The first round of the 2022 amateur draft has been set, with Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo breaking down the order and various tiebreakers involved. In fact, a tiebreaker was necessary to determine that the Orioles will receive the first overall pick. The O’s and Diamondbacks both finished 52-110 this season, plus each went 25-35 in 2020.
Because the Orioles had the worse record of the two clubs in 2019, however, Baltimore will now get the 1-1 selection for the third time in franchise history. (The Orioles took Ben McDonald with the top pick of the 1989 draft, and selected star catching prospect Adley Rutschman just back in 2019.) This tiebreak advantage could be seen as another benefit of the long-term rebuild the Orioles have been undertaking for years now, though Baltimore fans might see this as something of a backhanded accomplishment.
Of course, it remains to be seen if the draft process will remain the same going forward. As Collazo notes, it is possible MLB and the players union could make changes to the draft as part of negotiations for the new collective bargaining agreement. The players (and agents) will quite likely push to alter how draft pick penalties are tied to the free agent market and the luxury tax system, not to mention how the draft pool process that puts significant limitations on what clubs can spend on amateur talent contracts.
There has also been some suggestion that the league could change the usual practice of establishing the draft order strictly by team record, to keep teams (like the Orioles) from tanking in order to stock up on as much young talent as possible at the top of the draft board. As well, there has long been speculation that the league could look into allowing all draft picks to be eligible to be traded. Right now, only the picks in the two Competitive Balance Rounds can be moved as part of trades, and it isn’t out of the question that the CBR criteria is itself changed in some way.
Here is the first-round draft order as it stands just after the end of the regular season. The order of picks beyond the first round won’t be officially known until any compensatory picks and the Competitive Balance Rounds have been decided.
- Orioles (52-110)
- Diamondbacks (52-110)
- Rangers (60-102)
- Pirates (61-101)
- Nationals (65-97)
- Marlins (67-95)
- Cubs (71-91)
- Twins (73-89)
- Royals (74-88)
- Rockies (74-87)
- Mets (compensatory pick for not signing Kumar Rocker, the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft)
- Tigers (77-85)
- Angels (77-85)
- Mets (77-85)
- Padres (79-83)
- Indians (80-82)
- Phillies (82-80)
- Reds (83-79)
- Athletics (86-76)
- Braves (88-73)
- Mariners (90-72)
- Cardinals (90-72)
- Blue Jays (91-71)
- Red Sox (92-70)
- Yankees (92-70)
- White Sox (93-69)
- Brewers (95-67)
- Astros (95-67)
- Rays (100-62)
- Dodgers (106-56)
- Giants (107-55)
Mets will have a big bonus pool to maybe try and tell one of the top recruits not to sign elsewhere
They’ll go cheap
The Mets will spend that bonus pool on the fact that they have multiple top 14 picks. What are you talking about? Why do you think their bonus pool is so big? Unless you’re talking about them spending one of those top 2 picks on a bum so they can draft someone else later. But why even do that? Why not just spend it on the best 2 players on the board when they draft? It’s also not like it’s the Mets decision. If another team drafts a player he’s not going to hold out because a team that may or may not have offered him more no longer owns the rights to him. He can’t refuse to sign with the team that drafted him and then decide to sign with the Mets. That’s completely against the rules. He could hold out for a year but then the Mets bonus pool would be gone and there is still a very slim chance they are the team that drafts him again anyway. Basically your saying the Mets are going to convince a player to screw his own future by flashing money in his face the player knows they will never be able to spend on him? What would that accomplish?
If history means anything the Mets will just pass on a falling top 5 pick to draft Kumar Rocker again. Then not sign him after they remember they don’t like his medicals… again. I think the Mets were probably right and Rockers medicals we’re off since he and Boras didn’t release them. The Mets still should have just drafted the guy the Marlins got though. They knew his medicals were straight and he was supposed to go higher than Rocker anyway.
I think the Mets were probably right and Rockers medicals we’re off
==================================
If it was that bad, both sides should’ve agreed to a lower price, and immediate surgery.
I listened to an MLB podcast with Callis and a few others on it. The Mets did not have to offer him any contract to make sure they secured the #11 pick next year.
There are some protections for pitchers. The top 50 pitching prospects are offered a medical exam pre draft. By doing so it gives them some protection if the team backs out. If the MLB medical comes back clean but the team determines they are hurt and want to walk away they must pay 40-60% of slot value to guarantee that same pick the following year.
In Rockers case he decided not to get pre draft medical done. The Mets had no obligation at this point to offer him anything. From what they said he was offered zero at the end.
The Mets felt they were better off using that slot number the following year instead of on an injured player.
Sucks for Rocker. Tbh the money many not have been there.
He was rumored to have a $6 mil offer on the table from NYM. He would be stupid to not take even half of that and just move on if it was offered. He is still projected to be a fringe late 1st/early 2nd next year if all things are OK. That puts him in the $3 mil range. He is risking a lot of downside next year if he is not fully healthy.
To me a player not getting the physical was big red flag. If I am healthy and projected top pick wouldn’t you want teams to know. Looks like he is hiding something.
It’s rare that pitchers go through with the predraft physical. You really have nothing to gain from it. A clean medical is not going to boost your value. The downside risk is way greater than any upside.
That’s not true Philly. Most of them get it. Even Carter Stewart got it with his injury. He never signed but the Braves still had to offer him 40% of slit value. The downside is they can offer you nothing like the Mets did. I think he was hiding something, too. He’s the only one that didn’t get signed and he didn’t even get an offer. Put your medicals out there so you know this won’t happen and the team that drafts you knows they want to sign you. My guess is he has some sort of a forearm strain but it’s not totally torn. He may have been one of those guys hoping for a few million bucks in his 20’s and then just wanted to retire with the cash if it didn’t work out. That happens in the NFL all the time. Some guys get paid several million in the draft and just stop trying. They played in college because they wanted to get paid for being drafted but don’t really want to go through the hard grind of actually playing the game. Wear your body out and MAYBE make more money or become a multi-millionaire for doing nothing. He was hoping the Mets would sign him just so they didn’t look stupid. They kind of did look stupid because the lack of medicals for a pitcher in particular is a big red flag. It was the Mets who figured they had nothing to lose though since if it didn’t work out the could just get the draft pick back anyway. I still don’t know why they passed on Kahlil to take Rocker though. Khalil had clean medicals and he was projected to go top 5. They probably won’t get a pick as good as him in this draft.
Rocker wants to be great. Go listen to interview with him. He is not chasing the $$. The dude is hungry and a dog out there on the mound.
I’m going to take the word of guys who do this for a living over a poster. It was mentioned on an MLB podcast by guys who scout for a living that players rarely get the physical.
Maybe he had something to hide. Injured guys get drafted. The Mets also took Matthew Allan knowing that he will eventually need a repair. Arm/TJ injuries are not the end of the world today.
The owner may have been the one to nix the deal as well.
Mets need to get players under slot value so that they can get better picks and have the money instead of going to college
Teams do this all the time. Ones that habitually pick the wrong guys by trying to get multiple talent by going underslot are the ones we always see picking in the top 10 who are ran by a never ending stream of talentless staff and amateur departments on a shoe string budget, without the guts to pull the trigger on Nick Yorke type players in round 1.
Always wondered why some teams cheap out like that, or why the orioles took until 2-3y ago to use IFA slots etc..
And I’d like to see mlb permit the trading of draft picks. It might help one of these perennial doormats dig out quicker if they could trade a “lottery ticket” for somebody you could plug into the mlb roster. No reason why every other sport in creation allows the trading of draft choices but not baseball.
Has nothing to do with being cheap. It’s about being efficient with the money you do have and getting the best value out of the entire draft class relative to your needs as an organization. Not as if you pocket the money you don’t spend. IMO the complexity of the MLB drafts is underappreciated.
As a side note: I’m not for trading if draft picks. The only real advantage gained will be for the higher revenue teams to improve their draft position. A hypothetical spike in fan interest is a lousy reason to do it. As long as playing in the MLB requires 2+ years of minor league refinement for 99%+ of all drafted players you’ll never draw the interest that the NFL and NBA drafts do.
Outstanding post. Good to se someone who understands how it works. Fans shouldn’t be upset when their team tries to work the system to add quality later on; they should only be mad if the team doesn’t spend their draft allotment, which NO TEAM does; several go over, in fact (but not enough to be penalized).
Does under-slotting, then over slotting work? Debatable. Would you trade two pretty good players for Bryce Harper, e.g.? That’s really the question.
Me? I take the bets player available, and hope my scouting department finds a few nuggets later on.
And I’m skeptical also about trading choices. Sure it makes things more interesting, grabs a few ratings points, but MLB prohibited it years ago to keep large market teams from “buying” better picks. Again, 2 decent players for Bryce Harper? Ken Griffey Jr.? Of course, there are the Mark Appel-s, but those are the choices you make. But “money-ed” teams would definitely have the advantage.
Polish Hammer
And I’d like to see mlb permit the trading of draft picks.
==============================
Nothing annoys me more than this. A smart GM is going to flat out rob less talented GMs. Every trade would be be settled by one additional draft pick in the end, like maybe the NYY throwing in a #5 pick for Gallo, just to get it over with.
Bad teams like BA could trade half their team, with no one good, but getting a 6th or 7th rounder for every warm body. It would make the trade deadline more interesting, and then imagine the draft when BA has 20 picks in the 1st 10 rounds.
Not sure I understand how a draft pick equalizes the competency of front offices throughout the league.
And how does trading a quarter of your 40 man just to have 10 extra picks (most of which are not 1st or 2nd’s) help BAL? Wouldn’t they just need to replace those players with younger less ready players and/or sign lesser FA’s to replace them? Why not just pawn your picks off to the higher revenue teams for cash and pocket it?
The MLB draft will never generate NFL or NBA level interest when even the most of the best college amateurs need a couple years of refinement in the minors.
Trading draft picks in the other sports generally has had the opposite effect. It tempts already good teams to “go for it” by trading all their picks for players, and produces a healthy correlation between losing on the major league level and excellent prospects. Right now, one of the huge problems MLB faces is that the good teams on the major league level also have the best farms. That’s because if you’re slightly better at scouting and development (maybe because your s&t team is twice the size) than the next team, it doesn’t really matter if you’re picking 28th or what have you. You’re still gonna do better than the other team picking 7th or 8th. That’s unique to baseball, where outcomes for prospects are so unpredictable. But if you’ve traded away your top pick for a guy you desperately needed to win a pennant, that evens things out. Bad teams are not gonna trade their #1 pick, ever.
Studwinfield understands the draft. Many others here don’t.
It’s a really simple concept, teams with lots of money to spend like to spread out the risk and draft say 3/4 first round talents instead of one risky top end guy like Rocker who might never realize his potential if the injury is serious enough.
@johnsilver: I know what you’re talking about but that’s not what King beas said. He was saying the Mets should get one of the top higher picks (I’m assuming higher than 9 because he said “top recruits” and the Mets don’t draft until 9th) to refuse to sign with a team that picks higher than them bases on the fact the Mets have more money. That makes no sense. If another team drafts a guy higher than them he can’t refuse to sign and then go to the Mets. He either has to sign with that team or hold out for the draft next year. No player would ever be dumb enough to do that because there is no guarantee the Mets would even be able to draft him next year and it would tank his draft value. On top of that the Mets draft pool money will be gone next year so it’s not like he could ever benefit from it anyway. Why would any top recruit refuse to sign with the team that drafted him the highest? There is literally zero incentive to do that and it would severely damage his career. I can promise that there won’t be a single player in the draft who refuses to sign because the Mets didn’t draft them.
What does BA mean?
What does BA stand for in your comment? It says bad teams like BA. Does that mean Baltimore?
Baltimore has a bad team????
Just get rid of pool money, and do what other leagues do, the where you’re taking in the draft that is the money you’ll get
JoeBrady, the reason you don’t like it is the same reason I do. A team like Baltimore needs 10 first round picks. They should get the slot money in the trade along with that though. Let the teams out of contention rebuild faster. If they are truly “less talented” and get screwed over by other GMs they need to be exposed so they get pointed out and fired. There are only 30 MLB GM jobs available in the world. I promise you there are more than 30 people who could handle that job very well and very intelligently. What you call “less talented” I call stupid. Those jobs need to go to people that can actually handle it as opposed to someone who has connections because they grew up rich in an ivy league school and majored in sports management because their dad has a sister who’s married to the owner. Get a better GM and rebuild faster. It’s a win for the fans of the organization. In a job that exclusive and hard to even apply for “less talented” should never be acceptable or even tolerated.
What we are seeing now is guys from the most recent draft being traded. In previous seasons (up until a few years ago) they were off limits.
Improving draft position helps but more so it’s adding additional slot value.
The Dodgers adding an extra mid to late 1st round pick is solid but when you combine that slot value with their own slot value … now that put them in position to land a top 5 prospect. The load up all that money on a top 5 pick and just pay someone $10k with their other pick.
The rich get richer.
It less about drafting 1st or 2nd round talent but more to do with adding significant slot money to play with. Trading for a 3rd round pick pockets you an additional $1mil in slot value.
That 2nd round slot money becomes first round slot money.
What you are seeing are some teams punting later round picks. Only the first 10 rounds couldn’t toward slot value.
Many teams are paying guys in rounds 3-10 $10k just to sign. Some of these guys are not top 10 round talent. Teams may like them but signing someone for that cheap May free up an extra $200k to be applied to earlier selections.
You will see teams dumping picks in rounds 3 through 10 Since they offer little value (meaning prospect value) in return.
I think you see more of that with teams drafting inside the top 5. They have more flexibility if they guys they select early on take under slot money.
Pittsburgh did a great job with that this year. They landed four really talented player. David taking less than slot made it easier.
It gets harder as you fall in the first to spread it out unless you punt picks in rounds 3 to 10 to recoup some of that slot money.
It’s not about the pick you are drafted at but the amount of money being offered to you.
Fabian had a supposed deal in place with the Royals well above slot value. The Red Sox took him the pick prior to the Royals. He refused to sign because Boston would not offer him the same deal.
Risky move by both parties but guys do walk away. It’s rare but it happens.
There are competitive balance picks sandwiched between rounds to help those teams.
MLB is different in that players have options. In the other sports you are not eligible to get drafted out of HS. That is what makes the MLB draft unique.
Players hold a slight negotiating advantage over clubs.
If MLB goes to an international draft you will see a scenario like you suggested. There will be no slot money negotiating. Where you are selected is what you get paid.
NHL can be drafted from a High School but still go to College.
Look back at their last few drafts.
They went big on guys early on in rounds 1 and 2. They pretty much punted the rest of the draft in rounds 3 to 10. They essentially used up their top 10 round slot money on one or two guys.
I do not hate the strategy. Load up on top talent. Guys drafted in rounds 4 on are rarely impact players in the major league. It happens and guys do shine but it’s a very small percentage vs guys drafted in rounds 1 and 2.
Dbacks had a neat win today !
Enjoy it. It cost them 1-1.
So happy the Rangers locked up #3 today!
Why is 3 vs 4 such a big deal?
Because he said it was…..
Maybe the spending pool permitted ?
From 2010 to 2016 (#3 pick vs. #4 pick)
Machado vs. Christian Colon
Bauer vs. Bundy
Zunino vs. Gausman
Rodon vs. Schwarber
Brendan Rogers vs. Dillon Tate
Ian Anderson vs. Riley Pint
So, it probably doesn’t matter, except…when it does and then you’d rather have the #3 pick.
@joshbell
Thanks for the post. It’s clear that the #3 has been more successful. Good post.
Machado, Bauer, Guasman, Shawrdber (you can argue with this) Rogers, Anderson as the win for each year?
Seems pretty self evident you’d always rather have the higher pick just to have more control over your own fate rather than hoping the team in front fo you makes a mistake…even if some years it doesn’t matter.
Some years it’s Machado.
It’s the bonus pool money that is far more important. Difference between some spots is almost or over a million. Gives teams more options. Instead of getting one 1st round talent with 6 million some teams spread it out and take 3/4 first round talents.
FWIW, Anderson was projected by most to go mid-to-late 1st rd, but was selected so high because of signability – leaving room in the pool allotment to sign Joey Wentz (now with DET) & Kyle Muller (#5 rated prospect). They also took Bryse Wilson in the 4th rd.
MLB drafts are less about individual draft picks and more about signed picks littering the farm with, so when your #3 pick is crap (like most teams), you have a 4th-rd pick producing like a 1st rd pick to fall back on.
If the Red Sox have the tie-breaker and host the AL Wild card game, how do they pick before the Yankees?
Sox had a worse record in 2020
Thanks, didnt know that was the tie breaker for the draft. Choosing to tank in the short 2020 season pays off again!
That should not apply when the tie breaker goes to the Sox and they have gone field advantage. It should only apply to non playoff teams. That’s ridiculous! If the two teams were both in playoffs with the same record but not playing each other than go to head to head or division record. To do a look back of the previous year means nothing especially when teams have ranked one year to go all in the next! I know it’s only one spot but it makes no sense.
Rules make sense they way they are.
For Playoffs: Head to Head Tiebreaker – every sport does it.
For Drafting: Previous Season Records – helping the team who has been worse longer.
Making a unique rule just for this scenario, would over-complicate things.
For draft order, the tiebreaker is the records the previous season.
Thanks! That was my guess but wasn’t sure.
Padres could have easily gained a few slots if they just tanked a week earlier. Not that it would matter, they’d just draft some football player who will take the signing bonus and go back to football after 18 months…
Who or what are you talking about?
@beersy I think Crikes is confusing the Padres with the Athletics and Kyler Murray. Murray was the 9th pick in 2018 and signed for over 4 million. He choose to go to the NFL afterwards so they Athletics basically lost their pick and put him on the restricted list indefinitely. It sounds like Kyler had to return most of the signing bonus money.
Murray was the only guy I could think of who did something like this, but seeing as he wasn’t drafted by the Padres I was a little confused. I then thought about the ill advised drafting of Johnny Manziel years ago, butI don’t think he ever signed with the Padres.
Who would have thought Cleveland would have a better record than the Padres with 150 million less in payroll.
I would’ve; some teams like the Tribe and TB are so used to running on a low budget they really maximize the return while others with a big checkbook at their dispose spend like drunken sailors.
Anyone who noticed what divisions those two teams were in.
As a fan, I want my team spending to win.
As a fan you should research why spending doesn’t equal winning that way you can be more informed.
Kind of like the current Dodgers and the George-Yankees. Sometimes it does, but your point is well-taken.
honestly the Indians could have been a playoff team had they not had lost Bieber Civale and plesac for half the year.
Lolz Blue Jays & Mariners didn’t make the playoffs & pick behind a division winner. Our world can be cruel. Go Braves
Mets & Phils will blow their picks anyway (well, it may be a good pick at the time, but they’ll blow it either way)
It doesn’t matter where you draft when you’re drafting players who are 5 years away.
It certainly helps to draft higher because you get the ability to spend more money. So yes it does matter.
I honestly would like to see MLB do what the NHL is doing now minus the lottery. no getting the #1 pick x times in y years, no getting a top z pick in a years, etc. i mean, does ARI deserve to get shafted because of a tiebreaker that extends back to when the O’s made another #1 pick?
No like NBA does Draft Lottery.
The problem with the lottery is most fans are too stupid to understand probability. If a team with a small chance to win the top pick does idiots will say it’s rigged. See every lottery in nhl or nba when the team with the highest odds doesn’t win.
[NY team wins]
everyone: IT’S GOTTA BE RIGGED MARKET SIZE AHHHHHHHHH
I think both MLB and the NHL should do what the NHL was doing two or three years ago. That was the best anti-tanking lottery setup I’ve seen. The new one is weaker.
My edit would be to keep the order, basically, the same.
Equalize the spending pools, so teams drafting later can select more preps than they can, now.
Something like, everyone can spend $7 million. The 1 can spend 9, the two can spend spend 8.5. The three can spend 8, and the 4 can spend 7.5.
No real reason to deliberately be bad if the spending is largely the same.
There are competitive balance picks sandwiched between rounds 1 and 2. This is what they are meant to do.
I like the system as it is. There is a bit of projection in drafting prospects in any sport, but more so in baseball than any other. Consequently, I don’t think teams put a heavy emphasis on picking 1st over say 3rd.
More so in hockey where your draft picks are younger and you must project what they’re doing against boys to what they could do against men.
There is usually not a huge gap in talent between the top 5 guys in the MLB draft vs NFL or NBA. It becomes more about who is willing to take an under slot deal than picking the top talent.
The draft order is marginally important. A team still has to develop the player after drafting him. Some teams are better at that than others. That makes the idea of tanking to get a better pick kind of ridiculous.
It’s not ridiculous when you understand how the draft pool system works. The more money teams have available the better talent teams can sign. Rarely does the best player go 1st because many teams opt for trying to get 3 1st round talents instead of one.
The Astros did it the year they took Correa who was ranked like the 7/8 best guy that year.
Happens “every once in a while” and “rarely” are two very different standards…
It’s also not ridiculous when it’s been proven to work see Astros and Cubs wins.
Sad that the Rockies finished just a few games behind the Mets and Padres
Rox have a lot of talent. They have a massive weight tied around their neck in the form of their home city’s altitude (more specifically the adjustment they have to make going from Denver to sea level and back, which makes long winning streaks — but not losing streaks — virtually impossible), and an even bigger weight in the form of poor management. But the talent is there. Put that starting rotation in, I dunno, Seattle or Philly and that would be a world series contender.
Ben Cherington has done really well with his draft picks in his first 2 drafts as the Pirates’ GM. Looking forward to what he can do next year.
@mlb1225, very impressive. Bucs fans just need to be patient (living in the Philly area, I won’t say “trust the process”).
“In the long run, we are all dead.”
No just you
Bro, you are literally a ghost…
This comment is seriously underrated
Jared Jones’ strikeout numbers were insane this season and he wasn’t one of Cherington’s picks I knew about or expected much from at the time, not that I’m an expert or anything though. Very attention grabbing and looking forward to Bubba Chandler and Anthony Solometo pitching next season too.
Solometo went to Bishop Eustace. He automatically sucks.
And with the 17th pick the Phillies will select a LH hitting OF. After 4 good recent selections, they won’t be able to help themselves….Haseley, Moniak, Randolph….
I’ve liked their last two first rounders. I’d like to see them continue to grab potential elite arms honestly.
yeah, dont see how OPs comment makes any sense at this point. Last three picks weren’t OF and only one was a position player at all. Stott and Painter look like great picks so far.
I agree. Drafting HS pitching is risky but the two guys they got (Abel and Painter) have solid deliveries and really good stuff.
Curious what happens with Kumar Rocker during this 2022 draft.
The Mets will pass on him at #11, take him at #14, and then he will flame out.
I want them to take him at 11. That way they use the compensation pick for failure to sign on the guy they failed to sign.
Rocker has to give written consent for the Mets to draft him again and after all of that I seriously doubt he gives it
And that would make the mets….stupid, just like your comment.
I think he falls out of round 1.
Nice system. Well Baltimore since you have sucked for many years we are still going to let you waste another top pick. JOKE
Baltimore seems to be choosing wisely imo. Draft lotteries are awful.
Adley is a waste? You drunk?
Grayson Rodriguez
Adley Rutschman
Ryan Mountcastle
DL Hall
Jury still out on their last 2, but pretty decent track record lately.
3/4 were home runs by Dan Duquette.
Elias has done well thus far. Though the Kjerstad pick is probably going to look bad. There were a number of strong arms at the top of the board that I was shocked to see the team pass on. Obviously the health condition of Kjerstad is impacting that but I’m talking about the fact that they went under slot with another corner guy v. grabbing one of those arms. Didn’t like that.
Baltimore has the best farm system in baseball. Best position player AND best pitcher, among many others. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
This just in, the Angels’ #13 pick is already injured.
Tommy John
The surgery or the actual player? Ironically, he has lamented what the surgery has become in the sport.
The worst team getting the number one pick has been in place for a long time and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s the Orioles’ time to benefit from it like so many other teams got to for multiple seasons before them. MLB better not make any changes, especially for the 2022 draft since this season was played under the current rules.
The orioles big issues is for years they didn’t sign overseas players and develop them completely ignored that.
The draft is just one piece on building a minor league system. The international market can be a great source of talent as well as trading for prospects.
It’s very difficult for teams to build solely via the draft.
I want draft picks to be able to be traded. Imagine a team that is almost there trading away a high round draft pick at trade deadline to get the help needed. Put a whole new wrinkle on the draft and set up.
Also think first round should be by record than the next rounds should be all lottery picks so that even a good team could get some immediate help and more random to it.
Agreed, ridiculous that baseball doesn’t allow it.
As a Cardinals fan I would love to see it all random. When you have a winning record every year you never get access to draft the crown jewels. But then again I’d rather not listen to all the crying and moaning if the Cardinals got to pick 5th once.
Why would people cry and moan? Cards fans seem to have a rather inflated opinion of how much other teams’ fanbases resent them. In my experience the Cards are about as unremarkable a team as there is in baseball. They’re just blessed with playing in a (recently) perennially weak division that is closely bunched geographically, a big and frequently overlooked advantage. And they have solid management. No one hates or even thinks about them.
Yeah, random would be fun.
The Yankees getting an extra draft pick for a decade in a row for being a small-market team would be a hoot.
As a cardinals fan you should really like the current system. The cardinals getting comp picks as a small market is quite possibly the dumbest thing about the current draft system.
Why is that dumb? They play in a smaller market and share the mostly rural state with another team. The Yankees don’t get a competitive balance pick because they play in a huge metro area. Not to mention the huge tv deals the metro teams have that blow the Cardinals deal out of the water. Is it due to bad negotiations? No, it is because of much higher population.
Historically, the Cardinals market is Arkansas to New Mexico, cutting up through roughly half of Illinois. That seems a rather large market.
Cattle don’t buy baseball tickets. And Oklahoma is Ranger territory, anyway. And Illinois 50% cards fans? That’s a joke.
kinda is, southern Illinois and parts of central Illinois, not to mention western Kentucky and southern Indiana. I seen cardinals fans as north as Peoria and bloomington
Larger market teams fill the stadium more often, sells way more merchandise, and most importantly, get very lucrative tv contracts, Comp picks seem like a ridiculously small compensation for being located in a small market.
Damn I forgot about the Mets . I had my A’s at 18 pick . Well I was hoping my A’s would lose enough for this spot seeing it longtime ago playoffs were not happening . Now let’s see if the A’s can move past their useless shortstop fetish collection . They did seem to do well with #2 round pick Zack Geloff at 3B . Every pick counts as I see a downturn for this team . Get your cards right for a new Las Vegas stadium . Sod Oakland
So the Indians won more games than the Padres.
Yes, thanks to their lineup being half made up of guys they received from SD.
Aren’t the Dodgers getting dinged ten pick spots for going “over”?
Give the top pick to the team that wins the championship and go down the list from most success to least. Stop rewarding bad management of teams.
Ensuring an ever widening disparity and unwatchable games forever. Great idea. Sounds like our tax policy.
How come the A’s didn’t get an extra pick when Kyler Murray didn’t sign?
I think it’s because he signed the contract and they let him go play football. So they have his rights if he were to switch sports, but that’s about it.
He did sign. He paid the money back but by him signing that contract the A’s lost out.
Doesn’t matter, they would have just traded the pick for Jon Lester anyway.
So you get a 1st rounder back if you don’t sign the guy you drafted? Why don’t more teams just draft guys they know won’t sign so they can get more picks next year?
The Mets drafted a guy at pick 10. They couldn’t reach an agreement. They are then awarded pick #11 the following draft.
The pick just carries over, they don’t gain additional picks.
There are a historical amount of bad teams right now.
Baseball missed its chance in the early 2000s o contract teams. As it is, once Oakland gets its stadium or moves to Vegas, we’ll likely see two or more teams added down the line. Further diluting the product.
Teams making the playoffs should automatically draft at the end.
The playoff-bound Braves shouldn’t be drafting ahead of the home-bound Mariners.
Nah, it’s fair that they go by record.
If you would have told me at the beginning of this year that the Washington Nationals would hold the #5 pick in next summer’s draft I would have called you crazy!
The Orioles tanked? Did the Astros and the Cubs tank or did they rebuild? In order to rebuild you must dismantle the team and rebuild the Rays way by building up their farm system to ensure long term success. Penalizing rebuilds will only ensure small market teams will have a much more difficult time achieving a competitive team. Is winning 70 to 80 games with mediocre free agents with no chance of getting better or is rebuilding an entire system increasing chances of long term success?