The Athletics don't usually make headlines for outspending anybody, but they just did exactly that. Oakland's (well, Sacramento's, for now) first-round pick Drew Burress has agreed to a $7.5 million bonus, according to MLB.com's Jim Callis, a figure that towers over the $6,982,600 assigned slot value for the No. 8 pick.
Jim Callis broke the signing news and the bonus figure, calling it a landmark over-slot deal.
Callis went a step further, predicting Burress will end up as the highest-drafted player in this class to land an over-slot bonus. That's notable because top-10 picks almost always sign right around slot — teams use the savings on lower picks to buy down bonuses elsewhere in the draft. Handing an extra half-million-plus to a player picked this early signals the A's simply didn't want to risk him getting cute in negotiations.
The price tag makes more sense once you look at what Burress did at Georgia Tech. He hit .357 across three seasons in Atlanta and finished with 60 home runs, breaking a program record previously held by Jason Varitek — yes, that Jason Varitek, longtime Red Sox catcher and captain. Burress went undrafted out of Houston County High School in Perry, Georgia, honored his commitment to Georgia Tech instead, and turned himself into one of the most productive college bats in the country, entering this year's draft as ESPN's No. 7 overall prospect and the class's top collegiate outfielder.
That kind of track record — a 5-foot-9 outfielder who just kept hitting bombs against ACC pitching for three straight years — is exactly the profile that makes scouts overlook size and lean on tools and performance. Callis noted Burress brings solid-to-plus tools across the board, not just a bat that plays in batting practice.
For a franchise still finding its footing in a new home and trying to build a young core that can compete once the Las Vegas ballpark opens, locking down a premium bat early — and paying a premium to do it — is a bet that Burress becomes a foundational piece rather than just another first-rounder. Given how thin the margin for error is for a team like the A's, overpaying slightly for a sure thing at the plate is a defensible price of doing business.