Yanks sign top 2 Draft picks Schmidt, Sauer
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NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees got their top two 2017 Draft selections -- right-handers Clarke Schmidt and Matt Sauer -- under contract, the club announced on Saturday.
Schmidt, the Yankees' first-round pick and the No. 16 selection in the Draft, ranked second in the country with a 1.34 ERA in nine starts for the University of South Carolina this season.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Schmidt was named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List for the second straight year, while striking out 70 batters in 60 1/3 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .194 batting average. Schmidt reportedly signed for a bonus of $2,184,300, while the slot value for the No. 16 pick is $3,458,600 -- though the terms of his deal have not yet been disclosed.
"Everyone always likes to give me the [comparison] to Zack Greinke," Schmidt told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch on June 13. "He's a strike-thrower, he's a competitive guy. That's something I pride myself on, competitiveness. I like to pitch with a chip on my shoulder."
Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery also played at the University of South Carolina, and the two met during offseason workouts at the campus.
Sauer was the Yankees' second-round selection and the No. 54 overall selection in the Draft. The 18-year-old went 9-1 with a 0.98 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 78 1/3 frames for Righetti High School in Santa Maria, Calif., in 2017.
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Sauer also led his high school team on offense with a .427 batting average and 37 runs, and he drove in 24 more in 35 games en route to earning the 2017 PAC-8 League Most Valuable Player Award.
Sauer will earn a $2.5 million signing bonus from the Yankees, according to MLB.com's Jim Callis. The suggested slot value for the No. 54 overall selection is slightly more than $1.2 million.