If you have a question, send it to askba@baseballamerica.com. Please include your full name and hometown if you'd like your letter to be considered for use in an upcoming column. Also, please understand that we can't respond to every question.

By Jim Callis
October 13, 2008

Teams still can negotiate with draftees if they were college seniors with no eligibility remaining, with Mariners first-round pick Joshua Fields the most notable example. But for the most part, the Aug. 15 signing deadline closed the book on the 2008 draft. Below is the total spending by team.

The Royals ($11,148,000), Red Sox ($10,515,000), Rays ($9,921,000) and Pirates ($9,780,000) all exceeded the previous record for bonus payments by a single team: the $9,745,000 spent by the Diamondbacks on the 2005 draft. The 30 clubs combined for $186.5 million in bonuses, up 23 percent from the $151.8 million they spent in 2007.

Draft Expenditures By Club
Team	Signed	First	Supp.	2008 Total	2007 Total
Royals	32	1	1	$11,148,000	$6,636,900
Red Sox	29	1	1	$10,515,000	$4,843,750
Rays	28	1	0	$9,921,000	$8,023,000
Pirates	32	1	0	$9,780,500	$4,451,900
Giants	31	1	1	$9,080,000	$7,424,500
Brewers	36	1	2	$8,395,800	$4,254,700
Rangers	35	1	0	$7,388,300	$6,631,000
Twins	25	2	1	$7,330,498	$2,165,500
Indians	30	1	0	$6,984,500	$3,645,300
Orioles	36	1	0	$6,916,500	$7,981,000
Phillies	36	1	1	$6,740,500	$4,215,000
Astros	32	1	1	$6,544,500	$1,584,000
Athletics	27	1	0	$6,522,000	$4,159,400
Mets	42	2	1	$6,460,000	$3,821,300
Cubs	32	1	1	$5,545,000	$6,096,250
Cardinals	42	1	1	$5,542,000	$4,641,500
Padres	37	1	2	$5,449,000	$5,897,500
Marlins	36	1	0	$5,377,000	$3,675,750
Yankees*	34	1	1	$5,122,000	$8,035,500
Braves	23	0	1	$5,091,500	$4,858,250
Reds	34	1	0	$4,801,000	$4,894,250
Nationals*	30	1	0	$4,761,500	$7,882,300
White Sox	25	1	0	$4,663,500	$2,768,850
Diamondbacks	29	1	1	$4,493,500	$5,110,000
Dodgers	28	1	0	$4,442,500	$3,626,250
Blue Jays	35	1	0	$4,359,500	$6,584,000
Rockies	31	1	0	$4,157,000	$3,669,000
Tigers	35	1	0	$3,742,000	$7,952,000
Angels	30	0	0	$2,728,500	$1,759,600
Mariners*	36	1	0	$2,545,000	$4,542,300
Totals	968	30	16	$186,547,598	$151,830,550
*Didn't sign first-round pick (Mariners still in negotiations). First = First-round picks. Supp. = Supplemental first-round picks.

Will the White Sox keep Gordon Beckham at shortstop or move him to second base? How soon do you think it will take him to reach the major leagues? How much will he hit, and how good will he be defensively?

Robert Barker
Athens, Texas

The White Sox plan on keeping Beckham at shortstop for the immediate future. He'll also see time at second and third base in the Arizona Fall League, but that's because he signed too late for Chicago to request a priority roster spot for Beckham on the Peoria Saguaros. It appears that Ian Desmond of the Nationals will get the bulk of the starts at shortstop for the Saguaros.

Beckham should hit for a solid average with well above-average power for a middle infielder, while playing steady defense at shortstop. His hands are the biggest question for him defensively, but he covers enough ground and has plenty of arm for shortstop. His big league ETA is mid- to late 2010.

Ultimately, where Beckham fits with the White Sox depends on where Alexei Ramirez winds up. Ramirez likely will shift from second base to shortstop next season. If Ramirez looks good defensively there, then Beckham probably slides over to second base. If Ramirez leaves something to be desired, he could return to second base or even move to center field when Beckham is ready.

I loved your projected top 10 picks for the 2009 draft , but was crushed when it stopped two picks short of the Royals at No. 12. Any chance you could speculate on whom Kansas City might pick, and how the club's draft philosophy might change with scouting director Deric Ladnier gone and J.J. Picollo in charge?

Bill Lamberty
Bozeman, Mont.

No. 12 is the Royals' worst top pick since they had the No. 14 selection in 2004 and will mark just the second time in 13 drafts that they haven't had a top-10 choice. If the first 10 picks unfold like I projected in my column, the best candidates for Kansas City would seem to be pitchers: righthander Jacob Turner (HS/St. Charles, Mo.) and lefthanders Andrew Oliver (Oklahoma State) and Mike Minor (Vanderbilt). The best position prospect would be Tennessee outfielder Kentrail Davis.

If the Royals opted for Turner or Davis, that would make it four straight drafts in which they spent their first choice on a Scott Boras Corp. client, following Luke Hochevar (2005), Mike Moustakas (2006) and Eric Hosmer (2007).

There shouldn't be too many changes in the Royals' draft philosophy. Ladnier came from the Braves, as did Picollo and GM Dayton Moore. None of them are afraid to put the extra time into developing high schoolers, and I believe you'll continue to see Kansas City focus on taking whomever they think is the best player in each round, rather than looking for a quicker fix.

How does compensation work for failure to sign a first-round pick? Must the team show a good-faith effort? What would happen if a team chose a player No. 1 overall and he subsequently suffered a major injury during the College World Series? Could the team decide to pass on him and instead take the second overall pick the following year as compensation?

Jason M. Picker
Brooklyn

Regardless of the circumstances, a team receives a compensation pick for failing to sign any first-round pick (or any selection in the first three rounds, for that matter). So under your scenario, yes, a club could just walk away from the No. 1 overall choice for whatever reason, knowing it could recoup the No. 2 overall pick in the following draft.

Jeremy Sowers was one of the top high school lefthanders in the 2001 draft, but he was strongly committed to Vanderbilt and teams believed there was next to no chance that he'd turn pro. At the same time, the Reds had ongoing scouting budget problems that had led them to sign their 2000 first- and second-round choices to major league contracts that included no bonuses.

That made for a perfect fit, and Cincinnati selected Sowers 20th overall. He followed through on his desire to attend Vanderbilt and the Reds straightened out their budget. They also got a 2002 supplemental first-round pick as a consolation prize—the compensation rules were different then—and used it on Texas-Arlington third baseman Mark Schramek.

« Oct. 6 Ask BA