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Post by azblue on Jun 14, 2013 22:40:31 GMT -5
I know that the Red Sox do their homework on the health of draftees, so I assume that they are not overly concerned about Boldt. No reason to worry about lasting effects of Boldt's torn meniscus until late in a long career. Huge advances in repairing meniscus tears over the past 10 years. However, I really wonder about Boldt throwing with his non-dominant arm after two or more nasty injuries to his natural throwing arm. Kudos to him for being able to make the switch. I cannot imagine having to do that.
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Post by azblue on Jun 14, 2013 22:28:51 GMT -5
Webster gave up only one hit, one walk and had six K's in six innings. Lost in Xandermania.
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Post by azblue on Jun 14, 2013 22:22:05 GMT -5
MLB will be instituting chromosome checks next season--it's all Xander's fault.
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Post by azblue on Jun 11, 2013 22:13:10 GMT -5
This may be premium (hard to know when you have a premium subscription) that focuses on age of prospects and features Trey Ball. Scout.com. sbb.scout.com/2/1298821.html
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Post by azblue on Jun 10, 2013 20:10:32 GMT -5
Virtually every high school catcher is "raw."
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Post by azblue on Jun 10, 2013 9:40:21 GMT -5
What is the source of Denney having "questionable defense"? I have never seen this.
Just because some comments have been made that he has a good enough bat to be moved is NOT a comment on his defense, which appears to be quite good.
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 22:19:25 GMT -5
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 19:40:48 GMT -5
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 17:17:35 GMT -5
There should be one additional column in the analysis--the name of the advisor. There are some advisors who would fight strongly against a below-slot bonus and some have great influence. Sometimes a decision can come down to the agent...er advisor...protecting his reputation for always getting the best deal possible.
I have some doubt that Stankiewicz would sign for $700K. He turned down $600K (a $80K discount) from the Mets last year. Why would he take a $500K discount? Granted, the Mets drafted lower in the second round and it was the difference between $680K and $600K in 2012. I would expect he would take some discount but you have to consider his history of walking away from an $80K discount after being drafted in the same round.
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 11:57:46 GMT -5
A draftee can go to college without playing baseball. Short season does not start until start June and can make it back in Sept. I am sure if there is some overlap of time it can be worked out. The irony of parents wanting a good education for there kids is the overall demand of the sport during the school year. It takes away the full attention that a student should be giving to there studies. I know this quite well having two son's playing college ball, they made it through with no margin for error. I know someone locally who turned down a large bonus from Arizona to play for Stanford, the parent's bragged how important the education was to them. One season and he left Stanford for Georgia (conflict with pitching coach) and was drafted for peanuts. So go to school ,play ball during summer eguals bonus, better education, better coaching,and a better chance to play pro ball. Is it possible for a player to sign to play professional baseball and to also attend college full time? Yes. Is it at all likely that an MLB team would allow this? No. The rare examples have involved two-sport athletes who had not made a final decision to play baseball. If I recall correctly, there were staged payments of the big signing bonus with an agreement that the annual payments (over the five-year period then permitted by the CBA for two-sport athletes) would be made only so long as the athlete played baseball that year. There is spring training, extended spring training and fall instructional league in addition to the short season. How long would you expect a top prospect to be in a short season league? Hopefully, two years at the absolute maximum. Even squeezing a quarter or trimester (if the college operated on this type of calendar) would interfere with the entire player development program preferred by the MLB team.
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 11:34:25 GMT -5
Article on Denney being chosen as Player of the Year in Oklahoma. Based on this and other articles about him, he appears to be very strong on defense--quickness, arm, leadership are very strong. newsok.com/yukons-jonathan-denney-is-player-of-the-year/article/3843383Perhaps the baseball people who have been referencing his ability to move to another position are simply emphasizing the quality of his bat not questioning his defensive potential.
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 11:18:23 GMT -5
If a player's family has money and the kid is a serious student with real potential in the business world, choosing college and a partial scholarship (especially for a position player) could make a great deal of sense. After all, the odds are not in favor of having a long and profitable professional baseball career.
I wonder if any MLB teams run a spreadsheet showing the "what if's" of the financial decision facing a player whom they consider important but tough signs?
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 9:58:03 GMT -5
I could be wrong on this, but it was my understanding that teams can offer to pay for college and that is considered outside of the bonus pool money. I'd love to know for sure. College scholarship money is not counted toward the bonus max for each team.
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 9:17:12 GMT -5
The color coding is probably related to what year they are ie green=college senior, pink=college underclassman and white=high school. When colors are selected this year, think about readability. Statistically, 10% of the people reading this board have either some degree of red-green color blindness or monochromatic vision. The pink and light green colors are particularly difficult.
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Post by azblue on Jun 9, 2013 9:10:47 GMT -5
This was 25 minutes of thoughts (and Internet research on the salary schedule for minor leagues), not a thesis.
In college dugouts/locker rooms the following topics are likely discussed most frequently: girls, weed, school, girls, music,...girls. In minor leagues, you can add music, the dreaded next bus ride, coordinating a grocery store run with fixing the next meal and whether the electric bill was paid.
The $100,000 example in a couple of places was to illustrate that lower level draft picks do not have much to lose by going to college, unless some of the other factors indicated that baseball was the best or most intensely desired path. When you listen to some of the interviews of the players expected to be drafted or after they were drafted, some do not give the impression that they would be candidates for an academic scholarship.
This could have been (perhaps more logically) organized by listing each criteria and then identifying the pluses and minuses for selecting college baseball and professional baseball for each factor. It is intended to suggest factors, not be everything, to argue for a choice or to be polished.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 23:37:08 GMT -5
Check your link. It is a highlight of the first game against the Angels.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 23:32:01 GMT -5
Here are some thoughts on the factors involved in choosing between college baseball scholarship and professional baseball. Please make your own suggestions. This was off the top of my head, so I would not be surprised if there were holes in this assessment.
1. Cost benefit analysis of accepting the college scholarship
a. College scholarships—only 11.7 scholarships per team in NCAA Division I. It is rare for anyone except a potential college superstar to receive a full scholarship. Even if you have a free ride on tuition, books, fees and housing plus some meals, there are many living expenses that are out of your pocket (most food, clothes, car, etc.) Therefore, most players will have to borrow money and/or rely on their parents’ savings.
b. You obtain two (if JC), three or four years of college education. You associated with intelligent people (compared to a typical baseball dugout/clubhouse where the subjects are women, drinking, hunting, card games and comic books). [Extraneous thought: Who does Craig Breslow talk to and about what?] There is a readily available pool of girls your age to date.
c. It is a three-year commitment to school unless the player drops out or transfers to a junior college.
d. The overall quality of the college baseball, education and social life varies greatly between the major programs and minor programs. Sometimes a kid does not know if his school is a good fit until he is there for three months.
e. You could physically mature and develop your baseball skills and be drafted much higher in two, three or four years—if you are fortunate. If you are a late round selection and perhaps not physically mature, college may be an easy choice because you will not be offered enough money for it to be a difficult decision. Jonathan Gray was undrafted out of high school. He had an easy choice. Those success stories are few and far between.
f. The player has to balance school and baseball. Playing 60+ games in addition to practice in a semester is at least as challenging as basketball and football with respect to balancing athletics, education and social life.
g. The emphasis is almost always on winning rather than the player’s development curve. You may be playing out of position part or all or your time in college if you are a position player. You may pitch instead of playing a position if your team needs an arm and you have a pitching background. A pitcher may be overworked on the mound during a key series, conference tournament or the NCAA tournament at the expense of his health and future. Promises before you enroll mean little. Your only solution to a bad situation is to transfer. Fortunately, you do not have to sit out a year in baseball if you transfer.
h. The quality of coaching may fall short of what you would have in extended spring training and any level of the minor leagues. It is not unusual in college to have coaches who are behind the curve regarding coaching techniques.
i. In college, it’s all about the coach—he is king. In the minors, it’s all about player development.
j. You could become injured or simply not develop and major league teams could lose interest altogether. This could occur as a result of bad luck, lack of talent or poor coaching or medical care. These risks also exist in professional baseball.
k. If you go to JC or a four-year school, you may not improve enough to be drafted higher. You may have two to four years of school and be closer to a degree, but may not have enhanced your baseball career. Then again, you have to accept reality some time.
l. The pre-season practice starts early (late January) and, if you have a slump, you may find yourself on the bench for the rest of the season. There is an opportunity to play summer baseball and redeem yourself in the eyes of the professional scouts. They remember how you played in the summer if your junior year is shaky.
m. Quality medical care is usually available. University hospitals (of course, not every university has a medical school and teaching hospital) are usually at cutting edge of sports medicine. However, the training staff at many schools, though under the supervision of a team doctor, may not be as good as you would have in professional baseball.
2. Professional baseball—other factors to consider (in addition to those above) regarding taking the bonus and starting down the professional path
a. A four-year college scholarship is available after you finish baseball in many cases. I do not know if there are any statistics regarding how many players actually take advantage of this. I suspect it is infrequently utilized. Maybe you can use your scholarship for a trade school if you hate the thought of a four-year college if you wash out in professional baseball.
b. You may have no interest in a college degree, so the education and having to balance baseball and school may not be attractive in order to potentially improve your future draft status. Full time commitment to baseball. You have to learn to live on your own, but some teams, like the Red Sox, spend time helping players coming out of high school (and from other countries) to adjust.
c. Compared to most college programs, there is generally superior coaching of the fundamentals, the mental side of baseball and establishing a proper routine (eating, weights) in the minor leagues.
d. Low salary. Miserable bus rides. Little meal money. In A ball, the monthly salary in 2012 was $1,100 per month during the season only plus $25.00 per day in meal money when the team is on the road. This ranged up to the AAA scale of $2,150 per month plus the same $25.00 per day in meal money. A $100,000 bonus evaporates quickly over four years.
e. Virtually no risk of a pitcher being overused. A minor league manager would be unemployed if he did not follow guidelines or adhere to medical directives from the parent club.
f. Video of players/pitchers available to the parent club for evaluation and assistance by roving instructors and minor league coordinators.
g. Exposure to appropriate level of competition and you will play through slumps. Instead of seeing several players on the opposing college team that are potential professionals, you see them every day. As you move up (if you do), you see better hitters and more complete pitchers with better command and more pitches.
h. You will almost certainly play at the position that you are projected to play if you were to reach the majors. i. Even if you struggle in the minors (assuming that you are not a total bust), you will have several years to learn the game, grow up physically and learn your craft before you would be released.
j. If you are injured, doctors who have a great deal of experience in treating athletic injuries or conditions are immediately available. If you received a substantial bonus, no effort will be spared to protect the parent club’s investment. You will have a chance to go through professional rehabilitation and start over at the appropriate level when you recover from a major injury.
k. If you are fortunate enough to be drafted for the first time by your favorite team or a big market club, the decision will likely weigh toward signing out of high school.
i. It is risky to count on receiving a signing bonus after three years of college that is much higher than the bonus offered out of high school.
ii. It is clearly no sure thing that a player will move up (if at all) in the draft in two, three or four years. Even if the offer is half or less of the bonus a player MIGHT hope to be offered if you spend three years in college how does that compare to the potential risks? Should a player pass up the chance of playing for a big market team or your favorite team just because he feels “disrespected” as a result of the round in which he was selected or the bonus? This should be about the player and his development, not a disappointed high school coach, parent or group of friends who read the draft blogs.
iii. A player can start the clock toward having to be included on the 40-man roster and eventually, arbitration and an opportunity to create negotiation leverage by becoming eligible for free agency (even if he would not want to change teams). The odds of being drafted again by a big market team are against you. The odds of being drafted a second time by your favorite team (if that is important to you) are tiny.
iv. When you look at the projection of total dollars that you would earn if you become a 5-10 year major league player, you had better be a sure-fire top of the first round talent or someone drafted in the later rounds with a low bonus offer for it to make sense from a purely financial standpoint (from baseball income) to turn down a bonus out of high school.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 21:45:22 GMT -5
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 18:11:04 GMT -5
I wonder when the season begins and ends for the pitcher from Alaska who was just drafted?
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 17:59:01 GMT -5
The A's rep said that they wanted to change their pick. I'm glad that it was a slip of the tongue and that she did not actually announce the other name.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 17:55:49 GMT -5
Goetze is also homeschooled, what impact, if any, would that have on his commitment to going to college? Is he committed to a university? Just speaking from personal experience, I have homeschooled family and they are very focused on school work. UNC just accepted a commitment from a Texas home-schooled basketball player for 2014 (Justin Jackson of Spring, Texas). There are many home schooled kids, but this is the only one I can recall who has been offered by big time schools. I am sure that home schooled athletes with elite talent have good advice about how to qualify for college and meet NCAA standards.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 17:48:53 GMT -5
My gosh, the A's changed their draft pick after announcing a kid? Is that what just happened? If so, it is brutal.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 16:51:44 GMT -5
If even one tough sign is brought into the organization with this strategy, it is worth it.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 16:25:07 GMT -5
Red Sox select - Nick Longhi, OF, Venice HS (FL) - #296 in BA top 100 If the Red Sox were ever going to blow up their draft pool it would be with this class. Would the right year to do this be one that had a great class? You are betting that the players you sign will be as good or better than a late first round pick in the next two years. Hard to predict how good a class of prospects will be two years down the road. Many of the comments above (worrying about the organizational depth at corner outfield, 3B and 1B are ignoring two factors: (1) International signings and (2) there is filler material already in the organization. They do not have to release some of the corner players that are already signed.
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Post by azblue on Jun 8, 2013 14:15:26 GMT -5
Any team that exceeds its pool by 0 to 5% must pay a 75% tax on the amount of the overage. Any team that exceeds its pool by more than 5% but less than 10% must pay a 75% tax on the amount of the overage AND loses a first round draft pick. Any team that exceeds its pool by more than 10% but less than 15% must pay a 100% tax on the amount of the overage AND loses a first round draft pick AND loses a second round draft pick. Any team that exceeds its pool by more than 15% must pay a 100% tax on the amount of the overage AND lose two first round draft picks.
We should assume that the Sox would go up an additional $% if needed which provides $341,510 in addition to any savings in first 10 rounds to apply toward offers to Sheffield/Boldt/et al.
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