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MINNEAPOLIS – The Nationals signed second-round pick Ethan Petry today and in the process went over their total slot pool for this year’s draft.
Petry, an outfielder from South Carolina who hit 54 homers over the last three seasons, signed for $2.09 million, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. That’s slightly above Major League Baseball’s recommended slot value for the 49th overall pick in the draft ($1,984,200).
Petry was the last of the Nats’ top 10 selections to sign, so they’ve now locked up everyone who was subject to the draft pool. He joins third-round pick Landon Harmon ($2.5 million), fourth-round pick Miguel Sime Jr. ($2 million) and fifth-round pick Coy James ($2.5 million) in receiving above-slot bonuses. Petry is the lone college player from that group.
No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits officially signed last weekend for $8.2 million, a record amount for a high school player but nearly $3 million below slow value for the top choice in the draft this year. The Nationals managed to apply those savings, plus money saved with below-slot bonuses for their sixth through 10th round picks, to lure the three other high school draftees to sign instead of honoring their college commitments.
All told, the Nationals spent $17,365,000 on their top 10 picks, exceeding their MLB-designated draft pool of $16,597,800 by $767,200. That makes them subject to a league-imposed 75 percent tax on their overages, which equates to an extra $575,400 spent this year on draft picks.
