Rangers sign first three draft picks

The Texas Rangers have announced that they have signed their top three picks in the 2013 MLB Draft -- first rounders Alex Gonzalez and Travis Demeritte and second round Akeem Bostick.

Gonzalez, a righthanded pitcher out of Oral Roberts, agreed to a bonus of $2.215 million, which is roughly $300,000 above slot for his draft position.

Demeritte, a shortstop out of a high school in Georgia, agreed to a bonus of $1.9 million, approximately $200,000 above the slot value for his draft position.

Bostick, a righthanded pitcher out of a high school in South Carolina, agreed to a bonus of $520,000, a little less than $400,000 below slot money.

Under the new signing bonus limits which were implemented with the new CBA beginning with last year's draft class, teams have a fixed pool of dollars available to spend, based on the slot values for each draft pick they have in the first ten rounds. Thus, if the Rangers go over the slot value for a pick, that will have to be offset by them signing other picks for less than slot value.

The only players the Rangers took in the first ten rounds who have not signed are righthanded pitcher David Ledbetter from Cedarville University, who was selected in the third round, and righthanded pitcher Cole Wiper from the University of Oregon. Ledbetter should sign in the next few days, but it is unknown whether the team will be able to agree to terms with Wiper.

Gonzalez will likely be assigned to the Rangers' short-season A affiliate in the Northwest League, the Spokane Indians. Demeritte and Bostick will likely be assigned to the team's Arizona Rookie League team.