Gammons: Big Changes Coming to the Draft?

by dchu on Jun 12, 2005 10:04 PM PDT

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=2083626

"A committee of general managers will revisit recommendations on changing the draft, including the elimination of compensation picks [which tend to help richer clubs that lose free agents], working out a slotting system with the players' association [which the players themselves want], delaying the draft until mid-July and setting a signing deadline for around Labor Day."

I don't know how most teams tend to be affected by compensation rules, but this will definitely be a blow to the A's, who only fit half the profile for the "richer clubs that lose free agents" category.
You take supplemental picks out of the equation, and the A's miss out on Huston Street. This could be big.

I'm definitely in favor of a slotting system. This Stephen Drew/Jared Weaver kind of nonsense has to stop.

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Trades

When will baseball join other sports and allow draft picks to be traded? The A's value draft picks more than some teams and they ought to be able to take advantage of that by trading for other team's picks.

"Baseball is dull only to dull minds."
Red Barber, announcer

by Furious George on Jun 12, 2005 10:23 PM PDT reply actions

Slotting

I thought that the giving up of Draft Picks helped the Poor teams more then the Big Teams. Else, the Yanks (or more to the point, BoSox) could buy every FA w/o losing anything.

"Pinata's promote violence against flamboyant animals"

by Zonis on Jun 12, 2005 10:33 PM PDT reply actions

Well

In order to get compensation picks, you need to offer arbitration to your departing FAs. And rich teams can afford to offer arbitration to all their FAs because they know they won't get burned if the players accept arb. For instance, the A's couldn't get any compensation picks for Dye because they could not afford Dye had he accepted arbitration.

Plus, the rich teams have more departing FAs than the poorer teams, due to the fact they can afford more players close to free agency on the payroll (while poorer teams will have traded alot of their arb-elligible players before they reach free agency).

Which is sort of why the Red Sox had more first round/supplemental picks than the A's, Royals, D-Rays, etc this year.

by OaktownTribesman on Jun 13, 2005 6:03 AM PDT up reply actions

what does that mean

"slotting system".

California here I come, right back where I started from, Californiaaaaa, Californiaaaaa, here I coooooome (June 24th). (OC, i was inspired)

by ohad on Jun 13, 2005 3:23 AM PDT reply actions

Slot money

To work out a system where the #1 player gets x money, the #2 gets y, and so on. No ridiculous signing bonuses totally out of place relative to other bonuses.

by OaktownTribesman on Jun 13, 2005 5:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks Oaktown T

DCHU-You forgot to mention all the stuff he said about the A's.

* Oakland got a lot of notice for drafting high school players after the first couple of rounds. Why is this surprising? The college pitching got taken early. And "Moneyball" isn't about college vs. high school, it's about finding value, and high school players in this draft had more value after the first 2-3 rounds because so many teams (20 of 30 in the first round) went with college players early. A's GM Billy Beane first went with on-base percentage players, then so did most everyone else, and those players got too expensive for one of the four lowest payrolls. Then he turned to defense, which was undervalued [Boston did so last July 31, and won the World Series].

California here I come, right back where I started from, Californiaaaaa, Californiaaaaa, here I coooooome (June 24th). (OC, i was inspired)

by ohad on Jun 13, 2005 8:06 AM PDT reply actions