By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY
Updated 15h 18m ago
By Kirby Lee, US PRESSWIRE
"There was all forms of artificial behavior in the draft,'' Boras told USA TODAY Sports. "The purpose of the draft is that it's supposed to create parity in the game. You want teams with the greatest needs to get the best available talent.
"That has not been achieved in this draft.
"It's created a mockery.''
As part of baseball's collective bargaining agreement, ratified in November, baseball placed a cap on total money paid through the first 10 rounds of the draft, a mechanism designed to prevent high-revenue teams from paying princely sums to lower-round picks who may have been seen as "unsign-able" by lower-revenue clubs.
But the new system may have wreaked havoc on the very top of the draft, as Boras feared last year.
Stanford pitcher Mark Appel, who is being advised by Boras, was originally forecast to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Yet, the Houston Astros instead picked Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa, who's expected to sign for $4 million to $4.5 million, much less than the $7.2 million slot for the No. 1 pick.
Boras, who was not involved in any pre-draft calls regarding Appel, watched him slide to the eighth pick, chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The plummet lowers Appel's slot to $2.9 million. It's unknown whether Appel will now consider signing with the Pirates.
"I'm currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford,'' Appel said in a statement released Monday night, after a conference call with the Pirates was canceled. "I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time.''
Boras clients Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper were slam-dunk No. 1 picks in 2009 and 2010 by the Washington Nationals, who signed them to contracts guaranteeing $15.1 million (Strasburg) and $9.9 million (Harper).
Appel wasn't as obvious a No. 1 choice, but his slide certainlystartled many draft experts.
Said Boras: "The dynamic was completely different in this draft. There were all forms of artificial behavior. Since 2009, the best players were always taken in the order of their talent. In this draft, it's not the case.
"If this draft was in 2011, you'd have three or four of your top picks go onto college. This draft, it may not happen, but it's foolish to suggest the teams with the greatest needs drafted the best players.''
The trouble with the draft rules under the new collective bargaining agreement, Boras says, is that it strips away part of the scouting expertise.
"Instead of bringing a scout in the room,'' Boras says, "we brought a calculator in the room.
"The scouting industry is highly competent, and when a team spends $2 to $3 million for their experts, they should be used accordingly. You should let them set the limits.''
Several teams, like the Chicago Cubs, were also opposed to the new CBA that dramatically limits the spending on draft picks. The new rules will severely penalize teams for spending in excess of its assigned bonus pool. If a team spends more than 15% over its pool, it must pay a $1 fine for every dollar over the limit and lose two future draft picks. Also, if a team fails to sign its pick, the slot value still counts against that club's bonus pool.
"There's no point complaining about it now,'' Cubs president Theo Epstein told USA TODAY Sports last week. "It's a level playing field for everybody. You can't take the same approach we took in previous years. We have to adjust to the rules.''
Yet, with the new rules, Boras says, simply creates greater uncertainty in the draft.
"We created a system,'' Boras says, "where teams are spending vastly more money on higher risk players. The best players are getting the least amount of money for their skills, and we're spending more money on players taken in later rounds.
"Anyone drafted after the 10th pick, those clubs didn't stick to slot, and they're all over the place.''
So, what just would have happened if Harper or Strasburg were in this draft?
"It would have resulted in a club not having a sold-out stadium,'' Boras said, "and losing millions of dollars. If those players don't sign, you're not going to have what Washington now enjoys.''
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