When you’re 18 and pretty much have the world at the fingertips of your left hand, being asked to get to work immediately after finishing high school isn’t a problem.
Especially not when your employer just gave you signing bonuses of $3.05 million, the amount the Braves gave Joey Wentz after taking the big Kansan with the 40th overall pick of last week’s draft, and $2.5 million, what they gave Kyle Muller after drafting the towering Texan four picks after Wentz.
They are hard-throwing left-handed pitchers born a day apart in October 1997, and each just finished his high school senior season. They’ll travel to Orlando to begin their pro careers after coming to Atlanta with their parents Wednesday to take their physicals and sign with the Braves.
“Four days ago we won a state championship. Now I’m going to fly to Orlando and start short-season rookie ball tomorrow,” said Muller, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound pitcher/outfielder who was named Gatorade national high school player of the year and led Dallas Jesuit College Prep to a 6A state title Saturday.
“It was a quick turnaround, but I’m excited and can’t wait to get to work.”
Wentz, a 6-5 lefty from Shawnee Mission East High in suburban Kansas City, also was considered a legitimate major league hitting prospect and said he’s glad he was drafted by a National League team.
“I think they said (pitchers) start hitting in Double-A,” he said, smiling. “So hopefully get up there and swing and try to hit it hard. Yeah, it’ll be exciting.”
For now, though, he and Muller will begin their career in the Gulf Coast rookie league in Florida, as will plenty of others among the 18 draft picks the Braves have signed. The signed included five of their first 10 picks and 13 of their first 25.
Right-hander Ian Anderson, the Braves’ top pick and No. 3 overall selection, agreed to a deal worth about $3.5 million and will sign as soon as he graduates from his high school in upstate New York next week.
“Very excited to come down today and sign, get to Atlanta, and then tomorrow head off to Orlando — really excited,” Wentz said. “It’s been hectic. It’s been (a week) I’ll never forget though, and I feel fortunate to get an organization like the Braves and be put in a good situation, a position to succeed. I’m blessed, really.”
Braves scouting director Brian Bridges stood with the parents of Wentz and Muller near the dugout at Turner Field while the players met with media. Bridges looked almost as proud as the parents did.
“That’s what they look like,” Bridges said of the pair of physically imposing youngsters, meaning they’re the ace archetype.
Wentz got a signing bonus nearly double the $1,616,800 pool allocation for the 40th spot in the draft. The Braves could afford to pay well above slotted bonuses for Wentz and Muller, prospects the team rated among its top 20 entering the draft, because they were able to work out a deal with Anderson for about $3 million below the No. 3 slot allocation.
Wentz had a scholarship to the University of Virginia, but didn’t have to think twice before opting instead to sign.
“I want to get my career started,” he said. “The situation that was presented, I knew it was the right thing for me, so there was really no hesitation for me.”
Muller, too, said it was an easy decision to sign with the Braves rather than use the scholarship he had to play at the University of Texas.
“This is what I wanted to do all along,” he said. “Education has been a big part of my life, but baseball has been, too. And knowing that I can make that my profession and throw a ball for a living? There’s no better job in the world.”
Muller set a national high-school record by striking out 23 consecutive batters in a two-game span this season, and had an 8-0 record, 0.46 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 76 innings. He also hit .396 with 14 homers, 52 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 44 games before the state semifinals. He won’t split his focus between pitching and hitting now that he’s signed a pro contract.
“I’ll just take (batting practice) like a regular pitcher,” he said. “I mean, I’ll try to sneak in a few extra BP sessions if I can. I’m sure Joey (Wentz) would want to do the same thing. But they drafted me as a pitcher, and I’m going to try to be the best I can.
And he agreed with the choice of pitcher rather than position player?
“I agree with that choice, yes sir,” he said.
Not that he doesn’t love hitting. He was selected as a pitcher for the annual Area Code all-star game last year, but his teammates selected him to be in the home run derby. Muller was teammates with Anderson and Wentz on another all-star team last summer at the Tournament of Stars.
“I think it’ll be fun going in (to star their pro careers) with Ian and Kyle,” Wentz said. “We were on the same team last summer for a week. To go in with some guys your age and the same situation as you will be nice.”
Asked if he’d seen Muller hit, Wentz smiled and said, “I have, yeah. Pretty impressive. They go pretty far.”
When someone mentioned Muller’s hitting ability to Bridges, the scouting director said, “That one (Wentz) can hit them as far as you want to see, too.” He laughed and added, “They get to SunTrust Park, at least we’re hitting with nine hitters.”
