For the first time since 2007, the San Francisco Giants used their top three draft choices on high school prospects, opting for a pair of power bats and a live left-handed arm with their first three selections.
On Tuesday, the Giants were able to get one of those choices under contract, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that San Francisco signed its third round draft choice, left-handed pitcher Seth Corry.
According to Passan, the Giants signed Corry for $1 million, nearly $450,000 more than the slot value for the 96th overall pick in the draft.
Source: Giants agree to terms with third rounder Seth Corry for $1 million. The LHP, who was committed to BYU, got nearly $450K over slot.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 20, 2017
Corry, a native of Highland, Utah was committed to Brigham Young University, but will forego the opportunity to play college baseball to join the Giants’ organization.
In his senior season with Lone Peak High School, Corry posted an 8-1 record with a 1.90 earned run average, recording 97 strikeouts in 52 innings.
Drafting and signing high school talent is a challenging business proposition for Major League clubs because players are able to weigh their options even after the draft and drive up their contract demands if they have their sights set on playing college baseball.
The Giants’ decision to draft Corry, and sign him for nearly double the slot value for his pick indicates the organization’s desire to bring him in was strong, and also suggests other teams may have passed on Corry earlier in the draft because of signability risks.
Corry is the first high school left-hander the Giants have selected in the first three rounds of a draft since the franchise took Madison Bumgarner with their first overall pick in 2007.
The Giants’ first two draft choices, Puerto Rican outfielder Heliot Ramos and Chaparral (Scottsdale, Arizona) third baseman Jacob Gonzalez have yet to reach agreements with the organization, but both players are expected to sign with the club before the August 15 deadline.
After using their first three picks on high school players, the Giants used their next eight selections to draft college talent before choosing outfielder Aaron Bond in the 12th round.