The Major League Baseball Players Association, the owners and the league recently announced a new collective bargaining agreement, good through the 2016 season. There are varying flavors of opinion on the positives and negatives that may occur over the life of the deal, but the consensus is that the new rules concerning the First-Year Player Draft will have a certain impact on prep athletes.

These restrictions are likely to negatively impact the number of high school players that ultimately choose pro baseball, or baseball altogether.

Limited bonus money

Clubs are now limited on the total bonus money they spend in each draft, with a value being assigned to each particular draft pick through round 10. Bonuses starting in round 11 can’t be higher than $100,000 without that, too, counting against the total allotted pool.

Clubs can spend more than the value assigned to any pick, but can’t exceed their total aggregate cap without steep penalties, starting with a 75 percent tax on any overages and reaching as far as the surrendering of multiple draft choices the following year.

High school draftees will not be able to hold out for as much bonus money as in past years, especially those who may fall further in the draft than their talent warrants due to signability. Those players are likely headed for college, rather than starting their professional careers.

One scouting director of a club that drafts in the top 10 in the 2012 Draft said he agrees that the new rules aren’t likely push a significant percentage of the top prospects toward college or other sports, but added that “it’ll still take a lot of money to get them signed, leaving a lot less opportunity to sign later picks, even starting with sandwich or second-round choices.”

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