Today the Tigers finally agreed to terms with their first draft pick from the June 2011 MLB first-year player draft. Catcher James McCann, who was selected No. 76 overall out of Arkansas, will sign with the Tigers before the Monday deadline, so the Tigers will not lose their rights to him.
↵McCann hit .306/.388//.857 with 14 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 38 RBIs in 61 games in 2011 as a junior. McCann was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, which is given to the top collegiate catcher, and he was also the 2011 Southeastern Conference Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. (For the record, James McCann is unrelated to current Braves catcher Brian McCann.)
↵According to Jim Callis of Baseball America, McCann will sign for roughly $558,000, about $100,000 more than MLB’s recommendation for the salary slot at No. 76.
↵↵↵After coming to terms with fifth-round pick Brandon Loy, a shortstop from Texas, and 17th-round pick Chad Smith, a right-handed pitcher from Southern California, over the weekend, the Tigers have signed 31 of their 49 selections from the first-year player draft.