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Stevenson Gets Biggest Over-Slot Deal To Date

Posted Jul. 24, 2009 9:50 am by Jim Callis
Filed under: Signings

The Pirates signed Arizona high school pitcher Trent Stevenson for $350,000 on Thursday. His bonus exceeds MLB’s recommendation for picks after the fifth round by $200,000, making it by far the biggest over-slot deal signed in the 2009 draft to this point.

The only other players to get as much as $50,000 above MLB’s guidelines are Rockies supplemental first-rounder Rex Brothers ($969,000/$51,000 over slot), Orioles seventh-rounder Aaron Wirsch ($200,000/$50,000 over slot) and Phillies eighth-rounder Jonathan Singleton ($200,000/$50,000 over slot).

Stevenson, who pitched at Brophy Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz., has an ultraprojectable body at 6-foot-6 and 165 pounds. He was inconsistent during the spring, but can hit 93 mph at times with his fastball and flashes a sharp slider. Once he grows into his body and gets stronger, his stuff could take off. He had committed to Arizona.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 24, 2009 at 9:50 am by Jim Callis and is filed under Signings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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6 Comments

Is the beginning of the dam to break? Seems to me that the Commissioner’s office really leaned on teams to delay the announcement of overslot deals this year.

Posted by Steve | July 24, 2009 at 9:10 pm | Shortcut

The Pirates’ draft was far from conventional, but you have to applaud them for making a gutsy move finally after they were raked over the coals for drafting Tony Sanchez.

Posted by Chris | July 25, 2009 at 2:03 am | Shortcut

Unlike most other teams in MLB, the Pirates cannot allow themselves to lose out on projectable talent simply because the scale did not allow for it. Watch what they offer for kids like Dodson, Rosenberg, or Colton “Billy” Cain. Stevenson, and all of these others were not drafted simply because they were thought to be “unsignable” because they had signed with Arizona, Baylor, LSU, and Texas. They got lucky last year with HS kids like #6 Robbie Grossman, #18 Jarek Cunningham, and #20 Quinton Miller. As such, they have moved from the cellar to the middle of the pack in MLB for their minor league system in only 2 short years. Nice work by Coonelly and Huntington of the Pirates.

Posted by Mel Schuster | July 25, 2009 at 8:09 am | Shortcut

Its about time the Pirates opened their wallets in an attempt to fuse the orgamization with some much needed talent. It has been too long in coming. Maybe the team is finally interested in buidling from within?

Posted by Joe Solo | July 25, 2009 at 1:11 pm | Shortcut

I find it astonishing that MLB wants to impose a salary cap (slot caps)on the Pittsburgh Pirates who are trying to acquire talent via the draft. Why not impose a cap on the Yankees quarter of a billion dollar spending on free agents or their bonuses to nondraftable Latin and Pacific rim players? Always easier to blame the weak than fix the financial disparity. Revenue sharing… yea right, pocket change. Can someone tell me why MLB payroll inequity is good for competition?

Posted by Chuck Talboo | July 26, 2009 at 3:00 pm | Shortcut

As a Royals fan I’ve heard that Peter Gammons is reporting that Selig is threatening to pull the 2012 All Star Game from KC if we sign our 1st three picks for over slot. Screw the ASG, I’m more worried about winning and getting as much talent in the organization as possible.

Why is it ok for the Sox and Yanks to sign players over slot like they have in the past but not KC?

Posted by Chris M | July 27, 2009 at 1:46 pm | Shortcut

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