The day of the draft I was thinking about the differences between the NFL, NBA, and MLB draft. There is not much difference between the NFL and NBA draft besides technicalities. However, the MLB draft is a strange one. First off, the MLB draft is in the middle of the MLB season. Why is that? But then I understand when you hear the names of the first round picks and then you never see them play in the major league. Ok, maybe never is exaggerating, but it will be a good 2-3 years. Why have a draft? Why not just let the teams just sign prospects out of college and not worry about promoting a draft that seemingly means nothing? Someone please help me understand what the significance of the MLB draft is, because it makes no sense to me.

The thing that blows my mind is that there are like 65 rounds! That's freakin crazy! Lol, of course not all those guys get signed though. The draft has some value... if they didn't have it, the small market teams would NEVER get any of the top prospects at all. At least this way all teams have a legitimate chance at a few good players to replenish their farm system every season. The big question is if they can reach an offer with that prospect.

Honestly, without salary cap rules or whatever allows the Yankees and Red Sox to always sign everyone away from other teams, what does it matter where the top prospects go? You know where the best players are going to end up.

It's not always the case... I (and basically everyone else) think that would be pretty lame if the teams with the deepest prospects got every single young prospect. At least this way some teams have a fighting chance to draft and retain some youngsters.

College Wolf wrote:
That does make sense, but how soon do those prospects even see the field? And what is the turnover ratio on those prospects? Just questions, because it just seems awkward to me. It makes sense but it just seems awkward that it even matters.

I think those are good questions. With 65 rounds I would bet the turnover is tremendous!! I guess each team does have a total of 4 teams to draft for if you count all the minor leagues...and some of the prospects drafted are based on pure speculation. You hear about football stars who were drafted but never played, you'd think that happens somewhat frequently...

It all depends on the prospect. Some guys go directly to the majors, while others spend a year (or less) in the minors. These types of players are precisely why the draft exists, so that teams have chances to get them (rather than they go to the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, etc.)

Yeah, it is true that the majority of the guys usually toil in the minors for years (or even their entire career) but that's because there are like 65 rounds in the draft every year! The first three or so rounds are all like the first round of the NFL draft, or the lottery in the NBA.

As a diehard yankee fan, the draft finally came thru this year with the pither Joba Chamberlin who has done wonderfully. But normally i dont put much into the mlb draft, this is the first year in a longtime, that it has done any good, since bout 96 when jeter n Mo came in.