Here are '21 Draft bonus pools, pick values

May 27th, 2021

The Pirates are positioned better than any club in the 2021 Draft, owning the No. 1 overall pick as well as the largest bonus pool.

The top choice comes with an assigned value of $8,415,300 for the third consecutive year, after the MLBPA agreed to allow MLB to freeze the bonus slots at the 2019 numbers for both 2020 and 2021 as part of the negotiations for the 2020 season that was radically altered by the coronavirus pandemic. Pittsburgh has the first selection in each round as well as a supplemental second-round choice, and their total pool value is $14,394,000.

Besides the Pirates, nine other teams have eight-figure bonus pools: the Tigers ($14,253,800), Rangers ($12,641,000), Reds ($11,905,700), Orioles ($11,829,300), Red Sox ($11,359,600), D-backs ($11,271,900), Royals ($10,917,700), Rockies ($10,543,900) and Brewers ($10,063,400). The Astros, who lost their first- and second-round choices for the second straight year as a penalty for sign stealing, have the smallest pool at $2,940,600.

Each choice in the first 10 rounds comes with an assigned value, with the total for a club's selections equaling what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. If a player taken in the top 10 rounds doesn't sign, his pick's value gets subtracted from his team's pool.

The pools for all 30 clubs total $265,769,400 in a Draft that has been reduced to 20 rounds from the 40 called for in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Last year, the industry spent a total of $238,092,829 on a five-round Draft. In 2019, teams set a record with $316,560,984 in Draft bonuses, including $55,896,284 after the 10th round.

In 2020, Spencer Torkelson became the first No. 1 overall pick to receive at least full slot value since the bonus pool era began in 2012. He signed for a record $8,416,300, which was $1,000 more than the allotment. Clubs near the top of the Draft often spend less than the assigned value for those choices and use the savings to offer more money to later selections.

Teams that exceed their bonus pool face a penalty. Clubs that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, clubs lose future picks: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by between 5-10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for between 10-15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for going more than 15 percent over their pool allotment.

In nine years with bonus pool rules, teams have outspent their allotments a total of 152 times, but never by more than 5 percent. The Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants have done so every time, and 15 of the 30 teams exceeded their pools last year.

Here are the bonus pools for all 30 clubs:

Pirates: $14,394,000
Tigers: $14,253,800
Rangers: $12,641,000
Reds: $11,905,700
Orioles: $11,829,300
Red Sox: $11,359,600
D-backs: $11,271,900
Royals: $10,917,700
Rockies: $10,543,900
Brewers: $10,063,400
Marlins: $9,949,800
Angels: $9,295,900
Mets: $9,026,300
Nationals: $8,770,000
Mariners: $8,526,000
Phillies: $8,295,000
Cardinals: $8,167,100
Twins: $8,101,400
Giants: $8,070,600
Rays: $7,955,800
Indians: $7,398,800
Yankees: $6,943,700
Padres: $6,812,300
Cubs: $6,779,400
White Sox: $6,618,600
Braves: $6,326,300
Athletics: $6,188,900
Blue Jays: $5,775,900
Dodgers: $4,646,700
Astros: $2,940,600

First Round
1) Pirates: $8,415,300
2) Rangers: $7,789,900
3) Tigers: $7,221,200
4) Red Sox: $6,664,000
5) Orioles: $6,180,700
6) D-backs: $5,742,900
7) Royals: $5,432,400
8) Rockies: $5,176,900
9) Angels: $4,949,100
10) Mets: $4,739,900
11) Nationals: $4,547,500
12) Mariners: $4,366,400
13) Phillies: $4,197,300
14) Giants: $4,036,800
15) Brewers: $3,885,800
16) Marlins: $3,745,500
17) Reds: $3,609,700
18) Cardinals: $3,481,300
19) Blue Jays: $3,359,000
20) Yankees: $3,242,900
21) Cubs: $3,132,300
22) White Sox: $3,027,000
23) Indians: $2,926,800
24) Braves: $2,831,300
25) Athletics: $2,740,300
26) Twins: $2,653,400
27) Padres: $2,570,100
28) Rays: $2,493,900
29) Dodgers: $2,424,600

Competitive Balance Round A
30) Reds: $2,365,500
31) Marlins: $2,312,000
32) Tigers: $2,257,300
33) Brewers: $2,202,200
34) Rays: $2,148,100
35) Reds: $2,095,800
36) Twins: $2,045,400

Second Round
37) Pirates: $1,999,300
38) Rangers: $1,952,300
39) Tigers: $1,906,800
40) Red Sox: $1,856,700
41) Orioles: $1,813,500
42) D-backs: $1,771,100
43) Royals: $1,729,800
44) Rockies: $1,689,500
45) Angels: $1,650,200
46) Mets: $1,617,400
47) Nationals: $1,580,200
48) Mariners: $1,543,600
49) Phillies: $1,507,600
50) Giants: $1,469,900
51) Brewers: $1,436,900
52) Marlins: $1,403,200
53) Reds: $1,370,400
54) Cardinals: $1,338,500
55) Yankees: $1,307,000
56) Cubs: $1,276,400
57) White Sox: $1,243,600
58) Indians: $1,214,300
59) Braves: $1,185,500
60) Athletics: $1,157,400
61) Twins: $1,129,700
62) Padres: $1,102,700
63) Rays: $1,076,300

Competitive Balance Round B
64) Pirates: $1,050,300
65) Orioles: $1,025,100
66) Royals: $1,003,300
67) D-backs: $976,700
68) Rockies: $953,100
69) Indians: $929,800
70) Cardinals: $906,800
71) Padres: $884,200

Third Round
72) Pirates: $870,700
73) Rangers: $857,400
74) Tigers: $844,200
75) Red Sox: $831,100
76) Orioles: $818,200
77) D-backs: $805,600
78) Royals: $793,000
79) Rockies: $780,400
80) Angels: $767,800
81) Mets: $755,300
82) Nationals: $744,200
83) Mariners: $733,100
84) Phillies: $721,900
85) Giants: $710,700
86) Brewers: $699,700
87) Astros: $689,300
88) Marlins: $678,600
89) Reds: $667,900
90) Cardinals: $657,600
91) Blue Jays: $647,300
92) Yankees: $637,600
93) Cubs: $627,900
94) White Sox: $618,200
95) Indians: $610,800
96) Braves: $604,800
97) Athletics: $599,100
98) Twins: $593,100
99) Padres: $587,400
100) Rays: $581,600
101) Dodgers: $577,000

Fourth Round
102) Pirates: $571,400
103) Rangers: $565,600
104) Tigers: $560,000
105) Red Sox: $554,300
106) Orioles: $549,000
107) D-backs: $543,500
108) Royals: $538,200
109) Rockies: $533,000
110) Angels: $527,800
111) Mets: $522,600
112) Nationals: $517,400
113) Mariners: $512,400
114) Phillies: $507,400
115) Giants: $502,300
116) Brewers: $497,500
117) Astros: $492,700
118) Marlins: $487,900
119) Reds: $483,000
120) Cardinals: $478,300
121) Blue Jays: $473,700
122) Yankees: $469,000
123) Cubs: $464,500
124) White Sox: $460,000
125) Indians: $455,600
126) Braves: $451,800
127) Athletics: $447,400
128) Twins: $442,900
129) Padres: $438,700
130) Rays: $434,300
131) Dodgers: $430,800
132) Astros: $426,600

Fifth Round
133) Pirates: $422,300
134) Rangers: $418,200
135) Tigers: $414,000
136) Red Sox: $410,100
137) Orioles: $406,000
138) D-backs: $402,000
139) Royals: $398,000
140) Rockies: $394,300
141) Angels: $390,400
142) Mets: $386,600
143) Nationals: $382,700
144) Mariners: $379,000
145) Phillies: $375,200
146) Giants: $371,600
147) Brewers: $367,900
148) Astros: $364,400
149) Marlins: $360,800
150) Reds: $357,100
151) Cardinals: $353,700
152) Blue Jays: $350,300
153) Yankees: $346,800
154) Cubs: $343,400
155) White Sox: $340,000
156) Indians: $336,600
157) Braves: $333,300
158) Athletics: $330,100
159) Twins: $327,200
160) Padres: $324,100
161) Rays: $321,100
162) Dodgers: $318,200

Sixth Round
163) Pirates: $315,400
164) Rangers: $312,400
165) Tigers: $309,500
166) Red Sox: $306,800
167) Orioles: $304,200
168) D-backs: $301,600
169) Royals: $299,000
170) Rockies: $296,400
171) Angels: $293,800
172) Mets: $291,400
173) Nationals: $289,000
174) Mariners: $286,500
175) Phillies: $284,200
176) Giants: $281,800
177) Brewers: $279,500
178) Astros: $277,100
179) Marlins: $274,800
180) Reds: $272,500
181) Cardinals: $270,300
182) Blue Jays: $268,200
183) Yankees: $266,000
184) Cubs: $263,700
185) White Sox: $261,600
186) Indians: $259,400
187) Braves: $257,400
188) Athletics: $255,300
189) Twins: $253,300
190) Padres: $251,100
191) Rays: $249,000
192) Dodgers: $247,000

Seventh Round
193) Pirates: $244,900
194) Rangers: $243,000
195) Tigers: $241,000
196) Red Sox: $239,000
197) Orioles: $237,000
198) D-backs: $235,100
199) Royals: $233,000
200) Rockies: $231,100
201) Angels: $229,700
202) Mets: $227,700
203) Nationals: $225,800
204) Mariners: $224,000
205) Phillies: $222,100
206) Giants: $220,200
207) Brewers: $218,500
208) Astros: $216,600
209) Marlins: $214,900
210) Reds: $213,300
211) Cardinals: $211,500
212) Blue Jays: $209,800
213) Yankees: $208,200
214) Cubs: $206,500
215) White Sox: $204,800
216) Indians: $203,400
217) Braves: $201,600
218) Athletics: $200,100
219) Twins: $198,500
220) Padres: $197,300
221) Rays: $195,700
222) Dodgers: $194,400

Eighth Round
223) Pirates: $192,900
224) Rangers: $191,500
225) Tigers: $190,100
226) Red Sox: $188,900
227) Orioles: $187,700
228) D-backs: $186,300
229) Royals: $184,700
230) Rockies: $183,700
231) Angels: $182,300
232) Mets: $181,200
233) Nationals: $179,800
234) Mariners: $178,600
235) Phillies: $177,400
236) Giants: $176,300
237) Brewers: $175,000
238) Astros: $174,000
239) Marlins: $173,000
240) Reds: $172,100
241) Cardinals: $171,200
242) Blue Jays: $170,300
243) Yankees: $169,500
244) Cubs: $168,500
245) White Sox: $167,800
246) Indians: $167,000
247) Braves: $166,100
248) Athletics: $165,400
249) Twins: $164,700
250) Padres: $163,900
251) Rays: $163,400
252) Dodgers: $162,700

Ninth Round
253) Pirates: $162,000
254) Rangers: $161,400
255) Tigers: $160,800
256) Red Sox: $160,300
257) Orioles: $159,700
258) D-backs: $159,200
259) Royals: $158,600
260) Rockies: $158,100
261) Angels: $157,600
262) Mets: $157,200
263) Nationals: $156,600
264) Mariners: $156,100
265) Phillies: $155,800
266) Giants: $155,300
267) Brewers: $154,900
268) Astros: $154,600
269) Marlins: $154,100
270) Reds: $153,600
271) Cardinals: $153,300
272) Blue Jays: $152,900
273) Yankees: $152,600
274) Cubs: $152,300
275) White Sox: $152,000
276) Indians: $151,600
277) Braves: $151,300
278) Athletics: $150,800
279) Twins: $150,500
280) Padres: $150,300
281) Rays: $150,100
282) Dodgers: $149,800

Tenth Round
283) Pirates: $149,500
284) Rangers: $149,300
285) Tigers: $148,900
286) Red Sox: $148,400
287) Orioles: $148,200
288) D-backs: $147,900
289) Royals: $147,700
290) Rockies: $147,400
291) Angels: $147,200
292) Mets: $147,000
293) Nationals: $146,800
294) Mariners: $146,300
295) Phillies: $146,100
296) Giants: $145,700
297) Brewers: $145,500
298) Astros: $145,300
299) Marlins: $145,000
300) Reds: $144,800
301) Cardinals: $144,600
302) Blue Jays: $144,400
303) Yankees: $144,100
304) Cubs: $143,900
305) White Sox: $143,600
306) Indians: $143,500
307) Braves: $143,200
308) Athletics: $143,000
309) Twins: $142,700
310) Padres: $142,500
311) Rays: $142,300
312) Dodgers: $142,200