The Red Sox have inked first-round pick Nick Yorke, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He’ll receive a $2.7MM bonus.
That’s well shy of the $3,609,700 slot value allocated to the 17th overall selection with which York was taken. That was the expectation when the Sox surprisingly nabbed the high-school second baseman, who wasn’t widely seen as a first-round talent entering the draft.
The Boston organization obviously had a lot of faith in Yorke. Signing him to an under-slot deal also allowed the team to make more noise in the later rounds.
[RELATED: American League Draft Signings Picks & Bonus Info]
Yorke did draw one top-100 pre-draft ranking, from Baseball America. The calling card here is his hitting ability, which the Sox obviously feel bullish about. It’s not clear how much pop Yorke will develop, and there are varying views on where he’ll end up defensively, but the bat is compelling enough — in the Boston org’s view, anyway — to warrant the lofty selction.
