Barring unforeseen circumstances, Cole Wilcox's time as a University of Georgia baseball player will soon be over.
The former Heritage High School standout was a third-round pick of the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball's amateur draft Thursday night, taken No. 80 overall after being projected to be a top-20 selection. The draft-eligible sophomore, however, had given teams a dollar amount before the draft that would be enough for him to forgo his remaining three years of college eligibility, with the third year coming from the fact that this season was cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Padres, according to multiple reports, are willing to meet the right-handed pitcher's demand after selecting three high school players - each rumored to be below-slot-value signings - before choosing Wilcox. Ian Smith, a baseball writer based in Miami, reported he had confirmed a $3.3 million signing bonus for Wilcox, which would be nearly $2.7 million over his third-round slot value.
The strategy is consistent with the Padres' recent draft history. The club gave a third-round-record $3 million signing bonus to Hudson Head last year.
Lee Wilcox, Cole's father, said San Diego general manager A.J. Preller and other front office members had conversations with his son before the draft.
"We got word Saturday the Padres were trying to make it happen so they could take him," said Lee, who noted that any official confirmation of accepting the offer would come from his son. "It was a roller coaster ride for 48 hours, that's for sure. Cole all along was comfortable going back to Georgia so that he could mature and grow and continue to work on his craft and skill. Teams knew it, and we talked to a lot of folks.
"He's just thankful for the opportunity. It appears things have worked out well. We'll see what happens from here."
Bulldogs baseball coach Scott Stricklin was quoted in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report Friday as saying, "All signs point to him signing."
Preller said this on the Ben and Woods podcast Friday in San Diego: "I think with some of the earlier picks, the budget, and dollar amounts, and again you get through your five rounds - you basically get a sum of money that you can choose to allocate how you see fit. We tried to blend talent and dollars to try to maximize each.
"For us, with the Cole Wilcox pick, he's a draft-eligible sophomore out of Georgia. We saw him as a first-round-type talent, and when he's still on the board there in the third round, we - as far as what we tried to budget and what we think we're trying to do to be able to sign him - felt like he was the right pick there at the right time. We took him with the intention of signing him, and that's what we're hoping to do over the next few days."
Teams have until Aug. 1 to sign players.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.