Padres Sign No. 1 Pick With $180,000 Bonus
The Padres signed high school pitcher Robbie Beckett, their first-round pick, to a signing bonus Monday worth an estimated $180,000.
The Padres also signed third baseman Paul Gonzales of Texas Christian, their 10th-round pick, becoming the first team in the major leagues to have signed all of their top 10 picks.
Beckett, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-hander out of McCallum High School in Austin, Texas, will report to Spokane, Wash., for rookie league camp. He then will play later this month for the Padres’ Scottsdale team in the Arizona Rookie League.
“It’s a great feeling having our top guys signed,” said Randy Smith, the Padres’ director of scouting. “Our scouts did an awful lot of work. We talked about signability before we drafted them, and it makes it a lot easier when you know the kids before the draft.”
The Padres have signed 31 of their 53 players drafted, and Smith said that they still are negotiating with nine players.
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