MLB’s draft proposal would eliminate high school selections. Players say it’s a way to cut costs.

In a future world, one in which Major League Baseball’s proposal to prohibit high school players from entering the draft comes into effect, Eric Booth Jr. would not be an Oriole.

Rather than signing for $7.32 million after Baltimore selected him with the seventh overall pick, the 18-year-old outfielder from Mississippi would be gearing up to attend Vanderbilt in the fall.

“From a player side of it, I don’t see a positive.”

Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt

For some players, the college path makes sense. But it’s not for everyone. Booth, for instance, has already become Baltimore’s top-ranked prospect, per Baseball America. The Oak Grove High School product will enter the rigorous player development environment of minor league baseball, and the outfielder has a chance to move as rapidly toward the majors as his performances allow.

As part of a wide-ranging negotiation between MLB and the players’ union, changes to the draft are proposed. The salary cap debate takes center stage, and that is likely what will lead to a lockout once the collective bargaining agreement expires in December.

To MLB, the removal of high school draft eligibility is “the recognition of reality that has taken place,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said during the All-Star break at a meeting with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Manfred said “70 to 75% of our players are college players now. That’s the state of play. That’s a dramatic change in the way baseball operations people think about colleges.”

In 2026, 68% of the first 75 picks were college players. Apart from Booth, only one other top-10 pick was a high school player: shortstop Grady Emerson to the Tampa Bay Rays.

But some major leaguers and union leadership are against the overhaul of the draft system, which they feel is a cost-saving measure rather than a reflection of genuine care for player development and education.

“From a player side of it, I don’t see a positive,” said Orioles right-hander Chris Bassitt, who is on the MLB players association subcommittee. Bassitt attended the University of Akron before the White Sox selected him in the 16th round in 2011.

“If you want to go to college and chase a career, I’m in full support of that,” Bassitt said. “I think you should try to get a degree. I think schooling is very important. I think education in general is very important. But the reality of why this is going in place is nothing to do with that. …

“The 24-, 25-, 26-year-old free agent is no longer a thing. Now you’re pushing free agency to 27, 28, 29, 30 when it comes to the superstars, and that cuts costs. Everything is just to cut costs. That’s literally it. There’s no dancing around that.”

In general, the largest free-agent contracts go to players who debut the earliest, flourish into stars and reach the required six years of service time. Of the 25 largest MLB contracts in history, only five have gone to players who attended college: right-hander Corbin Burnes, third baseman Anthony Rendon, shortstop Trea Turner, right-hander Gerrit Cole and outfielder Aaron Judge. (Bryce Harper attended a junior college and was drafted at 17.)

“Free agency is where guys who debut younger have a chance to make more money, and this shrinks free agency and the value of debuting at a young age,” said Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday, who was 20 when he played his first major league game. “I feel like they’re always trying to get players to make less money. That’s always the proposal. Being able to limit guys, especially if they keep it at six years of service time before they hit free agency, that eliminates a lot of 26-, 27-, 28-year-old free agents and that shrinks contracts, at least long-term deals.”

Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, told the Associated Press, “If you’re in the top three rounds as a high school kid, I think you should be able to do whatever you want. It would really be tough for a guy like Jackson Holliday to not be the No. 1 pick and not get the chance to go to the big leagues at 19 or 18, if he’s able to.”

That, of course, impacts a small percentage of players. Bassitt, for instance, didn’t debut until he was 25 — and even that is relatively early. He was 33 when he signed his first free-agent contract to join the New York Mets.

But what concerns Bassitt more is the development aspect in the new-age college baseball, which is affected by name, image and likeness deals that sway playing time, coaches leaving for other jobs and a transfer portal. In the win-now environment, it is potentially disadvantageous to play younger players who are in need of development.

Why risk a loss by exposing a player’s weakness — in the hopes that the experience will develop him — when a coach can turn to an older player?

In the minors, by contrast, development is more important than winning, and organizations will introduce prospects to adverse situations with the long-term goal of improving their skills.

“I have friends who are coaches, and college is not made, structured to get full development out of every single player,” Bassitt said. “It’s a win-now. Every coach is must-win, moving jobs like crazy. The downside is you’re turning college into a substantial business, and that’s how they’re treating it.”

The full proposal, as reported by ESPN, would prevent players from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico from being drafted until they complete their sophomore year of college, with a minimum age of 20 on Sept. 1 of the draft year. The 20-round draft would be reduced to 12.

Signing bonuses would also be reduced. According to Baseball America, the MLB proposal would limit leaguewide bonuses to $200 million, down from $401 million in 2025.

There would also be significant changes to the international signing system. Rather than players from international markets signing at 16, they wouldn’t be able to sign until they’re 18. And, rather than an open market for international players to choose their destination, MLB proposes a 12-round international draft.

“If that was the case, you wouldn’t get to see talent as early,” Holliday said. “I mean, Colt Emerson is 20 years old right now. [Samuel] Basallo is 21. You’re taking away some of the game’s future. I think the cool part of guys getting drafted out of high school, and guys like Bryce Harper and Juan Soto who debut at 19, you get to watch guys grow up in the game. That’s kind of crazy to me that they’d want to eliminate that.”

Last week, Manfred said: “Talking players out of going to college, I’m not sure I agree with that just in terms of the overall development of the human being. So I just think the proposal reflects what’s happening, and I think it’s a good thing overall to encourage education for the players who are ultimately going to play for us.”

But Bruce Meyer, the MLBPA executive director, said this has more to do with limiting signing bonuses and preventing players from reaching free agency as early.

“The hope is our major league players are going to somehow sell out and not care about those future players,” Meyer said at the BBWAA meeting. “That’s never going to happen.”

In 2025, the Washington Nationals chose shortstop Eli Willits first overall. He was only 17. Had MLB’s proposal gone into effect already, Willits would be playing at Oklahoma currently.

Holliday would have attended Oklahoma State for two years. Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin, who debuted at 20 this year, might only now have been drafted out of LSU.

This round of labor negotiations impacts only major leaguers and players on the 40-man roster. There is another year before the minor league collective bargaining agreement expires. But, to major leaguers, breaking ranks and allowing a major change to the structure of the draft would turn a blind eye to the future of the game.

“The opportunity for players to get paid is what this is all about,” Harper said. “We owe it to the guys that have come before us to do the same thing.”