When the White Sox used the 47th overall selection on Refugio High School right hander Jared Kelley, it was evident that a new draft strategy was taking place. There were questions about Kelley’s signability and his commitment to Texas, but early picks generally sign under the bonus pool rules.
Kelley joined the FutureSox podcast recently and he talked about his desire to begin his professional baseball career. I reported that Kelley would be heading to Chicago to sign his contract last week and Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline first reported the financials.
On Saturday, the White Sox announced that they have signed righty Jared Kelley to his first professional contract.
Kelley’s signing bonus of $3 million is significantly over the recommended slot amount of $1.58 million. The club also had to use some recommended finances from the third, fourth and fifth round selections to wrap up an agreement with the second rounder as well. It took some accommodating and massaging of pool space, but the club ultimately got it done.
Kelley said that he’d been in contact with the White Sox after the first round ended on June 10. “I knew an hour before the draft that we made an agreement with the White Sox,” He said. “The White Sox called on Thursday and I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to do this. My dream was to become a professional athlete.”
The White Sox had $7,764,800 in bonus pool money to spread across their five choices in the 2020 draft. Garrett Crochet is receiving the full-slot at pick #11 which is for $4,547,500. Crochet signed with the organization last week. Third-rounder Adisyn Coffey will receive $50K and fourth-rounder Kade Mechals signed for way under-slot at a total of $10K.
The organization also announced its signing of fifth round pick Bailey Horn, a left-handed pitcher out of Auburn. According to reports, Horn will receive $150,000 while his slot value stood at $386,600. With Kelley and Horn inked, the White Sox have signed all five of their draft picks in 2020.
Photo credit: Clinton Cole/FutureSox
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