MLB Draft

The overall quality of the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system took a major hit last season with the graduation of Manny Machado, a consensus top-10 preseason prospect, to the major leagues. Luckily, the O’s boast the game’s top pitching prospect, right-hander Dylan Bundy, who reached the major leagues in mid-Sept. after opening the year with Low-A Delmarva.

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the signing deadline was moved from August 15 to July 13, forcing teams to sign their draft picks at least a month earlier than previous years.

In 2011, 98 of the 331 players drafted within the first 10 rounds were still unsigned headed into deadline day (August 15). This year, as a result of the new, accelerated signing deadline, only 17 of the 338 players selected in rounds 1-10 remained unsigned headed into July 13.

With the 2012 MLB first-year player draft now in the books, and with prospects signing left and right due to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, baseball fans will get an early look at many of their team’s new players.

But how early can we expect to see some of these players? While some of the college players that were drafted may only be a year or two away, there are many prep players who are still years away from making an impact at the big-league level.

Growing up, every kid is told by their parents and coaches that with enough hard work and dedication, they could one day play in the major leagues. While it’s a nice thought, it’s a bit misleading and far from the truth.

In the past two MLB drafts, quite a few college players from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) have heard their names called.

Last year, 45 NAIA athletes (including 33 pitchers) were lucky enough to get drafted, something many baseball players can only dream of. This year, 44 players from 28 schools were drafted by 24 of MLB’s 30 professional organizations. 

The 2012 MLB draft has come and gone, and now teams will begin the tedious process of negotiating with their draftees under the new CBA rules.

Chances are, there will be more top-level high school talents going to college than ever before as teams will no longer be able to shell out well-above slot bonuses to sway a prospect's decision.

With that in mind, here is a look at each MLB team's biggest signability concern, as things will be figured out one way or another by the July 13th signing deadline.

Pirates Prospects became the first major media outlet to update its top prospect rankings, reflecting both early-season performance and the results of this week's entry draft. My take on key developments on the farm over the first two months of the season is below.

Huntington Holds a Set of Aces

In barely a day's work, teams all across the league have hedged their bets on players that will no doubt resemble the future of their franchises, even if they don't know which they'll be just yet.

While college players have certainly been taken in great numbers, teams always find the will to take chances on the sometimes unpolished high school stars that possess the talent to have a seemingly non-existent ceiling.

Day 2 of the 2012 MLB draft is in the books, as teams turned their attention to high-risk, high-reward high schoolers as well as sure-sign, high-floor college players.

Signability is a frequently talked-about issue in this part of the draft, as there were a handful of players who were expected to be taken in the first round and fell. Now, given the new CBA, those players won't get the big-time bonuses to convince them to sign, and more of them will likely be heading to college.

For every Alex Rodriguez, there is a Matt Bush. For every David Price, there is a Bryan Bullington.

We won't know if the Houston Astros' No. 1 overall pick, Carlos Correa will be an A-Rod or Bush, but we do know what kind of abilities he has at the dish and in the field.

Here we will asses his skill set and evaluate his chances to, one day, become an MLB star.

Correa as a Hitter