Casey Martin's signing bonus from Phillies reportedly well over slot value
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UPDATE (5 p.m., June 25): Casey Martin has officially signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Casey Martin has reportedly agreed to terms with the Philadelphia Phillies.
According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, the former Arkansas shortstop will receive a signing bonus of $1.3 million to skip his final two years of collegiate eligibility.
That is nearly twice the slot value - $689,300 - for pick No. 87.
Despite slipping to the middle of the third round, Martin’s signing bonus is actually closer to the slot value for the 55th overall pick, which is in the middle of the second round and closer to where most projected him to go.
By signing with the Phillies, the Lonoke native ends his career with the Razorbacks. Once considered a possible top-10 pick, Martin’s slide is likely due to his struggles with pitch recognition at the plate.
Down the stretch last season and during the shortened 2020 season, it became clear that the Arkansas slugger had a hard time laying off curveballs and other off-speed pitches. That resulted in 165 career strikeouts, which is more than any other three-year player in UA history and ranks sixth overall.
However, Martin still managed to slash .310/.389/.542 with 30 home runs and 116 RBIs in his career and earn second-team All-SEC honors as a freshman and sophomore. He was also a Freshman All-American in 2018, when he hit a team-high .345 with 13 homers.
He is the second player with Arkansas ties in this summer’s MLB Draft to sign professionally. High school signee Masyn Winn, a talented two-way player from Texas, signed with the Cardinals on Wednesday and also received a bonus well over slot value.
Fellow signees Markevian “Tink” Hence and David Calabrese are also expected to sign, as is second-overall pick Heston Kjerstad.