The Notorious B.P.A
An overwhelmingly common refrain from scouting directors and front office executives on draft day is that the team is targeting the “best player available.” A misconception among fans is that most teams’ draft boards are identical. They’re not.
So, when the Dodgers take a player in the second round after he was ranked by Baseball America or MLB.com as a fifth-rounder, fans tend to freak out. Take a deep breath and remember that rankings after the first round can be completely different from team to team, as well as to outside evaluators.
Now, this was seemingly the Dodgers’ approach last year. Buehler and Funkhouser were each seen as top-10 picks at one point during the spring, so getting them in the second half of the first round was a coup of sorts.
Hansen was also ranked highly by some publications and Davis was seen as a top second- or third-round prospect even after his injury.
This approach also prevents teams from “drafting for need,” which is a hilarious consideration in baseball. When most prospects take three or four years from being drafted to reach the Majors, selecting the third baseman rated No. 40 over the right fielder rated No. 25 makes almost no sense. Who knows what will happen?
It seems like this will be the way the Dodgers operate once again in 2016, but that shouldn’t preclude from exploring other options.
CONTINUE READING: Taking advantage of late-falling prospects
