THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Draft  | Story | 12/2/2010

Free Agent Draft Compensation

 At the end of the 2010 regular season I provided a story that included a breakdown of the raw draft order with the completion of the 2010 campaign.  That order has already changed with the beginning of free agency, and the spending season has only just begun.
 
 
 
To view that story and re-familiarize yourself with the raw draft order for the 2011 draft, please visit this link:
 
 
 
https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5034
 
 
 
Now that players have already gone through the process of being offered, and either accepting or declining arbitration, we now know the maximum number of players that could affect the final draft order.  A handful of players have already signed with new teams, and we likely will see quite a few more sign over the course of the next week as the Winter Meetings approach.
 
 
 
This could be the last year baseball has to deal with this system, as the draft process, from hard slotting to either a drastic overhaul or complete elimination of the free agent compensation process, is long overdue for some significant changes.
 
 
 
Below is a list of the eligible free agents and their respective Elias Sports Bureau ranking.  The rankings are used as tie-breakers in the event a team signs more than one free agent (the team losing the ‘better’ free agent is awarded the signing team’s better pick).
 
 
 
Type A Free Agents:
 
 
 
1. Jayson Werth (Phillies) -- 91.807
 
2. Rafael Soriano (Rays) -- 91.799
 
3. Cliff Lee (Rangers) -- 87.500
 
4. Victor Martinez (Red Sox) -- 87.054
 
5. Carl Crawford (Rays) -- 85.128
 
6. Adrian Beltre (Red Sox) -- 81.633
 
7. Paul Konerko (White Sox) -- 78.095
 
8. Scott Downs (Blue Jays) -- 76.352
 
9. Carl Pavano (Twins) -- 75.568
 
10. Adam Dunn (Nationals) -- 74.167
 
11. Grant Balfour (Rays) -- 72.923
 
 
 
Type B Free Agents:
 
 
 
1. Javier Vazquez (Yankees) -- 71.970
 
2. Jon Garland (Padres) -- 71.947
 
3. Brad Hawpe (Rays) -- 70.769
 
4. Orlando Hudson (Twins) -- 70.238
 
5. Felipe Lopez (Red Sox) – 67.532
 
6. John Buck (Blue Jays) -- 67.411
 
7. Kevin Gregg (Blue Jays) -- 66.967
 
8. Joaquin Benoit (Rays) -- 66.879
 
9. Pedro Feliciano (Mets) -- 66.855
 
10. Octavio Dotel (Rockies) -- 66.473
 
11. Juan Uribe (Giants) -- 65.608
 
12. Miguel Olivo (Blue Jays) -- 65.251
 
13. Yorvit Torrealba (Padres) -- 63.900
 
14. Trevor Hoffman (Brewers) -- 62.829
 
15. Randy Choate (Rays) -- 62.460
 
16. J.J. Putz (White Sox) -- 62.213
 
17. Adam LaRoche (Diamondbacks) -- 61.667
 
18. Jesse Crain (Twins) -- 60.657
 
19. Aaron Heilman (Diamondbacks) -- 58.420
 
20. Kevin Correia (Padres) -- 57.591
 
21. Chad Qualls (Rays) -- 56.168
 
 
 
That’s 32 players, which is essentially another round of the draft added in between the first and second rounds, should all of the remaining free agents sign with new teams.
 
 
 
Keep in mind that no team that finished among the 15 worse in all of baseball during the 2010 season can lose their own first-round pick by signing any free agent.
 
 
 
And here is how the supplement first round would break down should all of the remaining free agents sign with other teams.
 
 
 
34. Nationals (Dunn)
 
35. Blue Jays (Downs)
 
36. White Sox (Konerko)
 
37. Red Sox (Martinez)
 
38. Rangers (Lee)
 
39. Twins (Pavano)
 
40. Rays (Soriano)
 
41. Phillies (Werth)
 
42. Red Sox (Beltre)
 
43. Rays (Crawford)
 
44. Rays (Balfour)
 
45. D-Backs (LaRoche)
 
46. Brewers (Hoffman)
 
47. Mets (Feliciano)
 
48. Rockies (Dotel)
 
49. Blue Jays (Gregg)
 
50. White Sox (Putz)
 
51. Red Sox (Lopez)
 
52. Padres (Garland)
 
53. Giants (Uribe)
 
54. Twins (Hudson)
 
55. Yankees (Vazquez)
 
56. Rays (Hawpe)
 
57. D-Backs (Heilman)
 
58. Blue Jays (Buck)
 
59. Padres (Torrealba)
 
60. Twins (Crain)
 
61. Rays (Benoit)
 
62. Blue Jays (Olivo)
 
63. Padres (Correia)
 
64. Rays (Choate)
 
65. Rays (Qualls)
 
 
 
Compensation picks are awarded for all type A free agents first, with the worst team losing such a player getting the highest pick, following in order, one-by-one, all of the other teams.  Teams with multiple free agents will receive another pick, again in order once all of the other teams have been awarded a compensatory selection.  The same process is then used for type B free agents.
 
 
 
There are already three compensatory picks in the first round for unsigned first-round picks from the 2010 draft, dropping the first pick of the sandwich round to 34.  There will also be a selection awarded in the supplemental third round to the Mariners for not signing 2010 third-rounder Ryne Stanek.
 
 
 
Here is a list of free agents that have already signed with other teams:
 
 
 
• Victor Martinez, Tigers (Red Sox receive the Tigers’ first-round pick, #19 overall, and a sandwich pick)
 
• John Buck, Rangers (Blue Jays receive a sandwich pick)
 
• Joaquin Benoit, Tigers (Rays receive a sandwich pick)
 
• Jon Garland, Dodgers (Padres receive a sandwich pick)
 
• Juan Uribe, Dodgers (Giants receive a sandwich pick)
 
• Javier Vazquez, Marlins (Yankees receive a sandwich pick)
 
• Yorvit Torrealba, Rangers (Padres receive a sandwich pick)
 
 
 
As you can see, the Tampa Bay Rays have the most to lose in free agency, but the most to gain in the draft.  Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano are two of the most coveted free agents this offseason, and could garner the Rays four additional first-rounders.  In total, depending on where their free agents sign, they could receive three additional first-round picks from other teams and seven supplemental first-rounders.  They’re going to need a good chunk of the money they are looking to shed this offseason to sign all of those picks.
 
 
 
With four free agents and five potential additional first-round picks, the Blue Jays look as though they will put their mammoth scouting corps to good use for the second consecutive year.
 
 
 
The Padres also appear to be loaded with additional picks with as many as three sandwich rounders coming their way.  In addition, not listed above is the compensatory selection for unsigned 2010 first-rounder Karsten Whitson, which will be the 10th overall pick.
 
 
 
Arizona also has a premium pick coming to them for their unsigned 2010 first-round pick (Barret Loux) to go along with two potential supplemental first-rounders.
 
 
 
With two type A free agents and one type B, the Red Sox have the potential to gain five additional first-rounders to their usual aggressive draft efforts.
 
 
 
American League Central rivals the Twins (four) and White Sox (three) both look to add quite a few picks to their draft efforts next June.
 
 
 
The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA.  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and 5 Tool Talk, and can be contacted via email at pebert@5tooltalk.com.

Draft | Rankings | 12/23/2025

Top 2028 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The college players in the 2028 draft class have yet to step on campus, but they're positioned to make an immediate impact. Several high end talents either turned down significant money last year or honored strong college commitments, resulting in their arrival on campus this fall. The class is currently led by a trio of high-upside arms in Jack Bauer, Angel Cervantes, and Cameron Appenzeller. They are followed by a deep group of bats that rounds out a strong, high end Top-10. Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State 1 Jack Bauer C LHP L-L Mississippi State Frankfort IL 2 Angel Cervantes C RHP R-R UCLA Lynwood CA 3 Cameron Appenzeller C LHP L-L Tennessee Springfield IL 4 Brayden Jaksa C C R-R Oregon Fremont  CA 5 JD Stein C SS R-R Wake Forest Carmel IN 6 Mason Ligenza C OF L-L Pittsburgh Brockton PA 7 Ty Peeples C OF L-R Georgia Lavonia GA 8 Lucas Franco C SS L-R TCU Katy TX 9...
Juco | Story | 12/23/2025

2025 Year in Review: JUCO

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Looking Back at the 2025 Top 10  Matt Barr (‘25 Niagara, ‘26 Minnesota Twins) Bursting onto the scene last winter, footage of an indoor bullpen rocketed Barr onto the radar of many. Explosive fastball reaches near triple digits with incredible spin numbers across the secondaries. Huge numbers at Niagara earned him the title of the first Juco player drafted in 2025. JC Vanek (‘25 Chipola, ‘26 Kansas City Royals) Just a professional hitter. Vanek for two years at Chipola was an impossible out. While there are questions if the power will ever reach what it takes to play first base at the big league level, the bat and quality defensive skillset at first base may carry. Donovan Becerra (‘25 New Mexico, ‘26 Texas Tech) One of the more high octane arms anywhere in the country last year. Can reach back for upper 90’s and has shown serious swing and...
Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Isaiah Burrows
Article Image
2025 Year in Review: Draft We’ve reached the end of the 2025 calendar year, and while we’ve already jumped in on the 2026 cycle with some of the fall events and post-draft content we’ve had here at Perfect Game, there’s still one more piece on the docket, and that’s the 2025 Year-In-Review piece here from the PG Draft staff.  The 2025 MLB Draft took place in July, when many highly talented players heard their names called and continued their journey through the game to the next level. There’s already been some of those names making noise in the minors and guys who are moving up prospect lists and becoming names to know for MLB fans digging deep into the future of their organizations. While we are going to “close the book” on 2025 with this article, these players still have many years ahead of them, and many blank pages to continue...
College | Recruiting | 12/22/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 22

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Lucien Saint Cyr, INF, Class of 2026 Commitment: Bucknell Saint Cyr announced his pledge to Bucknell, giving the Bison an interesting blend of present tools and projection. Saint Cyr stands 6-foot-1 and offers room to fill in his medium frame, profiling in the middle infield defensively. The New York product starts wide at the base in the right-handed box, keeping his hands high behind the ear. He works into a subtle outward step load, firing through a compact barrel that showcases bat speed and gap-to-gap impact. For head coach Scott Heather and Bucknell, they land a high-quality Northeast infielder in the ’26 cycle, adding to a class that takes the quality over quantity approach. Patrick Diaz ('26, NY) 102 EV off the bat. Impact to the pull side. #PGNational @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/NN0L3FRdO9 — PG Showcases (@PGShowcases) July 9, 2025 Patrick Diaz,...
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
Tournaments | Story | 12/17/2025

15u Tourney All-American Team

Jason Phillips
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Landon Bonner The 2028 class saw many players from across the country take the next step in their development as they entered the High School ranks. There were huge performances from highly ranked players on the PG circuit as well as some under-the-radar guys who burst onto the scene. Landon Bonner came into Sophomore National as a Top 500 ranked player and after an impressive showing, left with all eyes on him as a rankings riser in the class. The left-handed hitting shortstop from The Colony, Texas, had a summer to remember with All-Tournament Team selections in three of his next four events culminating with a historic performance at the 2025 PG 15U WWBA National Championship. The Hebron High School prep went 20-for-24 in nine games for 5 Star Mafia 15U Black with four homeruns and 12 runs batted in. He also scored 17 runs and finished with a mind-boggling 2.500...
Tournaments | Story | 12/16/2025

16u Tourney All-American Team

AJ Denny
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Koa Romero is the Hitter of the Year for the 16u group, as he would come to every premier event of the summer and earn All-Tournament honors (Beast of the East, 16/17u WWBA, Jupiter) in every single one. Over 82 plate appearances, Romero would pump ten homeruns with forty two RBI and sixteen walks, good for a .378 average and 1.339 OPS. The performance on volume at the best events of the year pushed Romero over the edge here, as he’d hit a pair of homeruns in Jupiter (one of them at 112 EV) as an underclassmen and collect double digit hits in BOTH WWBA events with a combined six jacks over the two tournaments. It was a summer that combined performance and winning on the biggest stages for Romero. It’s a quiet left-handed swing that packs a punch. He would reap the benefits of his performances, earning a commitment to LSU and jumping to the #74 prospect in...
Loading more articles...