Oakland’s gamble of drafting a high-school player considered to be unsignable by many clubs paid off Saturday when the team officially agreed to terms with Nick Allen, a defensively gifted shortstop from San Diego.
The A’s took Allen in the third round despite his commitment to USC, which had scared off numerous other teams. Allen was ranked the 29th best prospect in the June draft and was selected 81st overall. Oakland gave Allen a reported signing bonus of $2 million.
“We evaluated Nick as a first-round talent and considered it a great opportunity to get him where we did,” scouting director Eric Kubota said.