Nick Burdi will feel like a million bucks when he joins the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Friday.

The Minnesota Twins signed the flamethrower from the University of Louisville and gave him a bonus worth $1,218,800 Tuesday. They are sending him to Cedar Rapids to begin his pro career in the Class A Midwest League.

Dustin Morse, the public relations director for the Twins, announced the signing Tuesday. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported the amount of the signing bonus.

Burdi, 21, is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander whose fastball has been clocked at 100 mph. He struck out 65 batters in 37 innings as the closer for Louisville this season as a junior, with a microscopic ERA of 0.49. He collected 18 saves in 32 games.

Minnesota selected Burdi with the 46th overall pick in the second round of the 2014 draft this month. The Twins also drafted Burdi in the 24th round in 2011 when he was a high school senior in Downers Grove, Ill.

A current member of the Kernels' 25-man roster will have to be removed from the team to make room for Burdi.

The Kernels begin a four-game series against Clinton Friday night at 6:35 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.