As the Padres start the 2016 season with three rule 5 draftees on the opening day roster, a lower payroll than 2015, and a player who was acquired to be the backup center-fielder currently being employed as the starting left-fielder, forgive me as my thoughts wander to what will come later this summer, the June amateur draft and the beginning of the new international signing period on July 2nd. With these two events, the Padres have the ability to restock their farm system with considerable talent, talent that is greatly needed to secure the future of the franchise.
Thankfully, to fuel my desire to look forward, Major League Baseball released the official draft order, total team-by-team draft bonus pool, individual draft position bonus slot values, and the team-by-team international bonus pool figures Tuesday morning, the day after the Padres suffered the worst opening day shutout defeat in MLB history.
The Padres will enter the June amateur draft with $12,869,200 to spend on the first 10 rounds of the draft, the 3rd highest bonus pool in the league. 85% of that total will be slotted to the team’s first six picks, which will occur in the first 85 picks of the draft. Of course, the Padres aren’t obligated to spend slot value on any of their picks, and can spend that money however they choose throughout the draft, if they choose to spend it all.
Here’s how the Padres first six picks breakdown, by round, overall draft order, and pick value:
Round 1:
8. $3,630,900
24. $2,191,200
25. $2,159,900
Round 2:
48. $1,317,800
Supplemental Round 2:
71. $905,900
Round 3:
85. $730,400
The Padres picks in rounds 4-10 will range in slot value from $521,200 in the 4th round down to $158,600 in the 10th. Any pick after the 10th round who receives more than $100,000 will have the amount in excess of $100,000 applied to the team’s bonus pool.
They will also have $3,347,600 to spend on international amateurs, the 8th highest total in the league, and a figure they are expected to exceed significantly. If the Padres do spend as expected, with The New York Post’s Joel Sherman sourcing “outside executives” believing the team will spend close to $30 million, the team will be prohibited from signing players for more than $300,000 for the following two seasons. There’s also a chance that some of this penalty will be moot, if MLB and the MLB Player’s Association agree to an international draft when the next collective bargaining agreement is agreed to.
Another international player the Padres could be targeting is Jose Miguel Fernandez, a 27 year old Cuban second baseman, who was declared a free agent Monday afternoon. Fernandez would not count against the team’s international bonus pool, as he has enough professional experience in Cuba to be a free agent. Though he hasn’t played professionally since October 2014, Baseball America’s Ben Badler had this to say about Fernandez:
It's been a long layoff from competitive baseball for Jose Miguel Fernandez, but he could step into the top of an MLB lineup quickly.
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) April 4, 2016
I've seen hundreds of PAs from Jose Miguel Fernandez. Rarely saw him swing and miss or chase off the plate. https://t.co/vIJM0BU4qF
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) April 4, 2016
Last month, Peter Gammons listed the Padres as heavy favorites to sign Fernandez. Now, just as we do with the June draft and the July 2nd signing period, we just have to wait and see what actually happens.
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