The MLB standings are almost finalized, with the only thing remaining being a tiebreaker game between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays tonight. That won’t impact the Pirates in the standings, or any other team, which means that the 2014 draft order is almost set. The Pirates will be picking 27th overall in the first round, which is the lowest they have ever made their first pick in a draft. That does come with the disclaimer that they picked 24th in 1991 and 23rd in 1992, when there were only 26 teams in the league.
Baseball America has the order of the draft here. The Pirates also have a competitive balance pick after the second round. Currently their top ten picks line up in the following way:
1. 27
2. 64
Comp. 73
3. 100
4. 130
5. 160
6. 190
7. 220
8. 250
9. 280
10. 310
There’s a chance the first round pick could move up. If teams drafting in the 11-26 range sign a free agent who qualifies for compensation, then they would forfeit their first round pick. That wouldn’t have any impact on the picks after the first round, since the former team of those free agents would get a comp pick after the first round. So while every pick would shift up one spot with the forfeiting of a first round pick, all of the picks below the first comp round would shift back to their normal spots with the addition of a new comp pick.
This will also be the order for the International Bonus Pools. The Pirates would actually be ranked 26th for the international money, since they are only 27th in the draft due to Toronto having a compensation pick. This year the 26th ranked team had $1,909,900 to spend. By comparison, the Pirates had $2,426,000 to spend in 2013. They have spent a reported $1.2 M so far, although a lot of international bonuses, and even signings, go unreported. The lower international pool won’t hurt as much, since the Pirates do a good job of landing talented players without paying huge bonuses.
