Hunter Greene took it down to the very last minute. After all of the hype that preceded the star before the MLB Draft, it was only a matter of time before he delved into his first contract stalemate as a professional baseball player. The Cincinnati Reds had their hands forced - sign the high school star to a massive contract or risk losing him and their fans. At the end of the day, the baseball team blinked and beat the deadline by mere moments.

Greene signs a record deal

As Reds fans anxiously counted the minutes, the team was huddled up ready to get a deal done with Greene.

It wasn't going to come cheap, though. When all was said and done, even the signing bonus was mind-blowing. It comes in at $7.23 million, the largest in the history of the MLB Draft. It also marked the first time that a top-two pick ever needed to go above the slotting system set up by the league to rein in draft spending.

News of the deal broke as the 5 PM deadline arrived, scaring Cincinnati fans beyond belief. The slot called for him to earn a signing bonus of $7,193,200, but his advisers were constantly pushing to break the record. If a deal couldn't get done, there was a chance Greene could have either decided to go to UCLA or attend junior college so he could enter the draft again next year.

None of that will be necessary anymore.

Reds can move forward

Now that Greene is under contract, the team can worry less about negotiations and more about development. Greene has been hyped as one of the best prospects in a long time, despite being passed over for the first selection by the Minnesota Twins, who picked up shortstop Royce Lewis instead.

Perhaps they knew what the Reds refused to admit - that it would be tougher to negotiate with the pitcher than the infielder.

Despite his legacy as a multi-position star in high school, the Reds want their newest signee to focus exclusively on pitching. He has a smooth delivery and a killer fastball that can reach triple digits.

He is also extremely athletic, evidenced by his ability to play in the field. His other pitchers need some work, but that's true of every high school pitcher who gets by simply by throwing the ball hard, instead of throwing it with any sort of plan. Command should not be an issue for Greene, though. Neither should getting the fans to buy into the prospect as the "Next Big Thing" in baseball - the hype is already there, even if his major league debut is a mile or so away.