The new CBA agreement in baseball changed quite a few things about the draft. Some of it is extremely complicated and I don’t even want to take the time to figure it out, such as the draft lottery percentages. No more using the end of a bad to season trying to figure out where the Pittsburgh Pirates (or any other team) will end up picking, which was one of the few things making the end of seasons bearable now with the limited roster spots in September for prospects. We now have to wait for the lottery and a whole set of new possibilities based on rookie performances that can add or subtract picks. I swear some rules are in place just for job security for front office people. Forget that complicated nonsense and check out these rules that don’t make your brain hurt.
The slot amount for picks after the tenth round is now $150,000, the second raise since this system was put in place. It started at $100,000 and then went to $125,000. That could be useful in convincing players to sign when you’re out or almost out of draft pool space, and those who do require over-slot bonuses are taking less away from the bonus pool. A $25,000 increase might not be enough to convince a player to sign, but if you’re pulling an extra $25,000 from multiple players, you could end up with another interesting signing like Braylon Bishop, who the Pirates got for $268,700 in the 14th round.
The other rule of interest, which I’m not a fan of, is the draft-and-follow rule. I thought it was great with the quicker signing period and everything being completely wrapped up in a month, but now we could have an unknown for a long time. The draft-and-follow used to exist, and it was much easier to figure out before they instituted a bonus pool system. You could draft a JUCO player, watch him over the following season, and then still sign him before the next draft started, but the signing bonus was just whatever the team was willing to spend.
That process is possible again now, though if the player has a breakout performance, then there’s almost zero chance he signs unless you have bonus pool space left. It’s said that the draft-and-follow players have a $225,000 slot, but the vague rules don’t explain if that’s just players picked after the tenth round. I asked someone who I thought was sure to know and they said the rule is vague, so there’s that. Anyway, the signing deadline will now be a soft deadline for some eligible players.
The other note of interest, which many assumed would stay true, is that the draft is now set at 20 rounds. They had 20 rounds in 2021 and we heard that they wanted to keep it at 20 rounds, but it wasn’t set until the new CBA was agreed on.
There’s a lot to go over in the new CBA, but I thought that these three notes were interesting, especially with the draft coverage starting to pick up soon.
Pirates Prospects Spotlight
The Odds of Successful Dominican Summer League Hitters Making it to the Majors
Part four of this series will be posted tomorrow. The pitching side of the DSL has some interesting numbers in comparison to the hitters.
Daily Links
**John Dreker: Pirates Claim Left-Handed Pitcher Aaron Fletcher
**Wilbur Miller: The Pirates and the CBA: Help is Not on the Way
