Farm report: Mets begin signing draft picks
North Carolina State pitcher Cory Mazzoni delivers against Florida State in the sixth inning of an NCAA college ACC Championship baseball game. (May 25, 2011) Credit: AP
The Mets announced the signing of 12 of their picks from this month’s first-year player draft, including second-rounder Cory Mazzoni, a righthander from North Carolina State.
Mazzoni was the 71st selection overall, and this first crop of signees represents the easy part. It will get tougher with the Mets’ top two picks: high schoolers Brandon Nimmo (No. 13) and Michael Fulmer (No. 44). The challenge for the Mets, under new GM Sandy Alderson, is determining how much over slot they will pay to prevent these two players from fulfilling their commitments to the University of Arkansas.
Last year, the No. 13 pick, Chris Sale, received a $1.656-million bonus from the White Sox, which was within the estimated slot. At No. 44, the Tigers soared above the $776,000 slot to sign Nick Castellanos, who got $3.45 million
