| LARGEST SIGNING BONUSES, DRAFT HISTORY |
Last week’s signing frenzy that netted all remaining
unsigned first-round picks from the 2007 draft resulted in two of the three
largest bonuses in draft history being paid out. The Orioles gave Georgia Tech
catcher Matt Wieters a straight-up $6 million bonus as the fifth overall pick,
while the Devil Rays paid No. 1 overall selection David Price, the former
Vanderbilt lefthander, a $5.6 million bonus as part of a six-year major league
deal.
Both those deals came close, but fell just short of the all-time draft record
of $6.1 million that the Diamondbacks gave No. 1 overall pick Justin Upton in
2005.
The attached list includes only the bonus amount in the case of a player
signing a major league contract, and considers only players who signed with the
teams that drafted them. Righthander Matt White, a 1996 first-round pick of the
Giants, signed the largest bonus in draft history, $10 million with the Devil
Rays, as a loophole free agent.
|
| |
|
|
Player, Pos., Team, Year |
Signing Bonus |
| 1. |
Justin Upton, ss, Diamondbacks ’05 |
$6,100,000 |
| 2. |
Matt Wieters, c, Orioles ’07 |
6,000,000 |
| 3. |
*David Price, lhp, Devil Rays ’07 |
5,600,000 |
| 4. |
Joe Borchard, of, White Sox ’00 |
5,300,000 |
| 5. |
Joe Mauer, c, Twins ’01 |
5,150,000 |
| 6. |
B.J. Upton, ss, Devil Rays ’02 |
4,600,000 |
| 7. |
*Mark Teixeira, 1b, Rangers ’01 |
4,500,000 |
| 8. |
*Dewon Brazelton, rhp, Devil Rays ’01 |
4,200,000 |
| |
Gavin Floyd, rhp, Phillies ’01 |
4,200,000 |
| 10. |
*Mark Prior, rhp, Cubs ’01 |
4,000,000 |
| |
Bryan Bullington, Pirates ’02 |
4,000,000 |
| |
*Stephen Drew, ss, Diamondbacks ’04 |
4,000,000 |
| |
Jered Weaver, rhp, Angels ’04 |
4,000,000 |
| |
Alex Gordon, 3b, Royals ’06 |
4,000,000 |
| |
Mike Moustakas, ss, Royals ’07 |
4,000,000 |
|
| * Signed major league contract |
| --ALLAN SIMPSON |
| |
| Monday August 20, 2007 |
| HIGHEST UNSIGNED, HIGH SCHOOL DRAFT PICKS |
| The new Aug. 15 uniform signing deadline for baseball draft
picks came and went, and the fallout included 15 high school players selected
in the top 10 rounds who ended up not signing. Following are the 10 highest
unsigned high school picks from the 2007 draft and the colleges the players are
attending:
|
| |
|
|
Round |
Club, Player, Pos. |
College |
| 1. |
2 |
Red Sox, Hunter Morris, of |
Auburn |
| 2. |
3 |
Phillies, Brandon Workman, rhp |
Texas |
| 3. |
3 |
Astros, Derek Dietrich, ss |
Georgia Tech |
| 4. |
3 |
Padres, Tommy Toledo, rhp |
Florida |
| 5. |
3 |
Angels, Matt Harvey, rhp |
North Carolina |
| 6. |
4 |
Rangers, Garrett Nash, ss-of |
Oregon State |
| 7. |
4 |
Astros, Brett Eibner, rhp |
Arkansas |
| 8. |
5 |
Rangers, John Gast, lhp |
Florida State |
| 9. |
5 |
Dodgers, Kyle Blair, rhp |
San Diego |
| 10. |
5 |
Twins, Nate Striz, rhp |
North Carolina |
|
| --ALLAN SIMPSON |
| |
|
|