Second Rounder Yohandy Morales Signs With Washington Nationals For Above Slot Value

The Washington Nationals have signed Miami (FL) third baseman Yohandy Morales, the team announced Monday.

Morales, who went No. 40 overall in last week's MLB Draft, had a $2.14 million slot value after hearing his named called on July 9. The first pick in the second round has inked a deal for above slot value at $2.60 million, according to the MLB Draft Tracker.

ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel had Morales ranked as the No. 18 overall prospect heading into the draft. MLB.com had him ranked at No. 20.

The Nationals also signed their third, fourth and fifth round selections on Monday – Red Rock High School (TX) right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora, Alabama outfielder Andrew Pinckney and Oklahoma State shortstop Oklahoma State. The team had previously locked up their 13th round pick, Georgia left-handed pitcher Liam Sullivan, on Saturday.

According to the MLB Draft Tracker, Sykora matched Morales' signing bonus with another $2.60 million deal, well over his $1.02 million slot value. Pinckney, on the other hand, signed slightly below slot at $500K.

Washington has yet to sign its first rounder, LSU outfielder Dylan Crews. By already going so far over slot with Morales and Sykora, the front office may have to get creative in order to free up the money for Crews, who has a $9.0 million slot value and is reportedly looking for a record-breaking $9.721 million bonus.

Signed! Welcome to the organization. 👊

2nd Rd. – Yohandy Morales – 3B – Miami (FL)
3rd Rd. – Travis Sykora – RHP – Round Rock HS (TX)
4th Rd. – Andrew Pinckney – OF - Alabama
5th Rd. – Marcus Brown – SS – Oklahoma State pic.twitter.com/JEpYBxDjgE
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) July 17, 2023

Other than Crews, Morales was the next highest-rated prospect the Nationals nabbed in Seattle last week.

The 21-year-old infielder is the son of Andy Morales, who briefly played in the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees' systems. He was a top 200 prospect coming out of high school in 2020, but he elected to go to Miami instead of going pro.

Morales hit .343 with a 1.048 OPS over the course of his three seasons with the Hurricanes, racking up 49 home runs and 174 RBI in 174 games.

Between Crews, Morales and the rest of the draft class, the Nationals are in line to add plenty of talent to a farm system that ranked No. 10 in baseball entering 2023, according to MLB.com.

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