The Reds have come to terms with Competitive Balance Round A selection Mat Nelson on a $2.0958MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That matches the slot value of the #35 overall selection.
Nelson went undrafted last year, but he elevated his stock with a massive fourth-year season at Florida State. The right-handed hitting catcher popped 23 home runs — tying for the Division I lead — as part of an overall .330/.436/.773 slash line. He’s already 22 years old, so it’s a bit of a surprise he received full slot value as a Day One pick.
Nevertheless, Nelson was seen by public prospect evaluators as one of the class’s best catching prospects. He checked in between 50th and 60th overall on the pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The general expectation is that Nelson’s power and adequate defense can offset some minor swing-and-miss concerns and make him a potential regular behind the dish.
Cincinnati also came to terms with compensatory selection Jay Allen yesterday. That leaves first rounder Matt McLain (a UCLA infielder) as the lone unsigned player among the Reds’ three Day One draft picks.
For a brief moment my mind read this as “Mets Sign Rat Nelson”
$2.0958MM
And please give your answers to four decimal places.
Actually it was $2, 095, 800. 76 , but who’s counting. Also included was a free copy of Kaitlin Jenner’s new book, “Playing Tennis Without Balls”.
totally random and useless shot at Caitlyn but ok
Keep that racket down.
Wow. It’s very surprising that a 4 year college player received full slot value. I would have thought they could have signed him for 1/2 this money as what other option does he have? Sit out a year, play independent ball and re-enter the draft at age 23? While I’m all for players getting paid, this seems like a big misstep by the Reds. I guess it sends a positive message to future prospects though so maybe that’s what they were thinking.
I like this signing for that very reason.
I have a sneaking suspicion that future prospects will care significantly more about about the amount of $ the reds offer them than they will about the amount of $ the reds offered some other dude x years ago.
Mat Nelson was a sophomore this season at FSU.