Baseball America reports that the Cubs have agreed to sign their
number one pick, Kris Bryant, to the slot value of $6.7 million bonus.
It is the largest bonus in the 2013 draft and the biggest in the two
years under the new draft rules, surpassing the $6.35 million that the
Astros paid Mark Appel, this year’s No. 1 choice.
Bryant’s bonus also sets a Cub franchise bonus record, beating the $6
million that Chicago paid Cuban defector Jorge Soler as part of a $30
million major league contract last summer. The Cubs’ previous draft
bonus standard was $4 million, which Mark Prior got as part of a $10.5
million big league deal as the No. 2 overall pick in 2001.
Bryant
was the best power hitter in this year's draft. He was Baseball
America’s 2013 College Player of the Year by hitting 31 homers,and
leading all Division I players in runs (80),
walks (66), total bases (187) and slugging (.820) while batting .329.
BA believes that his arm strength and patience at the
plate are two more assets, and he’s also an average runner wtih good
athleticism for a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder. He played third base at San
Diego but may wind up in right field in the long run.
Bryant's season ended in early June, and once the Cubs get the third
baseman signed, the team states he will report to their facility in Mesa, Ariz., to work
out before being assigned to a Minor League team.
"We would need to get a feel for how rusty he is," Cubs general
manager Jed Hoyer said Wednesday. "Once we get a feel for his
conditioning, we'll figure out exactly what the right path is.
Certainly, he'll start out at the very low levels [in the Minors]. We're
hopeful he can move quickly through those."
What?
Bryant stopped playing about a month ago. He is 20 years old. How "rusty" can he get?
Also,
the Cubs plan to stick Bryant in "very low minors" which would be
Rookie or short season Boise which makes very little sense. You don't
pay $6.7 million to have a the best prospect in the draft sent to summer
camp. Bryant played at a high level in college. He should be assigned
to AAA Iowa to play third right away, or even AA Tennessee if the Cubs
are going to try to make him an outfielder. There is no reason to
believe Bryant could not be in the starting line up in 2014. But it is
apparent that the Cubs front office is going to bury him in the low
minors to impede his promotion curve from level to level. This would put
Bryant on a three year apprenticeship or a 2016 Cub debut. This is to
give the front office "more time" before their best prospects are "major
league ready." But Bryant is as close to major league ready as any
prospect in the system.
Yasiel Puig played 46 games at
Rookie-A+ ball in 2012 and 40 games in AA this year when he was called
up. Puig signed a big money IFA deal the same year as Jorge Soler.
During that same time period, Soler continued to play in Class A ball
(until he was injured). Other teams have found great success in
promoting their star prospects early (example, Bryce Harper with the
Nationals). Bryant should be no different.
