San Francisco Giants first-round pick Joey Bart will begin his professional career as a very rich man.
Bart, a catcher who was chosen second overall by San Francisco at the MLB draft earlier in June, officially signed with the Giants on Sunday for a reported $7.025-million signing bonus - the highest up-front bonus ever handed to a drafted position player, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com.
That figure comes in below the $7,494,600 slot value of the second overall pick.
Bart's bonus bests Kris Bryant's former record for a position player - the Chicago Cubs handed him a $6,708,400 bonus in 2013. The overall record belongs to Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Hunter Greene, who inked a $7.23-million deal as last year's second overall pick. Two other picks in the 2017 draft - Atlanta Braves pitcher Kyle Wright, and the Tampa Bay Rays' two-way phenom Brendan McKay - also signed for over $7 million.
The 21-year-old Bart was taken second overall by the Giants following a stellar three-year run at Georgia Tech, and is widely expected to be Buster Posey's successor behind the plate in San Francisco. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2018 after slashing .359/.471/.632 with 16 homers and 38 RBIs, and also won the conference's batting title. Defensively he was just as stellar, allowing only two passed balls while catching 12 would-be base-stealers in 33 attempts.
