The Angels have now signed all four of their 2020 draft picks. The last to sign was fourth-round selection Werner Blakely, a shortstop out of Southfield Lathrup High School just outside of Detroit.
Blakely, the 111th overall pick in the draft, tweeted a picture of himself signing his first professional contract on Tuesday morning.
Officially a @Angels Detroit I won’t let y’all down. #GGPFM pic.twitter.com/GMCabBcn4l
— Werner (@wernerblakely_) July 7, 2020
The team has not yet announced the signing.
The Angels paid Blakely a $900,000 signing bonus to buy him out of his college commitment to Auburn, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. The recommended slot value for the 11th overall pick was $522,600.
Baseball America rated Blakely the 297th-best prospect heading into the draft, calling him high-risk and high-reward. “Teams are excited about his potential and the power he could pack on to his athletic frame, but he’ll need plenty of at-bats to refine his offensive game,” Baseball America wrote. “Blakely is a good runner who glides around the field and could turn into a dangerous basestealing threat.”
Blakely told Jared Purcell of MLive.com earlier this year that he was a big fan of Derek Jeter growing up, and hoped to follow in his footsteps as a major league shortstop.
“I just want to be known as a complete player,” Blakely told Purcell. “I want people to say, ‘Yes, he has five Silver Slugger awards,’ and ‘Yes, he has five Gold Glove awards.’ Just to be well-rounded and respected in every aspect of the game.”
With Blakely in the fold, all four Angels draft picks have signed, for bonuses totaling $6,454,200, less than one percent over the club’s total bonus pool of $6,397,100.