Orioles Sign Mighty Carter Young for $1.35 Million

After a down year for the once Might Carter Young, which resulted in a late season benching, and subsequent transfer to LSU, you would be forgiven for not obsessively hitting refresh on Twitter prior to today’s 5pm signing deadline.

Young had a phenomenal freshman year in a shortened season both in the field and at the plate, followed by a power surge in his sophomore year—though admittedly derailed in the postseason following a shoulder injury. Coming into the ‘22 season, most scouts had him pegged as a 1st round pick. Then, this year, well... let’s just call it a season long slump.

Though the Baltimore Orioles still took a chance on him in the 17th round of this year’s draft, you would be forgiven for a) assuming he would not take their likely lowball offer and end up honoring his transfer to the Gumbo Bengals, and b) if the Orioles did manage to sign MCY, it would not be for late first round coin.

...and yet...

For those who don’t know how unlikely this is, even with a 1st round grade on a player prior to a down season, I tried to explain it a bit on the Twatters.

I repeat. Yeah... this is wild.

Congrats, MCY. Bring your Major League quality defense to the minors, where hopefully the Orioles developmental team can help you recapture your offensive mojo.

Here’s some insight from Jim Callis:

The Orioles signed 17th-rounder Carter Young for $1,325,000, nearly tripling the previous record for that round: $450,000 by Pirates right-hander Ryan Hafner in 2010. A Vanderbilt shortstop, Young began the year as a potential first-rounder but batted just .207 with seven homers this spring before entering the transfer portal and committing to Louisiana State. Despite his struggles, he’s a switch-hitter with 20-homer potential, good instincts and solid defensive ability at a prime position.

Baltimore apparently pivoted to Young after it was unable to reach a deal with third-rounder Nolan McLean, an Oklahoma State right-hander/third baseman and the highest unsigned player in the 2022 Draft. One of the top two-way players available, he offers a fastball that reaches 99 mph and a pair of power breaking balls as a reliever, as well as huge raw power and a strong arm at the hot corner. McLean and the Orioles disagreed on the results of his post-Draft physical and he’ll return to the Cowboys for his junior year.

Welcome to Baltimore. In closing: