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Just over a week since the MLB Draft, the Miami Marlins have agreed to a $6 million signing bonus with their first-round draft pick -- the second pick in the entire draft -- Tyler Kolek, Jon Heyman confirms.
Kolek, 18, is a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher from Shepherd, Texas. He's been clocked in triple digits. Here's what we wrote in our draft tracker about the very high-upside prospect:
At 6-foot-5 and 245 lbs., Kolek is the most physically imposing player in the draft. He uses an aggressive, powerful delivery to unleash fastballs that consistently sit in the high-90s and have topped triple-digits this spring. He also throws a hard mid-80s slider and occasional curveball. Kolek does not have much of a changeup because he's simply never needed one. There is concern about his conditioning and the generally poor healthy history of super-hard-throwers, but the total package screams future ace.
The slot value for the second overall pick was $6,821,800 (per Baseball America), so the Marlins actually end up saving some money here in an excellent deal.
Given that Kolek is only 18, we won't see him in the majors very soon, though many scouting outlets indicate he's a candidate to move quickly through the minors based upon his immense upside.
