The Tigers have agreed with first-round draftee Bryce Rainer on a $5.8M bonus, according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. This amount is slightly above the approximate $5.71M slot value for the 11th overall pick.
Rainer, a 6-foot-3 high school shortstop from Southern California, had been committed to the University of Texas. He was the second prep player off the board — Pittsburgh selected Konnor Griffin at No. 9 — in a college-heavy first round. Rainer was arguably the top high school talent in the class. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked the lefty-hitting infielder as the best high schooler and the No. 6 draft prospect overall. He ranked ninth or 10th on pre-draft rankings at FanGraphs, Baseball America, and on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic.
Evaluators credit Rainer with the potential for plus power and the chance to stick on the left side of the infield. Scouting reports universally praise his excellent arm strength, which would play well at third base even if he outgrows shortstop. There’s some concern about his hit tools — Law notes that Rainer doesn’t have great bat speed and hasn’t handled plus velocity well — but there’s significant upside if Rainer sticks at shortstop and can tap into 20-plus homer power annually.
Detroit has five prospects in Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 update, including three players (Jackson Jobe, Max Clark, and Kevin McGonigle) in the top 30. While Rainer might not immediately jump into the upper half of that list, he adds another high-upside talent to the farm system.
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