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Starting 9 – Fixing the MLB draft
Starting 9: Improving the MLB Draft I’m a huge fan of the MLB draft. I enjoy seeking out talent for each season’s new draft class, finding the hidden gems that will be drafted in the 3rd, 13th, or 20th round and turn into Kyle Seager, Matt Carpenter, or J.D. Martinez (each selected in the mentioned round in 2009). This year’s draft is now done and many teams have signed the majority of their selections (or come to an agreement, that is), so it’s a good time to take a look at the draft and what could be done to potentially improve it into the future! First – No free agency…
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2019 MLB Draft Wrap – Evaluating Every Team
The 2019 MLB draft was completed on June 5th. I had a significant fall that week that slowed much of my writing, but this is my annual evaluation of every team and their selections. Feel free to comment below! AL East Baltimore Orioles Round 1, pick 1, overall 1 – Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State Round 2, pick 1, overall 42 – Gunnar Henderson, SS, Alabama HS Round CBB, pick 2, overall 71 – Kyle Stowers, OF, Stanford Round 3, pick 1, overall 79 – Zach Watson, OF, LSU Round 4, pick 1, overall 108 – Joseph Ortiz, SS, New Mexico State Round 5, pick 1, overall 138 – Darell…
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MLB Mock Draft, Version 8.9 – Full First Day
The 2019 MLB draft will take place June 3-5, next Monday! This is the first of two mock drafts that will cover the entire first day, with the second to come early on Monday, June 3rd. Before we get into the picks, let’s start with a quick look at the bonus pools for each team: Arizona $16.09M Baltimore $13.82M Kansas City $13.11M Miami $13.05M Chicago (A) $11.57M Atlanta $11.53M Texas $11.02M San Diego $10.76M Detroit $10.40M Tampa Bay $10.33M Pittsburgh $9.94M Minnesota $9.91M Cincinnati $9.53M San Francisco $8.71M Toronto $8.46M New York (N) $8.22M Los Angeles (N) $8.07M Los Angeles (A) $7.61M Seattle $7.56M New York (A) $7.46M Colorado $7.09M…
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2019 MLB Draft team strategy by division – AL East
Other divisions can have the biggest bonus pool, the most teams in the top half of bonus pools and other such distinctions, but only the American League East hosts the team with the top overall selection. With the top pick and the defending World Series champions in the same division, this is definitely one to watch on June 3rd! Baltimore Orioles 2018 Record: 47-115Bonus Pool: $13,821,300Day 1 selections: 3 (1, 42, 71)Day 2 selections: 8 (79, 108, 138, 168, 198, 228, 258, 288) Draft Strategy The Orioles have the top overall pick, but they really don’t have the leverage with it that recent top drafters have had as there’s an…
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2019 MLB Draft team strategy by division – AL Central
With four of the top dozen bonus pools in the entire 2019 MLB draft, the AL Central could be a very exciting division to watch overall, even if there aren’t the depth of picks that the Royals and Indians both had last year. Chicago White Sox 2018 Record: 62-100Bonus Pool: $11,565,500Day 1 selections: 2 (3, 45)Day 2 selections: 8 (81, 110, 140, 170, 200, 230, 260, 290) Draft Strategy With the third overall selection, the White Sox are going to have a different look than typical this year, even though they’ve picked in the top dozen selections each of the last five drafts. With those five selections in the top…
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2019 MLB Draft team-by-team strategy: AL West
As we continue our review of each team’s potential draft strategy for the 2019 MLB draft, we reach the American League West, a division with two of the bottom four bonus pools in the draft and only one team even in the top half of the game in bonus pool money. Houston Astros 2018 Record: 103-59 (lost ALCS)Bonus Pool: $5,355,100Day 1 selections: 2 (32,68)Day 2 selections: 8 (106,136,166,196,226,256,286,316) Draft Strategy The Astros have been smart with pursuing high-aptitude high school players in the draft while also focusing on versatility and athleticism in their college selections. That could serve them well in this draft that has a number of top high…
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MLB Mock Draft Monday, Version 7.9
The 2019 MLB draft will take place June 3-5, incredibly just two weeks away. This is the seventh of the mock drafts that I will put out, looking to put out one per week all the way up to the draft. Before we get into the picks, let’s start with a quick look at the bonus pools for each team: Arizona $16.09M Baltimore $13.82M Kansas City $13.11M Miami $13.05M Chicago (A) $11.57M Atlanta $11.53M Texas $11.02M San Diego $10.76M Detroit $10.40M Tampa Bay $10.33M Pittsburgh $9.94M Minnesota $9.91M Cincinnati $9.53M San Francisco $8.71M Toronto $8.46M New York (N) $8.22M Los Angeles (N) $8.07M Los Angeles (A) $7.61M Seattle $7.56M New…
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Starting 9: Draft pick compensation and draft bonus pools
In this week’s Starting 9, we’re going to dive into an area that’s getting more attention right now as we bear down on the MLB draft, which begins exactly 2 weeks from today. The subject for today is draft pick compensation and draft pools and how they influence the way teams draft and also how they make decisions outside of the draft as well. Let’s dig in! Uno – The basics: what is a draft pool and what is draft pick compensation? Before the 2012 draft, the draft was truly a free-for-all. That is why it is truly hard to compare drafting tendencies for a team from before that time…
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2019 MLB Draft team-by-team strategy – NL East
This is part 3 of my team-by-team review of each team’s strategy for the 2019 MLB draft. Today, we focus on the National League East, a division that entered 2019 with hopes of 4 of the teams fighting for the division lead. That hasn’t played out this year so far, but much like the division race the rest of the way in this division, the draft among these teams could be very intriguing to watch! Atlanta Braves 2018 Record: 90-72 (lost NLDS)Bonus Pool: $11,532,200Day 1 selections: 3 (9, 21, 60)Day 2 selections: 8 (98, 127, 157, 187, 217, 247, 277, 307) Draft Strategy This draft could be a very interesting…
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2019 MLB Draft Team Strategy – NL Central
This is the second of our divisional reviews of team-by-team strategies for the upcoming MLB draft. We’ll continue with the NL Central… Chicago Cubs 2018 Record: 95-68 (Wild Card, lost Wild Card game)Bonus Pool: $5,826,900Day 1 selections: 2 (27, 64)Day 2 selections: 8 (103, 132, 162, 192, 222, 252, 282, 312) Draft Strategy The Cubs have a very small pool to use this year, so they’re not likely to go crazy spending on any of their selections, but then again… Those who I’ve talked to keep suggesting that the Cubs have their eyes on about 3 players that they are willing to “spend big” for with their first pick, essentially…
