San Diego Padres: Cole Wilcox has no trouble in taking team to cleaners
San Diego Padres prospect Cole Wilcox received first-round money for his troubles.
He was projected by many to be a mid-first round draft pick. The farther he fell down the draft board the more difficult he was viewed to sign. The San Diego Padres pulled the trigger on selecting Cole Wilcox in the third round and then paid him as if he was taken top 20.
The draft-eligible sophomore out of The University of Georgia was ranked by MLB.com as the twenty-third best prospect in the draft class. As selection after the selection was announced most in the industry felt Wilcox would return to school or command way more than slot value for his pick, making him very difficult to sign.
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Wilcox did command more than his slot value and the Padres ponied up to the table to ensure he did not getaway.
Falling to the 80th overall selection out of the third round, the money attached to the pick was just over $767K. Did the Padres take Wilcox this late thinking they couldn’t sign him, in an attempt to save money allowing them to offer other draftees over slot compensation?
Nope.
Wilcox was the only one of the six Padres draft picks who signed for above slot value, and his agreed-upon $3.3M bonus is well over.
Faced with losing this power arm, the Padres chose to break the bank, relatively speaking, as Wilcox signed for more money than ten players selected in the first round (five players remain unsigned).
Wilcox struggled with his command as a freshman, issuing nearly six walks per nine innings with 15 total wild pitches on the year. In his second season, albeit shortened season, he pitched to the tune of a 1.57 ERA with just two walks in 23 innings while striking out 32.
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He stands 6-5 and comes in at over 230 pounds and could become a steal as a third-round pick. For what the Padres signed Cole Wilcox for, they hope so.