Clemson Reportedly Loses Signee to MLB

Highly-touted pitcher Brock Porter won't be playing for Clemson head baseball coach Erik Bakich.

© Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Highly-touted pitcher Brock Porter won't be playing for Clemson head baseball coach Erik Bakich. 

Just days after being selected in the fourth round of the MLB draft, the Clemson signee and Gatorade Player of the Year has reportedly signed a pro contract with the Texas Rangers. 

The deal is worth just under $4 million, which is well above the slot value for the 109th overall selection, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. 

Rangers have a deal with Michigan HS pitcher Brock Porter for close to $4M (a bit under 4), well over slot for pick 109. It’s a coup for Texas. They were able to do that by getting Kumar Rocker for an under-slot $5.3M at No. 3 overall. Porter was ranked 7th by Baseball America.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 21, 2022

Dallas Morning News reporter Evan Grant said an official announcement could come next week.

We reported earlier this week he had framework for deal in place at $3.7 mm. There would still be a physical. I expect announcements on official deal next week https://t.co/Obzi2nsBiW

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) July 21, 2022

Porter was rated as the best high school pitcher in the country by CBS Sports, and it was surprising when he didn't go on Day 1 of the MLB draft. However, the Rangers pulled off a shrewd move by taking former Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker at No. 3 overall, paying him below his slot value and saving the rest of that money to use on wooing Porter from Clemson. 

Porter possesses a fastball that's topped out at triple digits and has a fantastic changeup to go with it, so it was probably a long shot for the Tigers to end up with him anyway. Any hope of that, however, appears to be over and Porter is moving on to begin his pro career. 

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