Let the waiting game begin.
Prized shortstop signee Brice Turang was selected No. 21 overall in the MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. The slot value of the pick is $3,013,600.
Word leading into the draft was that the high-profile California prospect had a relatively massive number in mind as far as the kind of signing bonus it would take to get him to forego his college years.
Teams don’t normally pull the trigger on drafting a player in the first round without an agreement in place, but it is worth noting that the Brewers have the sixth-smallest signing pool of the 30 clubs. Milwaukee has $6,611,900 to spend on its selections, which could make it difficult to go above slot value to sign Turang if he demands more than the assigned number.
Scouts rave about Turang as a future Major League shortstop with high baseball IQ. He was in the conversation to go first overall before a relatively pedestrian senior season at the plate, much to the delight of LSU.
“If LSU gets him, they definitely need to have a parade,” said Nathan Rode, the national scouting supervisor at Prep Baseball Report. “He would be one of the biggest recruits to make it to campus in quite some time. At one point he was in that (first overall pick) conversation, and for me he’s going to be an everyday big league shortstop. He’s an incredible defender with a high baseball IQ — his dad was a big leaguer. He’s got great arm strength and can really run, but the question has become his impact with the bat. We haven’t seen consistency of him driving the ball.
“But I would say LSU getting him would be a bigger deal than getting Alex Bregman a few years back. He’s that kind of player and would be an absolute superstar. He’d lead LSU to a national championship, I would think.”
The deadline for drafted players to agree to contracts is July 6.
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