The “Wide Net”
The Dodgers can spend $9.8 million this year (excluding $100k for those taken after the 10th round), so why tie nearly two-thirds of that up in their first three picks? The bonus slots for the No. 20, No. 32 and No. 36 picks is a total of $6,048,000.
While almost $4 million for the Dodgers’ remaining picks in the first 10 rounds seems like a lot, a good chunk of that will disappear with the next handful of picks.
If the Dodgers went cheap with one or two of their early picks, they could save a significant amount of money for players who fall due to signability concerns. This happens every year: a high school player’s dad tells teams his son wants $5 million or he goes to school, he falls out of the first five rounds, then suddenly has a change of heart and will sign for a cool $1 million.
It’s definitely a risk, taking a couple guys early who may not be the best player on the board, but potentially signing a handful of high-ceiling prospects late could negate that. And infusing a deep and talented system with several top second- and third-round quality talents would give the Dodgers more young prospects than they’d know what to do with.
CONTINUE READING: Using spending power as an advantage
