2019 MLB Draft: Carter Stewart, the righthanded pitcher who was the #8 pick of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves, but went unsigned, has agreed to terms with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League, per Ken Rosenthal on Twitter. Rosenthal says that Stewart, a potential 2019 first round pick who is pitching for Eastern Florida State College this year, was “believed to be seeking” a bonus of $7 million from MLB teams, an ask that it seems unlikely any MLB team would meet.
While American players go to play in the Far East all the time, they are generally veteran AAAA types who can make more money over there than they can playing in AAA in the United States while hoping for a major league opportunity.