MLB has decided upon a five-round draft this summer, according to Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com (links to Twitter). The union had previously agreed to the possibility of a draft as short as five rounds, though more recently had pushed for a lengthier process.
Commissioner Rob Manfred laid down the decision when MLB and the MLBPA could not come to an agreement on the particulars. Interestingly, Passan notes, a ten-round draft was also preferred by baseball operations departments. The version on offer from the league would’ve effectively separated the draft into two five-round sections with greater spending limitations on the latter half, along with a cap on undrafted signings.
Ultimately, it seems, owners were more concerned with avoiding the cost of additional bonuses than they were intrigued by the potential to acquire more high-end talent in the later stages of the draft. Draft-eligible players that are not selected in the five rounds will be eligible to sign for a maximize bonus of $20K.
Teams may struggle to woo players they don’t select. Typically, later-round choices can be paid quite a bit more than $20K. With collegiate play a viable alternative, many will elect to await a (hopefully) more lucrative professional starting point.
Then again, perhaps teams will find some success competing with geography, promises of advancement and opportunity, and other creative inducements. Manfred will no doubt need to be proactive in policing this arena. There’s huge potential upside to be had, which creates some potentially worrying incentives.
Finding value in the draft has long been a chief aim of baseball ops departments. Now they’ll have never-before-seen chances to sign an unlimited number of players for bargain prices. That’ll involve recruitment, of course, but there’s a rare possibility for major imbalance in the talent haul.
Even putting aside worries of rule-breaking behavior, there’ll be potential for havoc. Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes (Twitter link) the possibility of pressure on “late”-round picks to take what they can get or face a $20K cap. There’s also a sense that innumerable soft factors could sway large numbers of players in varying directions, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com notes on Twitter. There’ll certainly be downstream effects for players that choose to enter or remain in the collegiate and JuCo ranks.
really is a shame how little this league cares for the future of the game. its like they are trying to repulse young players.
sadly your right. however, it’s both sides that are holding the game down.
Agreed. A 10 round draft should of been the minimum
i think if they want to add a $20K UDFA cap they at least need to go 10. youre screwing a lot of players out of a lot more money otherwise. i like and will continue to support 40+ rounds, (even this year, where these teams all still have huge cash cushions) but anything less than 10 is an insult with that UDFA cap.
It definitely should’ve been.
Cheap owners you should say. Won’t go into my normal, long winded explanation, but can be sure it’s the same, tight wad owners that always refuse to spend which make up 50% and can force the commish to make these appareling rules.
So far , they are making nothing right now so, what would 50% of nothing be? Remember, they will have to pay the current players whether they play or not. Saying the owners are just being cheap right now is really off base.
@gozurman1, the owners have committed to paying players a total of $170M, which is 3-4% of their usual salaries.
This I understand. Still being paid with no revenue coming in. No other business would be paying employees anything if they had no income coming in. You and I would be filing for unemployment. My point was that in this situation, with no revenue coming in, it is not correct to call the owners cheap. There is no guarantee that there will be any games played or if there is that there will be fans in the stands. If there was a guarantee of revenue then there could be a case for saying the owners were cheap.
No,it’s not off base. Salaries will be prorated, regardles of games played (or not) and most of the slot money for draftees will be deferred anyway, so there’s really no excuse for this.
They keep discovering new ways to make the game less appealing to both fans and prospective players, then wonder why baseball trails other sports.
No,it’s not off base. Salaries will be prorated, regardles of games played (or not) and most of the slot money for draftees will be deferred anyway, so there’s really no excuse for this.
They keep discovering new ways to make the game less appealing to both fans and prospective players, then wonder why baseball trails other sports.
Sorry…you’re still way off base. These $20,000 maximum bonuses are such an incredibly insignificant amount in the grand scheme of things. There is no excuse for this, much like there is no excuse for the PATHETIC wages paid to minor leaguers. The AVERAGE major league player is pulling down $3-$4 million a season. Think about it…$3 million (the cost of an average utility infielder) would be enough to pay $100,000 bonuses to 30(!!!) draft picks. That same $3 million could pay a livable wage to at least half of the minor leaguers in a team’s system. There is no justification for this billion dollar industry
I have no idea why this double-posted, but I’ll assume it’s because someone thought it was a great comment.
Baseball is a forever business. It’s one bad year. They need to invest in the future of the product.
Also, this will create labor issues. It’s a dumb move. I wish the owners would just accept that they’re going to have a down year, and promote the game.
How often are picks beyond round round five make a hugh impact? This won’t hurt the game one bit.
That’s absolute nonsense. Many picks after the fifth round are players in the league contributing including bullpen arms and starters!
Many. A handful. And they’ll be found anyway. Facts don’t back your opinion
very, very frequently. just a simple search will net you a bunch of such players that have made an impact.
I just did a simple search. I went back to 2005. In the 6th round there was Estrada and no one else. I didn’t check the 7th. It’s a hand full. The game won’t even notice. They’ll eventually sign anyway.
The seventh? lol trying going into the 40s and you’ll find big leaguers playing today. bad take
I thought ‘no way’ when I read this but I looked up the 2012 thru 2014 drafts round six and up and maybe it is more than a handful but not much. Most of these guys play professional baseball so that the real development guys have someone to play against. These high school guys should get themselves a good college scholarship and the college guys should go back for their senior year and get a degree.
So when there was no draft in the until the mid 60s, the game was ruined? People are reactionary. This is nothing. Players who have a future and are not drafted will either sign or play another year…somewhere.
Let’s not forget late round gems such as Pinole and Piazza to name a pair
Seriously Pinole? Pujols*
PED Piazza was drafted as a favor.
Do you think Pujols would have chosen a different career? I’ve been hearing and reading x,y and z is going to ruin baseball since the 60s. It never does, but reactionaries have been saying the same things for over a century. They have no perspective.
Oh well, at least it wasn’t “autocorrected” to Pooholes.
Yes, Pujols would have chosen another career. He has said himself that if he wasn’t called up the year he was he was quitting baseball. So, yeah. Macstruts this is a terrible take.
That’s not the point though. This might end many player’s chances of even having a shot to become a major leaguer. It’s extremely unfair to those players.
People in favor of this penny pinching are also overlooking the fact that the later draft picks also help to fill out minor league rosters even if they never make the majors. Having minor league teams promotes the game of baseball as a whole in cities that otherwise would not have the direct exposure to it. This helps to develop new baseball fans and to promote the sport…something that baseball fails miserably at repeatedly, and we continue to watch the game lose popularity. Meanwhile, the NBA and NFL are doing everything they can to promote their sport and attempt to gain new fans wherever possible
Who won the last two NL Cy Youngs? Drafted after the fifth round. It happens.
Rd6: Tim Hudson, Jamie Moyer
Rd7: Wade Boggs (HoF), Jim Edmonds
Rd9: Fred McGriff, Goose Gossage (HoF)
Rd11: Andre Dawson (HoF), Chill Davis
Rd12: Nolan Ryan (HoF)
Rd13: Albert Pujols, Jim Thome (HoF)
Rd14: Dave Parker
Rd16: Dave Stewart
Rd17: Kenny Lofton, Orel Hershiser
Rd19: Don Mattingly, Bret Saberhagen
Rd20: Ryne Sandberg (HoF), Jeff Kent
Rd22: John Smoltz (HoF), Andy Pettitte
Rd23: Roy Oswalt
Rd24: Mark Grace, Jorge Posada
Rd62: Mike Piazza (HoF)
So in just the quick list thats 8 Current HoFers and 1 Future HoF. The draft started in 1965 so taking account the required 10 yr career and 5 yr waiting period the earliest a drafted player could be inducted to HoF was 1970. That’s 7% of HoFers selected since 1970 have been draft after rd 5
Amazing brother man
So in 50 years, one guy every other year is worthy. Out of what? 40,000 guys drafted during this time?
Shame the players care so little about the game. Did you see that every single player in MLB did nothing about Astro scandal? I didn’t hear anyone refusing to play until Altuve and Bregman among others get banned for life. I also don’t hear protests about Arod and Ortiz being involved on TV when both guys used steroids therefore turning baseball from a sport to entertainment
So you would quit your job if a co-worker got caught cheating on a performance test. Also since the players work for MLB they can be optioned, out righted or released if MLB chooses. Seems the reality of working has not hit your occupation.
Now would be a good time to break the union. and stop overpaying players. Within five years the quality would be the same and average people could afford to see a game..
Terrible argument. So you want to penalize the 750 people in the world who can play this game at the highest level so the “average” person can attend a game? Are these the same “average” people that get participation trophies? Here’s an idea, “average” sucks and if you are satisfied with being “average”, you have to deal with the cards you’re dealt. Not wanting to be “average” is what separates the have’s from the have-not’s. Just curious, do we also bust the actors unions (like SAG) since the “average” movie ticket is now about $20 in some places (which, by the way, is more expensive than a lot of MLB tickets)? Get your weak argument of “average” out of here and pay these players what they’re worth. I guarantee you the owners won’t be rushing to discount their ticket prices – they’ll just pocket the profits.
You’re welcome to go to indie ball or college games games. They are cheap and the quality is good.
Could of done 10. 5 is like zzZZZZzzz booorrring. Then all of the rookies sign with good teams, f sports. I’m glad theres none on
I got 5 on it!
Haha Luniz nice. Heard that jam today
I feel bad for kids who don’t get drafted now more than ever
and it wouldnt be even that bad if they simply allowed for the UDFA bonus cap to go up. $20K is less then most unerslot guys get.
Tigers suffer thru a bad season, but unlike Cubs and Astros, will only get 5 picks for the effort. If they had known this, would they have signed Cron and Schoop?
This is gonna go over about as well as a fart in church
more like Eminem in church
it depends on the fart, really. A SBD, or a loud vibrating one?
And HOU without their 1st & 2nd rd picks (40% of the draft) — make ’em count, guys!
Cheaters lose 40% of their draft picks and most of their money pool
Actually Houston is the big winner. Many won’t come out and they’ll be there next year w all their picks
Negative – the penalty was 1st and 2nd rd picks in 2020 and 2021. Sorry, not sorry.
and how exactly are they “winning” for this reason anyway? doesnt seem to add up.
I have honestly wondered if this will help or hurt my team. I think it comes down to who they can sign for $20k. The Farm System is pretty thin, so there are opportunities. However, this can be said of many other franchises.
Next year, the draft will likely be much deeper in talent. There should be opportunities to grab great prospects in rounds 6-10. It all comes down to Click’s ability to draft talent.
Granted I think more kids should go to college than take a 38th round selection as a sign of future stardom, but…….
Now what happens to the high school kid who would’ve gotten drafted but doesn’t? Does he sign for pennies or does he head to a junior college hoping he’ll get to play another year, not get hurt, and join what will essentially be a double deep draft class?
Many of the later picks either are college seniors or do go to school
All those kids should go to whatever college gives them a full ride. Go get a degree in a field where you can get a job. A high schoolers chances of making it are less than .001, so get your school paid for.
how many full rides do you think these schools are giving out, even on the athletic side?
A HS player that’s good enough to be drafted has a much better chance than .001 to reach MLB. And last year, players drafted after the 10th round could still get a bonus of up to $125,000 which often has more value than the scholarships these guys can get for baseball. That’s not to say that all HS players should sign over going to college, but it was a legitimate option, especially for players that are not great students
As an equivalency sport with 11.7 scholarships for 25 scholarship players, the real number of “full scholarships” is around….zero.
So true. Most don’t realize college baseball isn’t like football. There are very few full scholarships given out. If you are good enough for that, chances are you are already going to be drafted in top 5 rounds.
I don’t understand why the NCAA doesn’t allow for more baseball scholarships. Either way, college is the better option for most prep players.
I met a guy once drafted by the Yankees in 39th round who was offered $5-10k. His agent said go to college. He went to college and was a bust, but he got an education, and the bragging rights of having been drafted by the Evil Empire, even though he never played pro ball.
A good chunk of high school kids drafted that late don’t sign
I know that. I also know a lot get drafted after round 10 so they can get $100k and not be considered part of the draft allotment.
Full ride in college could be worth more than signing bonus depending on what college the scholarship is to.
There are kids that bypass the draft in hopes of getting a larger bonus in a year or two.
97 percent of draftees never make mlb and the majority never make past AA. Although the experience traveling around the US for a few years until they are released would be fun.
I’ve done the math and it really only makes sense to come out if you get at least $300k and some type of tuition assistance of you don’t make it.
Spend ages 18-22 playing ball, that’s 5 years at $60k per year. You can live on that comfortably enough to train in the off season and really hone your craft.
If by that age you aren’t going to big league camp, on the 40 man roster, etc, read the writing on the wall and go to school before it gets too late.
I think you’re a little out of touch if you are assuming that kids straight out of high school are averaging 60k per year for their first 5 years
He’s basing that figure on the $300k bonus he listed as a minimum for signing.
How many HS players are getting a “Full ride” to play college ball?? My guess is very few.
College Baseball teams have a max of 11.7 scholarships to spread among a baseball roster of 35 players.
Full rides are rare. Most of those kids are getting some scholarship $ (like .25 or .50 of a scholarship)..
Actually, you can only give 25 guys athletic aid in D1. 11.7 scholarships for 25 players on a roster of 35. Provided every D1 program actually funds all 11.7.
MLB screwing over the young players once again while the MLBPA remains complicit. Sad that amateurs don’t really have a seat at the table, but such is life.
It’s really not that big of a deal. It going to be good for a lot of guys as they’ll be eligible to pick where they go and can get a decent bonus as well. After the first three rounds, most bonuses aren’t that big as it is.
it think 500,000 is quite a bit of money. that’s a 4th round pick slot.
You need to remember 500k is for 7 years of team control or so. Then it’s the minor league salary which is not much. Agent’s advise them not to sign for under 300K because they need that money to compensate for the low pay in the minors.
Still five rounds and often times the fourth/fifth rounder is a senior sign guy that gets far under slot to get earlier guys to sign
My initial reaction was that five is excessively low… But then I thought about the chances of ANY MILB being played this year; minuscule at the very best. Where would they stash all the extra draftees for a full year? It’s going to be weird enough for the huge amount of low minor players as it is**, so adding to that confusion would likely cause more problems. I do have to wonder how long it will be before the steady talent stream to the majors suffers as a result of this. I’m gonna have to see if I can find out what percentage of players drafted after the fifth round make an impact in the majors; I truly couldn’t even hazard a guess.
I suppose at the least this puts a bit more teeth into the penalties dealt to the Astros and Red Sox, as they’ll be losing a significant percentage of their draft class…
** I also wonder, after the economic disaster of little or zero pay for a year, how many low minor players will be essentially forced to retire.
Okay, here’s a good article. I was surprised to see that almost 20% of those drafted in the TENTH round ultimately make it to the majors. I honestly would have thought that number would be lower.
baseballamerica.com/stories/how-many-mlb-draftees-…
Thanks for the link.
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed.
cheapo billionaires!
Yes it’s like they are trying to run businesses or something. Those monsters! Rich people are sup evil they’re all so bad!
Agree- minor league baseball is totally subsidized by mlb profits.
If you go back and look at the players taken in the draft it is appalling how few make the majors, but even more appalling how fast the lower draft choices are released because they were never talented enough to succeed.
If the draft stopped at 20 rounds permanently, then those kids more than likely take the scholarships and make a career for themselves.
Rounds 20 and later are really false hope…..my nephew is a college baseball coach and agrees….and if the kids are good enough or improve while in college they will still get drafted.
Those players are there to be able to field full teams so that the true prospects have somebody to compete against.
By definition, in a world with so much preventable suffering, the very rich are not good people. They hoard resources. They should be condemned rather than celebrated.
Anyway, Twinsfan, enjoy the taste of boot while you cape for billionaires.
If you want to speak in business terms, the minor leagues are your R&D. It’s a sunk cost. Once MILBers graduate, they will pay for the next wave.
There’s also the marketing aspect. There are many ways to promote the game and grow the pie.
I think the Owners are watering down the product and not doing enough to grow the game. That’s bad business.
Oh stop. Learn economics
what, you are wasting time here on these pages being a billionaire’s lapdog!
simple economics also tells you these rich people will barely take a hit even if their teams take a loss this year.
The Wilpons would beg to differ. Their team is neck deep in debt and has been losing money for years now. Now a year with no income will sink their debt service ratio and could possibly push them into bankruptcy.
Believe it or not, not all billionaires are rich.
Another way to put it is, not all billionaires are smart!
To a degree, yes. Also owners with likely no ability to develop the talent they draft nor idea of how future development will work.
Think the host family system in rookie and low A ball will continue? Will many of those teams even be there next year?
The best case scenario I can think of is to get your best prospects tested then keep them in a closed environment at Spring Training and have them work out together. But you know 18 year old kids aren’t going to stay locked down for months on end and eventually the virus will get brought into camp.
This is hard to get behind. There are a ton of stars who came out of way later than the 5th round. I hope most of the Seniors get drafted this year.
You know how many college coaching staffs are jumping up and down right now? Should be every single program in the country. Junior colleges will have the biggest pool of talent to pick from ever.
Actually it’s ZERO. With seniors in limbo and incoming freshmen and sophomores forming a “super class” with equal eligibility…and the idiotic reaction in this country to the virus…colleges aren’t even sure college baseball will ever exist again. Truth.
Billionaire owners are a disgrace
Relax. Learn economics
There’s always a “temporarily embarrassed millionaire” to stand up for the poor oppressed billionaires. *eyeroll*
This helps the Astros. They can sign 20 players that were going to be drafted in the 6th round.
No it doesn’t. Do you really think that many players who would of been drafted there are actually going to sign for $20k. This actually hurts the cheaters ever more as they won’t be able to get as much talent as more players will stay in school
The seniors won’t be able to play baseball. How are they going to keep their skills up.
4yr Seniors get an extra year of collegiate eligibility
Those same players that planned on getting drafted and have that extra year of eligibility did not bank on going to grad school. So now they’re forced to go to grad school to remain a student through the fall and spring semesters so they may then use that extra year of athletic eligibility.
This will be problematic for the colleges. Do they play the 5th year player or develop the younger players?
What happens if the 5th year senior gets drafted in the next draft, in the 7th round and gets offered $20k? Do they sit out the year?
I’m fine with this. In fact, I’m hoping they go this route from here on out (though in the future, 10 rounds might be a better number). Most guys from rounds 6 to 40 (especially 11 to 40), will never even make AAA, let alone MLB, so what’s the difference between drafting them and just signing them as a F/A just to be filler for the low minors. Plus, I don’t think you’d have to worry as much about certain teams signing HS phenoms who wouldn’t sign as a, say, 35th round pick, because teams would be far more likely to chance drafting those guys in rounds 8 to 10.
I’m sure this is just a one-time deal, but I would welcome a much shorter draft, one that could be done in 2 days.
its not too bad until you have the UDFA cap in there that keeps multi-billion dollar teams from giving any more than pennies to really talented players. most 6th round guys command more than $20,000 bonuses, and many of these guys are still quite talented. MLB is lucky KBO and NPB have foreign player slot limits or all these kids will be over there in a snap.
@DarkSide830
Agree. 5 rounds could work this year under the circumstances, but you’d have to do probably 10 rounds in the future. I would think 10 would be enough. I doubt this would ever happen anyway, beyond this draft.
howie kendrick disagrees.
Given the breadth of eligible draftees, how about a fall league in the South and Central America if the demand is there? Yeah capitalism
Is it really an unlimited number of players when there are a limited number of roster spots?
I don’t understand why they are even having a draft if they are capping it at 5 rounds. Why not push it for a year and have a ‘super draft’ in 2021? The only reason this is a 5 round draft is because owners did not want to pay slot value for rounds 6-10. They offered to pay 50% of the 2019 slot value for rounds 6-10 and hard cap that number. Let’s keep in mind that owners are already deferring this year’s draft bonus payouts over a 3 year period. 20% paid this year, 40% in years 2 & 3. While I understand owners are not making any money this year, this level of poor mouth is beyond reproach. And what reasonably talented prospect is going to sign for $20K? You only get one chance to get a draft signing bonus in baseball, and that money needs to get you through the below minimum wage years in the minors. Any decent prospect (even college seniors) are going to choose to go back to school for one more year vs. sign a $20K or even worse a $5K bonus with an MLB team. This draft is going to be a complete embarrassment for the league and I can’t see how this will help their labor talks for 2021. Such a shame they can’t even get this right…
The draft is only 5 rounds, but a college senior who would have signed for $5,000 To $10,000 (typical senior bonus over the last 20+ years!) can still sign as agree agent. Freshman through can simply stay in college.
With colleges across the country losing countless dollars to the country’s gross overreaction, you’re discounting the very real possibility that college baseball is ever played again.
I’d rather have a 5 beer draft round…open up them kegs, boys
Owners will roll this into reducing minor league teams as planned already. Conveniently draft is reduced by about 1 full team of players
If the owners are so desperate to avoid paying bonuses to draft picks from rounds 6-10 when the draft is one of the best ways to add surplus value to your team…. imagine the impact on free agency next year when teams are typically overpaying or receiving negative value.
Some smart teams willing to take some risk will steal some incredible deals next year as the free agent market dries up.
I do not blame MLB for this decision. Why? 1: There is not going to be a minor league season in 2020, so that will basically be throwing money away. 2:,Like it or not 1 or 2 ( as in the case of the Yankees) teams will be eliminated, so the need for as many players will not be there. 2a: There will still be IFA signings, so it is not like there will be 5 and out new players. One more point, Generally speaking, players who sign out of High School going into MLB, get their college paid for. Maybe if I am a smart HS kid who is not drafted, I take $20,000 and have the team pay for me to go to Stanford or an Ivy League School? I can even get a year in before baseball starts in 2021 something to think about.
Further proof of how much more the idiot owners care about their bottom lines than the actual quality of the sport. Not a one of them cares about winning, outside it’s relationship to cash. And not a one of them is ever held accountable for their mistakes and failures. Sports has to be the only business where you can make money hand over fist while still failing with impunity.
more talent will be sapped from baseball and head to nfl or nba. nice way to lose more talent and in turn more young fans! great job, worst commish manfried chicken!
Vizionaire- with no vision lol
still dumdum after all these years!
So the Yankees can just buy all the best players not drafted? Another kick in the groin to the small market teams.
How so? They are limited, like everyone else to 20K. Unless you are cream of the cream why would you want to sign with NYY if some other team is offering the same bonus? Getting on an eventual NYY 25 man roster has to be harder than say BAL or PIT or TBR (given those teams don’t spend via FA).
That is correct. Two other points The Yankees had 1 more farm team then most teams ( meaning more room for players). That advantage is now gone. 2: Not everybody wants to play for pressure packed teams like the Yankees or Red Sox. some guys ( for whatever reason) might pick the Braves ( almost always competitive but not like the fishbowl environment you find in New York or Boston), or even the Pirates or Orioles instead of the Yankees or Red Sox.
Yankees can’t offer any more than anyone else, right through to free agency. On the off chance the player makes it that far. Like the above poster mentioned, less chance of being blocked by a free agent on a small market team.
MLB owners are both competitive and cooperative. It makes an interesting dynamic. And keeps them out of Anti-Trust Court.
Round Six, Pick #1 was scheduled to get $321,000 as a bonus. $20,000 is such a nicer number……
With MLB wanting to eliminate the lower short leagues in the minors that are stocked with lower draft picks this plan makes sense from MLB point of view.
With MLB wanting to eliminate the lower short leagues in the minors that are stocked with lower draft picks this plan makes sense from MLB point of view.
lol only 5 rounds since they won’t need many new players due to 42 less teams.
Popular and easy to criticize the owners. who are drawing no income this year and paying out expenses. But the truth of the matter is that instead of getting half of $500k to $150k, young signees will now get only $20k. So that the MLBPA can avoid criticism from agents like Boras. Good work MLBPA. Cowardly as it comes.
The owners will be just fine, even without people like you licking their boots *eyeroll*
If you think about it….a 5 round draft works I the players favor. The undrafted ones get to play for any team they want that is interested. Instead of being drafted they actually have freedom to choose their destination.
While it sucks they don’t get drafted at least it could work in their favor.
tomsellick? Right arm man! A lot less.
Tough for the kids coming out this year, but keep working like you have up till now. These kids will still have a shot at what 99% of the comment contributors on here only dreamed of. Good luck to them!
John Coppolella is sitting at home twitching right now.
High stakes draft – with just 5 rounds and a low bonus available for guys after that most of the best talent will probably wait it out if they don’t get taken in the 1rst round. Signability will be critical – you don’t want to lose one of those 5 picks. Especially if you are drafting in one of the top few slots. Also a teams ability to sell itself to kids who aren’t top 5 round drafted will be critical. Does the team have strong supports in place for young players or not? Will stuff like team mental health efforts become a big help to getting these kids, quality of food provided in the minors, etc?
It will be an interesting watch to see how many HS kids are drafted this year. Analytic info on HS players are limited to start and with no HS season this year this will be a High profile college player draft. A lot College juniors that have tools and had
The number of 20k-ers who sign with Houston will be interesting. Weighting a generally strong organization with the ethical considerations. Sadly, I predict that the Asterisks will have no problem at all signing as many of the $20k players as they wish.
To play Devil’s Advocate: imagine that a young high-school player has to choose between college and minor league ball. He knows that he is not a Bryce Harper, so his odds of tasting mlb coffee are not good. But the team offers him $100k, which to him is a lot of money. He chooses baseball. Now imagine the same scenario, but the kid is only offered $20k. If the kid was sortakinda sitting on the fence before, the lower amount might sway him towards college (or another path), which might not be such a bad decision. Might it not be a bad thing to remove the up-front money from the list of deciding factors?
Has anyone noticed there’s no mention of it on MLB website? Is it possible the player’s union leaked it to put pressure on the commissioner/owners to make adjustments to the latest proposal – just sayin’.
Big market teams always claim how the draft is unfair and how they dont have any money and mlb agrees and gives them what they want. Small market teams get screwed again. We will see if these cash poor large market franchises spend big money this off season on the bigfree agents. I bet they do. They will suddenly find money somewhere
How are international signings affected? Would they also have a $20k cap? If not, wouldn’t that be discrimination against draft eligible players?