Red Sox sign 1st-round pick Trey Ball (UPDATED)

The Red Sox announced today that they have reached an agreement with their first-round pick, left-handed pitcher Trey Ball. Terms of the deal were not announced, although Ball will reportedly sign for below the $3.246-million slot value for the seventh overall pick, as first reported by WEEI.com's Alex Speier.

UPDATE (4:47 PM): Speier is now reporting that Ball signed for $2.75 million, nearly $500,000 under slot. The Red Sox are now $648,600 under their allotted draft cap for signings that have been reported, and $990,110 under the cap plus five percent, the threshold the team may go to without forfeiting future draft picks.

Widely considered the top two-way player in the draft, Ball played both outfield and pitched for New Castle (Ind.) Chrysler High School, but will pitch full time upon turning pro. He had been committed to the University of Texas, but will opt to begin his professional career.

Standing 6-foot-6, Ball has tremendous upside featuring a low to mid-90s fastball, a changeup with good arm speed and fade, and a developing curveball. Ball is only listed at 190 pounds and has lots of room to fill out, and potentially add velocity as he develops. He was ranked ninth on Baseball America's draft rankings, eighth on Keith Law's ESPN.com draft rankings, and 12th on Perfect Game's draft rankings.

Should Ball sign for below slot, as reported, it will leave the Red Sox with some room in their bonus pool to sign other players to above-slot bonuses. However, it is still to be determined how much money they have to work with and what players they intend to use that extra money on.

In addition to announcing Ball's signing, the Red Sox officially announced the signings of 10 other draft picks, all of which had been previously reported. Below is an updated list of reported signings and signing bonuses, where available.

1. Trey Ball, LHP - $2,750,000 (slot: $3,246,000)
2. Teddy Stankiewicz, RHP - $1,100,000 (slot: $1,229,600)
3. Jon Denney, C - $875,000 (slot: $671,200)
8. Forrestt Allday, CF - $10,000 (slot: $152,200)
9. Kyle Martin, RHP - $10,000 (slot: $142,200)
10. Taylor Grover, RHP - $10,000 (slot: $137,400)
11. Carlos Asuaje, 2B
12. Jake Drehoff, LHP - $175,000 ($75,000 counts against draft cap)
14. Jake Romanski, C
15. Bryan Hudson, OF
16. Jalen Williams, RHP
18. Joe Gunkel, RHP
19. Gabe Speier, LHP - $200,000 ($100,000 counts against draft cap)
21. Reed Gragnani, 2B
24. Jantzen White, 3B
34. Danny Bethea, C

Amount over/under bonus pool based on reported signings: $648,600 under
Amount over/under bonus pool+5%: $990,110 under
(NOTE: figures assume the club signs its picks from the first 10 rounds)

Photo Credit: Trey Ball by Mike Janes

Will Woodward is a Staff Writer for SoxProspects. Follow him on Twitter @SPWill.

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