Fayetteville, Ark. – The Arkansas Razorbacks lost a second signee this week when fourth round draft pick Ty Buttrey signed with the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
Buttrey, a right-handed pitcher from Providence, North Carolina, signed for a reported amount of $1.3 million.
Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement has kicked into full effect yet there still seems to be a big advantage for professional teams picking the pockets clean of potential college baseball talent.
Part of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement is to have a defined value for each player’s signing bonus depending on what round said player was drafted.
For Buttrey, a fourth round pick’s signing bonus is slated to net a $291,300 signing bonus, well below the reported $1.3 million he will receive for signing out of high school.
Of the 31 total first round draft picks in the 2012 draft only three college players have signed professional contracts to date out of 13 college baseball players picked. Of the 18 high school players picked 11 have already signed contracts turning pro.
Hard to turn down being a first round pick and the money pro teams are offering to kids out of high school because no player can do any better unless they are aiming to be a Top 10 pick or the first overall selected. There are no guarantees anyone will raise their draft status with a couple more years of college baseball under their belt.
Any MLB team offering a fourth round pick over a million in signing bonus money seems somewhat criminal. That amount of money is great for any prospect and their families, bad for college baseball and said player receiving a college education before entering the workforce.
The bargaining agreement allows each MLB team a set amount of money to negotiate with all of their picks through the 10th round. No team can exceed their signing bonus allotment without being penalized by fines or potential loss of draft picks.
The Razorbacks lost talented signees in 2010 when Robbie Ray, a left handed pitcher, was drafted in the 12th round by the Nationals but was given a signing bonus of $799,000. That same year Jared Lakind was a 23rd round selection by the Pirates but was given a signing bonus of $450,000.
Another part of the collective bargaining agreement is MLB teams have until July 13 to sign their draft picks moving the deadline up a month from mid-August in years past. Expect to see a continued flurry of signings across the board between now and mid-July.
The other Arkansas Razorback signee to turn pro was 9th round draft pick Shilo McCall.
McCall, an outfielder from Piedra Vista High School in New Mexico, was the 298th overall pick in the draft by the San Francisco Giants. He signed on Tuesday June 12.
The writing on the wall with McCall turning pro is the Hogs could potentially lose all five of their drafted signees.
The biggest winner in the signing bonus category to date is Byron Buxton, a high school outfielder from Appling County High School in Georgia.
Buxton was the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft by the Minnesota Twins and signed on Wednesday June 13, for $6.2 million dollars. That’s $1.4 million more than what the top overall draft pick, Carlos Correa, received at $4.8 million.
Arkansas Players Drafted
Pick/Position/Player/MLB Team/Round
No. 71 3B Matt Reynolds, New York Mets, 2nd Round
No. 74 RHP Nolan Sanburn, Oakland A’s, 2nd Round
No. 310 RHP D.J. Baxendale, Minnesota Twins, 10th Round
No. 608 SS Tim Carver*, Philadelphia Phillies, 19th Round
No. 853 OF Sam Bates*, Kansas City Royals, 28th Round
No. 893 RHP Randall Fant, Cleveland Indians, 29th Round
No. 1122 OF Derrick Bleeker, Baltimore Orioles, 37th Round
No. 1133 OF Jacob Morris, Cleveland Indians, 37th Round
* Denotes college seniors
Arkansas Razorback Signees Drafted
Pick/Position/Signee/High School/MLB Team/Round
No. 75 RHP Teddy Stankiewicz, Fort Worth Christian (TX), Mets, 2nd Round
No. 143 OF D’Vone McClure, Jacksonville (AR), Indians, 4th Round
No. 151 RHP Ty Buttrey, Providence (NC), Red Sox, 4th Round
No. 162 LHP Colin Poche, Flower Mound Marcus (TX), Orioles, 5th Round
No. 298 OF Shilo McCall, Piedra Vista (NM), Giants, 9th Round