that about 10% of minor league players make it to the Big Leagues, much less are able to make a viable career doing it. Also, because of the stupid NCAA rules, the ones that go to college may have some debt to pay. And those that don't go to college are often left basically bankrupt once their signing bonus is spent- and it won't take long to do that if it's a 100,000 dollars or so- and their career is over. Often times, those players have a family and they are forced to go back to school even though they have no money to speak of. Yes, MLB will often pay for their tuition and etc, and that helps, but MLB won't pay for groceries.
There really does need to be some reform, but MLB won't do it because it would cost them money.
In a perfect world, I would change the MLB draft rules to where in order for a player to be eligible, they must attend a JUCO or a 4 year school for at least 2 years- players could be drafted after their sophomore, junior or senior seasons. In turn, there would be a cap on what a player could make as a bonus based on the round that the player is drafted. Any player that is drafted that wishes to return to school may do so provided they have eligibility left- as it is now. I would also cut the draft down to 35 rounds- down from 50. Also, I would have MLB fund seven scholarships to each school in the country in D-I so that the total for each team goes up to 20 full scholarships. On top of that, I would also have MLB provide each school with wood bats, which would help MLB scout and evaluate players better and more efficiently.
As far as D-II, D-III, and NAIA, I would continue to let them use metal, as well as the JUCO's. The reason for that is because of the expected skill level of those players in general vs the expected number of legit prospects that are at those levels. I would want the JUCO's to keep using metal to try to encourage players to go to four year institutions for the simple fact that D-I would be a wood bat league and therefore increase your stock in the eyes of scouts.
