Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association continued collective bargaining discussions on Thursday, but one of the league’s latest proposals immediately drew attention for its potential impact on player development and the future of minor league baseball.
According to reports, MLB proposed a sweeping overhaul of the amateur draft system that would significantly reduce the number of players entering professional baseball each year. The proposal would shrink the MLB Draft from 20 rounds to just 12, cut the amateur signing bonus pool nearly in half to approximately $200 million, and remove high school players from draft eligibility altogether.
The changes would represent one of the most dramatic restructurings of baseball’s talent pipeline in decades.
A Dramatically Different MLB Draft System
Under the proposal, domestic players would need to be at least 20 years old to enter the draft, while international prospects would become eligible through a newly created international draft at age 18. Currently, international players can sign with MLB organizations as young as 16.
The league’s proposal would also allow teams to trade all draft picks, reduce the draft lottery from 6 selections to 4, and eliminate competitive balance picks awarded to smaller-market and lower-revenue franchises.
MLB defended the concept by pointing to the changing landscape of amateur athletics, particularly the rise of Name, Image, and Likeness opportunities in college sports. League officials argued that college baseball now provides players with financial opportunities and developmental resources that did not exist in previous generations.
In a statement, MLB said the proposed system would encourage more players to pursue college baseball while reaching the professional ranks at a more advanced stage of development.
“By creating a draft system centered around college-aged players and making most college players eligible one year earlier, more players will benefit from both a college education and an elite development environment while reaching professional baseball, and ultimately the major leagues, more quickly,” the league said.
Concerns About the Future of Minor League Baseball
Critics, however, see a different motivation behind the proposal.
Reducing the draft from 20 rounds to 12 would dramatically decrease the number of players entering affiliated baseball each year. Combined with the exclusion of high school prospects, the move could lessen the need for lower levels of the minor league system and reduce organizational spending on player development.
MLB has already overseen a significant contraction of the minor leagues in recent years, eliminating dozens of affiliated teams as part of a broader restructuring effort. Opponents of the latest proposal argue that this plan would continue that trend by shifting more developmental responsibility onto colleges rather than professional organizations.
From that perspective, college programs would effectively become the primary training ground for younger prospects. Players who might previously have entered professional baseball at 18 would instead spend additional years in college programs, often supported through NIL opportunities rather than direct investment from MLB clubs.
If fewer players are drafted and organizations are no longer investing in teenage prospects, the need for rookie-level and lower-tier minor league affiliates could diminish even further.
Labor Tensions Continue to Grow
The proposal arrives amid increasingly tense labor negotiations between owners and players. With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1, concerns continue to grow that the widening gap between the two sides could threaten the start of next season.
Owners continue to push for measures that would control costs and reshape baseball’s economic structure, including a salary cap proposal that remains strongly opposed by the union. Players have consistently rejected any cap system, arguing it would suppress earnings and limit market competition.
As negotiations continue, neither side appears willing to move significantly from its core positions. With major structural issues now on the table, the path toward a new agreement appears increasingly complicated, setting the stage for what could become one of the most contentious labor battles baseball has faced in decades.
