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2019 MLB Draft: Cody Bradford, a lefthanded pitcher from Baylor who was the Texas Rangers sixth round pick, has agreed to a $700,000 to sign with the Rangers, per Jim Callis. Slot was $284,200, so of the roughly $1 million in slot money the Rangers saved on the Josh Jung and Davis Wendzel signings, a little over $400,000 goes towards Bradford.
There are mixed reports on Bradford, who was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2018, but who missed most of 2019 due to surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Callis says he was a potential second rounder before the injury, while Baseball America, who had him at 355 on their rankings, said he was a 6th to 10th rounder pre-injury. Bradford throws 89-91 with his fastball, and has a change up and curve as well.
The Rangers clearly view him the way Callis does, as $700,000 is high third round money. Texas still has a significant amount of available bonus pool funds they are allowed to spend, so even with prep pitcher Brandon Sproat apparently not signing, Texas will likely be giving some bigger than normal bonuses to some currently unsigned players to entice them to go pro.