KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Beating the deadline by minutes for the second year in a row, the Kansas City Royals signed power-hitting high school infielder Eric Hosmer on Friday night.
Drafted third overall, the left-handed hitter provides the power potential so desperately needed by the offensively impoverished and perennially last-place Royals. They went into their weekend series at New York near the bottom of the American League in runs, RBIs and home runs.
Tim Melville, a promising high school pitcher taken in the fourth round of the amateur draft, agreed earlier Friday to a minor league contract for a $1.25 million signing bonus.
Mike Moustakas, a power-hitting infielder selected with the second overall choice last year, agreed to a $4 million signing bonus just a few minutes before the deadline. Like Hosmer, Moustakas was represented by Scott Boras.
Melville, a right-handed high school pitcher from Wentzville, Mo., was widely thought to possess first-round talent but slid to the fourth round because clubs thought he might be difficult to sign.
“I’m really excited,” Melville said during a conference call. “I’m going to Arizona tomorrow and get started.”
He admitted he was disappointed at first that he slid to the fourth round.
“But after draft day, I was happy. I came to realize that it always works out in the end,” he said.
Melville said he spoke with Hosmer a couple of weeks ago but declined to speculate on what he possible future teammate would do.
Melville, 6-foot-5, 205, has a fastball in the mid-90s, a curveball and changeup. He was 8-1 as a senior with a 2.56 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 52 innings. Baseball America rated him 15th overall among this year’s prospects. He hopes to be in the majors in three years.
“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Tim Melville. Tim, his family, and adviser Jason Cook remained committed to this process from start to finish,” said the Royals’ director of scouting, Deric Ladnier. “Tim is a very talented young man and we are excited that we were able to add a player of his caliber to the Royals organization.”
Pitcher Luke Hochevar, drafted first overall by Kanas City in 2006, signed for a for a $5.3 million guarantee.
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