The 2025 Philadelphia Phillies Draft Picks and Signings

[zambonir]

Yeah but that article doesn't say what the percentage really is, and that $21 million wasn't just NIL [it was all athletics donations most of which don't go to players, though that will change this year too]. That money is also still shared with basketball, if not a ton for football [I asked an FCS coach at a very small private school about NIL money for that level once and he just laughed].

And that article also mentions five Big 10 schools - if not Indiana - that don't measure up.

I just don't think he left that much money on the table. Your point about him cashing in via transfer later still stands but clearly this Indiana kid wanted to play for Indiana.

[Docs]

Or...its not about the short term money for him, and maybe he felt the best use of his next three years was to develop in a professional environment with the ultimate goal to become a big league pitcher and not just to have the largest possible bank account by April 2028.

[Austinfan]

Given that many college HCs burn out pitching prospects, if he's not sold on the college experience, from a pro development perspective he's probably better off going pro with a good organization.

The college HC is more worried about his job security than his players' professional future, whereas in the minor leagues he'll be babied, have superior training and facilities, and better skill coaching.

[zambonir]

whereas in the minor leagues he'll be babied, have superior training and facilities

I don't know if I'd say that exactly. Three years on a D1 campus - if it's a major national baseball program that is also a football/basketball power - is probably a lot more comfortable, including the gym and "nutrition center" [ie cafeteria], than Lakewood or Reading.

If the money is close, the intangibles and what you want out of life are obviously important. Also, while everyone thinks they are invincible at 18, you can't just assume you can go to college and be healthy and drafted again in three years. So if the offer is good enough and you like the team that took you, you probably go.

[Austinfan]

Depends on the kid. But low minors is Clearwater for 2-3 years, FCL, FIL, SAL, with first rate facilities and year around coaching and training. By the time you hit JS and Reading, if you're a real prospect you don't care about riding buses, you can sniff Philadelphia.

[zambonir]

If it's Clearwater for 2-3 years (for an American kid) they're never getting to Reading. And JS is the SAL.

And I'm not sure the facilities at Clearwater are as good as you might think once the major leaguers clear out after spring training. I recall one of our rehabbing players complaining that he didn't even have access to the fancier pitching machine.

I suppose I'd take the Lakewood apartment complex and Toms River Olive Garden over Bloomington. But maybe not Austin or Baton Rouge or UCLA.

[Austinfan]

Clearwater is the training facility, you start in rookie ball out of HS, then Clearwater in the FSL, then graduate to Lakewood.
If you're in Lakewood at 20-21, you're right on schedule to be in Lehigh at 23.

I think they've become more welcoming to kids the last few years, common sense says 18-22 is the age where you can make the most progress with a prospect, helping them train and mature physically, and fixing any bad habits. It's where I'd focus the majority of my development resources.

COVID created an unusual situation where there were numerous 24-25 year olds with less experience than 22-23 year old prospects normally have, one injury or a late starting college career then a missed season and you're suddenly two years behind in development. I think going forward we'll see fewer late bloomers.

[zambonir]

But there isn't really rookie ball anymore. Miller got 10 games in instructional and 10 games with the Threshers his draft year, then another 39 in his first full season before heading to Lakewood (of course he also made it all the way to Reading last year, so, fast riser).

I haven't been to Clearwater in a while, let alone have any real idea how nice the facilities might be, but I have a pretty decent idea what it's like in the minors overall, even after MLB's alleged attempt to upgrade. It hasn't been that long since Kapler was appalled by what he found at all levels of the Phillies organization, not to mention all the stories that came out during the first minor league CBA negotiation. And now MLB wants to shrink the minors even more, and actively prefers the NCAA to develop more players for them.