The left-handed ace, the St. Louis Cardinals’ top draft choice, was formally signed to a $7.25 million signing bonus after some Instagram pictures taken in Busch Stadium yesterday. This is around $900K less than the slot value of $8.13 million for the No. 5 overall pick. It’s a calculated move that may affect their draft class as a whole.
-544x306.jpg)
Doyle, who was selected fifth overall, established a program record with 164 strikeouts in 95⅔ innings and won SEC Pitcher of the Year in his only season at Tennessee. He recorded a WHIP of 0.99 and led the country in strikeouts per nine (15.43). Along with a splitter and slider that misses batters on both sides of the plate, his fastball has a velocity of 96 to 99 mph. Keith Law, who praised his command and aggressiveness and described his fastball as “invisible,” placed him as the second-best prospect in the draft. To be honest, I was shocked when he was selected fifth overall by the Cardinals.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73949203/usa_today_25608292.0.jpg)
The Cardinals may now go over slot on subsequent choices, such as Ryan Mitchell (No. 55), who has committed to Georgia Tech, or other possible high-upside prep players, because they signed Doyle below slot.
Doyle is anticipated to begin at either Double-A or High-A, contingent on the Cardinals’ desire to test his exceptional strikeout ability. He may quickly become a crowd favorite with to his furious mound presence, “all gas, no brakes” mindset, and simply wicked array of pitches.