The San Diego Padres have signed seventh-overall draft pick Max Fried, the club announced via Twitter. Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports Fried signed for MLB's recommend slot signing bonus for the 7th overall draft pick, which is valued at $3 million.
Max Fried is a left-handed pitcher from Harvard-Westlake High School in Studio City, California. He was a UCLA commit, but will now forgo that opportunity and opt to begin his pro baseball career as a teenager.
Here's what Padres assistant GM of player personnel Chad MacDonald had to say about the selection, courtesy of MLB.com's Corey Brock:
"It's loose, athletic, 6-foot-4, a downhill delivery and good arm action," said Padres assistant general manager of player personnel Chad MacDonald of Fried. "It's the way it's supposed to look. We were tickled to death to get our lefty at seven."
With Fried's signing out of the way, the team can now focus to sign other top draft picks including three of their remaining first-round draft picks that remain unsigned. They have signed 31 of their 44 selections.