The Braves have signed one of their top three draft picks, left-hander Kyle Muller, and were believed to be close to signing the other two.
All three are high school pitchers, including No. 3 overall pick Ian Anderson and left-hander Joey Wentz, the No. 40 selection, who has reportedly agreed to a $3.05 million bonus.
Muller, the No. 44 selection, received a $2.5 million signing bonus, according to a person familiar with the situation. That bonus was more than $1 million above the slot value ($1,459,700) for that spot in the draft, and made it an easy decision for Muller to go pro now rather than play baseball at the University of Texas.
Baseball America has reported that Anderson and the Braves were working on a $3.5 million deal before the draft. That would be $3 million less than the assigned No. 3 slot, and that’s what would enable the Braves to sign Wentz and Muller for well above the assigned slot values for their positions in the draft.
Anderson isn’t expected to sign before the right-hander graduates from high school next week in Clifton Park, N.Y.
Wentz’s $3.05 million bonus would be nearly double the $1,616,800 assigned slot value for No. 40.
Wentz, from Shawnee Mission East High in a Kansas City (Kan.) suburb, was rated between 16th and 26th among all prospects on the pre-draft boards experts including Baseball America. Muller, a 6-foot-7 Texan who was also one of the nation’s top home-run hitters, was rated just ahead of Wentz by Baseball America.
Wentz and Muller were rated ahead of Anderson by all draft experts. The Braves have been commended by industry insiders for their strategy of drafting Anderson significantly higher than most projected in order to sign him at well below his slot value and give them the flexibility to disperse those unused funds in their signing-bonus pool to spend over-slot for later picks, especially the lefties Wentz and Muller.
The Braves also signed third-round pick Drew Harrington, another lefty, for a reported $111,200.
About the Author
