Zaun compensation

[cheezscott]

I see the Rays get pick 42 for Zaun...Would we have pick 42 if we didnt sign him?

Thanks!!!

[chuckiehacks]

Zaun was a Type B, so the pick that Tampa gets is a supplemental pick. It doesn't come from us.

[paul253]

And that's whats wrong with the draft. No offense to Zaun, but losing him should not be worth the 42nd pick.

[kramnoj]

Most 42nd picks are't going to provide any value. 8 such picks since 1965 have provided a positive WAR, per bref, and most of those have been worth less than 5 WAR over their career. Obviously the careers of Bucholtz and recent picks are far from over, but the odds are that a team is going to spend money developing a player and getting nothing for it. How does Tampa gaining this pick indicate there is anything wrong with the draft?

[paul253]

Most 42nd picks are't going to provide any value

 

Well that's true, but all in all there were 12 type B picks handed out, meaning the teams that don't have any comp picks have to watch 12 more players disappear before the get to pick again. I'm sure any team you ask would rather pick say 40th than 52nd regardless of how likely it is that that 40th pick is eventually going to be a major league player.

How does Tampa gaining this pick indicate there is anything wrong with

the draft?

 

Because teams losing free agents who are more or less average players are getting comp picks and end up having more picks than teams who are bad and actually need good players. It's not just Tampa getting this pick for Zaun, it's the way comp picks are handed out in general. Perfect example. The Pirates, who finished 37 games under .500 have the number 2 pick in the draft. The Angels, who finished 28 games over .500, then pick 5 times before the Pirates get to pick again. Yes, the Angels obviously lost some good players, but they also have a lot more available resources than the Pirates do to sign FA's. And oh yeah, they were 28 games over .500! Tampa Bay, who finished 6 games over .500, has three picks before the Pirates get their second pick. Boston, who actually moved up 9 spots in the first round by signing John Lackey and losing Bill Wagner, also has 3 picks before the Pirates get their second. In fact, the 7 worst teams in baseball (Washington, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, KC, Cleveland, Arizona, and the Mets), and 12 of the worst 14 teams (add in SD, Cincy, Oakland, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee) all have to watch teams with winning records (Boston, LAA, Tampa, Texas, Colorado, and St. Louis) all get multiple picks (other than Colorado they all get at least 3 picks) before they get to make their second pick.

 

The whole system is flawed. The fact the Tampa gets the 42nd pick for losing a 38 year old catcher who hit a combined .259 with 8 home runs and 27 rbi is to me an absolute joke. There are so many things wrong with the MLB draft that if teams like Milwaukee didn't have to rely so heavily on it for sustained success I would just completely blow it off.

[kramnoj]

Zaun in 2010 has already provided more value than most 42nd picks will ever provide. I don't see how that is an absolute joke.

[paul253]

Just about every free agent is going to provide more value than your average 42nd pick. Why not give compensation for every player who leaves via free agency? My point really has nothing to do specifically with Zaun. It's that while trying to compensate teams for players that they, in a lot of cases, choose not to re-sign, you are undermining the entire process of the draft, which is supposed to give the worst teams a chance to improve. How does that happen when the Angels pick 5 times before the Pirates pick twice? There are a lot of players in currently in the majors who got picked after the 42nd pick.

[CheezWizHed]

choose not to re-sign

 

There is a problem with the system that needs to be fixed, and ironically, this statement you made is incorrect and is part of the problem (IMO).

 

You have to offer arby to a player and have them turn it down to get compensation. Its not that they just let them walk...

 

But often, its offering arbitration that the smaller market shy away from. Teams with larger payrolls have less of an issue with chancing arbitration with a player. Take Cameron for example. If we were Boston or NY or LAA, I would guess we would have offered him arby instead of letting him go without compensation.

 

I would think a NFL-like compensation system would be better, as it balances your defectors with your signings.

[paul253]

There is just SO much wrong with the draft. This compensation thing is just the tip of the iceberg. Greg Zaun is a decent player. Not an all star, but a decent player. That being said, should losing him to free agency garner a draft pick before the second round? I really don't think so. The fact most mlb draft picks never make it makes the higher picks all that more important to have.

 

I agree with CheezWiz...something more comparable to the NFL would be fine by me. But no compensation picks before the 5th round.

[True CryM]

But no compensation picks before the 5th round.

I agree. Think about the 42nd pick of the draft. There are 30 teams. After the 30th pick, in an equally distributed draft, teams are picking guys who they consider to be the 2nd best player to enter the organization that year. Is Greg Zaun really worth a team's 2nd best draft pick? I personally don't think so.

[monty57]

The whole compensation thing seems to have backfired. It originally was supposed to help small market teams who lost big named FAs to bigger markets. Instead, the smaller markets trade the FAs to bigger markets and the big market teams get the compensation. I also dislike the fact some picks just come out of thin air. If Team A & B are involved with a player, Team A loses him and Team B gets him, I really don't have a problem with Team B giving up a draft pick to Team A as compensation, but the "sandwich picks" hurt the rest of the teams in the draft, as they get pushed back a draft slot. It would be better if the supplemental picks just went away. Let Pittsburgh get the 2nd pick after round 1 is over, not the second pick after round 1 & supplemental round are over.

[JJHardy7]

But no compensation picks before the 5th round.

 

If this was the case, chances are the Brewers may not have made the trade for CC...just saying...

 

And most players do bring back picks if they leave in free agency. I think you need to take a look at how it is done. I'm not saying it is perfect, but without it small market teams would sell every year...even when somewhat in the race. A 5th round pick has little...if any value.

 

The major thing I'd like to see in the MLB Draft is allowing teams to trade picks. Again, I'm not saying it is perfect, but it does make sense IMO. I would change some of the things so that we didn't get screwed with CC (i.e. a type A must bring back a 1st rounder or you can't sign him). I think something like that would prevent the 'buying' in MLB. If you sign a Type A, you give up your first round pick, but you can only sign one Type A. Again Paul, I know it is not perfect, but these draft picks aren't like the NFL or even the NBA. It is a major crap shoot.