Klein HS (Tex.) LHP Matt Purke is looking for "Rick Porcello's deal" in the upcoming draft, according to industry sources familiar with his demands. Porcello, who was drafted 27th overall by Detroit in the 2007 draft, received a deal worth $7.285 million in guaranteed money, including a $3.58 million signing bonus, both of which eclipsed the previous records for a contract signed by a high school pitcher, held by Josh Beckett.
Purke is committed to TCU and probably moves out of the first round as a result of this demand, with few if any teams willing to commit that kind of money to a high school pitcher, but he could end up receiving a deal close to Porcello's on August 15th with a team that takes him later on day one or even day two and tries to wait him out.
The mystery team on Lamar Consolidated HS outfielder Randal Grichuk is the St. Louis Cardinals, who had him in for a second workout today. It's still not a lock that they'll take him, but he's clearly in consideration for their pick. Grichuk has significant raw power but it's a pull-oriented approach, and he's limited to an outfield corner.
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Keith Law
Keith Law joined ESPN.com in June 2006 as the lead baseball analyst for Scouts Inc., covering the majors, minors and amateurs. Before joining ESPN, Law spent 4½ years with the Toronto Blue Jays as a special assistant to the general manager, and was previously a writer for Baseball Prospectus. He graduated from Harvard College and holds an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon.
Jason A. Churchill is the executive editor at ProspectInsider.com, covering major league baseball with an eye toward scouting and player development since 2006.
