Should MLB Scrap the Draft? My Take

First and foremost I want to thank everyone who participated in our Twitter Poll this morning. We thoroughly enjoy doing those and we don’t do them nearly enough and for that I apologize. In the Twitter Poll I asked the fans and our followers on Twitter if they thought it would make Major League Baseball better or worse if they scrapped the draft entirely and went to a program much like the international free agent market. Instead of assigning slots and caps for each player in the draft why not put the power back into the player’s hands and let them sign where they want, right? You guys had your say now here is my take on the matter.

Before I get too far into this I can definitely see both sides of the spectrum on this topic. I know the draft was designed to bring parity to the game and I fully realize that without the draft teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles to name a few would not have achieved the recent strings of success that they all enjoy today but my argument is and will always be that these teams could sign comparable talent in a new system designed like the international market.

I am real big on players being in New York who want to be in New York. You can tell the difference on the field and by the way these players carry themselves outside the ball park. Carlos Beltran always wanted to be a Yankee, Jason Giambi wanted to be a Yankee, Nick Swisher wanted to be a Yankee, etc. What I don’t necessarily like or prefer is players who you know don’t want to be here but have to put on their stone face and their “PC” smile for the cameras. Ian Clarkin is an example of this as he was quite vocal about not wanting to ever play for the Yankees just days before the team drafted him with one of their first round picks. Why make Clarkin suffer if he doesn’t want to be here if there is a reasonable and suitable alternative?

I see no problem with giving the players the choice on what team they want to spend the next six-plus seasons with. I see no problem letting a player chose which bumpy dirt road he wants to ride down on and what bus he wants to sweat for hours in all summer long. I see no problem with a lifelong Yankees fan signing with the Yankees if he wants to but can’t just because he is a top tiered talent and the Yankees did well the season before. What’s the harm? Add slots and a cap and hurt the teams for going over it like they do in the international market. Some teams will abuse it but I highly doubt prep school arms and college bats wouldn’t want to go to the Rays, Nats, Pirates, Diamondbacks, etc.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say I am necessarily for it but I am struggling to come up with ways that it would make MLB worse also.