MLB Draft

[MartyFunkhouser]

MLB is my favorite sport, but it has the worst draft of all the major professional leagues. The best players want ridiculous bonuses. Most of the teams at the top of the draft refuse to pay the ridiculous bonuses, which is one of the reasons the teams are at the top of the draft. Teams cannot trade draft picks if they decide they don't want to pay top slotted players bonuses. All of this combines to a system where the worst teams don't necessarily draft the best players and instead draft players they can sign. The best players slip later in the draft and better teams get the talent.

It is just a broken system, all the way around. It is shame that the best sport cannot get its draft right.

[MarkGrace]

MLB draft is a joke. There are so many things wrong with that league.

[il Padrino Ute]

MLB is my favorite sport, but it has the worst draft of all the major professional leagues. The best players want ridiculous bonuses. Most of the teams at the top of the draft refuse to pay the ridiculous bonuses, which is one of the reasons the teams are at the top of the draft. Teams cannot trade draft picks if they decide they don't want to pay top slotted players bonuses. All of this combines to a system where the worst teams don't necessarily draft the best players and instead draft players they can sign. The best players slip later in the draft and better teams get the talent.

It is just a broken system, all the way around. It is shame that the best sport cannot get its draft right.

I blame Donald Fehr. He is Satan.

[Hot Lunch]

MLB is my favorite sport, but it has the worst draft of all the major professional leagues. The best players want ridiculous bonuses. Most of the teams at the top of the draft refuse to pay the ridiculous bonuses, which is one of the reasons the teams are at the top of the draft. Teams cannot trade draft picks if they decide they don't want to pay top slotted players bonuses. All of this combines to a system where the worst teams don't necessarily draft the best players and instead draft players they can sign. The best players slip later in the draft and better teams get the talent.

It is just a broken system, all the way around. It is shame that the best sport cannot get its draft right.

As much as I love baseball I just don't think they would be able to pull off a draft like the NBA and NFL does. For one, college baseball is basically being watched by nobody and High School baseball is probably about the same. The thing that makes the NFL and NBA drafts fun to watch is that we know who the majority of people drafted are. We already have some kind of a connection to them. It is hard to get excited about people I don't know anything about and will not see in the big leagues for 3 - 6 years depending on the prospect. I agree it sucks but I just don't think they can make it an event like the other big leagues do.

[cougjunkie]

As much as I love baseball I just don't think they would be able to pull off a draft like the NBA and NFL does. For one, college baseball is basically being watched by nobody and High School baseball is probably about the same. The thing that makes the NFL and NBA drafts fun to watch is that we know who the majority of people drafted are. We already have some kind of a connection to them. It is hard to get excited about people I don't know anything about and will not see in the big leagues for 3 - 6 years depending on the prospect. I agree it sucks but I just don't think they can make it an event like the other big leagues do.

Exactly, also the fact that they have 60 rounds does not do them any favors either.

[Hot Lunch]

Exactly, also the fact that they have 60 rounds does not do them any favors either.

Do they have 60? I thought there wasn't set number of rounds, just that they drafted until they didn't want to draft any more.

[MarkGrace]

As much as I love baseball I just don't think they would be able to pull off a draft like the NBA and NFL does. For one, college baseball is basically being watched by nobody and High School baseball is probably about the same. The thing that makes the NFL and NBA drafts fun to watch is that we know who the majority of people drafted are. We already have some kind of a connection to them. It is hard to get excited about people I don't know anything about and will not see in the big leagues for 3 - 6 years depending on the prospect. I agree it sucks but I just don't think they can make it an event like the other big leagues do.

I don't think this is on point with what Funk is saying. I agree with you that it's impossible to make the MLB draft more sexy or exciting in the way that the NBA or NFL are -- you're just working with a whole different set of parameters.

The real problem is that the MLB draft doesn't help rectify imbalances in the way the others leagues do. The bottom-feeder teams in the MLB are small market teams; even if they end up with top picks in the draft to help make them competitive (as any draft should do), they still can't afford to sign those players. Signability becomes as big a factor as talent, and lower-rung teams have to pass on the more talented player because of it.

By contrast, everything in the NBA is on a set pay scale for rookies, and even when a rookie deal is up, the team that drafted the player is in the best position to retain him. The NBA system is not perfect, but it's far better than MLB, and allows the teams that end up with the top picks to draft talent accordingly.

[Hot Lunch]

The real problem is that the MLB draft doesn't help rectify imbalances in the way the others leagues do. The bottom-feeder teams in the MLB are small market teams; even if they end up with top picks in the draft to help make them competitive (as any draft should do), they still can't afford to sign those players. Signability becomes as big a factor as talent, and lower-rung teams have to pass on the more talented player because of it.

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I agree with this as well. I see what you and Funkster are saying.

[DU Ute]

Not to get off topic from the Bud Selig/Donald Fehr bitchfest, but does anyone know if any players with Utah/BYU or any other local ties has been scooped up yet?

[cougjunkie]

Marcus Littlewood from Pineview high school went in the 2nd round to Seattle. He is the highest position player ever to be drafted out of the state of Utah. He had previously signed with University of San Diego. Looks like he will forgo college now.

Adam Duke, pitcher from Spanish Fork with a mid-90s fast ball, went in the 16th round to the Redsox. He has signed with powerhouse Oregon State, I am guessing he still plays college ball.

[MartyFunkhouser]

I don't think this is on point with what Funk is saying. I agree with you that it's impossible to make the MLB draft more sexy or exciting in the way that the NBA or NFL are -- you're just working with a whole different set of parameters.

The real problem is that the MLB draft doesn't help rectify imbalances in the way the others leagues do. The bottom-feeder teams in the MLB are small market teams; even if they end up with top picks in the draft to help make them competitive (as any draft should do), they still can't afford to sign those players. Signability becomes as big a factor as talent, and lower-rung teams have to pass on the more talented player because of it.

By contrast, everything in the NBA is on a set pay scale for rookies, and even when a rookie deal is up, the team that drafted the player is in the best position to retain him. The NBA system is not perfect, but it's far better than MLB, and allows the teams that end up with the top picks to draft talent accordingly.

I agree that there is no way that the MLB draft can ever be as entertaining as the NBA draft of the NFL draft. The MLB is never going to be good television, because of the exact programs that Hot Lunch pointed out. MG is dead on with explaining my complaint with the draft.

Grandal was one of the top prospects in the draft, but he slid until 15 because teams didn't think they could sign him. You have players like Colon being drafted way too high because he is going to be easy to sign.

[MarkGrace]

Marcus Littlewood from Pineview high school went in the 2nd round to Seattle. He is the highest position player ever to be drafted out of the state of Utah. He had previously signed with University of San Diego. Looks like he will forgo college now.

That's impressive. One of my good friends went in the 3rd round out of Utah, and at that time very few players had gone top 3 rounds out of the state.

[il Padrino Ute]

Marcus Littlewood from Pineview high school went in the 2nd round to Seattle. He is the highest position player ever to be drafted out of the state of Utah. He had previously signed with University of San Diego. Looks like he will forgo college now.

Adam Duke, pitcher from Spanish Fork with a mid-90s fast ball, went in the 16th round to the Redsox. He has signed with powerhouse Oregon State, I am guessing he still plays college ball.

I played against his dad in high school. He was a terrific player in the early days at Taylorsville. He was drafted by the Brewers and played a few years with their farm teams, but never got to the big show and is now coaching at Dixie State.

If this kid is as good as I've heard, we'll see him in the bigs soon.

[cougjunkie]

Tyler Hanks who played high school ball at Spanish Fork, and his college ball with Bryce Harper at College of Southern Nevada was drafted in the 17th round. (CofSN had 9 players drafted so far).

Tanner Robles formally of Cottonwood high and most recently with Oregon State, was drafted in the 14th round out of high school by the Dodgers, went to college and was just drafted in the 8th round by the Reds.

[I.J. Reilly]

(CofSN had 9 players drafted so far).

A rising tide lifts all boats.