-quick hands, a plus arm, plus range and 70 running speed.”
Perez is one of several interesting players taken by the Cards. The club saved a nice amount of cash in its deal with 33rd-overall pick Dylan Carlson, but has yet to sign its trio of college righties: Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson (34th), Connor Jones of the University of Virginia, and UNC’s Zac Gallen.
With the Cardinals currently $500K under slot for the picks they’ve signed, it will be interesting to see if the can get Whalen out of his Oregon commitment. Looks like they should be able to offer north of $1 million.
Cheater
Ok we get it, do you have anything original to add? As if your favorite team hasn’t had cheaters or people who have had made mistakes.
he’s a kid, he made a mistake. get over yourself.
I am a cubs fan, but I will admit that signing him for slot value and drafting Perez at 23rd was a steal for the Cardinals. I think he could have been around 7th overall if it wasn’t for the substance use.
it won’t be a steal when the Cards realize that he only looked good due to PED’s.