The Rays have agreed to a $7,007,500 signing bonus with No. 4 overall pick Brendan McKay, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). The bonus is the largest ever given to a player under the current set of draft rules, narrowly topping the flat $7MM signing bonus that Kyle Wright received from the Braves earlier this year. McKay is represented by Sosnick, Cobbe and Karon. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was the first to report that McKay was expected to sign with the Rays tonight.
McKay was one of the most famed prospects headed into the draft and was reportedly a strong consideration of the Twins with the No. 1 overall pick. A two-way star at the University of Louisville, McKay was touted as a top five talent for both his abilities on the mound as a left-handed pitcher and for his hitting ability as a first baseman. MLB.com’s Jim Callis calls McKay the best two-way draft prospect since Hall of Famer Dave Winfield (Twitter link).
Entering the draft, McKay was a consensus top four talent, ranking second among draft prospects per Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo. McKay ranked third on Baseball America’s Top 500 and ESPN’s Keith Law, and fourth in the estimation of Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. There’s a bit of a split camp when it comes to McKay’s future, as some believe his upside to be greater on the mound while others prefer his bat.
On the mound, McKay is said to have a low-90s fastball that reaches 94 mph and excellent command of the pitch, allowing it to play up late in games as his velocity dips. He also features a plus curveball and is working to improve a changeup that could give him a third above-average offering. This season with Louisville, he posted a 2.56 ERA with 12.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 109 innings.
At the plate, McKay has plus power from the left side, which he used to destroy NCAA pitching this season. McKay belted 18 homers and slashed .341/.457/.659 as a hitter, though he does lack speed and is limited to first base on the defensive side of the coin.
Topkin notes in the above-linked story that the Rays will permit McKay to hit and pitch initially, though it’s unclear if Tampa Bay feels that’s a feasible long-term path for McKay. Most likely, he’ll eventually settle into one role or the other, but the notion of a legitimate two-way star is a fun one on upon which to speculate.
Steal
Probably had to pay that since it seemed he wanted to pitch
He won’t have the largest ever bonus for long. The rumor is that Hunter Greene was waiting for McKay to sign first so Greene could set the record.
If the reds were smart they would have signed the other top 10 guys first and then dealt with him
Be like sorry bro you took too long I can offer you 6.998 mil
Yeah and then he can say sorry bro I’m going to college
And the Reds would then lose the majority of the players they’d agreed to terms with, since the slot money from the No. 2 pick would disappear along with Greene.
So what?
Dude that throw “s 102?
He is going to blow out his arm
Said no one ever lol. Look at the other 100+ throwers. All going good. Seems to be the dudes throwing curveballs and sliders tearing their arms more often.
How about marlins #2 prospect
Every 100+ throwers have issues
Is that actually correct? If the Reds offered Greene ~$7M, that’d only be $193,200 below slot value (i.e. money available for later over-slot signings). That’s not much in the grand scheme of things, so it’s hard to imagine the Reds losing “the majority of players” with whom they’d already agreed to terms. Maybe one or, at most, two (highly unlikely, though), but not the majority.
You could argue that every pitcher has some issue at one point of another
Omg so many of them blow up their arms
Omg they all are blowing out their arms!
They actually did. Only their 7th (I think) round pick is left unsigned out of the top-10 rounds other than Greene. But they have plenty of pool money to work with, and even a record-breaking bonus would likely be under the 7.2 million slot value.
Then Greene says sorry bro … you just lost your slot money and first round pick next year for not signing me
The Reds already said they’re giving Green 7 . They won’t be penalized for doing so.
Green would be a fool to leave anything over 6 million, a lot can happen in a few years. Heck he could end up changing tires at a walmart when its all said and done.
I get using the college card when a player is drafted in the mid to later rounds, but if you are drafted top 5 and turn down the life changing offer because it just isn’t life changing enough I hope your greed gets you everything that you have coming.
Anyone that does that I think is more interested in the money then actually playing and will in the end be a major bust.
Greene seems to be a smart kid, though he didn’t want to go to Cincinnati (and with the way they have been treating their pitchers I can’t blame him), I don’t think he’ll throw the hey I’m going to go to college and try to improve my draft standing.
What does he have to gain? maybe 500,00 to a million if everything breaks right in two years. Tons for him to lose though.