The Houston Astros inked supplemental first-round pick Lance McCullers to a $2.5 million dollar deal that is approximately $1.3 million over the slot value for the 41st pick.

#Astros agree w/supp 1st-rder Lance McCullers on $2.5 mil. Pick value at 41 is $1,258,700. That's most over value in #mlbdraft this year.

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) June 17, 2012

New draft rules this season has many teams changing strategies. The new rules allot teams with a limit that can be spent for the entire draft. If you go over slot on a player then you have less to use on players elsewhere. It could be that the Astros felt strong enough about McCullers that they paid what it took to get him signed. Or they may know that one of their other picks isn't signing and thus upped the offer to McCullers.

For all the latest on the Astros organization and the 2012 MLB Draft, check out The Crawfish Boxes.