STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University junior outfielder Hunter Renfroe will sign a professional contract with the San Diego Padres organization today.
A report from Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis stated Renfroe would be signing a deal which will include a bonus of $2,678,000. The bonus is the exact slot amount according to MLB for the 13th overall selection in the 2013 draft.
Sources close to the situation have informed The Dispatch Sunday that Renfroe the negotiations between the player and the club have been going more than well and both sides are simply waiting for an appropriate date to make the announcement. Renfroe, who is represented by Bo McKinnis, is expected to announce his signing today or Wednesday.
After the final day of Game 2 of the College World Series championship series between UCLA and MSU, San Diego was to begin a 10-game east coast road trip to Miami, Boston and Washington. Padres management have been waiting to schedule a media conference to make the announcement of Renfore signing with the club when the team is back at home before the MLB Draft deadline of Friday at 4 p.m.
“Before a game I watched, he was crushing balls all over the place. Then he goes out and run and he runs well. And he’s got a cannon for an arm in the outfield. Then he goes 93-94 [mph] out of the bullpen,” Padres area scout Andrew Salvo said to MLB.com. “I was like something out of ‘The Natural’. I think he’s going to be like Nelson Cruz-type … a .270 hitter, hit 25 bombs and can run.”
This week San Diego begins a seven-game homestand against Colorado and San Francisco before the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York.
Renfroe traveled to San Diego Monday for his medical physical exam by the Padres team doctors suggesting the deal with close to completed. McKinnis told The Dispatch Monday that he was taking a plane Monday night to meet Renfroe after both sides had agreed on the signing bonus.
Renfroe became the 12th player in MSU history to be taken in the first round after being a semifinalist for the USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award and the NCBWA’s Dick Howser Trophy, which are given to the nation’s top collegiate player. He also was the first Southeastern Conference player to be taken in the draft, which was broadcast live on MLB Network.
“It’s pure elation for me and my family,” Renfroe said when he was selected in the first round on June 7.
“It’s just such a surreal feeling to hear your name called and realize you’re a first-round draft pick in professional baseball.”
After struggling to find discipline at the plate in his first two seasons at MSU, Renfroe finished the 2013 regular season as the SEC’s leader with 15 home runs also sports the league’s second best .634 slugging percentage and also ranks among the SEC leaders in batting average (.352), on-base percentage (.440), RBIs (58), hits (80), runs scored (51) and total bases (144). Renfroe was one of three players in the 2013 College World Series to hit a home run. He was first-team All-America selection by Louisville Slugger and first-team All-SEC by the coaches this season.
The 12th pick, University of New Mexico third baseman D.J. Peterson, got a bonus of $2,759,100. The 14th pick, catcher Reese McGuire of Kentwood High School in Covington, Wash., got a signing bonus of $2,369,800. With Renfroe’s signing, San Diego have now signed each of its first 18 selections and spent $82,900 less than its allotted $6,808,900 bonus pool for the top 10 rounds.
Only four first-rounders of the 2013 draft remain unsigned including University of San Diego’s Kris Bryant (No. 2 to Chicago), University of North Carolina’s Colin Moran (No. 6 to Miami) along with high school pitchers Phil Bickford (No. 10 to Toronto) and Aaron Judge (No. 32 to New York Yankees).
According to Baseball America writer Connor Glassey, Renfroe immediately slots in as the Padres third-highest minor league prospect in the organizational system after he signs the contract.
“He has polished his approach and gets to more of his well above-average raw power, though scouts still expect him to swing and miss plenty as a pro,” Glassey said. “He’s an asset defensively with a powerful arm and above-average speed. The 6-foot-1, 216-pounder fits the right-field profile well if he maintains his improved hitting approach, and he has hit his way into the first round.”
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