The Rockies have agreed to a $5MM signing bonus with first round draft pick Benny Montgomery, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s a touch below the $5.1769MM slot value that accompanies the #8 overall pick.
An outfielder from a Pennsylvania high school, Montgomery had been committed to the University of Virginia. Instead, he’ll join the Colorado organization and add a high-upside talent to the farm system.
Montgomery was a bit of a divisive prospect among public evaluators, ranking between 10th and 28th on pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. There’s little question about Montgomery’s physical gifts; he had among the best combinations of raw power and speed in the class. All three publications raise a bit of concern about Mongtomery’s atypical hitting mechanics — which McDaniel compares to those of Hunter Pence — but the Rockies were apparently comfortable he’ll make enough contact to be an impactful player.
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