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The Dodgers have reportedly signed Gavin Stone, their fifth-round draft pick out of Central Arkansas.
Stone posted a photo of him signing a contract on Instagram, with the caption, “Super excited and grateful for the opportunity to play for a great organization and great city. It wouldn’t have been possible without amazing friends and family who have supported this dream of mine. I can’t wait to get started.”
The Dodgers have not yet announced the signing.
Stone signed for $100,000 per Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times ($97,500 of which counts against the bonus pool), well under the recommended slot value for the 159th pick is $327,200. The Dodgers overall bonus pool is $5,928,400 for their six picks.
Stone was one of four college pitchers drafted by the Dodgers, all of whom excelled in a shortened 2020 season.
Stone’s four starts in his junior season produced a 1.30 ERA and the third no-hitter in school history. His strikeout rate (31 percent) and walk rate (six percent) were in line with his sophomore year (1.52 ERA, 30.5-percent K rate, 5.8-percent BB rate), but he pitched out of the bullpen in 18 of his 20 games last year.
“We bought into these upticks and trends in the four weeks of a season, and their performance,” Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said of his draft class. “We bought in on all these guys. We think it’s real, we think it was going to last throughout the season.”
Stone was the penultimate pick of the five-round draft. He said he was going to return to Central Arkansas for his senior season had he not been picked.
“The Dodgers called me at the beginning of the fifth round so I knew there was a possibility. They were one of the first teams to contact me in the fall, so there was some history there,” Stone said in a press release from the school. “So I wasn’t too stressed about it. Because either way, if I got drafted or I didn’t get drafted, I was still in a great situation. I wasn’t too worried about it, but I was lucky to get my named called. That felt good.”