The last MLB Draft of its kind? Plus: Sinner makes Wimbledon final, again
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Good morning! Let’s talk about high school. Coming up:
MLB Draft: The league’s bleak proposal for the future
Major League Baseball’s draft begins today at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. (Our live blog will be here.) If commissioner Rob Manfred gets his way, it’ll be the last draft before the rules begin to change, and what comes next will be worse.
MLB and its player union continue to swap proposals ahead of a near-certain lockout this winter. The parties’ early proposals are largely performative and may not resemble the collective bargaining agreement they reach. But one of the league’s proposals is such a stark departure from history that it stopped me in my tracks — a total overhaul of the way teams acquire amateur talent. At the risk of slightly oversimplifying, the league wants to do three things:
- Institute an international draft, which would replace the current amateur signing system for players from outside Puerto Rico, the rest of the United States and Canada.
- Shorten the domestic draft from 20 rounds to 12 and institute hard bonus slots in both this and the international draft.
- Close the draft to high school prospects, requiring that entrants be two years out from graduation and 20 years old by September in their draft year.
Ken Rosenthal has already explained, in detail, why these proposals don’t help the growth of the sport. On draft day, I can’t stop thinking about what MLB wants to do with this critical event.
The draft used to be 40 to 50 rounds, but the league and union agreed to cut it to 20 starting in 2021. A much smaller influx of players made it easier for the league to cut affiliations with 40 minor-league franchises, saving money and headaches right before minor leaguers unionized. MLB says it has no plans to pursue more cuts, but having fewer draftees would be a good reason for the league to change its mind one day. It could mean fewer careers for baseball players and fewer late bloomers becoming productive big leaguers. The list of incredible players taken after the 12th round is a long one. Teams could simply sign the players that don’t get drafted, but would they? And would they have the same incentive to develop them?
MLB’s idea to bar high school players from the draft might be an even bigger slap in the face to fans and players alike. For the league, limiting the draft to college players would serve two purposes. One: It would save scouting and development costs. It’s much easier to cover a few hundred Division I baseball schools than thousands of high schools. Two: It would prevent players like Bryce Harper and current Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin from skyrocketing through the minors and playing in the majors at 19. An international prospect like Juan Soto wouldn’t be able to reach the big leagues that young, either, so the next Soto (if there’s ever another) would sign for much less than $765 million once he gets to free agency.
Maybe you don’t care about millionaire ballplayers losing contract leverage. But surely you care about getting to see the best players on big-league fields for as much of their primes as possible. MLB’s proposal would have a player like Griffin (now injured, but already blossoming into one of the league’s better shortstops) playing for LSU this year. Ken Griffey Jr. wouldn’t have been a Mariner at 19. And for what?
These are memorable players, and MLB wants us to see less of them at the highest level. The terrific baseball writer Joe Sheehan put it well when he wrote that the league “proposes to sever that tie to the game’s history.” It’s clear why team owners would support that, but why would the rest of us?
Here’s a mock draft from Keith Law, featuring high school shortstop Grady Emerson at No. 1.
News to Know
Brennan Asplen / Getty Images
Adebayo punches Herro
Former Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro got into a physical altercation in front of Herro’s AAU team in Las Vegas yesterday. At a gym, Adebayo walked onto the courts and Herro said something to him, after which Adebayo approached Herro and punched him without hesitation.
Sinner ousts Djokovic in semis
The men’s Wimbledon final is set, and for the second straight year, it features Jannik Sinner. The 24-year-old Italian bounced seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the All England Club yesterday. Sinner gets Alexander Zverev in the final Sunday. We’ve got a full recap of both semifinals.
Wemby signs big extension
NBA news of a different flavor. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs agreed to a five-year contract extension, worth a projected $252 million. It’s a rookie-scale supermax extension because … yeah. The 22-year-old Frenchman paced the Spurs with 23.8 points per game this postseason, before falling to the Knicks in the NBA Finals. The 7-4 center also averaged 10.9 rebounds per game. He’s called the “Alien” for a reason.
More news:
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Scottie Scheffler — the No. 1 men’s golfer in the world — missed his first cut in nearly four years after a tough outing at the Scottish Open. Big bummer for the American.
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The Colombian Football Federation has condemned death threats directed at Jaminton Campaz and his family after the forward missed a late goal opportunity in the team’s eliminating World Cup loss to Switzerland. The harassment toward Campaz comes 32 years after the murder of former Colombia national team defender Andrés Escobar.
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Shohei Ohtani is sitting out the All-Star Game, and was scratched from yesterday’s start, with left knee pain. He will have his knee “drained,” but will serve as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ DH through the weekend.
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It’s payday for JJ Wetherholt. The St. Louis Cardinals extended the rook on an eight-year, $112.5 million contract.
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Terrion Arnold could soon be back in the NFL after a Florida judge ruled the former Lions defensive back doesn’t have to wear an ankle monitor while on bond for kidnapping and robbery. The NFL is “closely monitoring all developments in the matter.”
📰 Find more news here 24/7.
Watch Guide
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
📺 Wimbledon: Women’s final
11 a.m. ET on ESPN
It’s a battle between two Czechs who have made surprising runs to the final: Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová. A nation’s proud tennis legacy grows again.
📺 World Cup: Norway vs. England
5 p.m. ET on Fox
Erling Haaland and Harry Kane duel for advancement, legacy and possibly the Golden Boot. It’ll be a blast to see them on the same pitch; Kane left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in 2023, only one season after Haaland came the other way from Dortmund to Manchester City.
📺 World Cup: Argentina vs. Switzerland
9 p.m. ET on Fox
Argentina’s Lionel Messi looks good in this tournament. He has real promise.
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Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The World Cup quiz for those in need of a new rooting interest.