It all came down to the very end, like it pretty much always does, but now we have the official news. The Mariners have:
- Signed first-round pick Danny Hultzen
- Signed second-round pick Brad Miller
- Not signed third-round pick Kevin Cron
Cron - a big beast of a man out of Arizona - will attend TCU. He'd already checked into his dorm in advance of tonight's signing deadline, which was a bad indication, and sure enough, the M's couldn't get anything done. Kevin Cron's brother, C.J. Cron, is a prospect in the Angels' system who recently dislocated his kneecap, so for those of you poor souls who wish ill upon the unsigned, almost.
Miller is a shortstop out of Clemson who has a polished collegiate eye at the plate. I'm not going to go back over his scouting report, and what's really important here is that the Mariners liked him enough to draft him in the second round, and now they have him inked to a contract. That's what we want. We want these guys signed. Miller signed. So simple!
Finally, Hultzen. Hultzen signed right at the deadline, and here are the details:
Hultzen gets five-year major-league deal. Guaranteed $8.5M. $6.35M signing bonus. Max value $10.6M
The part that probably sticks out to you is "major-league deal." Don't freak out. What that means is that Hultzen is immediately placed on the 40-man roster, and he uses an option when he's sent to the minors. A five-year major league deal does not mean that the Mariners only control Hultzen for five years - the control situation is the same as it is with anyone else. He'll just have to negotiate a new contract when the five years are up.
You'll remember that the Mariners signed Dustin Ackley to a five-year major league contract, too. The Mariners saw Ackley as a fast mover, and they see Hultzen as a fast mover. If things go as the Mariners hope they go, Hultzen shouldn't be in the minors for long.
As far as the actual money is concerned, whatever. I don't really care what these guys get paid so long as they get signed, since I figure the Mariners wouldn't commit more than they can afford. So Danny Hultzen has a lot more money today than he had yesterday. Good for him. I hope he got one of those giant checks. You can't take those anywhere!
The Mariners also signed their eighth- and ninth-round picks tonight, and signed 43 of their 51 picks overall. It would've been nice to get Cron, but all the other high picks are officially members of the Seattle Mariners organization. Not bad.