{image1} Major League Baseball held its annual amateur selection draft this past week. Over a two-day period all 30 teams re-stocked their farm systems. Mostly with players even those that follow baseball have never even heard of.
This was the 41st edition of the annual June Draft, but the original format is now outdated.
For years the draft has been more about posturing than actual talent level. There are several factors that make the current system more of a silent auction than the drafts of the NBA and the NFL.
The solutions to this problem are actually quite simple. There has been some discussion on changing the format of the draft. Hopefully the players and the owners can get together on some sort of agreement for the betterment of the game. Here are a few ideas to help them along.
Televise the Draft
There are many reasons to do so, but all you really need is one. For the last few years ESPN has televised the NHL draft. The past several months have proven how important hockey is to Americans.
On a serious note - this could be an opportunity for baseball to promote its sport. Just as in April, May and June, hope springs eternal. Even the bad teams can have good days during the draft. In fact, it the smaller markets team's only chance to truly get better. Conversly, nothing is more entertaining than the Jets' fans booing every year's selection or just the simple sight of Elgin Baylor.
It wouldn't be very difficult. ESPN, who already owns the rights to MLB, could televise just the first round. Each team gets five minutes per selection. That would offer the "Baseball Tonight" crew to show highlights of each player and discuss a player positively or negatively. Suzy Kolber could do the 30-second interview where fans could actually hear the future of the organization speak. Most importantly, Jim Callis from "Baseball Americ" has already volunteered himself to play the role of Mel Kiper Jr. (Good luck with the hair, Jim.)
Salary Slotting
Over the past 15 years the draft has been dominated by finances instead of talent. The draft is supposed to be set up in order to even the playing field by allowing the worst teams to select the best players. Under the current system the worst teams don't have the money to pay $5 million signing bonuses to a high school player. Thus the talented players slip to the late first round where the already good teams that have the money to spend only get better.
This year was no different. While there wasn't a selection that mirrored the Padres selection of Matt Bush last year, there were many players that fell past the top eight to teams that were willing to spend. All of these players had one thing in common - Scott Boras.
Boras has held the draft hostage for years with his strong-armed tactics and ruthless negotiating to the point where several teams will not even select a player if he is represented by Boras. Players like Mike Pelfrey - No. 9 (Mets), Craig Hansen - No. 26 (Red Sox) and Luke Kochevar - No. 40 (Dodgers) all fell substantially due to teams' fear of Boras. All three of these pitchers were considered the cream of the pitching prospects yet even teams like the Yankees took a pass.
The NBA has built in salary slots for its first round draftees. It eliminates negotiations, agents and hold-outs like that of Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver. It also eliminates the Red Sox from getting Hansen whom may have been the best pitcher in the draft and had been discussed and a possible selection first overall. Hansen getting passed on by 25 teams is preposterous.
Allow for Trading of Picks
Why this is a rule? The current format does not allow a team to trade its drafts picks to another team. After much deliberation there isn't a possible explanation as to why this is the case.
There were a few scenarios this year where teams could have benefited from being able to trade some picks. First was the Diamondbacks - while they got a supreme talent in Justin Upton they could have easily used that selection to acquire a player that could help them win the division this year. This is especially true after they had just signed last year's first round selection Stephen Drew to a huge bonus. While that theory is robbing Peter to pay Paul - it should be the Diamondbacks' decision to make.
Another example was the Brewers. While they most likely got the player that they wanted, they could have easily picked him at No. 12. They could have used their No. 5 pick, traded down and acquired a second round pick to make up for the one they lost due the signing of Damien Miller. Instead the Crew had to "overdraft" Braun because they were stuck at No. 5 and then didn't get to pick again until No. 85.
Make Foreign Players Draft Eligible
With the influx of foreign players becoming more prevalent the need for them to have to go through the draft is becoming greater. As it stands foreign players are virtual free agents. They can sign with the highest bidder and most of the time they do. The likes of Ichiro, Hideki Matsui and Jose Contreras were virtually untouchable for as many as 20 major league teams.
Not only does this create more of an unbalance between the haves and the have nots, it is also a great disadvantage to the American born players who are under the reigns of the current system. Even the top draft picks have absolutely no chance at reigning in the money that Ichiro did when he came over from Japan.
The NBA's current system mandates a foreign age limit of 18 years-old, but all players must go through the draft. If the NBA can implement such a plan - Baseball should be able to do so as well.
Get 'er Done
MLB is always looking for ways to further promote the game of baseball. The draft is an un-tapped resource at their disposal. In no way will the baseball draft ever reach the insane levels of the NFL draft, but is should use the blueprint that the NFL has created to draw more interest to the game. A few changes to the current system and MLB would be well on their way.
