Atlanta Braves are able to sign 1st round pick Shea Langeliers under slot value
The Atlanta Braves agreed to terms with No. 9 overall pick, Shea Langeliers, on a $4 million dollar signing bonus.
It did not take long for the Atlanta Braves and Shea Langeliers to agree on the figure, which is below the recommended slot price, and allows more money in the Braves draft pool.
The recommended slot price for the No. 9 pick is 4.9 million.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network was the first to report the deal.
Shea Langeliers agrees to $4M deal with Brsves. No. 9 overall pick. Baylor catcher is brilliant defender. Compensation pick for failing to sign first rounder Carter Stewart last year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 9, 2019
Later in the week, Fred will have a more in-depth look as to what this cost means for the Braves and their picks.
The ninth selection was a compensation pick for the Braves not signing Carter Stewart, who recently signed a professional contract in Japan.
Langeliers, the 21-year-old catcher out of Baylor, was ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the MLB Draft, according to Baseball America.
That normally would be the top ranked catcher in the draft, but the 2019 draft had perhaps the best catcher the draft has seen in some time with Adley Rutschman going No. 1 to Baltimore.
Still though, Langeliers has the reputation of being an elite defensive catcher, as well as possessing a strong arm.
While the offense has a ways to go to catch up to his defense, Langeliers improved his hitting markedly this season, especially in the postseason, where he had 11 RBI in one game.
The one area of the Braves farm system that lacked depth was catcher, so by combining Langeliers with highly touted prospect William Contreras, the Atlanta Braves now have options going forward.
Contreras was recently promoted to Double-A Mississippi, leading many to think Langeliers will start at High-A Rome.
Next. Braves draft review. dark
Once in the system, there has been some speculation that Langeliers will be a fast mover to the big leagues.