Unsigned Draft Picks and Problems with the Draft

The club didn’t lose a pick. They lost that player.

“If a team doesn't sign a first or second round pick, they will get to pick at the same slot plus one the following year. For example, if the team with the #5 pick does not sign that player, they would have the #6 pick the following year. The regular draft order would continue around those picks.”

Personally, I believe the pick should slide down the round as a penalty for failure to sign the player.

@PABaseball posted:

A high profile first round pick did not sign this year. I understand the issue. He didn't want his MRI done, the team that drafted him didn't like what they saw on their MRI. I have to imagine there is a better way to go about this so that the player isn't handcuffed to a team that doesn't want him.

I understand the club didn't like what they saw on their MRI, but why draft a guy who refused the MLBs predraft MRI? Isn't that the risk they take when they draft somebody in that position?

Should the MLB require all pertinent medical info and imaging to be done in order to be eligible for a draft slot? Hoping someone who knows more about the draft can shed some light on how this happens. Club loses a pick. Player loses out on millions. Hoping somebody can help me make sense of this.

You are assuming that you know all the details from what you have read and heard.

I agree, Mets should be penalized for not signing the player, not awarded.

@TPM posted:

You are assuming that you know all the details from what you have read and heard.

I agree, Mets should be penalized for not signing the player, not awarded.

Agree on not being awarded another pick next year, i disagree on the penalized...but this is like uncharted territory recently we are on similar pages!!

How will this be affected when they strike next year?

Good question, but I'll bet you a bottle of single malt that it's a lockout, not a strike.

@old_school posted:

Agree on not being awarded another pick next year, i disagree on the penalized...but this is like uncharted territory recently we are on similar pages!!

The question is how much from the initial offer of 6 million did Scott Boras come down?

Most of the 1st round picks signed below their slot value,  the Mets initial were willing to pay Rocker above said slot value because he was listed as a top 5 pick and he was technically a Covid Sophomore.

But did he slip because other teams saw his velocity drop and Boras tried to put lipstick on the proverbial pig.

Attached is the full draft with bonuses, slot value and differentials.

The Mets did not counter. They just walked away.

@PTWood posted:

The Mets did not counter. They just walked away.

Good stuff.

I found this interesting article

https://www.forbes.com/sites/m...-partially-to-blame/

Lots of stories circulating out there as to who is to blame, but the bottom line is who got hurt in this fiasco?

Not the Mets, not Scott Boras.

I find it all very sad for this young man who should have started his pro career weeks ago.

First observation is I hate the Mets, their colors, their chant, their airplane flyover field and everything about them....they can be -0-162 and i am happy.

if I understand the events properly Rocker refuses predraft medical exams, falls in draft but still get picked early due ridiculous amounts of talent, fails physical and the Mets walk away.

The rules in place negotiated by both parties in advance say they get another pick next year if they don't sign him...and there is a thought process that the Mets should be penalized and lose a pick and or acted unethically in some way? I don't get it, they took shot, by the rules and then pulled back to the fall back position. I would say this was logical, thought out and a good plan for the potential upside they stood to receive.

I am on board with the Mets losing their top pick and the entire 2022 draft if possible but i don't know why it makes any sense. I guess if you want to hate the rule fair enough but unfortunately i don't see where the Mets did anything wrong or unethical at all. Rocker gambled and lost for now, the Mets played it smart for the long game, Boras is a scumbag but he will take care of his client (for as long as he thinks there is a future meal ticket) ...seems like much to do about nothing to be honest.

This kind of ties in with the Players Union / MiLB story, nobody cares about you until you hold a Union card and vote.

@TPM posted:

Lots of stories circulating out there as to who is to blame, but the bottom line is who got hurt in this fiasco?

Not the Mets, not Scott Boras.

I find it all very sad for this young man who should have started his pro career weeks ago.

but his shoulder is hurt correct? An injury isnt a matter of fault but at the end of the day he isn't able to produce and his cost is higher then the risk of his healing according to his potential employer... If he had a the pre draft MRI and everyone knew the medicals before the draft then maybe you have a point.

I think it is reasonable to assume that Rocker and his advisors were well aware of how bad it was, they new damn well he was going to plummet in the draft, they he wasn't going accept lower round money. So they took a shot, they got picked high, they hoped to be able to land a big bonus prior to rehab and see what the future holds. It isn't a bad plan they just lost this round of betting.

As they say in Vegas 7 out, new money on the pass line...

How common is it for a pitcher to not submit to the pre draft MRI?  Sure seems like a red flag.

Boras says Mets reneged. Mets feel Boras misrepresented.

Boras missing a few bucks in the bank, Mets get another pick.

Rocker gets nothing. 

@K9 posted:

How common is it for a pitcher to not submit to the pre draft MRI?  Sure seems like a red flag.

The program is voluntary.  This is private and personal medical information, some might not want to give that out. They rely on their agent for best advice. 

100% TPM and old school. TPM on who got hurt the most in this whole thing and old school on the fact that in the collective bargaining agreement, the draft and minor league players are the ones who get screwed.

@TPM posted:

Boras says Mets reneged. Mets feel Boras misrepresented.

Boras missing a few bucks in the bank, Mets get another pick.

Rocker gets nothing.

agreed but Rocker is hurt, he knew it.

Rocker hired Boras who is known commodity and he knew exactly what he was hiring.

Boras took a shot to get the kid life changing money while being hurt and it didn't work. It was probably worthwhile and reasonable attempt. They were probably hoping to 75% or so of slot money which is still a lot more then where he may have fallen to if he allowed pre draft evaluations...I don't see any villain's here. It is just business, no different then some freshman being released from a scholarship.

Attempting to paint Rocker as some innocent bystander who is now not getting paid is just inaccurate IMO.

eliminate the draft.  Player should be able to shop his talents to the highest bidder.

Maybe we should blame St. Tim Corbin for running him out there the last how many starts with a bad wing...or maybe we just understand that sometimes there is nobody to blame for an injury.

This isn't the first time or the last that an injury is going to stop or at least delay a potentially amazing career. Assuming he gets healthy he will make plenty of money somewhere else.

The Red Sox drafted a kid at like 9 or 10 a couple years back, he was maybe the top pitcher prospect in the draft, hurt his shoulder soon after...he got lucky, the Sox didn't. It is just the other side of the coin. Maybe if Rocker had come out of HS so highly ranked he would have some of story like this.

"MLB Pipeline had Groome as its No. 1 prospect in the 2016 draft, suggesting the high school hurler had “everything to be a top-of-the-rotation left-handed starting pitcher.” He wound up slipping to the Red Sox at No. 12 overall, however, thanks in large to signability and makeup concerns.

There’s always risk associated with drafting high school pitchers, and Groome, who returned to Barnegat High School in New Jersey for his senior season after transferring to IMG Academy in Florida for his junior season, was a particularly precarious pick. Not only were there character questions surrounding Groome, who had been suspended for what was deemed an improper transfer and who had changed his commitment from Vanderbilt to Chipola College. There also were pre-draft reports linking Groome to the San Diego Padres, who owned the 24th and 25th picks.

Nevertheless, the Red Sox rolled the dice, for Groome’s upside at age 17 was too tantalizing to pass up. They reportedly awarded him a $3.65 million bonus, $457,000 above the value assigned to that slot in the draft.

You need to get over it. We don't need you to educate us on past players who were top prospects.

Also, stop challenging people opinions.

You might end up like OLD_SCHOOL.