MLB's latest draft proposal would have robbed Pirates of Konnor Griffin

Major League Baseball’s latest proposal to overhaul the amateur-entry system is being framed as a way to strengthen college baseball, create a more uniform development pipeline and help players benefit from “an elite development environment” before turning pro.

That sounds nice in a press release. In reality, it would have robbed teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates of the exact kind of franchise-altering talent they are supposed to be able to build around.

Under MLB’s proposal, high school players would no longer be eligible for the domestic draft. Players would need to be at least two years removed from graduation, with the minimum draft age moving to 20 by Sept. 1. In other words, the Pirates would not have been able to draft Konnor Griffin out of high school.

Instead of already being in Pittsburgh’s system, forcing his way into the Pirates’ big league plans, signing a long-term extension and giving fans a real reason to care about the future, Griffin would have just finished his sophomore season at LSU. The Pirates’ most exciting young position player wouldn't even be a Pirate yet. He would still be part of a college pipeline MLB suddenly seems desperate to empower.

MLB's draft overhaul proposal would place Pirates and other small market teams at a disadvantage

For a small-market franchise like Pittsburgh, the draft is everything. The Pirates aren't going to outspend deep-pocketed powerhouses like the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. They're not going to routinely win bidding wars for established superstars. Their clearest path to landing elite talent is identifying it early, drafting it, developing it and building around it before it becomes financially impossible to acquire.

Griffin represents exactly that. He was a premium high school talent with the kind of athletic ceiling organizations dream about. Yes, high school players carry risk, but the reward can be enormous, and MLB’s own history proves it. Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, Giancarlo Stanton and Corey Seager all came from the high school draft ranks. Removing that path delays the arrival of star talent and makes it harder for teams like the Pirates to dream big.

Pushing the best amateurs into college doesn't necessarily help them reach the majors faster. For many, it does the opposite. It delays their professional development, delays their service-time clock and, eventually, delays their path to free agency.

The Pirates have plenty of self-inflicted problems, but Konnor Griffin is not one of them. He's the kind of player the system is supposed to allow them to find. But MLB's latest proposal would have taken him away before Pittsburgh ever had the chance.

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