This is another case that has no correct answer. It is all individual choice. Any and all decisions could turn out right or wrong. No crystal ball!
For those who say it’s stupid to turn down the money… There are examples like Andrew Miller and John Mayberry Jr.
Was Mayberry stupid for turning down first round money out of high school? He will now end up with a degree from Stanford and he received even more money after coming out of college. For him and many others!... Not signing turned out to be the right decision! Miller will end up with a degree from UNC and received a lot more money to sign out of college and he has already appeared in the Big Leagues. For him… Not signing was a GREAT decision! Yes, there are cases that go the other way, too!
Lastings Milledge, David Wright, Ryan Sweeney, Chad Billingsley, Jeremy Bonderman, Delmon Young, Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir, and many others made the right decision by signing out of high school. Yes, there are many cases where players would have been better off going to college, too.
MidloDad, brings up one important advantage in signing out of high school, in addition to money, for the most talented. Signing out of high school not only makes you closer to Rule 5 or the 40 man roster, it makes all the important anniversary dates come quicker. However, that by it self, should not be the main reason for signing.
There are several reasons for signing or not signing out of high school. Money is only one reason and unfortunately it has become the major focus. To me, the major reason for signing should be because the player has a strong desire to make baseball his career. Everything else is a distant second place! When this is the case, it’s hard to say no to signing a professional baseball contract.
IMO – The money should not be the major reason for signing, but it is in many cases. There are more important things than money and more important things than baseball or college educations. There are lots of very sad examples of that!