Baseball America has obtained the proposed slot amounts for the 2017 draft and it looks like the Pittsburgh Pirates will have the seventh highest bonus pool in the draft.
We mentioned last week that the draft order was set, and the Pirates will pick 12th, 42nd, 50th and 72nd on the first day of the draft. Their third round pick, which will be the first pick on day two of the draft, is 88th overall. After that, the Pirates will make a selection every 30 picks (118, 148, 178, etc.).
BA mentions that these are the proposed slot amounts, so it sounds like there could possibly be a change. Agents have received the list, but it has not been sent out to the teams. Assuming nothing changes though, the Pirates will have a total of $9,652,200 to spend on their top ten picks and any over-slot amounts after the tenth round.
The individual slot amounts for the first ten rounds are as follows:
1st round, 12th overall pick: $3,839,600
2nd, 42nd: $1,557,500
2nd, 50th: $1,292,500
2nd, 72nd: $765,600
3rd: $596,700
4th: $429,000
5th: $320,400
6th: $243,700
7th: $190,500
8th: $153,000
9th: $135,900
10th: $127,800
These numbers give an interesting comparison to last year. BA notes that the slot amounts after the 54th overall pick are all down from last year. The Pirates had the 41st overall pick last year and they were unable to sign Nick Lodolo. As compensation for not signing him, they got the 42nd overall pick this year. Lodolo’s slot amount was $1,576,000, while the 41st pick this year is worth $18,700 more. Once you pass that 54 mark though, you see the big differences in slots. Travis MacGregor was taken 68th overall last year with a $948,900 slot. That’s a $183,300 difference from the 72nd overall pick this year.
Regardless of the drop, the important number is the total. The Pirates finished with the second best record in 2015, so they had a small bonus pool. The total this year gives them an extra $4,220,300 to spend in the draft, not including the extra $211,000 they will be allowed to spend if they decide to go 5% over their budget and pay the overage tax like they did in 2015.
While many of the picks in the top ten rounds lost value, the slot amount after the tenth round has gone up from $100,000 to $125,000, so teams will be able to make slightly better offers to entice players to sign. Last year the Pirates signed 11th round pick Max Kranick for $300,000, and 33rd round pick Austin Shields for $205,000. Along with the higher slot amount, those same bonuses would have given the Pirates an extra $75,000 to spend, and may have given them a chance to sign another pick after the tenth round.
