The MLB draft is Thursday afternoon. It’s being touted as a big deal because this is the first year the draft will be televised (on ESPN) and well, because ESPN is saying it’s a big deal.
Of course, we won’t truly know how well the televised version of baseball’s draft airs until next year’s draft when the newness of televised coverage wares off. Coincidentally, the same holds true for MLB draft picks. It takes a few years down the road before an organization can tell if their pick will ever make the major league roster.
Speaking of the draft, I think many casual fans overlook how much work goes into developing a major league player. In professional football and basketball it’s typically college coaches that prepare athletes to make the jump to the pro ranks, and the jump is immediate. College players can (even expected in some cases) become a starting fixture for a professional team in their first year on the gridiron or the court. The player’s talents may even earn him millions of dollars before he’s 25 years old.
Not so is the case for young baseball prospects. Certainly, many college baseball players are drafted but they’re far away from immediately contributing at the highest level (even if they did sign a major league money contract). Even the brightest stars in baseball’s draft take a year or longer to develop in the minor leagues. Though, most notable is the fact that the majority of baseball draft picks never make the major league roster at all.
Baseball is the ultimate skill sport. It’s not a trade one learns in four years of college or high school ball, no matter how well the coaching staff reaches a player. What makes this interesting is that baseball players rely on efficient coaching staffs throughout their minor league careers while they hone the skills of hitting or pitching a baseball.
Therefore, baseball organizations must run a tight ship from single A ball to AAA in order to properly ready its prospects for the big leagues. Not only does this make baseball unique from other professional sports (NFL teams have the advantage of letting Arena League teams spend the money to develop talent before plucking them away from the indoor games) but, it also makes teams accountable for its player development strategies.
So, if you feel disappointed about your favorite baseball team’s daft history well, you have every right to be upset. In baseball the best organizations not only scout players well, they succeed in developing prospects into major leaguers. If your team never seems to have a young star in waiting, then they probably don’t. But, don’t just blame the scouts; include the whole organization (A to AAA) as well.
