Two weeks ago, with their first four picks of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, the Pirates took four players who ranked in Baseball America’s top 32 prospects and were given first-round grades.
So far, first-overall pick catcher Henry Davis, second-round lefty Anthony Solometo and third-rounder right-hander and shortstop Bubba Chandler have all signed. They’ll be joined by the fourth player the Pirates took shortly.
Outfielder Lonnie White Jr. has a deal in place with the Pirates and is in Pittsburgh for a physical. Joseph Santoliquito of Philly Voice first reported Sunday night that White was signing with the Pirates after conducting a one-on-one interview with him.
White will sign for $1.5 million, about $450,000 over-slot.
White, 18, told Santoliquito that he wanted to tell Penn State football coach James Franklin that he would not be honoring his football commitment before he went public with his announcement. White had a football scholarship offer to play wide receiver.
"A few days ago, I thought it was a done deal," Franklin told reporters, including our Jarrod Prugar, during Big Ten media day in Indianapolis Friday. " I just got a text message that it changed in a new direction."
According to Santoliquito, Franklin told White that if baseball does not work, the offer to play football at Penn State still stands in three years.
As a senior for Malvern Preparatory School, located just outside of Philadelphia, White hit .395 with five home runs and 26 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Baseball America ranked him as the No. 32 prospect in this draft. Baseball America praised him for his raw power and speed. FanGraphs gave him the second-best run tool of any prospect in this year's draft.
Besides White, the Pirates still have one more day two pick to sign, fourth-round right-hander Owen Kellington.
The Pirates are about $550,000 over-slot, but are afforded a 5% bonus on their bonus pool, which gave them an additional $700,000 to work with. That leaves $172,300 worth of additional bonus money to use to sign Kellington or a day three pick, such as 14th-rounder Bryalon Bishop.
The signing deadline is August 1.
