Heading into today’s Major League Baseball draft, Bubba Starling already knew he would be facing a tough decision in the coming months. After seeing his name called very early on in the process, Starling now officially knows he will have a very tough deci$ion to make in the next two months or so.
In a none-too-surprising move, Starling was selected by the Kansas City Royals as the fifth overall player in today’s draft. In their pick-by-pick analysis, ESPN.com writes that “Starling may be the best talent in the class, starting with his plus raw power and tremendous all-around tools.”
As noted by the Omaha World Herald, Starling’s slotting could mean that he will be in line to receive a signing bonus in the very rich neighborhood of $5-$7 million. As Scott Boras is his agent, we’re going to go out on a limb and guess that he’ll end up at the higher end of that scale.
If, of course, he signs a contract with the Royals.
Starling will have until Aug. 15 to strike an agreement with the club. If he fails to do so, he would go back into the pool of players for the 2012 draft and would start his career at Nebraska as a two-sport player.
According to the World Herald, Starling is expected to report for summer workouts with the Cornhuskers in July and participate in at least the start of summer camp.
The Gardner, Kan., native signed with Nebraska on signing day this past February and was the No. 6 athlete -- he’s expected to play quarterback for the ‘Huskers if he decides to go the collegiate route -- in the nation according to Rivals.com.