Nick Senzel, the number two overall pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft and the Cincinnati Reds have reportedly agreed to terms on a contract according to Dustin Dopirak of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Per a source, Nick Senzel will go to Arizona on Monday for a physical and sign his contract on Tuesday. Negotiations are done.
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) June 12, 2016
In a tweet that followed he also noted that the now former Tennessee third baseman will begin his career with the Billings Mustangs. He will join a growing list of Cincinnati Reds 1st round picks that have begun their career with the Mustangs. The signing bonus remains unknown at this point.
While with Tennessee, the 20-year-old hit .352 with nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts as a junior. His advanced bat should play quite well in the Pioneer League where he is likely going to be the top prospect in the entire league. It would be very surprising if he spent too much time with Billings before he was promoted. In 2013 the Reds sent Phillip Ervin, another advanced college bat (though not viewed as advanced as Senzel at the same point in their careers) to Billings and he performed quite well and made it to Dayton before the end of the year. I would expect the same thing for Senzel, but perhaps with an even quicker promotion out of the rookie leagues.
The Billings Mustangs will be landing two of the top three 2016 Major League Baseball draft picks from the Cincinnati Reds organization. Catcher Chris Okey, taken in the second round out of Clemson is also heading to Montana to join the Mustangs. New manager (for Billings) Ray Martinez will be getting some premium talent to work with in his first trip around the Pioneer League. The season begins on Friday night in Billings as they take on Missoula.