Donavan Tate and Zack Wheeler’s professional baseball careers have begun.
The two former Georgia high school stars signed contracts late Monday, the final day they could sign or else their teams would relinquish their rights.
Tate, a Cartersville High grad taken third overall by the San Diego Padres in the June draft, leaves Wednesday from San Diego for rookie ball in Peoria, Ariz., according to Cartersville coach Stuart Chester. Wheeler, a pitcher from East Paulding High picked sixth by the San Francisco Giants, is already with the team’s rookie-ball team in Scottsdale, Ariz., but won’t be playing until instructional league in the fall.
“It feels great,” Wheeler said by phone from Arizona, where he had been waiting for the deal to be completed since last Friday. “It’s a big relief off my shoulders and my family’s and agent’s.”
Tate, a do-it-all center fielder, received a reported $6.25 million signing bonus. Wheeler’s bonus is worth a reported $3.3 million. Wheeler said his contract got done about 30 minutes before the Monday midnight deadline. If a deal hadn’t been made, he would have been off to Chipola College, a junior college in Florida. Similarly, Tate participated in preseason football practices at North Carolina for a few days earlier this month before returning home to Cartersville.
“My concern is I’m going to miss him,” Chester said. “My hope is ... next year turning on 'Baseball Tonight' [on ESPN] to see what he’s doing.”
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