By JAMES Moran | Tiger Rag Associate Editor
Last summer Greg Deichmann bet on himself, turning down a six-figure signing bonus from the Minnesota Twins to come back for his junior season.
It’s about to pay off.
The Oakland Athletics selected the All-American LSU slugger in the second round of Monday night’s MLB Draft. The outfielder went No. 43 overall, which comes with an assigned slot value of $1,597,300.
“I’m just so happy for Greg,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “He took a big gamble coming back for one more year. He could’ve signed last year for a really significant signing bonus. He’s going to get a nicer signing bonus and he’s better prepared to succeed in professional baseball.”
Deichmann blossomed into one of college baseball’s most feared hitters in 2017, batting .320 with a team-leading 19 home runs and 72 RBI in the heart of the Tiger batting order. He’s also found himself a home in right field and shown enough athleticism and arm strength to stick out there.
It’s been quite the calendar year and chance for the slugger after a middling first half of his sophomore campaign and a lost freshman season in which he didn’t record a single base hit.
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