You see? It didn’t take long.
Carrie Muskat and Jim Callis report that the Chicago Cubs’ first round pick, Indiana’s Kyle Schwarber, has agreed to a deal worth $3.125 million. I’d tentatively expect the official announcement to come later today.
The power-hitting catcher/outfielder was expected to go in the 8 to 10 range in the draft, so, when the Cubs took him at 4 overall, it was expected he would sign under slot. So he has, according to the reports. Slot for the fourth pick was $4,621,200, so, at $3.125 million, the Cubs just saved about $1.5 million in their bonus pool, which will go a long way in helping them sign some of the over slot types they took later on.
Third round pick Mark Zagunis reportedly agreed to a deal at about $615,000, which is about $100,000 under slot. So, together with Schwarber’s reported figure, the Cubs have netted themselves $1.6 million to play with (and are likely to get more when senior starter Jake Stinnett (second round, $1,250,400 slot) signs).
Once more deals are confirmed, I’ll start a running tally of the Cubs’ draft spending, so we can keep track of how they’re doing with respect to their bonus pool.
Having just written about Schwarber this morning, I’ll spare you a rehash – check out this morning’s write-up if you missed it, and want more on the Cubs’ top pick.
UPDATE: The Cubs just made the signing official via press release, and also said that Schwarber is headed directly to Boise to join the Hawks. He’ll skip right over rookie ball, which would have been something of a formality anyway. This is very cool news, as Schwarber may get to play a virtual full season with the Hawks right after being drafted. And who knows? Perhaps he gets the late-season call to join Kane County, where he can be a part of their playoff run.