Teams generally don’t sign all their drafted players. There are signing allocation ranges based on draft pick. These equate to a total pool of funds a team can use to sign its draft picks. A common strategy is to take a flyer on a high talent high schooler that has sign ability issues (meaning he is likely to go to college) and use savings from signing college seniors - who have no leverage - to try and take a swing at the high schooler. Sometimes you lure the kid. Sometimes you don’t. there are also players picked high, but not as high as they felt they should be - that will want value from the slot they thought they should have gone in. If they are younger than senior in college - they have leverage. If you didn’t have extra funds allocated to sign the kid - he’s a threat to walk.
Not really sure how to answer that, the number of players drafted was recently reduced drastically. In past drafts more than twenty picks where always signed but all picks were seldom signed. This year the Astros drafted eighteen picks they intended to sign, many of whom they were able to pay less than the amount allotted for those picks for various reasons. As a result they had enough money to overpay for one high ceiling prospect and two picks that they used to draft High ceiling high school players. It could be argued that they could have done better drafting the best players available and paying full value for them but that is a whole other discussion. They offered their first choice a very large overpay to sign, knowing that if he turned down the money they still had a chance to sign the other. Knowing that there was another player waiting for the outcome added additional pressure on the first kid to sign. He did sign and there was no money left to offer to the second. So the Astros drafted twenty players but only intended to sign 18 plus 1 of 2 high value high schoolers. They did exactly that so the strategy they employed worked perfectly. The actual outcome will remain unknown for at least a few years and will depend on how well the draftees develop despite their strategy.
My Favorite 2022 selections. Drew Gilbert: CF, High floor. Undersized situational LH hitter with a quick bat. Avg glove & speed may mean CF is a stretch for him. Ryan Clifford: RF, Difficult sign, Vandy commit has youth, lots of tools & a high ceiling to move him along. Won’t know more till A ball. Austin Temple: RH SP UDFA, Notre Dame’s post grad Fri night starter, missed 20 (covid) and most of 21 (injury) best case a #2/3 starter Jacob Melton: LF/1st, Good hit and power tools. LH bat is mostly a 1st base/LF fit but he has played all 3 OF positions. Garrett McGowan: 1st base, Excellent glove and a very good bat makes him a real 1st base prospect with a chance to play at a high level. John Garcia: Catcher, Very good hit tool, prototype of a catcher with robo umps, throws out runners, work with pitchers as yet undetermined. Who ya got?
Never expected to. They basically took a flyer on 2nd hard sign high schooler in case they couldn't scrimp together quite enough money for Clifford. It was always one or the other.
We signed Joseph Anthony Mancini III nicknamed Joey. We traded for Joseph Anthony Mancini III nicknamed Trey. What are the chances?
