2021 MLB Regular Season thread

Who was the last 1R pick to blow up post-draft? Appel?

 

Astros did the same thing with Brady Aiken a few years ago. Went to the Indians later in the first round the next year, never panned out.

 

There's no downside for the Mets. They get the same pick next year. What's to stop a team from doing this intentionally or taking a flyer hoping he signs cheap if you think next year's draft is stronger. Or in the Mets case, if you think your team will be better equipped to get the pick right in a year. The player is the one who gets screwed.

 

I said it at the time in both leagues. No one listened / cared.

 

I seem to recall the Dodgers did something like that a few years back. They had spent a lot in the foreign market and had a smaller than others bonus pool so they drafted a guy they knew would be difficult to sign, giving them more money for the rest of the class.

 

Not surprising. The rules are negotiated by the teams and the players association; neither of whom cares about those being drafted.

 

Drafting a difficult sign guy to get more draft money doesn't work. You lose that slot amount when you don't sign the guy. The only way this helps the Mets is if they took a bunch of college-bound players late. In drafting Kumar, knowing he would get over-slot, the Mets would have had to tailor the rest of their top-10 picks accordingly. But if that money's gone and they took a bunch of cheaper guys to make the Rocker signing work, their entire draft class is screwed.

 

I do remember you brought it up then. It wasn't until that offseason that I actually got a confession from one of the owners involved, then both, but I certainly could have addressed it sooner.

 

The downside is the Mets lose out on the opportunity to have control over the 10th best prospect in the draft right now. 15-20 yrs ago, the Giants took the route of intentionally wasting draft picks and it killed their minor league stock. It was stupid then and its stupid now to "intentionally waste" a pick, especially a top 10 pick.

 

Giants won 3 titles in 5 years. Their base isn't complaining.

 

They don't lose it. They postpone it. Next year, they control the 11th best player as well as their own draft pick.

 

This was before then.