The MLB Draft is coming up in June, so Mock Draft season is starting up. Here is my first attempt. If I learned anything from last year, it’s not to know what will happen. We’ll probably see more teams take guys that will sign for over slot in the first round, then more below slot guys for the next 9 rounds (a la the Astros and Cardinals).

There is a fairly big change this year as far as picks go. Picks tied to free agent compensation changed. If a player is offered a qualifying deal by their former team, the player will cost the new team a draft pick (unless they are one of the first 15 picks) and gain the former team a compensation pick. So, when the Brewers signed Kyle Lohse, they lost pick 17 and the Cardinals gained pick 28.

Also, there is the additional competitive balance rounds after the first and second rounds; these picks are given to the lower market teams in a lottery and are tradable. I don’t understand why a team would potentially trade these picks, as they are tied the draft bonus pool for each team. So the Pirates draft bonus pool got lowered when they acquired Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins.
Continue reading →