uncle-samNow that the MLB amateur draft is less than a week away, I thought it would be extreme torture for all of you fun if I did a fake Q&A with myself that hopefully will answer some of the more common questions nobody in their right mind people have. I promise to do my best in order to answer them both thoughtfully and correctly.

Why do the Nationals get the first overall pick?

They sucked the worst in 2008. The worst team gets the first pick, the second worst team gets the second pick, and so on. There is no lottery like in the NBA.

Who is eligible to be drafted?

  • High School players who have graduated high school and who have not enrolled at a JUCO or a university
  • JUCO freshmen and sophomores
  • College juniors and seniors

Freshmen and sophomores who enrolled at 4-year universities are not eligible. I have no idea why. The only exception is if they are 21 years old. All residents of the United States and Canada who are 21 or older are eligible. Hey that means me! Sweet. I’m fat and slow, so I’m expecting a call from Billy Beane by day 2.

/lame Moneyball burn’d

If a team doesn’t like who’s available when it’s their turn, can they trade their pick?

No, the amateur draft rules do not allow teams to trade their picks. For instance, the Nationals have the 1st overall pick this year. If this were the NBA or NFL, they could conceivably trade that pick if they found a partner willing to give them what they thought was fair value. MLB doesn’t allow this. Instead, the Nationals will be forced to keep it.

Why?

I suppose the theory at the time the rule was written was that small-market teams would always want to trade down because the risk and cost is much too high for an unproven commodity. Spending millions of dollars on a player who may never put on a big league uniform is a huge risk, even for teams that can afford to do so. Personally, I don’t see how giving a team the option of doing what they want with their pick is a bad thing, but let’s move on.

What’s the deal with cancer?

I’m really not sure. I know I’m against it though. Cancer can go to hell as far as I’m concerned.

Once a player is drafted, how much time must pass before he can be traded?

He can be traded exactly one year after he was drafted. For instance, if a player is drafted on June 9th this year (and signs with his team before the deadline), the team that drafts him cannot trade him until June 9th of next year.

What deadline are you referring to?

Great question. Each team will have a deadline of August 15th at midnight ET to sign their players. I guess technically the deadline would be 11:59 ET, but I doubt anybody would raise a stink if the signing came a few minutes late. If a player does not sign by the deadline, the team that drafted him will lose that player’s rights and the player will then be put back into the pool for the following year’s draft.

The new movie theater in town charges $2 to get in and then $3 for each movie watched. You have $15. How many movies can you watch?

You can watch up to 4 movies.

Is there a slot system for the draft as far as money is concerned?

Not really. It’s more theoretical than an actual practice. For economic reasons, MLB lowered their recommended slot bonus by 10% for 2009, but the “system” will have little effect on what a drafted player will actually make. It’s capitalism at its finest (or worst, depending on your POV). For instance, a player chosen 27th overall could conceivably get a bigger money deal than the player chosen 1st.

What if I have more questions that weren’t addressed here?

First of all, quit your whining. You sound like a little bitch. But if it’s really that important to you, ask your question in the comments and the research department at MLJ will do their best to answer it for you.

Why is Jim Hendry a moron?

Science.

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