Getting Ready for the 2014 Amateur Draft

Major League Baseball will hold it’s Rule 4 amateur draft on this week, with the main action on Thursday, June 5. MLB Network and MLB.com will broadcast and stream, respectively, pick-by-pick coverage of the first four rounds: Round One, Competitive Balance Round A, Round Two, and Competitive Balance Round B. In essence, the top 74 spots. The draft will continue untelevised on Friday and Saturday.

This is the second year for the new draft rules that were implemented as part of the collective bargaining agreement inked at the end of 2011. Before last’s year’s draft, I wrote a two-parter on the new rules. Part I (here) discussed the changes to the free-agent compensation system and the competitive balance draft picks. Note that the qualifying offer price after the 2013 season was $14.1 million. Part 2 (here) explained the new draft slot values (the amount a team can spend on each particular draft pick, with the most money going to the number one pick) and the new draft bonus pools (the total amount each team can spend in the Rule 4 draft). If you’re unfamiliar with the new rules, or just need a refresher, take a look at last year’s posts before reading on.

2014 Draft Order

The following is the list of draft picks through the end of the third round (draft pick number 104).

First Round	Competitive Balance Round A	Second Round	Competitive Balance Round B	Third Round
1. Astros	35. Rockies	42. Astros	69. D’Backs	75. Astros
2. Marlins	36. Marlins	43. Marlins	70. D’Backs	76. Marlins
3. White Sox	37. Astros	44. White Sox	71. Cardinals	77. White Sox
4. Cubs	38. Indians	45. Cubs	72. Rays	78. Cubs
5. Twins	39. Pirates	46. Twins	73. Pirates	79. Twins
6. Mariners	40. Royals	47. Phillies	74. Mariners	80. Mariners
7. Phillies	41. Brewers	48. Rockies		81. Phillies
8. Rockies		49. Blue Jays		82. Rockies
9. Blue Jays		50. Brewers		83. Blue Jays
10. Mets		51. Padres		84. Mets
11. Blue Jays		52. Giants		85. Brewers
12. Brewers		53. Angels		86. Padres
13. Padres		54. D’Backs		87. Giants
14. Giants		55. Yankees		88. Angels
15. Angels		56. Royals		89. D’Backs
16. D’Backs		57. Nationals		90. Orioles
17. Royals		58. Reds		91. Yankees
18. Nat’ls		59. Rangers		92. Royals
19. Reds		60. Rays		93. Nationals
20. Rays		61. Indians		94. Reds
21. Indians		62. Dodgers		95. Rangers
22. Dodgers		63. Tigers		96. Rays
23. Tigers		64. Pirates		97. Indians
24. Pirates		65. Athletics		98. Dodgers
25. Athletics		66. Braves		99. Tigers
26. Red Sox		67. Red Sox		100. Pirates
27. Cards		68. Cardinals		101. Athletics
28. Royals				102. Braves
29. Reds				103. Red Sox
30. Rangers				104. Cards
31. Indians
32. Braves
33. Red Sox
34. Cards

The Yankees lost their first round pick when they signed Brian McCann away from the Braves, and their Competitive Balance Round A picks for signing Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox) and Carlos Beltran (Cardinals). The Mets forfeited their second round pick when they signed Curtis Granderson away from the Yankees (the Mets’ first round pick was protected). The Mariners lost a second round pick when they signed Robinson Cano away from the Yankees (Seattle’s first round pick was also protected). The Rangers, Orioles, and Braves also lost first round picks for signing Shin-Soo Choo (Reds), Nelson Cruz (Rangers), and Ervin Santana (Royals), respectively. The Orioles also lost a second round pick for signing Ubaldo Jimenez away from the Indians.

Draft Slot Value and Bonus Pools

The total allotment for the first ten rounds of the draft is $205,786,400, just a 1.6% increase over the 2013 total ($202,501,600). That’s in contrast to the 8.2% increase between the 2012 slot value totals and the 2013 slot value totals.  Baseball America predicts teams will spend more than the amount allotted for the first ten rounds, as they did last year, the first under the full set of new rules.

The Marlins would have led all teams with $14,199,300 in their bonus pool,  but they just traded their 39th pick with a $1,457,600 slot value to the Pirates for reliever Bryan Morris. The Marlins now have $12,741,700 to spend on draft picks. The Astros are first with $13,362,200 to spend. The Orioles have the least amount to spend — only $2,204,400. You can see the full list of team bonus pools here, from Baseball America.

The Astros have the first pick in the draft for the third year in a row. The slot value for the number one pick is set at $7,922,100. Note, however, that the Astros didn’t spend the full amount allotted for the number one draft pick in either 2012 or 2013. The Cardinals have the last pick in the first round, with a slot value of only $1,650,400.  Baseball America lists the draft slot values for the first 315 picks here.

Tune in this week on MLB Network or MLB.com. And then watch as teams work to sign their drafted players by the July 18 deadline.