Then there are the bonus pools. Teams have to take into account the amount of money they are allotted in a draft and how much they are able to spend on each draft pick without incurring penalties.
That is why a player will often be selected early with a pick that seems like a reach. Teams can use the bonus money it saved on that pick and go “over slot” to sign a later draft pick.
Bonus values for the draft change from year to year. The the top pick in this year’s draft is worth nearly $9 million, about $400,000 more than last year’s first overall pick.
Here’s what you need to know about the value of all draft picks in 2022:
What are MLB Draft slot values?
For the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft, teams are given a certain amount of bonus money to spend on the players they select. Each draft position is assigned a bonus value, or a slot. Teams that spend “over slot” for a player can be penalized.
Teams will often draft a player higher than they were projected to be selected in the hope of signing them to a “below-slot” deal, and then use the savings to sign picks later in the draft that might cost more.
MLB Draft slot values 2022
All slot values are courtesy of MLB.
