What does every young man that decides to play baseball at a young age dream of? Hearing their name called during THE MLB Draft, this dream consumes their entire childhood and often influences the decisions their parents make on their behalf. Unfortunately, that life-long dream comes to an end for many players after their senior year of high school ends. MLB Scout Barry Moss said it best in the movie Moneyball, “We’re all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children’s game… Some of us are told at eighteen, some of us are told at forty, but we’re all told”. Knowing that any opportunity to play after high school should be treasured, how do players today make the tough decision to forgo college and sign an MLB contract if they’re so fortunate as to be given the opportunity? Here are some of the key factors in making the tough decision of forgoing college and signing an MLB contract that young players face today.

Believing the Hype

Social media has changed pretty much everything in today’s society, and this is not new news. For those of us that keep a constant eye on the industry and how it is capitalizing on today’s talent, its grip is undeniably visible. Both in the game of baseball and in  multiple other sports. The way today’s MLB teams market their talent it is no wonder how our young players form the dissolution that the more followers they have, the more likely they are to be signed. Any regular Joe can, with the click of a button  and a few key terms, find high school standouts with thousands of followers. It’s easy for scouts and camp managers to foster the illusion of their life as a professional athlete with success, money, cars, and a starting position, which all come with an overwhelming signing bonus. What our youth fail to see is that those huge contracts that are life changing, are not long lasting. Today’s athletes are beginning to believe that success in sports is attached to the number of followers they have accumulated and the number of invitations they have to certain “top” showcases, on top of that their families are spending hundreds of dollars on social media packages to promote their child. The athletes, their parents, and their youth coaches fail to realize the difficult road that lies ahead of them as a professional athlete, where the talent gap is close to non-existent and everyday is a competition with themselves, the next year’s draft picks, and not to mention the international players that are hungrier for success than notoriety.

Draft Slot and Money

It’s extremely difficult to tell a potential early draft pick to go to college and develop knowing there is absolutely no guarantee that development will happen with the potential of leaving possible millions of dollars in contract wages on the table. On the other hand, what about the athletes that are late rounds with little money for their draft slot, decide not to go to college and possibly earn a better draft slot with more money if they perform and instead they decide to sign a low payout contract? 

The answer is simple, there is a lack of education available for up and coming players and their families as it relates to professional baseball.

For example, let me introduce the “Tier System”…

The “Tier System”

The tier system is incredibly easy to explain, the more money a player gets and is in the early rounds of the draft, the more playing time they will get and the longer shelf life they have in professional baseball, all of which is needed to prove the organization made the right decision. But a player not having the right people in their corner can detriment their ability to make an informed decision. Additionally, as we mentioned before, there is no guarantee that a college program will benefit the athlete or that a draft opportunity will be presented to them for a second time.

Who should go to College

I had the incredible opportunity to speak with long time reputable MLB Scouts and ask them questions on who they believe should forgo the draft and attend college and who should forgo college and sign the MLB contract.  

Question: College or Draft?

Answer: “College, (this is the best) if you aren’t mature and performing your tools at a level ahead of your peers across the nation! We want to see players compete on the collegiate circuit and we are looking to see how you line up!  College gives you time to mature physically and mentally. Playing college Baseball and playing Professional Baseball will never be the same! The difference in competition is like night and day, it’s a huge adjustment, and you learn that more and more with every day that you are a professional!”

Takeaway: If you are not competing at a high level and require more time to develop, go to college! Is there a guarantee that this decision will work out, no one can guarantee that. But wouldn’t you as a player know you did everything possible to prepare for being in the league? Being a professional player puts you in the highest bracket of competition and everyday will be difficult.

Question: Are scouts open with players and their families to help make the best decision for the athlete on whether to attend college and sign a contract?

Answer: “Some are, but most of the time we only pursue the ones that we know will be fine, but the analytical team picks them in the form of a model. We recommend the player.”

Takeaway: This is the metaphorical “boots on the ground” draw on their experience to make recommendations to front office and analytical teams for potential draft candidates. While analytical teams make the determination that you are a good “fit” for their organization based on analytical data, once again both do not offer a guarantee of success. 

Question: Has there ever been a time when you thought a player should have gone to college instead of signing an MLB Contract?

Answer: “Yes for sure, but not during my playing days! But now, yes because there isn’t any development near what we received in my day! Players are expected to sign and be already polished and not needing much development, at least that is what the professional organizations think.There aren’t enough teams in place (Farm System) for every player with talent to develop.”

Takeaway: Player Development for some organizations might be a thing of the past, and players with certain attributes, tools, and characteristics are being drafted because they require little to no time through a Farm System to develop. Is college a safer bet to guarantee professional success, no, but neither is being drafted and paid tons of money only to have an organization deem you unworthy. Players are expected to prove their worth and until they do, the potential to be a “BUST” is very possible and real!!

To conclude, the important thing that we have to establish after this discussion is that going to college doesn’t guarantee success in professional baseball, and that even first round draft picks never make it to an MLB debut. The importance of having good people in your corner and not letting outside influences sway your decision as a player or as a parent one way or the other is key because neither route guarantees a player will someday see that dream of a MLB debut. 

Baseball is a beautiful, heartbreaking sport that doesn’t offer guarantees in anything, and that’s what makes it so great! 

So I will leave you with this…“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”-Jimmy Dugan, A League of Their Own.