I'm surprised no one is talking about this, so I'll cast the first stone. Here's the article (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2862901), so you know I'm not making this up. It's short, and I'd encourage you to read it if your workplace allows you to. In case you can't, here are the highlights:

* Thursday, June 7, 2 PM, from the WWoS Complex in Orlando (gee, shocker :D )
* First round only, 5 minute limit per pick
* ESPN2 does the honors, scheduled to end at 6.

I'm not expecting much, but this COULD be interesting. I'll be working through most of it, and it's not compelling enough for me to call in sick, but I plant to stick a tape in and watch what I can, when I can, and skip through the boring parts (which figure to be numerous).

Yeah, I saw it yesterday. I'm pleased. All we need is draft pick trading and the 20th century to baseball's draft will be complete.

And I like that it's only the first round.

And yes, I realize that baseball's draft is so long that doing more than one round would be painful.

But this is still a big step forward for folks who up until very recently were adamantly opposed to even putting the picks out on the day after the draft occurred.

Yeah, I'm interested as well. If they get the BA guys in there as well as Keith Law, its a definite yes for me.

you know what would be a cool idea? how about an FOFC member draft?

If they get some of the ESPN baseball analysts (especially Law, like Crapshoot said) then it could be really interesting -- I personally find the baseball analysts much more interesting to listen to than Kiper, Berman, et al -- the football draft this year was pretty obnoxious, a shame that we can't get NFL Network on cable. :(

Looking forward to this.

If they get some of the ESPN baseball analysts (especially Law, like Crapshoot said) then it could be really interesting -- I personally find the baseball analysts much more interesting to listen to than Kiper, Berman, et al -- the football draft this year was pretty obnoxious, a shame that we can't get NFL Network on cable. :(


The NFL Network's coverage wasn't that much better, IMO. The constant shilling of Sprint Mobile --"you can watch the NFL draft right on your mobile phone!" -- drove me nearly insane.

It'll be interesting for hardcore baseball fans, but to most baseball fans its going to be something they'll check out once and move along. The idiotic no trading draft picks rule plus all the picks that are lost to free agency kills the excitment of the draft. Add to that the fact that you won't hear 75% of these guy's names again because of the incredible bust rate of baseball prospects and you have a boring show compared to NFL/NBA drafts.

The NFL Network's coverage wasn't that much better, IMO. The constant shilling of Sprint Mobile --"you can watch the NFL draft right on your mobile phone!" -- drove me nearly insane.

God that WAS annoying. I liked how with each player though, they assessed his strengths and weakness, rather than having a big hug fest with him. I mean, I know Deion Sanders did that with the first rounders. But he's not exactly an analyst, so..I was tolerating that on mute.

It'll be interesting for hardcore baseball fans, but to most baseball fans its going to be something they'll check out once and move along. The idiotic no trading draft picks rule plus all the picks that are lost to free agency kills the excitment of the draft. Add to that the fact that you won't hear 75% of these guy's names again because of the incredible bust rate of baseball prospects and you have a boring show compared to NFL/NBA drafts.

Yeah, there's an equation you could come up with that factors in the sport's popularity, the draft's rules, and the percentage of drafted players who make an impact in a given sport as to how popular a sport's televised draft is or would be. Unless you're talking about a Mark Prior or someone like that, even the best first round prospects are 2-4 years away from the big leagues. There's no reason to "root" for your team to pick a guy that, at best, is going to help your team in 2010.

I think that this is a good idea. Yes, based on the numbers the players who are chosen in the draft are years away from making an appearance to the major league team, but I think that this could give a boost to minor league team as well. Living in Arizona and seeing how popular Spring Training is, how many people from out of state travel here to catch their team play, I think that some of these same people would visit their AAA team if they had better knowledge of the minor league players and such. Usually the AAA teams reside in the same city or another city close by.

So in terms of giving the fan the chance to identify with or connect with young players whether they make it or not to the major leagues, I think is a good thing.

I know this is a little strange, but the only draft I enjoy watching is the NBA draft. The MLB draft, to me, is like the opposite of the NBA draft. In the NBA draft, most of the top picks are going to get serious playing time and possibly make an impact in their first year. In the MLB draft, as has been mentioned, the guys are at least a couple of years away from the big leagues.

Now, this may be more of a personal thing, but when the NBA drafts players, I know who most of the players are, and I know something about how they play. In the MLB draft, I can pretty much guarantee that I've never heard of any of the draftees. Even if I've heard a name or two before, I certainly don't know anything about how they play.

OK, I understand that many people follow baseball prospects more than I do. It's just that there are so many players, so many rounds to the draft, and so many places that these players will get scattered to. It almost seems like a chore to keep track of these guys until they at least hit AAA level. By then, you have a pretty good idea of which ones have a future in pro baseball and which ones don't. On draft day, I just can't find much to get excited about.

Then again, I don't like watching the NFL draft at all, and everyone else seems to love that. So I guess I'm a little strange that way.

I have little interest in the NBA, but I still will usually watch the draft. And of course, I like to follow the first few rounds of the NFL draft and keep track of players I know from FSU or other schools. With baseball, I'm more interested in reading the scouting projections that come out after they've been drafted and have played in the minors. The draft is really not all that important until they show they can play, and that happens in the minors.

I have little interest in the NBA, but I still will usually watch the draft. And of course, I like to follow the first few rounds of the NFL draft and keep track of players I know from FSU or other schools. With baseball, I'm more interested in reading the scouting projections that come out after they've been drafted and have played in the minors. The draft is really not all that important until they show they can play, and that happens in the minors.
This sounds quite a bit like me. I don't watch the NBA in the regular season at all, but I like to follow the stats of individual players, particularly the rookies. I only follow the NFL draft once it's over, and I look at the results to see where certain players went. Besides that, I don't really care about the NFL rookies until the season starts.

If there's an audience for the first round of the MLB draft, great. I certainly can't fault ESPN for giving it a shot. There are so many potential superstars that'll go in the 3rd round or 8th round of 15th round, though, that there's just not enough "bang for your buck" for me, I guess.

I'm bumping this because the draft is today. Set the DVR/VCR.

P.S. There are a few more details about the ceremony here (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070607&content_id=2010577&vkey=draft2007&fext=.jsp), along with some other links that may be of interest.

I could not possibly imagine recording and watching a draft.

No, I have an opinion.

I'm one of those who can't even watch tape-delayed live sporting events, so the idea of watching something as monotonous as a draft after the fact is unthinkable.

I apologize for making my opinion public, though.

I'm guessing the "first round picks being aired" will only include the true 1st rounders...not the sandwich picks between R1 and R2, correct?

I'm disappointed. I thought you would just come back in 10 minutes and chastise yourself for making that post, instead of deleting it. Oh well.

No, I have an opinion.

I'm one of those who can't even watch tape-delayed live sporting events, so the idea of watching something as monotonous as a draft after the fact is unthinkable.

I apologize for making my opinion public, though.

I deleted my comment right away, because I knew it would get misconstrued. I was just being a smartass. Sorry.

I'm disappointed. I thought you would just come back in 10 minutes and chastise yourself for making that post, instead of deleting it. Oh well.

You were pretty close. ;)

I'm guessing the "first round picks being aired" will only include the true 1st rounders...not the sandwich picks between R1 and R2, correct?

If it's scheduled for 4 hours of coverage, and there are 30 teams, they may actually throw in the sandwich round. Hard to say though.

I'm disappointed. I thought you would just come back in 10 minutes and chastise yourself for making that post, instead of deleting it. Oh well.

Always quote, Ksy...always.

If it's scheduled for 4 hours of coverage, and there are 30 teams, they may actually throw in the sandwich round. Hard to say though.

An article I read was kinda specific about "every team's 1st round will be televised," but that may have been more to peek the interest of the fans of teams who don't get a lot of coverage, more than definitively saying "just the first 30 picks will be televised." They should go into the sandwich picks though...there's been some great players from there in recent years.

I think the Cubs just drafted a mentally handicapped 3rd baseman.

I think the Cubs just drafted a mentally handicapped 3rd baseman.

Josh "tender" Vitters?

Does Bud Selig really need to tell us what city and state Clemson University is located?

Should we start a pool on when this Pirates 1st round pick blows his arm out?

Daniel Moskos "on the Husdon"

LaPorta to Milwaukee is interesting.

LaPorta to Milwaukee is interesting.

Matt LaPorta "viarta"

Matt LaPorta "viarta"

Touche.

Matthew "cream of" Wieters

The draft pick countdown timer is having issues. "Sponsored by Ronex watches"

Casey "Carl" Weathers

Jarrod "Peter" Parker

The Giants just picked a girl!

Whomever gave a microphone to that bald-headed mushmouth idiot to conduct interviews should have their head forced into the anus of a camel.

..And the Giants take pitching..just what they needed.

That was sarcasm, btw.

Bud Selig is the wrong guy to be doing this, he's just not at all suited for television.

The Giants just picked a girl!

"the bridges of" Madison Bumgarner

or the more edgy

Madison "Jennifer" Bumgarner

Didn't I see this guy on King of the Hill?

Phillippe "you hoser" Aumont

It sounded like the Indians just drafted Bode Miller.

It sounded like the Indians just drafted Bode Miller.

Beua "Heather" Mills "McCartney"

The O's got Wieters, so I'm happy about that. I think if Mike Moustakas was there they would've drafted him since he's Greek, but kudos to KC for not letting them have that chance.

Jason "Ironhead" Heyward

..And the Giants take pitching..just what they needed.

That was sarcasm, btw.
???

Even more than in football and especially basketball, you don't draft for immediate need in baseball - the players (with extremely few exceptions) are not ready to jump straight to the Major League roster, and most are a number of years away.

To a certain extent you can justify adjusting your draft board somewhat based off organizational strength, but for the most part you really do want to draft the "best available player" - if you end up stacked at certain positions, you can either change their position (if possible) or trade from a position of strength to fill a need.

The O's got Wieters, so I'm happy about that. I think if Mike Moustakas was there they would've drafted him since he's Greek, but kudos to KC for not letting them have that chance.
Wow - the O's aren't afraid of dealing with Boras, or they don't mind missing out on signing a guy this year and taking the new compensation rule pick next year. Wieters is the consensus best position player prospect in the draft and perhaps the best prospect period.

???

Even more than in football and especially basketball, you don't draft for immediate need in baseball - the players (with extremely few exceptions) are not ready to jump straight to the Major League roster, and most are a number of years away.

To a certain extent you can justify adjusting your draft board somewhat based off organizational strength, but for the most part you really do want to draft the "best available player" - if you end up stacked at certain positions, you can either change their position (if possible) or trade from a position of strength to fill a need.

The Giants have absolutely no power bats in their minor leagues, and haven't developed a legitimate bat in Sabean's entire tenure. Beau Mills seemed like the perfect fit for them. They have has success drafting players from where he went, Lewis & Clark, they showed a ton of interest in him before the draft, it seemed as if everything fell right into place. And then they draft another pitcher. Now, I understand that you can't ever have enough good young pitching and you can always trade for hitting, but I have absolutely no faith in Sabean's ability to use that young pitching to actually make a decent trade. They need bats at all levels of their system, yet show no desire whatsoever to acquire them, be it through trades or through the draft. I'm sure things would be different if there was a 35-over softball league draft, however. Sabean would be all over that.

Wow, the footage of that Texas high school pitcher, Blake Beavens, is rough. My elbow twinges just watching that guy throw.

Wow, the footage of that Texas high school pitcher, Blake Beavens, is rough. My elbow twinges just watching that guy throw.

Blake Beavan "down by the river"

Given that Mills as a first baseman makes a great DH, he'd better be a damn near-guaranteed impact bat to be drafted at #10.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with your larger point about organizational depth, but there are still 49 more rounds to go. If the Giants didn't have a bat on their board rated significantly higher than Bumgarner, then there's not really much to bitch about. Potential #2 or better starters like Bumgarner is projected to be carry significant value, especially now with teams becoming much more reluctant to trade away young pitching prospects and the heavily inflated value of pitchers on the free agent market.

You could possibly make a good argument for H.S. 3B Matt Dominguez as a safer/higher-upside prospect than Bumgarner on talent, but you also have to consider value - pitchers probably carry even more weight in value compared to position players than they ever have given the current state of the market.

Wow, the footage of that Texas high school pitcher, Blake Beavens, is rough. My elbow twinges just watching that guy throw.
Yep - and not only are his mechanics ugly, he tips his pitches by having very different deliveries for his fastball and his slower breaking ball. He'll need some serious work applied to his delivery.

I like the M's pick of Phillipe Aumont given his size, velocity, movement and high groundball potential, but watching his scouting video I'm a little concerned about how much he throws across his body. Pretty much all pitchers are injury risks, but he seems a bit higher a risk than the average kid (though not as much as Beavens).

I just don't understand...MLB has a system in place where teams have to pass on more talented players because of signability concerns...and they also don't allow trades that would allow these weaker teams to actually get somewhat equal value for the superior talent.

I think that's why this draft won't ever make it big with the general public.

I just don't understand...MLB has a system in place where teams have to pass on more talented players because of signability concerns...and they also don't allow trades that would allow these weaker teams to actually get somewhat equal value for the superior talent.

I think that's why this draft won't ever make it big with the general public.

To MLB's credit, they are trying to fix some of the issues. Giving players 45 days to sign and offering compensation for 1st round picks the following year if they offer slot money and the guy doesn't sign is a big step forward. They're supposedly working more ways to minimize Boras' impact on the draft.

The no trade thing is a dated rule that's been in place since the begining of the draft. It was originally put in place because there were fears of teams trading away all their picks to stockpile major league talent, but screwing themselves in the future. Since the payroll gaps started becoming a big issue in the mid-90s its created what we see now. A guy like Porcello sliding down waiting for a team like the Yankees or another team to grab a top-3 talent at the end of the first round.

Hadn't heard about the 45 day thing...thanks.

So is the 1st round this year moving in slow motion for all the teams? Did they used to get 5 minutes for a pick or was it more rapid fire?

Still waiting on Rutgers' Todd Frazier...

I just don't understand...MLB has a system in place where teams have to pass on more talented players because of signability concerns...and they also don't allow trades that would allow these weaker teams to actually get somewhat equal value for the superior talent.

I think that's why this draft won't ever make it big with the general public.
They're working on it. The changes this year to the draft rules - awarding teams compensation if their pick doesn't sign and setting an earlier signing date deadline will probably work to lessen the leverage players and agents have in holding out for huge bonuses.

It's not a perfect system - teams should have the ability to trade draft picks IMO - but it is changing to give teams more leverage.

The big issue with this is too many high school guys. Unless you're a total baseball geek, you have no idea who any of those guys are. I mean, that's somewhat true of the college players, as well, but at least its clearer what kind of player the college guys are.

The only entertaining thing about the guy from Baseball America is his eyebrows.

The big issue with this is too many high school guys. Unless you're a total baseball geek, you have no idea who any of those guys are. I mean, that's somewhat true of the college players, as well, but at least its clearer what kind of player the college guys are.
Yep. The MLB draft will never have the same impact as the NFL and NBA drafts because so many more prospects in those sports play college ball, and college football and basketball get waaaay more exposure than college baseball.

That said, the more work they do in compiling scouting video and scouting reports on these guys, the better. And the more they can generate some interest by having multiple analysts that don't agree with each other, leading to Kiper-like hyperbole of "horrible pick" or "great pick", the more it will make for interesting TV.

well I'm not sure why my beloved Cards drafted the guy they did, but hey they just won the World Series so who cares. :)

You want to see a really funky/awkward looking delivery, check out the scouting video on the Giant's 2nd 1st round pick, Timothy Alderson...

Its also not helping that they've exactly copied the format of the NFL draft. Way to think outside the box, guys.

Its also not helping that they've exactly copied the format of the NFL draft. Way to think outside the box, guys.

Yeah, I've seen this skin before.

The Giants have absolutely no power bats in their minor leagues, and haven't developed a legitimate bat in Sabean's entire tenure. Beau Mills seemed like the perfect fit for them. They have has success drafting players from where he went, Lewis & Clark, they showed a ton of interest in him before the draft, it seemed as if everything fell right into place. And then they draft another pitcher. Now, I understand that you can't ever have enough good young pitching and you can always trade for hitting, but I have absolutely no faith in Sabean's ability to use that young pitching to actually make a decent trade. They need bats at all levels of their system, yet show no desire whatsoever to acquire them, be it through trades or through the draft. I'm sure things would be different if there was a 35-over softball league draft, however. Sabean would be all over that.

Thank you for explaining. Non-Giants fans: They just don't get it!

Gotta love it..Selig:

"The San Diego Padres select Nicholas Schmidt, University of Arkansas-Fayetville, Fayetville, Arkansas"

And who decides to take the plunge with Porcello?

Thank you for explaining. Non-Giants fans: They just don't get it!
Sabean looks like he may be done in SF anyway, so worrying about what he'll do with whatever talent is drafted may be a moot point. As for the rest, see my reply earlier in the thread.

Detroit probably takes Porcello here, if not he doesn't get past the Yankees.

Oh God, please Detroit, get Porcello. What a fucking steal if we do.

Well done sirs.

YES! Awesome fucking pick.

Tigers and Scott Boras have worked so many deals together I can't see this not working out. Best player in Miller last year at 6, second best player this year in Porcello. Just wow.

Wow, Minny just drafted a peanut.

Apparently they're going to use him mostly on punt returns?

5'9" 152lbs goes in the first round. He should be reaching the majors about the time Eckstein is on his way out. Perfect timing for the media to latch on to him and turn him into the new handicapped underdog.

It makes me happy that the Yankees took a 6'10" pitcher with arm problems.

Can anyone give me some info on the Mets' supplemental picks: RHP Eddie Kunz and LHP Nathan Vineyard?

Thank you for explaining. Non-Giants fans: They just don't get it!

"". Bingo.

The Giants have absolutely no power bats in their minor leagues, and haven't developed a legitimate bat in Sabean's entire tenure. Beau Mills seemed like the perfect fit for them. They have has success drafting players from where he went, Lewis & Clark, they showed a ton of interest in him before the draft, it seemed as if everything fell right into place. And then they draft another pitcher. Now, I understand that you can't ever have enough good young pitching and you can always trade for hitting, but I have absolutely no faith in Sabean's ability to use that young pitching to actually make a decent trade. They need bats at all levels of their system, yet show no desire whatsoever to acquire them, be it through trades or through the draft. I'm sure things would be different if there was a 35-over softball league draft, however. Sabean would be all over that.

To reiterate, I generally agree with the best talent available - but the Giants don't have a single bat who projects as even an average regular (Schuerholiz-sp if we're being very optimistic). The pitching staff is set for at least the next 4 years with the top 4 SP. My point is that spending your first two picks on pitchers when ignoring the best bat available (Mills) is beyond ridiculous.

To add insult to injury, they spent their 3 supplemental picks on a no-hit C, and two speedy middle infielder prospects.

To reiterate, I generally agree with the best talent available - but the Giants don't have a single bat who projects as even an average regular (Schuerholiz-sp if we're being very optimistic). The pitching staff is set for at least the next 4 years with the top 4 SP. My point is that spending your first two picks on pitchers when ignoring the best bat available (Mills) is beyond ridiculous.
Without getting into a direct debate about the specific merits of Bumgarner vs. Mills (or any other bat in the draft), if the Giants' scouting department and scouting director felt that Bumgarner was no worse than equal to any of the bats left on the board, then given the pitching market it makes sense to take the pitcher. Pitchers carry so much value right now, and teams have become so reluctant to trade young pitching prospects, that if the Giants find themselves in the enviable position of having a glut of talented young pitchers in their system they can deal from a position of high leverage and get a lot of position player talent back in return.

Drafting for need is high up on the list of how to screw up your draft.

All that said, given the uncertainty of baseball draftees panning out, the potential for injury and the possibility that the Giants' scouts are way off in their projections, there's a good chance that hindsight will show that the Giants should've picked someone else. Of course, you'll probably be able to say that about a lot of teams...

Without getting into a direct debate about the specific merits of Bumgarner vs. Mills (or any other bat in the draft), if the Giants' scouting department and scouting director felt that Bumgarner was no worse than equal to any of the bats left on the board, then given the pitching market it makes sense to take the pitcher. Pitchers carry so much value right now, and teams have become so reluctant to trade young pitching prospects, that if the Giants find themselves in the enviable position of having a glut of talented young pitchers in their system they can deal from a position of high leverage and get a lot of position player talent back in return.

Drafting for need is high up on the list of how to screw up your draft.

All that said, given the uncertainty of baseball draftees panning out, the potential for injury and the possibility that the Giants' scouts are way off in their projections, there's a good chance that hindsight will show that the Giants should've picked someone else. Of course, you'll probably be able to say that about a lot of teams...

Here's the problem - I have no faith whatsoever that the Giants would ever make such deals. The last time they tried, they've been robbed. To be fair, that's more of a refrain against Brian Sabean, but the Giants' inability to develop a league average player since Bill Mueller suggests that every now and then, going for some bats makes some sense.

Here's the problem - I have no faith whatsoever that the Giants would ever make such deals. The last time they tried, they've been robbed. To be fair, that's more of a refrain against Brian Sabean, but the Giants' inability to develop a league average player since Bill Mueller suggests that every now and then, going for some bats makes some sense.
I get what you're saying, but really you're talking about two separate issues here - the best drafting strategy vs. the competence of the GM to make good trades. And given that it sure seems like Sabean is on a very hot seat and could be gone soon, I don't think it makes much sense to draft based off the potential of the GM to fuck up future trades.

The other potential problem here is that the trend towards an unwillingness to deal young pitchers can also work against an organization if they over value what they have. I saw it with the M's earlier in the decade with guys like Ryan Anderson, Clint Nageotte and Travis Blackley - young pitchers that had scouts buzzing, each of whom could've been traded for pieces that may have put the M's over the top to make the playoffs in '02 & '03 or push them further in the playoffs in '00 & '01. By over-valuing them and hanging on to all of them, they ended up getting almost nothing of value as each one was derailed by injury.

The injury rate of pitchers vs. position players is also obviously something that has to be factored into to future potential value - Mills is far less likely to find his career flaming out due to injury than Bumgarner.

Can anybody give me some info on the potential of the Astros' top picks, Derek Dietrich out of St. Ignatius HS in Parma, OH and Brett Eibner out of The Woodlands, TX?

Can anyone give me some info on the Mets' supplemental picks: RHP Eddie Kunz and LHP Nathan Vineyard?

All I know about Kunz is he's a college reliever that could end up being a Major League closer at some point. He should be a ground ball machine (he's a sinker/slider guy) and reach the majors fairly quick.

Vineyard was a possible end of the first round pick. He was considered just a notch below the top LHP in this draft and probably would have went higher in most other drafts. This just happened to be a very deep pitching draft. His ceiling is probably as a 3 starter, but he's considered a "safe" high school pitcher.

Appreciate it. A guy over on Metsblog said the Kunz pick was probably a product of Joe Smith working out so well as a reliever coming out of college who could contribute quickly. I believe he also said he throws from a 3/4 motion. Big guy too...250 lbs.

How's this usually work out, do the draftees immediately start playing? Do they almost always start in A and move up or will first rounders start in AA or even AAA? How long do they typically stay at those levels?

Just curious, seeing as how the baseball draft is actually in the middle of the season.

How's this usually work out, do the draftees immediately start playing? Do they almost always start in A and move up or will first rounders start in AA or even AAA? How long do they typically stay at those levels?

Just curious, seeing as how the baseball draft is actually in the middle of the season.


It varies quite a bit. This will be an interesting year since the deadline to sign is so short. In past years players had about 11 months to sign, this year its about 45 days. Sometimes overworked college pitchers are shut down until the following year, some will make a few starts in rookie or A ball and then shut it down.

Usually, players will go down to rookie ball and they see how they handle that. More advanced players may jump right into Low-A or High-A, while the rare prospect will go straight to AA.

Your typical high school player will spend almost a full season at each level, splitting up the A levels and rookie ball into 2 years, thena year at AA, then a year at AAA. College guys get promoted much more aggresively. Your looking at around 4 years for a high schooler to make it and 2-3 for your college guys.

A major factor is also organizational philosophy. Some promote aggressively, some don't. There's so many things that can affect how quickly a player gets promoted that its hard to even say what is typical for a player.

To reiterate, I generally agree with the best talent available - but the Giants don't have a single bat who projects as even an average regular (Schuerholiz-sp if we're being very optimistic). The pitching staff is set for at least the next 4 years with the top 4 SP. My point is that spending your first two picks on pitchers when ignoring the best bat available (Mills) is beyond ridiculous.

To add insult to injury, they spent their 3 supplemental picks on a no-hit C, and two speedy middle infielder prospects.

Exactly. They had 6 of the first 51 picks in a draft deep in pitching, they could have easily picked up a pitcher at or near the caliber of Bumgarner with their second pick. And then to use their supplemental picks on 2 infielders that are pretty much clones of the infielders they drafted last year...it's just extremely frustrating.

It varies quite a bit. This will be an interesting year since the deadline to sign is so short. In past years players had about 11 months to sign, this year its about 45 days. Sometimes overworked college pitchers are shut down until the following year, some will make a few starts in rookie or A ball and then shut it down.

Usually, players will go down to rookie ball and they see how they handle that. More advanced players may jump right into Low-A or High-A, while the rare prospect will go straight to AA.

Your typical high school player will spend almost a full season at each level, splitting up the A levels and rookie ball into 2 years, thena year at AA, then a year at AAA. College guys get promoted much more aggresively. Your looking at around 4 years for a high schooler to make it and 2-3 for your college guys.

A major factor is also organizational philosophy. Some promote aggressively, some don't. There's so many things that can affect how quickly a player gets promoted that its hard to even say what is typical for a player.

I think there's, what, like 4 guys up from last years draft now? Some of the more developed players can make the jump, especially relievers. Or guys that will be relievers for the short term. I'd think a lot depends on the individual contracts, as with some players/organizations put less of a premium on "getting the arb clock" ticking.

I'm surprised that so many people actually watched the silly thing and posted. Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts. I caught the tail end of it, and reviewed the rest on tape. Here are my thoughts on the whole thing, for what it's worth (not much, I know):

* The draft moved fairly briskly compared to the NFL draft - just under 3 hours for the 30 picks. I appreciated it.

* I actually appreciated the fact that ESPN focused, for the most part, on the current pick and showed it actually being made. For the past couple of years, in their NFL Draft coverage past the first round, ESPN has had the annoying habit of talking talking talking talking about earlier picks/trades and blowing off the actual pick (it's on the ticker, but that's not the same).

* Bud had about as much charm behind the mike as I expected him to - very little. He's still high on my list of least favorite people.

* I think they would have been much, much better off having those famous "runners" bringing up and introducing the pick. They showed a lot of ballplayers that I remembered - Chet Lemon, Dwight Evans, Dave Winfield, among others - but they didn't seem to do anything other than look good on the phones. I'm not sure what the point of having them there was if they were going to do so little.

* The room was too big for the crowd and stuff that filled it. I could hear a distinct echo from Gammons & Co.

* The players - especially the high schoolers - were, with a few exceptions, lousy interviews. I guess it's up to their new organizations to teach them Cliches 101 and Spin Doctoring 102.

* Other than what I've noted above, the draft was distressingly similar to the NFL Draft.

FWIW, Keith Law at ESPN loved the Giants' day 1 picks...

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/draft2007/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=2897929

How's this usually work out, do the draftees immediately start playing? Do they almost always start in A and move up or will first rounders start in AA or even AAA? How long do they typically stay at those levels?


Or in the case of the Braves, they rush an overmatched reliever to the majors in time to give up a pair of grand slams in his first two outings & lose a NLDS game.