Draft Thoughts

A couple of random thoughts after the draft's conclusion

- It's no surprise to me that some of the best drafts came from the teams that spent the most money. The Red Sox, Giants, Rangers, Orioles, and Royals had the best drafts of 08. It's harder to evaluate a draft with a heavy emphasis on high school talent (Red Sox and Royals) than a draft heavy on college talent (Giants). However, in the end I believe the Giants secured the most "likely to succeed" talent with their 8.7 million dollar budgeting, while the Royals barely edged out the Red Sox for the most "talented" draft class spending over 10 million on their draft picks.

- Two teams I'm both surprised and disappointed with include the Yankees and the Nationals.

I believe the Yankees fell into a trap to prove their financial wealth while failing to gauge the likelihood Cole actually "would" sign. While hard to swallow for Pinstripe fans, Cole not signing isn't a lack of financial offering, but rather an ignorant misstep by the front office to factor in both Cole, and his family's desire for him to attend UCLA. Furthermore, the Yankees did very little to secure premium talent in the later rounds, and seemed to settle for players rather than going for some tougher high-end signs.

The Nationals are disappointing for similar reasons, but under a different circumstances. If Jim Bowden's seat wasn't warming his backside before the draft with the International Scandal, it has to be burning by now. Failing to sign your top 10 pick for what the organization calls a "$500,000" difference is absurd. What makes it even more ridiculous is that the draft represents a shining light for a struggling franchise, and the front office decided to simply turn it off. There is no way a premium talent like Aaron Crow should be left out of your organization for 500k. That is petty cash to an organization, and Bowden should be reprimanded for his negotiations throughout the process. Also, reallocating money to JP Ramirez, regardless if he was considered by some to be the best hitter in the state of Texas, is NO, and I repeat NO, consolation prize for the Nationals; especially with a weaker class of talent in this year's draft pool. Very disappointing for an organization that was already in turmoil around the league.

- The last thing I wanted to point out is the resentment from fans around the league about how players, agents, and front office executives posture that "each side is way off in negotiations." Who do you think you are kidding? EVERY year it's the same thing, and there really is no reason for it to change. Both sides stand to lose something substantial in the case they pull a Nationals-like move during the draft. Most players, especially college grads, have little leverage to return for their final season and put up better numbers. High School kids run the risk of entering college, and watching their careers fall apart. Organizations lose 12 months of training, educating, and improving a high end talent in their organization. The best way to handle the situation is celebrate your team's draft pick, forget about it until the week leading up to August 15th, and act surprised to hear of any big name signings that occur before then. Disliking the process is acceptable, but complaining about it, and expecting it to change is pointless.

Each year brings new material.