Padres sign first-rounder Robert Hassell III for $4.3 million

The Padres have signed first-rounder Robert Hassell III and awarded him a $4.3 million bonus, an under-slot deal that continues to put them in position to fit third-rounder Cole Wilcox into their $10.67 million bonus pool.

The recommended signing bonus for Hassell, the eighth overall pick earlier this month, was $5.18 million.

The Padres have also agreed to under-slot deals with fourth-rounder Levi Thomas ($80,000, well under the $533,000 recommended bonus) and fifth-rounder Jagger Haynes ($300,000, about 75 percent of the $398,000 recommended bonus).

Wilcox, a draft-eligible sophomore, was considered a first-round talent but fell to the Padres at 80th overall due to signability concerns. He could command a signing bonus near the record $3 million the Padres needed last year to keep third-rounder Hudson Head away from Oklahoma State.

The recommended bonus for this year’s 80^th overall pick is $767,800.

The Padres are also continuing to work toward deals with the rest of COVID-19-shortened draft class, which includes 34^th overall pick Justin Lange ($2.15 million recommended slot) and second-rounder Owen Caissie ($1.65 million recommended slot).

Hassell is the fifth straight top-10 pick in the A.J. Preller era and the second straight position player selected with the Padres’ first pick.

Shortstop CJ Abrams signed for $5.2 million last year as the sixth overall pick and is now ranked No. 22 in Baseball America’s top-100 prospects list.

Considered arguably the best high school bat in the 2020 class – Hassell hit .423 with 14 homes as a junior, fashioned a .514/.548/.886 batting line for the U.S. national team at the under-18 World Cup in September and had played just two games his senior year at Independence High School in Tennessee when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped away his spring.

The Padres still thought enough of Hassell to make him the first high school prospect off the board earlier this month.

Hassell first landed on the national scene while playing in the Little League World Series.

“With Robert, he has been a very famous prospect,” Preller said after selecting Hassell earlier this month. “(Scouting director Mark Conner) lives in the Nashville area, so he’s been hearing about Robert Hassell ever since he jumped onto the scene as a freshman in high school. He’s a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, he was the player of the year in the summer, the International Player of the Year for Team USA. He’s had a lot of accolades, a lot of attention.

“He’s not one of those guys who just jumped on the scene. We’ve had a lot of chances to scout him and see him.”