Good morning, Birdland!
Although an agreement was assumed ever since the Orioles made him the second overall pick in last month’s draft, the team made it official on Tuesday and signed University of Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad to his initial contract with a bonus of $5.2 million, saving nearly $2.6 million on the slot value ($7.79 million) for the selection.
The signing of Kjerstad is big of many fronts. First, he is really good. Most publicly available rankings consider him to be the best left-handed power hitter in the 2020 class. They expect him to stick in right field and become a run producer at the highest level in short order.