[jinxy]

Thats also called leverage. The option to go to school.

[ballcoach15]

I thought Close would have been drafted a lot earlier .

[krh44]

Hate to see us lose another HS pitcher to the draft especially a local kid.

[ballcoach15]

Two years in a row, maybe more.

[BJWilliams]

Its unfortunate i agree krh, but some of these kids, like Trevillian, have their eyes on "the show" before they have their eyes on Omaha. they see the money, glitz and glamour of being a major leaguer and they dont think about the fact that a very small percentage of these guys will be in MLB, and an even smaller percentage of that go straight to a 25 Man roster. 99 percent of these 1200+ guys will go to rookie ball in some locale, and spend their nights riding buses to places like Danville, Elizabethton, Palm Beach, Harrisburg, Orem and a host of other small towns in between...and many will never get more than a cup of coffee in the majors.

[Chris Lang]

Your point? Players will have to work through the minors after college, too. The kid obviously received a strong signing bonus. Why not start the process earlier if the money's right?

[SuperJon]

College isn't for everyone. Go make your money while you can.

[adam42381]

Its unfortunate i agree krh, but some of these kids, like Trevillian, have their eyes on "the show" before they have their eyes on Omaha. they see the money, glitz and glamour of being a major leaguer and they dont think about the fact that a very small percentage of these guys will be in MLB, and an even smaller percentage of that go straight to a 25 Man roster. 99 percent of these 1200+ guys will go to rookie ball in some locale, and spend their nights riding buses to places like Danville, Elizabethton, Palm Beach, Harrisburg, Orem and a host of other small towns in between...and many will never get more than a cup of coffee in the majors.

The number of guys who have ever done this is so ridiculously small it really doesn't even deserve a mention.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/draft/in ... e=straight

[BJWilliams]

thats my point. high school kids see baseball players on tv and they make millions of dollars so they want that..now what they want to do with it varies from person to person, but at the end of the day its not as glorious as they might think. Instead of chartered flights and massive clubhouse spreads, it may be all night bus rides and sandwich fixings, pasta salad and drinks in the clubhouse 9ok maybe not that extreme but its not exactly five star cuisine either). Of course, some guys are willing to go through that to reach the goal of making "the show"and are ready for that step. Most though, probably should have taken the college route and honed their skills instead of chasing the almighty dollar

[Chris Lang]

Dude, you're not getting it.

Alex Close will have to start in rookie ball or low-A, just like Trevillian will. And that's after four years of college. If you're 18 and you get a $250,000 signing bonus, plus the option of your club paying for college, you want to jumpstart that process early.

[BJWilliams]

i agree with that, Im just saying that the money shouldnt be the driving force behind that decision for an 18 year old kid. If Alex's baseball career doesn't work out, he has a backup plan at least. What about Trevillian or the dozens of other high school kids who no doubt will sign on the dotted line in the weeks to come?

[SumItUp]

i agree with that, Im just saying that the money shouldnt be the driving force behind that decision for an 18 year old kid. If Alex's baseball career doesn't work out, he has a backup plan at least. What about Trevillian or the dozens of other high school kids who no doubt will sign on the dotted line in the weeks to come?

Dude, you're not getting it.

[BJWilliams]

Fine, im just a clueless know nothing like shorty said. if my son is in this position in about 16 years i'll just tell him to go pro

[ludlpstudent]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1219 ... or-leagues

three year old article but according to bleacher report the chance of playing in the show doubles for college players. It is what it is.

[SuperJon]

Im just saying that the money shouldnt be the driving force behind that decision for an 18 year old kid.

If he can get a jumpstart on his financial future while getting college paid for completely, then why would money not be a driving force? If he went to college to play baseball, he wouldn't get his college paid for completely. It's a win-win all around.

[JK37]

BJ missed the part about ball clubs sometimes offering to cover college for HS prospects, as seems to be the case here. Like any good pursuit, take all negatives off the table. That's what MLB organizations are doing here.

[LUDad]

A half million dollar signing bonus sounds huge to a high school kid. However, after taxes are deducted and they bounce around in the minors for a few years, most will have blown through most, if not all, of what Uncle Sam allowed them to keep simply to augment their minor league salary.

ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/minor-league-baseball-players-lawsuit-mlb-mlbpa

http://www.jeffblankbaseball.com/salary ... ue-salary/

Few players signed out of HS end-up collecting the money they are promised for college simply because they end-up getting married and cannot afford to support their family while attending college. Or they smply never get around to it.

Unless someone is simply not college material, or they get drafted on the first day with several commas in their signing bonus, I cannot envision someone signing out of HS since they have a slim to no chance of ever seeing a major league game without buying a ticket.

[ballcoach15]

A low draft choice should go to college and improve that draft status in 3 or 4 years.

[LUDad]

Im just saying that the money shouldnt be the driving force behind that decision for an 18 year old kid.

If he can get a jumpstart on his financial future while getting college paid for completely, then why would money not be a driving force? If he went to college to play baseball, he wouldn't get his college paid for completely. It's a win-win all around.

SJ, the mitigating factor is that though the kid may not get a complete scholarship, in reality, in many, if not most cases, the cost to the kid is completely free in that his parents are paying the balance. Get it while the getting is good (: Then pocket the signing bonus after college!

[SuperJon]

Im just saying that the money shouldnt be the driving force behind that decision for an 18 year old kid.

If he can get a jumpstart on his financial future while getting college paid for completely, then why would money not be a driving force? If he went to college to play baseball, he wouldn't get his college paid for completely. It's a win-win all around.

SJ, the mitigating factor is that though the kid may not get a complete scholarship, in reality, in many, if not most cases, the cost to the kid is completely free in that his parents are paying the balance. Get it while the getting is good (: Then pocket the signing bonus after college!

If mommy and daddy can pay the balance, then awesome.

If you're stuck with $60k in student loans because mommy and daddy couldn't pay the balance, not so awesome.

[flamehunter]

If I was coming out of high school and had a chance to get paid to play baseball, even knowing I would probably never make the big leagues, I would probably jump at it. It may be a once in a lifetime chance.

[LUDad]

If I was coming out of high school and had a chance to get paid to play baseball, even knowing I would probably never make the big leagues, I would probably jump at it. It may be a once in a lifetime chance.

I agree with you. That's certainly what I would have wanted to do if I had the talent.

However, speaking from the perspective of a now Christian parent...would I rather have my 18 year old son go out into the world alone with a couple hundred thousand dollars in his pocket, knowing all the temptations and predators that awaits him. Or, would I rather he go to Liberty University and play college ball as he grows in maturity and his love for Christ, knowing that if he truly has the talent, he will still be able to realize his professional dreams, probably even more so than if he had signed out of HS.

I know how I would council my son.

[ballcoach15]

Good post LUdad

[Chris Lang]

Or he blows out his arm in college and never develops the way he hopes, and he never gets a chance at pitching in the pros.

[LUDad]

Or he blows out his arm in college and never develops the way he hopes, and he never gets a chance at pitching in the pros.

What about the other 8 positions?