The Red Sox signed five college seniors whom they selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2012 MLB draft. The quick deals come as little surprise, since seniors lack negotiating leverage, something that the Sox undoubtedly had in mind when taking them, since players who can be signed for relatively low bonuses in the first 10 rounds would permit the team valuable financial flexibility with other picks in the draft. (For more on how drafting college seniors increased the Sox’ flexibility to pursue high-ceiling draft picks, click here).

The players signed are:

Fifth-rounder Mike Augliera, who had an 83-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio for Binghamton (more on him here)

Seventh-rounder Kyle Kraus, a 5-foot-11 right-hander out of the University of Portland (more on him here)

Eighth-rounder Nathan Minnich, a power-hitter who became the first player ever drafted out of Shepherd University (more on him here)

Ninth-rounder Mike Miller, a 5-foot-8 shortstop out of Cal-Poly (more on him here)

Tenth-rounder J.T. Watkins of Army, an impressive catch-and-throw guy who will play this summer before he starts his military service in the fall; Watkins is the son of Red Sox area scout Danny Watkins (more on him here)

Terms of the bonuses were not available.

The team is also close to deals on three of its other picks from the first 10 rounds. Supplemental first-rounder Pat Light, a hard-throwing starter out of Monmouth whom scouting director Amiel Sawdaye described as having one of the best fastballs in the draft, is close to signing, as are second-rounder Jamie Callahan (a high school right-hander out of South Carolina who throws in the mid-90s) and sixth-rounder Justin Haley, a 20-year-old right-hander out of Fresno (more on him here).