BA: MLB floats proposal that would eliminate 42 minor league teams.

Dramatic stuff here. Reduction of teams, moving teams/leagues around in classifications or eliminating them, moving and shrinking the draft, cost shifting from MLB to MILB, some indy teams might join the affiliated minors in the proposal… big, big changes have been proposed.

MLB Targeting International Draft As Soon As 2020

Major League Baseball is discussing a 20-round international draft concept, with a goal of implementing the draft as soon as 2020, with 2021 another possibility.

MLB officials met yesterday with international club personnel in Miami and told them that owners are in support on an international draft and want it in place as soon as possible. MLB solicited feedback from international scouting officials on its draft concept, so a lot of the specifics—including the number of rounds, when a draft would begin and other details—are still likely to change.

An international draft is subject to collective bargaining with the MLB Players’ Association, so once MLB finalizes an internal proposal, the union would need to sign off. The two sides are currently in midterm bargaining over the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs through the end of the 2021 season.

Based on what MLB told team personnel yesterday, the most recent draft concept would be 20 rounds, with teams allowed to trade picks. Every pick would have a hard slot value, so if a team drafts a player and the slot value is $1 million, that player would sign for $1 million. Picks in the top three rounds would be protected for clubs, so if a team drafted a player in one of those rounds who didn’t sign, it would potentially receive compensation in the following year’s draft.

Draft signing deadline: Who signed, who didn’t?

The only two players in the first 10 rounds who did not sign pro contracts were Rangers seventh-rounder Brandon Sproat and Cubs ninth-rounder Wyatt Hendrie. A right-hander from Pace (Fla.) High, Sproat is committed to Florida. Hendrie, a catcher from Antelope Valley (Calif.) JC, would play at San Diego State next spring.

The total of two unsigned players from the first 10 rounds matched the record low set in 2016.

The 30 teams combined to spend $316,560,984 on Draft bonuses, eclipsing the record of $294,648,102 set last year. The 34 first-rounders signed for an average of $3,791,729, second all-time to the $3,880,723 average in 2017. No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman’s $8.1 million bonus from the Orioles was the largest in Draft history, surpassing the $8 million the Pirates gave 2011 No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole.