Aroldis Chapman Interests Yankees

Nice, this guy has an electric fastball. I was at the game he pitched against Mexico i think it was, don't remember. His delivery is much like Dontrelle Willis, though he has much better stuff. He'd be a nice fit for the Yanks, a hard throwing lefty.

Here we go with the "Yankees are going to sign him" posts. I can't imagine any team that wouldn't be interested in this guy...Yanks, Mets, Boston, LA, LAA, Philly, Cubs the list goes on and on.

Early reports are that he'll command anywhere from $30 to $60 million and the major market teams have the cash to dish out. Especially considering that this kid has great stuff and he's only 21 (even if he's lying about his age, he's still young enough to garner a solid contract)

Once again, there is already a 60% chance he is going to Chicago. They have one of the biggest Cuban legends in baseball in Jose Contreas and already have a history of signing and developing Cuban players. This is no different the Dayan Viciedo. He will come to the White Sox and feel comfortable and get some money while he is at it.

No need for a top 15 draft pick in the June draft when you have a f*cked up International system. Here yah go Yankees have a "Strasburg".

Once again, there is already a 60% chance he is going to Chicago. They have one of the biggest Cuban legends in baseball in Jose Contreas and already have a history of signing and developing Cuban players. This is no different the Dayan Viciedo. He will come to the White Sox and feel comfortable and get some money while he is at it.

Posted by: ChiSoxKilla23 | July 02, 2009 at 02:25 PM
---------------
Where did you get the number 60% from other then it being wishful thinking for you? I'll give you a better guess theres a 99% chance he goes to the club that offers the most money. Also this is different from Viciedo because hes a different player. If you think this guys taking millions less to play for the White Sox your delusional.

Dice-K feeding frenzy is fine with me. My squad is the Mets and I'm not saying they will get him but six months helps out so we can dump salary (Delgado, Wagner, Castillo). It will improve our chances at least...

"Their pitching does suck though, so I could see why they would overpay for him."

It does?

Difference between Dice-K, Contreras, and Strasburg vs. this kid is that the first 3 were considered MLB ready at the time of their contracts. This kid still needs to mature.

Strasgburg could step into the majors right not and be effective though. Supposedly he could be as good as AJ BUrnett if he were to pitch today. He can get better but he is good enough to do it at the major league level. Chapman needs to get better first before he can pitch in the ML. Thats the difference.

Chicago Mobsters - Pick # 280 out of 288 Selections in the 2009 Mid-West Baseball League Draft... How's that for scouting?

http://www.straybaseball.com/mwbl/drafts/draft.php?year=2009&type=DFT

I drafted Chapman before he pitched in the 2009 WBC. (02/21/09)

Check out the Mid-West Baseball League.
http://www.straybaseball.com/mwbl

If MLB baseball ever got its act together and worked with the MLB Players Association, the fairest option would be to create an International Draft (excluding Canada) and allow teams to draft non-resident players begining at age 16 and retain control for six or seven years while they matriculate in the minor leagues. Upon reaching a major league roster, they would then have exactly the same status as residential players.

What am I missing here? Why doesn't MLB require all baseball players under a certain age (e.g. 23) to enter the June draft regardless of origin? Is there some fundamental flaw in this? It would still allow professional vets from the Nipon league, etc to be treated as Free Agents.

If MLB baseball ever got its act together and worked with the MLB Players Association, the fairest option would be to create an International Draft (excluding Canada) and allow teams to draft non-resident players begining at age 16 and retain control for six or seven years while they matriculate in the minor leagues. Upon reaching a major league roster, they would then have exactly the same status as residential players.

Posted by: bernie | July 02, 2009 at 05:31 PM
----------------

That would have to exclude Japan as well. They have a major league system set up already, most players that become mlb players come here after 7 years of service already and most of the major guys like Dice-K, Matsui, Ichiro, etc were already major, major stars making several millions of dollars in Japan. No way they should be included in an international draft where 1 team owns their rights and thus removes their leverage from getting faor market value. You can put a guy like Dice-K, who comes in at a mature age of 26 and goes straight to the maors, thru the same process as a 16 year old Latin prospect who'll probably spend 2 years developing in the Dominican and then another year or so in the DSL before they even enter the US minor league system. A lot of these guys flame out in low A where as the Japaneese players are closer to being major league ready at signing.

Also, some teams spend a lot more money on international scouting than other teams. Even though the Pirates, for example, signed two prospects from India, they obviously will spend less money on international scouting outside of Latin America than other teams. And to my understaning not every team has academys in the DR nor particapate in the DSL leagues. That being the case is it fair for 15 teams to spend resources in terms of money, personnel and time to scout and develope pre-16 year old players just to have the other 15 teams eligible to draft and pick thru the players they've put in a position to be showcased, scouted and drafted?

I don't know if there's a perfect way to set up the drafting of international players. Obviously there are major markets such as the DR, Venezuela, Cuba, Panama, Japana and Taiwan where numerous players have been signed but teams are digging and digging to find newer international prospects. How do you address those emerging markets? What if the Red Sox scout and find a gem of a prospect in Thailand? What if the word got out about the prospect? Would it be fair for the Yanks to come in and poach off of someone elses find?

I think the best solution is to limit international drafting to particpating Latin American countries (DR, Venez, Panama, Puerto Rico. Each of the 30 mlb teams would be required to set up a mini-baseball academys that must adhere to certain standards regarding education, money stipends, etc in those countries. "Handlers" would be eliminated so they couldn't direct players to certain teams and each year conduct a draft based purely off of a lottery system. At age 16 players are eligible for the draft. Have a set minimum for what a player drafted can be offered; maybe $50,000 for the 1st 2 years, rasied to $100,000 at age of 18 if moved to the DSL and or minor league system and a sloting system for the 1st round with the max being $3 mil which gradually adjust every few years to coincide with the value of the dolllar, etc. As far as other Latin countries not listed above, teams should be allowed to sign them as free agents at the age of 16, as they do now. As for Japan and Mexico their players should be allowed to be signed as FA as well becuse their leagues are a lot more advanced and carry a lot older players than what you usually see in the draft. Any other talent not from the North or South American continents should be eligible FA and are open game as well.

Why should teams that skimp on scouting be rewarded? Some teams have extensive scouting in Asian countries, Europe and entire BB academies setup in Latin American countries. Why should teams that refuse to spend be rewarded that refuse to spend on international scouting be rewarded with an International draft? Knock the large International players in the draft and large market teams all you want, but it is the Boston, NYY teams that massively spend mostly all over the world for scouting and development by and large to find these people, not the Pirates, Nationals etc..