Category Archives: MLB Draft

2013 MLB Draft Order: The Houston Astros are on the clock

  By Draft Dawg | 02/23/2013 - 8:56 pm | ,
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Although there has been no announcement of when exactly the 2013 MLB Draft will take place, we do know that the newest members of the AL West, Houston Astros, are on the clock.

We also know that because of the new qualifying offer rules applied to this year’s draft, the teams that could afford to offer 13.3 million dollar one year deals to their top free agents will receive an additional pick at the end of the first round. The Yankees look like the biggest winners as they will have three first round picks, two additional picks coming from losing Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano to free agency.

We also know that the Pirates will receive and additional pick for failing to sign their 2012 1st Round pick, Mark Appel.

Below is the complete draft order for 2013:

1) Houston Astros

2) Chicago Cubs

3) Colorado Rockies

4) Minnesota Twins

5) Cleveland Indians

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MLB Rules: 2013 International Player Draft

  By Draft Dawg | 11/12/2012 - 8:38 pm | ,
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Yoenis Cespedes by Boomer_44

Without a structured International Draft in 2013, any team is free to find the next Yoenis Cespedes.

To set the record straight, there will be no 2013 International Player Draft for MLB. There was a deadline that passed in June of 2012, so all will stay the same until Major League Baseball can come to some agreement on who will be included, what the caps are and how the draft positions will be slotted.

At first glance it seems to make sense to just lump all of the International Players in with the High School and College players every June.

This seems to be the only fair position and would eliminate some of the shady practices that come out of Central America. Each player would have to enter the draft and be verified as eligible. This includes having a valid birth certificate and being eligible to play in the US. Simple right?

Not quite. Some International players, Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman and Ichiro Suzuki command mush larger salaries than MLB slots for each draft position and would throw the system completely out of whack.

So, what is the solution? Is there an age limit that make you a free agent? 23, 24, 25? Does playing in Cuba, Japan or in some other League qualify a player as a free agent?

There is no simple answer to this question, but, until it is figured out, the teams that do the best jobs of scouting south of the border and acquiring high caliber International Free Agents have a distinct advantage over those who don’t.

Apparently MLB will have this figured out in time to host a 2014 Draft, but, if I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

MLB Draft: What Is A Successful Draft? Part 1: The Doomed #1 Picks, Brien Taylor And Steve Chilcott

  By Draft Dawg | 03/29/2012 - 2:49 am |
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The book Moneyball by Michael Lewis did a great job of painting the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft as a crap shoot. With so many injuries and such a minor line between success and failure in the Major Leagues, 15 broken bat singles and 10 seeing eye grounders can be the difference between batting .250 and .300, it is extremely difficult to tell who will wash out completely, see former #1 selection Matt Bush, and who will put together a Hall of Fame Career from a 31st Round favor a la Mike Piazza.

A quick glance at my baseball bible, Sean Forman’s Baseball Reference, shows that, since 1965, Steve Chilcott and Brien Taylor are the only two #1 overall draft picks who retired before making the majors. (Matt Bush may soon join this list after his recent incident, but, he does have one thing in his favor, health)

So, let’s take a look at these two former #1 overall draft picks and see what kept them from making it to the Bigs.

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2012 MLB Draft Info: Dates/Draft Order/New Rules

  By Draft Dawg | 03/08/2012 - 3:31 pm |
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This years’s MLB Draft will take place by conference call from June 4th-6th 2012. (Here is a link to all important dates for MLB)

The draft order will be: (From Baseball Reference)

2012 MLB Draft: High School Prospects: Max Fried and Lucas Giolito

  By Draft Dawg | 03/06/2012 - 11:44 pm |
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Given their 2011 numbers, a combined 16-4, 1.21 ERA, 178 K’s and 1.07 WHIP, it was no surprise that Baseball America named High School Seniors, LHP, Max Fried and RHP, Lucas Giolito to their 2012 Preseason All American Team.

At 6’3 and 210, Max Fried has a mid nineties fastball and command of three pitches. That explains why he had 100 Ks in 70 innings and also why he is expected to be selected near the top of the 2012 MLB Draft. I would be surprised to see the Oakland A’s pass on him with the #11 overall pick

Giolito, at 6’6 and 230, is trailing ONLY Stanford standout Mark Appel in the 2012 MLB draft charts and rankings. With a fastball that has recently been clocked at 100 miles per hour, many Mock Drafts have him being selected #2 overall by the Minnesota Twins.

Both of these pitchers have commitments to UCLA and currently anchor the best starting staff in recent high school history (There is an awesome video in that link) at Harvard-Westlake in Southern California, so don’t be shocked if they follow the paths of Justin Smoak and Reese Havens who turned down pro careers out of High School to attend South Carolina together.

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