Jemile Weeks

[Beast Light]

Does anyone here think that the Brewers will select him again in the draft?

 

I hope that they do, I am disappointed that we didn't get him to sign.

 

I do however have to commend him on going to college to get his education. Does anyone know what he is going for?

[Mass Haas]

Won't be eligible for selection in the draft until 2008...

[colbyjack]

Jemile Weeks is majoring in business management:

 

hurricanesports.collegesp...ile00.html

[Beast Light]

Quote:

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Won't be eligible for selection in the draft until 2008...

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Could someone please explain this to me. I am unfamiliar with the rules regarding the MLB draft. Thanks.

[heresrobin]

It took me a while to comprehend that as well Beast Light. The FAQ link on Brewerfan's homepage helped me out though:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewDraftFaq.do

 

The way I understand it, if you don't get drafted right out of high school, you have to be at least 21 years old and have played at least 2 years of college ball to get drafted again. However, there's more to it than the answer I just gave, so I'd just refer to the link.

[madbad2000]

From what I understand....it's either after high school, 3 years later if you attend a 4 year university (after Junior year) or you can re-enter after 1 or 2 years if you go to a JUCO.

[colbyjack]

The FAQ has it correct.

 

Draft eligible sophomores are those eligible for the draft if they turn 21 within 45 days of the draft. Most draft-eligible sophomores technically are in their 3rd year in college, having red-shirted their first year at school.

 

In Jemile Weeks case, since he attended the University of Miami, he won't be eligible to be drafted again until the 2008 draft as noted (his birthday is 1/26/1987, meaning he doesn't turn 21 until 1/27/2008, well beyond the 45-day window to be eligible for the 2007 draft). The Brewers lost their controlling rights over Weeks as soon as he attended class last fall.

 

The only way Weeks would be available sooner than 2008 is if he transferred to a junior college for the 2007 season. There is no way he would be eligible for this June's draft.

[VeggieBadger]

I'm kind of new to following the baseball draft, but this rule has always seemed odd to me. Who enforces it? Is it MLB? Has it ever been challenged? I don't understand how MLB would be allowed to restrict four year college players from being drafted when they allow junior college players the same age to be drafted. What would happen if a college sophomore became academically ineligible or dropped out of college? When would he be allowed to sign with an MLB team? Thanks.

[colbyjack]

Yes, it is a rule passed down by MLB. I don't think anyone has really challenged it because that's just the way it is, and has been, for quite some time. The only situation that I can remember someone trying to "challenge" the ruling was when Landon Powell received his GED high school equivalency as a high school junior. Team's were unaware of this, or at least unaware of the ramifications, and Landon Powell went undrafted the summer after his junior year in high school, in which he became an undrafted free agent. No team gave into Powell's bonus aspirations (he was advised by Scott Boras, so you know those aspirations were high), and he ended up going to South Carolina. Powell's situation set a precedent that Jeremy Bonderman followed a year or two later, in that he too was draft eligible as a high school junior having completed his GED equivalency, and as we know he became a first-round pick.

 

I don't see why any player would challenge the rules once they are in college. They are aware of them, and if they want to play in pro ball that bad they shouldn't attend a 4-year college. High school players often use their college commitment as a negotiation tactic, and others attend junior colleges because they know attending a 4-year university will make them ineligible for the draft for another three years.

 

As for a player that becomes academically ineligible and drops out of college, I would imagine they would become eligible for the draft. I do know that they would not become a free agent, at least not immediately, because every player in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico has to go through the drafting process before they become an undrafted free agent.

[VeggieBadger]

Thanks a lot for the reply; that definitely makes thing clearer.

[deeswan]

Didn't one of the guys from Rice sort of try to circumvent this a couple of years ago? Seems he enrolled but claimed not to be out for baseball or something like that? Colby?

[colbyjack]

Wade Townsend decided to return to school, but he said he wouldn't be re-joining the baseball team, a move he hoped would allow him to continue to negotiate with the Orioles. He and/or his advisor didn't do their homework, as the rules clearly stipulate any player that returns to school in any way, shape or form is ineligible to sign and no longer under the control of the team that drafted him. It worked out fine for him, as he was drafted at the same slot last June by the D-Rays as we was by the O's the year before.

[deeswan]

It worked out fine for him, as he was drafted at the same slot last June by the D-Rays as we was by the O's the year before.

 

Well, it worked out fine except he had to wait a year before making roughly the same amount of money.

[colbyjack]

I should have said that it didn't completely backfire on him. He could have blown out his arm (like he did after he signed) which would have completely robbed his draft chances (and bonus aspirations).

 

Unfortunately for Townsend, he seemed to have peaked the summer after his sophomore year.