Peter Gammons had some interesting information on the future of the MLB draft today, saying that MLB officials and NCAA coaches met on Monday and came to a general agreement to move the draft date to July 1st.
NCAA Coaches and MLB officials met Monday, general agreement on a July 1 draft and July 15 signing deadline
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) January 21, 2015
The move would be aimed at putting the draft after the College World Series, which has a few advantages. From the college side of things, they wouldn’t have to worry about their players getting drafted and potentially missing the playoffs. From the pro side of things, there would be no risk in drafting a player then watching him play for another team for a few weeks if he doesn’t sign early. This is a big concern with pitchers, as college coaches tend to overwork pitchers in the playoffs, with no regard for their future.
None of this sounds immediate. JJ Cooper and Jim Callis both indicated that this probably won’t be happening any time soon.
Our reporting (@johnmanuelba, @vincelara and me) says this is at very prelim stages of maybe moving the draft. Many pieces to put together.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) January 21, 2015
One thing to remember about moving @MLBDraft is can't be done without MLBPA approval. So probably part of next CBA talks at earliest.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) January 21, 2015
The latter tweet indicates that we probably wouldn’t see this move until after the 2016 season. The MLBPA would want something in return for changing the CBA. It’s kind of strange that this is even in the CBA, since players who are drafted aren’t even members of the MLBPA. But that hasn’t prevented the two sides from negotiating over draft and international changes before.
The July 1st date is interesting, as it falls one day before the international signing period begins. You’d wonder if MLB would try and combine the two events, while finally making an international draft that has been rumored as a possibility for a few years.
As for the signing deadline, a July 15th deadline wouldn’t give much time to sign players. Then again, you don’t really need a lot of time to sign players with the new draft rules. Last year the Pirates signed all but two of their picks in the first nine days after the draft. Jerrick Suiter signed a week after that time period, with the delay due to playing in the College World Series. Gage Hinsz signed near the deadline after holding out for an above-slot bonus. Neither situation would be an issue by mid-July.
Right now this is an interesting subject, but it all seems early, and the details largely seem unknown (probably because it is early).
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
One issue I could see with a later draft date is that the short season leagues typically start in mid-June. Stocking those teams for early season games could be problematic, unless they move those seasons back 2 or 3 weeks and play until mid-September
Sounds like a good idea to me, now let’s see about moving the trade deadline closer to september.
pb: I would not go that far, but why not schedule the draft to take place in conjunction with the All Star Game – for instance, the Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding the AS Game which usually takes place on a Tuesday. Do a Prime Time telecast on Saturday night covering the first two or three full rounds. Rounds 3 or 4 thru 10 on Sunday, with rounds 11 through whatever to take place Monday morning prior to the beginning of any HR Derby festivities.
By that point the draft picks wouldn’t be ready to play until August 1st and would lose even more developmental time. I can’t see the teams going for that one.
Doug: Although the Draft is being discussed to move from the first week in June to July 1, I think the signing deadline has not changed and will still be July 15 – therefore, just a shorter signing period. And, that first year which only involves 2 or possibly 3 months at the most is not that important to MLB Teams anymore since they now have a scheduled Instructs Camp that takes place after the minor league regular season ends. I am not sure how long that lasts, but it seems to me to be the new direction, sort of like a team orientation period.
“This is a big concern with pitchers, as college coaches tend to overwork pitchers in the playoffs, with no regard for their future.”
To suggest that college coaches have no regard for their pitchers’ future comes across as almost being slanderous. I would think that most college coaches have strong bonds with their players and would never do anything that would deliberately harm them. I think that suggestion is pretty offensive, unless someone can back this statement with names and facts.
So you’re telling me that UNC Coach Mike Fox was thinking of former Pirate draft pick Kent Emanuel’s future when he threw him three times in eight days during the 2013 College World Series? Name a single Major League team that would’ve let Emanuel do half that over the same period.
Wake up, folks.
R: Nobody bothers with keeping track of guys who threw 120 to 140 or more pitches in a college game. I coached up through the Stan Musial League (18-Unlimited) where quite a few college and JUCO players would play, and these kids were young adults and their arms were much closer to maturity. I saw more pitcher abuse at the lower levels of middle school or HS kids who were trying to get noticed. Sometimes it is their Summer League or HS Coaches and sometimes it is their own or their family pressure to do too much too soon. Anyone concerned with abuse of young arms needs to start a lot earlier than college. BTW, did Bruce Bochy and the SF Giants risk serious arm damage to Madison Bumgarner in the WS?
I’m not saying they try to get guys hurt, but the usage that some coaches use pitchers in would get a professional coach fired quicker than they could walk back to the dugout from the mound.
So if the draft is july 1 some early signees will be losing some development time. That’s disappointing but I guess they feel the tradeoff is worth it.
The MLB CBA is amazing, the MLBPA can even control player movement of players that are not even in the MLBPA. Since the MLBPA can get anything they want from the owners, why not make an attempt at parity in MLB and have one draft for all players, it would be to their advantage, having all teams get rich is a lot better than a few.