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February 01, 2008
The A.L. East $7 Million Drafts Of 2007
From Jim Callis feature in Baseball America, last August:
The Yankees aggressively signed players in [the 2006] draft, and did so again [in 2007], spending $7,432,500 in the first 10 rounds. But the Orioles ($7,672,500) and Nationals ($7,619,300) outspent them there, and the Tigers ($7,305,000), Devil Rays ($7,172,000) and Giants ($7,027,000) came close. No club topped $7 million a year ago.
It's interesting that the Yankees, O's and Rays all spent $7 million during the first 10 rounds of the 2007 draft - as they're all in the A.L. East.
But, it will be more interesting to see, in about 3 to 5 years from now, which of the three spent their money the most wisely.
Here are the Yankees' pick-ups in the first ten rounds of 2007:
Andrew Brackman
Austin Romine
Ryan Pope
Bradley Suttle
Adam Olbrychowski
Chase Weems
Damon Sublett
Taylor Grote
Austin Krum
Carmen Angelini
And, here are the Orioles' pick-ups:
Matt Wieters
Tim Bascom
Jake Arrieta
Joe Mahoney
Matt Angle
Shane Mathews
Malcolm Crowley
Note the list is smaller because the O's lost some picks and did not sign their 10th rounder.
And, lastly, here are the Rays' pick-ups:
David Price
Will Kline
Nick Barnese
David Newmann
Dustin Biell
Emeel Salem
Reid Fronk
Matt Moore
Cody Cipriano
Greg Sexton
Anyone want to make some predictions on who is going to get the most for their seven mill?
Posted by Steve Lombardi at February 1, 2008 09:43 AM
Comments
No interets in predictions, however, this is great information to throw in the face of the writers who claim the Yankees are buying their farm system. There are atleast 5 other teams throwing money at prospects to get them to sign. Great news.
Posted by: gphunt ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 1, 2008 10:39 AM
Because Price and Wieters were all consensus top picks, the best bet would be those two teams will see the most value. However, it is likely that the Rays and O's spent a higher percentage on their top pick than did the Yankees, so it could be that the Yankees will wind up with more value after considering first rounders. Then again, if the high risk/high reward Brackman does pan out, the advantage could be the Yankees regardless.
Posted by: williamnyy at February 1, 2008 11:16 AM
The rays and o's spent their money on basically one guy each.
Both top 5 picks.
Much different than the Yanks picking 30 and picking up talent all the way around the 10 rounds.
Posted by: Josh at February 1, 2008 11:35 AM
If the choice is between spending $7+ million on the draft and $40+ million on Carl Pavano, or even $50+ million on Johnny Damon, I'll opt for the $7+ million on the draft, and I don't care what writers or any other self-appointed critics think.
Cashman identified undervalued assets in the draft and he took proactive steps to exploit it. That's a smart baseball, as well as a good business, decision.
Posted by: Rich at February 1, 2008 01:22 PM
To be fair, the comparison is $10mn for Pavano and $13mn for Damon, as the $7mn figure is for 2007 only.
Posted by: williamnyy at February 1, 2008 02:16 PM
I'm not sure what it means to mention the Devil Rays here, since they had to pay the first overall pick a ton of money -- the second-most ever paid to a draft pick. I thought he got something like a six-million-dollar bonus. If that amount is factored into that seven-million-dollar total, then they didn't have much left over.
The money you spend on the draft goes beyond what you give your draft picks. It's also about how many scouts and developmental people you employ, and where you send them and how often. The Yankees drafted Ryan Pope out of the Savannah College of Art and Design. How many teams had scouts following players from that school? The Yankees' financial might stretches beyond merely being able to pay hard-to-sign draft picks.
Posted by: baileywalk at February 1, 2008 03:11 PM