For years, the Tigers were the punch line of a bad joke when it came to drafting, signing and developing young baseball talent.
        No more.
        On Monday, the Tigers -- whose current first-place status is due, in large part, to past draft picks such as Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, and Curtis Granderson -- signed their top two selections in this year’s draft, highly-regarded pitchers Jacob Turner and Andrew Oliver.
        And they didn’t spare any expense in doing so.
        The Tigers also signed their sixth-round pick, Daniel Fields, who turned down a scholarship at the University of Michigan to follow in the footsteps of his dad, former Tigers player and coach Bruce Fields.
        Turner, the Tigers’ 6-foot-5, 205-pound first-round pick, who had planned to enroll at the University of North Carolina if he didn’t sign,  received a four-year major league contract potentially worth $6.85 million, including a $4.7 million bonus, for signing straight out of high school.
        Oliver, who, like Turner, is represented by high-powered agent Scott Boras, collected a $1.495 million bonus to sign a minor league deal. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Oliver was the Tigers’ second selection in the June draft.
        Fields, the high school player of the year in Michigan, reportedly received a seven-figure bonus. The 18-year-old Fields would likely have been a second-round pick had it not been for the perception that he was headed for U-M.
        In all three instances, the Tigers exceeded baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s suggested cost-containing limits for signing bonuses.
        In summers past, Tigers management has felt Selig’s wrath for the bonuses it has bestowed on hotshot prospects Rick Porcello ($7.4 million), Justin Verlander, Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin.
        The Tigers only failed to sign one of their top 10 picks,       eighth-rounder Craig Fritsch, who elected to return to Baylor for his junior season.
        The Tigers also used the draft in another way on Monday, using promising young right-handed pitcher Brett Jacobson, who was their fourth-round pick in 2008, as trade bait to land Baltimore slugger Aubrey Huff.
        All in all, it was a very good day.