DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers have signed No. 1 in the overall draft, Spencer Torkelson, with a record bonus.
Arizona state first baseman signed for $ 8,416,300, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com.
That’s the biggest bonus for a draft pick since Major League Baseball started using bonus groups.
The bonus was exactly $ 1,000 more than the slot value for No. 1 pick, perhaps a symbolic statement from Torkelson’s agent, Scott Boras, to ensure his client was paid “over the slot.”
The Tigers said Torkelson would be added to the club’s 60-player group. He is unlikely to play in the big leagues in 2020, but by virtue of being in the group of players he can spend the summer training with his teammates at the Tigers satellite camp in Toledo.
Players begin arriving in Detroit on Wednesday. Pitchers and catchers formally report on Friday. The first full team training is on Monday.
Torkelson, who turns 21 in August, was not dropped from high school, but had an immediate impact as a freshman in the state of Arizona in 2018. He was on his way to break a series of school records when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the 2020 season.
The record bonus will only add to the already high expectations for a No. 1 pick.
“That pressure drives me, it makes me work harder,” Torkelson said during an interview after the draft. “I don’t let it puzzle me. It is a privilege to be in the position I am in. ”
The Tigers have now agreed to negotiate with their six draft picks: Torkelson ($ 8.42 million), Ohio state wide receiver Dillon Dingler ($ 1.95 million), LSU outfielder Daniel Cabrera ($ 1.2 million), rice player Trei Cruz ( $ 900,000), State of Arizona third baseman Gage Workman ($ 1 million) and Mississippi high school student Colt Keith ($ 500,000).
The combined value of $ 13,968,600 is greater than the Tigers’ $ 13,325,700 bonus allowance, meaning the Tigers will have to pay a tax penalty of approximately $ 482,000 (75 percent of the surplus). But because they surpassed their bonus group by less than five percent, they won’t lose any future draft picks.
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