CatSureMom,
The reason I mention being confused is because I'm involved in this stuff and I am confused.
We try to follow this stuff very closely. Lots of experience here regarding these things.
Yes, early round guys are given more time and need to prove they can't play. The low round (non-money) guys need to prove they can play. This allows the early round guys to stick around longer, but it doesn't stop the low round guys from performing well enough to pass them. That has happened thousands of times in every organization.
The normal process is based on performance, ability and potential.
For those who believe a .300 average is nothing special, here are some stats from last year.
182 Minor League teams had a total of 146 players hit .300 or better. Far less than one player per each minor league team.
Over 5,000 minor league players of which 146 hit .300 or better.
Less than 3 out of each 100 minor league players hit .300 at all of the various levels.
The highest number of .300 hitters were in the AAA Pacific Coast League, they had 22 of them. There were some entire leagues (not teams) that had two (2) players hit .300 or better.
A five tool player grades out "at least" major league average in fielding, throwing, running, hitting and hitting for power. If one of the few 5 tool players were to also be one of the few who hits over .300 at any level of pro baseball, it would absolutely surprise me to see that player released. (There in lies the confusion with this example) Unless there were other problems involved this player should have been picked up immediately by another club.
Without anyone knowing who the player in question is, I can't figure out what to restate! These are professional players, we can mention names… without a real example, I can only comment on what I have seen over a very long period of time. Something is definitely wrong in this situation. It is very rare to see a player hit over .300 and possess all 5 tools and get released… Very Rare! I’m not sure I can think of a single case of that ever happening unless there were something more involved.
There is not any conspiracy going on, they really do want the best players. That said, they do make mistakes and that is why there are so many guys in the Big Leagues who had been released at some point in their past.