Atlanta Braves Get Their Draft Prize: 1st Pick Kolby Allard Agrees to Sign
Kolby Allard (uncredited photo)
We knew something was up this afternoon when this tweet came out directly from the source that matters most:
… and about an hour later, we got the detail that we wanted to know:
So it looks like Allard will be in Atlanta soon to get his pre-signing physical, then a signing ceremony will follow. That nets the Braves all draft picks through Round 22, plus 6 more (from rounds 24-27, 29, and 31). That’s 30 new players – minus our Naval Academy Aviator – joining the Braves family in 2015, and likely ends the pursuit of draft signees for this season.
The Table
[table id=29 /]
* – This figure showing the Braves exceeding their draft bonus allotment by $112,100 is slightly misleading as Picks 11-13 will add $85,00 to this figure since they each came in over the $100K limit. Thus the final overage is $197,100 and the Braves will be required to pay MLB a 75% tax on that figure – but no further penalties will be incurred.
This is good news to get this matter wrapped up a week-ish before the July 17th deadline. Hopefully Allard will be able to get a bit of game action in before the short-season squads shut it down after August.
Welcome to Braves Country, Kolby!