Dodgers sign 5th-round pick Ross Stripling, others expected to sign soon

Former Texas A&M right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling became the first player selected in the Dodgers' draft class (fifth round) to sign a contract, doing so on Thursday.

Stripling, who will pitch for the Ogden Raptors in the Pioneer League, actually broke the news himself via Twitter,.

"Signing my Major League contract! ‪#dodgers‬"

Stripling even tweeted a photo of him signing. That's awesome. What's even more awesome is the fact he signed for nearly $100,000 less than slot recommendation.

• Slot recommendation: $228,900
• Stripling's signing bonus: $130,000

So, that means the Dodgers have an extra $98,900 to sign their remaining 10 picks from the first 10 rounds. They're going to need it after taking guys who have minor (Corey Seager) and not-so-minor (Onelki Garcia) signability concerns.

Now, more than ever, getting guys to sign for less than slot will be imperative -- especially if a team drafts players who might want more than slot to sign.

It's also been reported Dodgers' sixth-round pick Joseph Curletta will sign a deal to forgo his commitment to the University of Arizona. The recommended slot amount is $171,600.

The same goes for seventh-round pick Theo Alexander, who will play for the Arizona League Dodgers (Rookie Ball). The recommended slot amount there is $144,600.

It'll be interesting to see how many less than slot deals the Dodgers pull off. I'm expecting Seager to sign for around slot, but Garcia is going to take a lot more to sign.