Should there be some reform to improve the conditions of the minor leaguers? Darn skippy, if you're coming from the players' perspective. But the Players Union doesn't much take MiLB into consideration.
The owners want to put the best product on the field at the MLB level, and the infrastructure of the farm system is expensive. The players, however, are mostly Birds of Passage.
Scouting is not an exact science; if it were, everybody in the first few rounds would eventually have MLB careers and, frankly, they could stop with those rounds. There's -- what, about 4500 minor leaguers looking at 750 major league jobs (and some of those guys insist on hanging around for more than a year or two
. The nerve!). And 1500 more are offered a job every June, although not all sign. For everyone who signs, somebody loses their job.
Guys get injured, guys get married and decide it's time to get responsible, guys see the writing on the wall, guys just don't have the talent to compete, guys don't want it badly enough. There's falloff.
An RHP has a 96 mph fastball and the right build. Surefire, right? Um, no...does it move, does he have a couple of other pitches, what can he throw for strikes, is he durable, is he coachable, can he stand the pressure? This is what the farm system finds out and filters.
Guy's got great range, a sure glove, speed, and a serious stick. Surefire? Only if he's as sure when the rest of that elite 1% are hitting the ball at him or pitching the ball to him. Again, finding out and filtering.
For the most part, it takes years to establish who might make it. And, just like the draft, it's not an exact science. Many (arguably, most) of those September callups ease on back into obscurity after their Cup of Coffee because they didn't have the stuff.
And, to all this, a MiLB player would reply, "So what? I love this, I want my chance."
If you, but more importantly, your son, believe it's all about a paycheck, then he should work toward law school, his MBA, or accountancy. Particularly if you/your son believe that life is about the paycheck and not the experience, he might want to consider more traditionally productive extracurricular activities. Like Junior Achievement.
If you ask a ballplayer what the dream is, it's being a professional ballplayer. It's stepping onto a major league field. The dream isn't looking at your bank balance, as much of a benefit that would be. If playing for the Love of the Game is outside your/your son's experience.....I guess we don't have much common ground.
As has been said often about the game --- it ain't easy; if it were easy, everyone would do it.