[Mick]

Baseball's major league draft starts tomorrow. The first amateur draft was in 1965. The MLB draft had been as high as 95 rounds in the late 1990s, but had fallen to 40 rounds, and was reduced from 40 rounds down to 20 rounds in 2023. This is, in part, because there are fewer minor league teams, so fewer players needed. There used to be 7-10 minor league teams for every MLB franchise, now 7 is the max, and only two teams have seven (Giants were one of the two). 40 minor league teams lost their MLB affiliations or were demoted.

The lowest-drafted player who ever made the major leagues was Clay Condrey, selected by the Yankees in the 94th round of the 1996 MLB June Draft. He pitched in six seasons, with an overall record of 18-12 and a 4.10 ERA, so...not too shabby. BTW, most MLB teams stopped drafting after the 50th round that year. The Yankees drafted in all rounds.

So now we're down to 20 rounds. Some very good SF Giants players were drafted after the 20th round, including:

Travis Ishikawa, Dan Otero, Steve Decker (21), Ron Bryant (24), Brian Wilson, Ed Halicki (24), Jonathan Sanchez (27), Sergio Romo (28), Marvin Benard (50).

[Mick]

Baseball's major league draft starts tomorrow. The first amateur draft was in 1965. The MLB draft had been as high as 95 rounds in the late 1990s, but had fallen to 40 rounds, and was reduced from 40 rounds down to 20 rounds in 2023. This is, in part, because there are fewer minor league teams, so fewer players needed. There used to be 7-10 minor league teams for every MLB franchise, now 7 is the max, and only two teams have seven (Giants were one of the two). 40 minor league teams lost their MLB affiliations or were demoted.

The lowest-drafted player who ever made the major leagues was Clay Condrey, selected by the Yankees in the 94th round of the 1996 MLB June Draft. He pitched in six seasons, with an overall record of 18-12 and a 4.10 ERA, so...not too shabby. BTW, most MLB teams stopped drafting after the 50th round that year. The Yankees drafted in all rounds.

So now we're down to 20 rounds. Some very good SF Giants players were drafted after the 20th round, including:

Travis Ishikawa, Dan Otero, Steve Decker (21), Ron Bryant (24), Brian Wilson, Ed Halicki (24), Jonathan Sanchez (27), Sergio Romo (28), Marvin Benard (50).