Baseball drafted Ken Griffey Jr. at 17. Mike Trout at 17. Bryce Harper at 17. MLB wants to make that impossible. (1)

Hey, it's Zack.

If you read Issue #7 of The Save you know how much the draft means to me personally. Sitting at my computer with slow internet waiting for my name to come up. The call from the Orioles. The contract negotiation I had never been prepared for. The call to my Texas A&M coach.

All of that started because an eighteen year old kid was eligible to be drafted out of high school.

Under MLB's latest CBA proposal that would no longer be possible.

On June 18 MLB presented a sweeping overhaul of the amateur draft to the MLBPA at the bargaining table. The proposal would fundamentally change how baseball finds and develops its next generation of players. And in my opinion it raises serious questions.

THE ENTRANCE

Here is what MLB is actually proposing.

No more high school players in the domestic draft. Under the proposal any player under the age of 20 as of September 1 of the draft year would be ineligible. Players would have to be 20 years old by September 1 and two years removed from high school graduation. For most players that means being eligible after their sophomore year of college.

The draft gets shortened from 20 rounds to 12. That eliminates eight rounds of opportunities for players who might otherwise get a shot at professional baseball through a late round selection.

The bonus pool gets capped at $200 million. Teams have not spent that little since 2010. The current bonus pool is approximately $360 million. That is a reduction of roughly $160 million that would come directly out of the pockets of amateur players.

All draft positions would be hard slotted. No negotiating above or below slot. The number attached to your draft position is the number you get.

An international draft would be instituted for all players outside of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Currently international players sign as free agents under a system with team budget caps. Under the proposal they would enter a 12 round draft with a $200 million bonus pool. The minimum signing age increases from 16 to 18. Undrafted players would be capped at a maximum $10,000 bonus. And the competitive balance draft picks that have given lower revenue teams additional selections would be eliminated entirely.

The MLBPA rejected the proposal immediately, calling it flat out bad for baseball. The union estimates MLB's draft proposals would eliminate over a billion dollars in player compensation from the international and domestic system over the next five years. A $400 million reduction from 2026 to 2027 alone.

MLB's stated justification is that college baseball has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. Expanded scholarships. NIL opportunities. Better facilities and resources. MLB believes the college game now develops players faster and more effectively than ever before, and that building a draft system around college aged players benefits everyone.

This is not a minor tweak to the existing system. This is a fundamental restructuring of how baseball identifies and acquires talent at the amateur level.