Alleghenies wrote:I disagree on the have to offer slot, as in MLB a bunch of 1st rounders and 2nd rounders are signed for under slot.
Yeah, in theory, in order to be fair, the rule would have to be an offer of slot unless the draftee demands less (of which several of mine are in this draft, for instance). In practice, however, that's not really workable because it would be far too much work for the commish to police.
For this and a variety of other reasons, I continue to bang the drum for running the first x rounds (I'd say 3, but the number is less important than the concept, heck, even the first round only would be good) of the draft via the forums in the week leading up to the draft.
Take a week of sim time off after the final pre-draft sim and run the first x rounds on the forum. It would generate a lot of chatter on the forum and would give owners more than just a very short window of time to make their most important pick(s).
Let's be honest, the real concern about supplemental picks is that we get a first round that is 50ish picks rather than the 26 to 30 that it should be, not anything having to do with the second and third round. To me, having (at least) a first round on the forum combined with the Common Sense Accord in our constitution would take care of any temptation to game the system. If someone wants to keep rolling forward second and third round picks, I think they are just hurting themselves by costing themselves a year of player development in the hopes of getting marginally better players down the road. [shrug] Anyway, that's my two cents, and that's in no way a criticism of all the hard work that the commish has done in improving the draft process.
Anyway, HOW 'BOUT THEM LONGSHOREMEN?!? A 6-1 week moves us into a tie for the second wild card, a mere three games back of the Great Lakes-leading Sandgnats. San Juan Winter League refugee Jose Santos has been electric as an early May signee, at least from a peripherals perspective, with a 1/23 BB/K rate in 32 innings. He's 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA and a 2.45 FIP. His signing and the surprising emergence of the enigmatic Bill Martin in the #4 spot in the rotation (5-3, 2.69 ERA, 2.68 FIP, 15 BB, 57 K) means that we get to see what two-time medical miracle Mark Ray has left in the tank in a bullpen role. When we drafted him as the third player taken overall in the 2024 draft, he was recovering from a torn rotator cuff, and he made all of 7 PEBA starts last season before tearing his UCL. My scout still thinks he's a "decent starter", but Ray's expectations is to be in the bullpen. How he recovers (and how long before he has some other horrible injury that will cost him a season or more of time - I'm betting on compartment syndrome or a blown-out knee) will be an interesting story line this season.