Yanks sign top 2 Draft picks Schmidt, Sauer

June 24th, 2017

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 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.

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.